Sure, there were other poker stories during the week, but the one that’s dominated the press and the thoughts of thousands of poker players has been the unfolding scandal at Absolute Poker. There’s a couple of other items of note, following the synopsis of events, but we’re sure you really want to read about AP:

Absolute Poker Acknowledges Security Breach --  Rumors surrounding extremely suspect play in the highest-priced cash games and tournaments have been swirling for weeks, with more and more evidence circulating that something was truly amiss at AP.  Just a day after another public denial claiming that investigations had shown nothing amiss, an internal-level hand history accidentally mailed to tournament player Marco "CrazyMarco" Johnson uncovered evidence that was simply too powerful to be denied.

Johnson was the runner-up in a $1,050-buyin tournament on September 12th, where he was ultimately eliminated on a call so sick it defied rational, logical explanation.  As other hands in the tourney began to be examined, led by the efforts of Nat Arem (of thePokerdB fame) and Serge "Adanthar" Ravitch, the evidence indicated that the suspect account, POTRIPPER, simply must have had knowledge of the other players’ holdings.  After weeks of the building crescendo of complaints, AbsolutePoker examined the spreadsheet containing the evidence of POTRIPPER’s cheating, and acknowledged it in letters to players.

Worse, the efforts of the people investigating the improper play uncovered evidence that two or more AP superiors were quite possibly involved.  Arem discovered the presence of a mysterious railbird who viewed POTRIPPER’s play and never left the table during the action captured in the spreadsheet, and also realized from his depth of knowledge with thePokerdB efforts that the number assigned to this account, #363, was irregularly low.  Another examiner, "snagglepuss," noticed some duplicate IP address entries in the file, including one identical to that of the mysterious 363 account, and this writer realized that the "rivieraltd.com" domain listed as sharing Account 363’s access was suspect and needed further examination. Arem, with his ‘net expertise, then uncovered further evidence linking it back to Absolute.

Absolute’s initial acknowledgment of the security lapse involved the blaming of a “rogue geek programmer” in responses to questions posed by an MSNBC writer, but within a day or two that explanation had evolved into blaming a “high-level consultant” with intimate access to Absolute’s inner systems.  Still more announcements are expected, since Absolute is in the process of being audited in an attempt to find out just how deep the insider cheating ran.  The extent of that cheating remains unknown, though several accounts besides the POTRIPPER one have also been implicated in the scandal.  Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

Richard Lee Out $2.2 Million in Bookmaking Charges Settlement --  Richard Lee, the San Antonio resident who placed sixth in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, lost the lion’s share of his winnings in the settlement following the raid on his and several other San Antonio homes in connection with an extensive sportsbook operation.  Lee was often named by prosecuting authorities as the ringleader of the operation, and while Lee and his co-defendants will avoid extensive jail time, the price for Lee’s freedom was severe.  Lee, though, remained the stoic: "I guess I just got to get out to Las Vegas and win a poker tournament."

IRS Tourney Withholding Rules Clarified --  What we said last week in the Weekly Poker Net goes: Tournament winners will not have withholding automatically deducted from their winnings, unless they have no proper SS # information (a concern for international players, perhaps), or if the casino holding the event fails to record winnings and issue proper W-2G statements, in which case 28% of winnings will be withheld.  The cutoff will be net winnings of $5,000 or higher.  The clarified rule goes into effect in March of 2008.

Doyle’s Room is Back!! --  While the Absolute Poker situation has the potential to give online poker a huge black eye, at least some good news came from the week. &nbps;Doyle’s Room, namesake of poker legend Doyle Brunson, announced its return to the U.S. market.  Doyle’s Room was forced out against its wishes back in March when its former network provider, Playtech, departed the U.S.  Doyle’s Room subsequently moved over to Microgaming, made its planned, and came back to the U.S. -- or at least the 39 states where Microgaming action is available.

Bodog’s Calvin Ayre Issues Fight Challenge to 1st Technology’s Scott Lewis --  It’s been a wonderful run of weeks for the Weekly Poker Net; every week there's something just too bizarre to be made up.  Remember the ongoing situation with the Bodog.com domains being seized and awarded to Dr. Scott Lewis and 1st Technology, LLC?  That seizure resulted from a default judgment in a patent-infringement case filed against Bodog, one that there are now questions about regarding the legitimacy of the initial filing.  Both Bodog and 1st Tech were in court last week trying for further gains in the case, and both came away empty, but the great read came from Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre’s own blog: "I, Calvin Ayre, am challenging 1st Tech's Scott Lewis to a 3-round Bodog Fight rules MMA face pounding. Think he'll go for it? I've got a million bucks that says even if he does -- and wins the fight -- I'll still come out on top."  Calvin wants to put up a million if Lewis puts up the bodog.com domains, winner take all.  It’s tough to top a line like this, courtesy of Calvin:  "Scott Lewis: You want money.  I want to hit you … repeatedly.  In a lawful way, of course."