Absolute Poker President Scott Tom to Pay $300K in Plea Deal

Former Absolute Poker honcho Scott Tom will apparently avoid a jail sentence and instead pay only a $300,000 fine after reaching a plea deal over his role in the Black Friday scandal that has yet to be fully resolved six years later.

Tom cut a deal with prosecutors in late May that saw him admit to just one misdemeanor of acting as an accessory after the fact with regard to transmitting gambling information. His sentencing remains set for September 28, but CalvinAyre.com representatives apparently went to the U.S. courthouse in the Southern District of New York and took a peek at Tom's file to get a jump on a possible sentence for the former fugitive.

The gang at CalvinAyre know a thing or two about fugitives and court files. The man himself, Calvin Ayre, was a fugitive for more than half a decade until recently when federal money laundering conspiracy and illegal gambling charges were dropped by the US Attorney for the District of Maryland after Ayre agreed to plead guilty to a lone misdemeanor.

Wrist Slap

After viewing the legal documents in Tom's case, CA reported that the ex-Absolute Poker boss will cough up $300,000 and is on the hook for one year in the slammer and one year of probation. But a reduction in his sentence is allowed if Tom's "conduct prior to sentencing demonstrates his acceptance of responsibility for his actions."

In other words, be a good boy and admit wrongdoing and don't get into any more trouble and accept the proverbial slap on the wrist as punishment.

Should the reduction come into play, jail time can be anywhere from none at all to six months and the fine from $250,000 to $500,000. CA apparently is privy to "scuttlebutt" that will allow Tom to keep his freedom, which he has enjoyed since posting bail after turning himself in back in February after almost six years on the lam.

Still Waiting

As many are painfully aware, players of Absolute Poker and sister site Ultimate Bet have yet to see hide nor hair of their account balances. The remission process is underway, however, and players have until September 7 to file a claim. The first claim deadline of June 9 was extended.

Prior to Black Friday, another scandal rocked AP and UB when it was determined that company execs could see the hole cards of players and used the information for financial gain reported to be in the millions of dollars. Tom apparently danced away from the superuser fiasco unscathed.

Most Wanted No More

The CA article that revealed Tom's expected sentence of $300K and no jail time had quite the fitting ending of "we begrudgingly congratulate Tom on the successful resolution of his long-running legal nightmare." With Calvin Ayre's long-running legal nightmare over as well, the pair have something in common.

However, it should be pointed out that Calvin Ayre and his Bodog gambling site never stiffed anybody or left players high and dry with unpaid account balances. CA merely admitted to having a soft heart for "any online gambling operator caught up in America’s hypocritical war against internationally licensed gambling sites."

AP was caught up in that war, as was PokerStars and Full Tilt. And another layer of hate will perhaps be stripped away when AP and UB players are finally made whole from the remission process.

But the superuser scandal will never go away and the money lost by players never recouped.