[JohnBond]

Mase --

RC won't retract. I'm sure of it. Why? Because much of what Russ says is true. No, not the wild-eyed point the finger at the world allegations against big names - though you and I both have heard many of the sordid stories of poker's early days and we both saw what was going on in the 80s… RC made it pretty clear he wasn’t validating any of those stories in particular, while conceding that some of them likely have some truth in them.

You can bet RC chose his words carefully, and he was quite clear not to validate any particular cheating allegation against anybody by Russ. I’m not going to bother re-quoting what RC’s post says - -but it says what it says. It says it’s NOT a blanket endorsement ,etc, etc with substantial reminders of that fact.

What RC was and is trying to draw attention to is what's going on in Internet poker and tournaments today. A subject about which Georgiev has written with the great knowledge of an experienced slimeball. (RC’s word.)

By his very nature, and the manner in which he has in McCarthy-like fashion (quite the valid metaphor by you imo) shot off at every big name that comes to his mind, Georgiev has no credibility. And yet many of his observations about Internet poker, high stakes poker, and tournament poker are dead on. Because he is an idiot with his other crap the merit in those matters has been lost. Because of the source, and because of fascination with the big names, the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.

RC makes quite clear that his post is not about personalities, or who did what when. It's about cheating. Ongoing collusion. Inappropriate partnerships. Scammers beating Internet site protections for players.

The “was this guy a cheater or that guy a cheater twenty years ago” question is a red herring. It distracts from the important thing RC is trying to say. It is essentially irrelevant to poker's present and future. And that’s Russ’s fault because he mixed the two things up, not RC’s fault. Separating those questions, and removing the important one from the bailiwick of a lunatic is what’s important.

What matters is what the hell is going to happen now, and people damn well better wake up. As you noted Caro's been speaking about it forever, and there's your article in Poker Essays III, and there are Roy's recent articles. But the fact is this whacko Russ G has devoted more space to the legitimate cheating issues than anybody up until now. He’s owned this issue on the web (except for some private communications among industry insiders) and that has marginalized the importance of the subject.

What RC is basically doing is hijacking the issue from him --- but he can only do that by conceding that he was right about much of it in the first place.

RC has heard every damn cheat story that has passed through Vegas for thirty years and you’ve heard lots of em too. And some of em are true, some of em aren’t. So what?

What RC’s post is about --- and all that matters here – is wtf are we going to do to prevent a gigantic cheating scandal from adversely affecting the industry’s prospects in what could be very significant ways?

That’s what it’s about. Russ has been right about that. Roy gives him credit on that account because that is an essential step of working against the kind of stuff he talks about. And Roy doesn’t care squat about who did what yesterday. He cares what we’re all going to do about tomorrow.

I understand you have a problem with his approach. Oh well, won’t be the first time you two have disagreed.

But it just is what it is --- and what it isn’t is a validation of any specific claim Russ has made about any particular person. It’s about getting people talking. About credible spokespeople owning the issue. That’s the first step on the road to action.

Don’t fall for the trap of focusing on Russ’s allegations – true or not - -about the past. They just don’t matter. Focus on what he has said about collusion in tournaments and ring games, and cheating the Internet. He’s been right on much of what he has said on these subjects. He is an expert freaking cheat with 40 years experience—he knows his stuff on these issues!

And Roy - -and you and David and Sexton and Caro and all the other credible spokespeople – need to seize the issue from him and lead the industry to action.

Right now, I don’t see much action. I think RC’s post is a significant and major step toward making things happen.

Best,

jb