A Professorial Tale from Down Under --  The biggest payday to date of the 2008 Aussie Millions was claimed by none other than Howard Lederer.  The "Poker Professor" played a patient game in capturing the $1.25 million first prize in the $100,000-buyin NL shootout. Lederer defeated Mark Teltscher heads-up for the title, with Michael Sampoerna claiming third and Jeffrey Lisandro finishing fourth.

Kahnawake Gaming Commission Releases Final Absolute Poker Audit Findings --  A month later than expected, and still not naming the people involved in the cheating, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has nonetheless released its final report on its audit of Absolute Poker in the wake of the insider cheating scandal that rocked the online poker world last fall.  The findings and penalties were somewhat anticlimactic; Absolute was assessed a $500,000 fine and the unnamed person(s) responsible for the cheating are to be removed from all further Absolute Poker operations.  Several outside commenters have deemed it a virtual slap on the wrist for the company.  The final report did list nine screen names known to be involved with the cheating and reminded AP customers who believe they were defrauded –- but have not yet been recompensed –- that they have 60 days to file a claim with the KGC.

‘ElkY’ Captures PokerStars Caribbean Adventure --  Most of the big names not heading to the Aussie Millions found their way instead to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which was itself something of an anomaly.  The event, as always, was held in the Bahamas, but was also made an official stop on the PokerStars.net-sponsored European Poker Tour, despite the fact that Europe is a few thousand miles off to the east.  No matter.  The title here went to Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier, who defeated runner-up Hafiz Khan to capture the $2 million first prize.  Khan had to settle for a bit over $1 million for his second-place finish.  David "The Dragon" Pham dominated much of the earlier rounds of play and settled for a fourth-place finish.

NETeller Issues Corporate Outlook, U.S. Funds Withdrawal Reminder --  If you’re a U.S. citizen and have money sitting in a NETeller account, you need to withdraw it real soon, by January 26, 2008, to be exact.  NETeller confirmed this final date for U.S. withdrawals as it summed up some other facts and figures related to its settlement with the United States in a recent press release.  According to NETeller, some $81 million out of a total of $94 million it once held in frozen U.S. accounts has now been repatriated, but what about that other $13 million?  It will revert to NETeller if it remains unclaimed, which would be a fortunate bit of timing for the company; NETeller is also about due to make its final $38.25 million payment to the U.S. as part of its settlement in the case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice last year.

Lee Watkinson Takes Aussie PLO Crown --  The Aussie Millions features several different games and events in its lengthy January run, and the winner of the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event was Lee Watkinson.  Watkinson triumphed over a tough final table that included Mike Sexton and online star Tom "durrr" Dwan to collect $180,600 in winnings.  Dwan was the bridesmaid here, pocketing $103,200.  Van Marcus finished in third and Sexton made a solid run to fourth.