Quicktender – UseMyWallet Accounts Possibly Seized by US

Courtesy of Holdem Poker Chat

Quicktender – UseMyWallet issued the following press release today regarding the recent problems with recent transactions. It appears they still do not know the true issue of the problem but do fear that the US bank accounts used to process transactions have been seized by the US Department of Justice.

The management of Quicktender would like to make the following statement regarding the current situation with UseMyWallet/Quicktender withdrawals:

We have operated a reputable and reliable payment mechanism for US customers since 2006. Our reputation is important to us, and until recently there has never been any question that players and merchants would be paid. In order to achieve this, we have built over many years relationships with payment intermediaries that share our values of honesty and integrity. In the jurisdictions from which we offer our services we are proud to be properly licensed and constituted, and have even worked with US law enforcement on occasions where criminal activity has been identified.

However, we cannot always predict some of the vagaries of the US administration. Over the past 2 weeks we have in good faith transmitted withdrawals initiated by Quicktender account holders to beneficiary bank accounts in the US. The money left our account in Europe. It was only in response to increasing complaints from our customers that we recognised there was a problem, and asked our bank to investigate. It emerges that the money has been accumulated in our bank’s correspondent banking partners accounts in the US, and has been frozen. We suspect it is possible that these funds may be subject to a seizure order by the US authorities. We would stress that we do not have bank accounts in the US of our own, and that the funds have left our account Europe.

It is our express intention to ensure that the funds of our account holders are safe. For this reason we have decided to suspend future withdrawals until we understand what has happened to the money that has been frozen. If we continue to transmit bank wires into the US we could find that these funds also do not reach their ultimate beneficiaries. This would simply make the problem worse.

We ask our customers to bear with us in these difficult times. Please be assured that we have always honored our obligations in the past, and that we will make every effort to overcome these current difficulties. It is not in
the interests of anybody to attempt to financially impact QuickTender further. These actions may impact the future viability of the company and the ability of the company to pay its customers. We are assessing our current exposure, and how best to reintroduce withdrawals safely.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their past loyalty, and to reiterate that we will take all possible steps to ensure that our customers money is secure.

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Massacre on 5th Street Bounty Tourney

Massacre On 5th Street is the biggest private bounty game in online poker. And can be very profitable as well! Everyone is worth a $10 bounty so the dollars can add up fast. While this game is not for the faint at heart...it is one of the funnest games you'll ever play online. 

Name: Massacre On 5th Street Presented by Holdem Poker Chat
When: Sunday, January 2nd at 4:00pm ET
Where: AP or UB
Password: massacre
Extras: 150% First Time Deposit Bonus up to $500.

*EXTRA PRIZES & BOUNTIES:  
Winner wins a ticket to P0ker H0's $50K GTD ($300+$20) 15:05 ET
Last Woman Standing wins a ticket to the "Thursday Sniper $25K GTD ($120+$10) 21:00 ET" Tournament
Last Man Standing wins a ticket to the "Thursday Sniper $25K GTD ($120+$10) 21:00 ET" Tournament
The Final Table Bubble wins a ticket to the "Friday Nightly $10K GTD ($75+$7) 22:00 ET" Tournament
Knock out Fonzi wins an extra $25
Knock out LKPORT wins an extra $25
First out receives a Thursday $10K GTD ($25+$2.5) 21:20 ET

Rules of Massacre on 5th Street

1. Entry for Massacre on 5th Street is $16. $6 will go to the main pot and $10 will be put into the BOUNTY FUND.

2. Everyone is worth a $10 bounty. For every player you knock out, you will receive $10 in your player account.

3. If there are 2 or more players in a hand when someone is knocked out, the MAIN POT winner receives the bounty. If it is a SPLIT POT when someone is knocked out, the players splitting the main pot will split the bounty equally.

4. Bounties are paid out immediately.

5. Trash talk is encouraged as long as it is done within the bounds of good taste.

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An extraordinary endurance challenge

When I first heard about the 24h Poker Marathon challenge, I have to admit that I was curious and went in with mixed emotions. It was the first time that I got to participate in such an event (24 events in 24 hours and one new game per hour) and it does sound less challenging than you might expect on first glance, but the deeper you get into it the more respect you grow for all participants.

It is extremely difficult to maintain your play in all those games because sooner or later you are not able to stay as focused as you get more tired and no matter what activities you plan or what kind of little helper you use … the attention span is not supposed to stay high for such a long time. 

Personally I tried to avoid energy drinks, because they help to keep your attention high for a certain time but once the effect disappears it will actually turn in the opposite and make you even more tired. I did some sports exercises, had healthy food and some coffee (you have to be careful with the caffeine though, same story as the energy drinks) and was cleaning up the apartment, washing clothes and having a shower. 

Whatever you choose to keep yourself occupied though, it shall not distract you from the game itself and just help to stay fresh and keep an open mind to make the correct and most logical choice.

After registering for the first game on Reefer, I went shopping and came back about 25 minutes late as I expected the normal Merge 15 minutes blind structure. I was quite surprised to see myself almost blinded out and eventually pushed with the first decent hand (JTcc) only to run into pocket Aces … lol. I registered for the next Reefer BuyIn and it had the same crappy structure with 10 minute blinds and after I was unable to hit anything there, I decided to take a break and wait for the next event on Cereus.

I didn’t have an account at Victory Poker either and already got so many Cake skins, that I skipped those as well and went in for the race with a handicap of at least 7 games (didn’t play in any other Reefer game either after the first 2). Once I hit the back to back final tables in the UB buy in games, a friend of mine told me that I was on top of the leaderboard and vger also convinced me that I now have to play all remaining tournaments. She also swapped money with me since I had no funds on CakePoker and to show my appreciation, I kicked her out of at least 4 Marathon tournaments after that … haha.

From there on it was a close race and I knew exactly that Sadie would be the biggest competitor, I value her friendship and her game because she is a damn tough cookie and you should never underestimate her at the tables, no matter how many chips she got. We tried to keep each other awake through instant messenger and cheered after each good hand and cried after each suckout. I guess that is what poker friends do … even though people say that you don’t have any friends at the poker table.

It ended in a close and nail biting final event and we pretty much knew that nobody else could kick us out of the top 2 spots on the leaderboard. The final buy in on CakePoker turned into a nightmare when I lost a coinflip QQ vs A8 and was left with 3xBB, Sadie took me out shortly after that as well with the better hand preflop and all I could do was wait. I ran some calculations and told her she would need at least 5^th to take down the leaderboard, but she went totally card dead and ran into pocket Aces when she pushed all in with AK to bust in 7^th. 

After 24 games it would just be for 21 points to decide over 1^st and 2^nd and this should give you an idea how close it was, both deserved the win and the tough competition allowed us to play our best game and give everything to win. The fight for the 5^th place was even closer in the end, as 3 players were within 9 (in words: NINE) points … ughhh.

I ended up winning 2 games and could add two more 2^nd place finishes and one 4^th plus two 8^th to round up a consistent performance and was quite happy with my game overall. I made a few new friends at the poker table and railed some of my buddies going deep, adding more fun and joy to the experience itself.

24 Tournaments in 24 Hours! November 20-21, 2010

1 zedmaster84 1613

2 sadieaces 1592

3 cgcatdaddy 1436

4 rezster 1363

5 SharBear613 1243

6 TheFuture 1236

7 tsubaki5 1234

8 kesza 1180

9 LeanAndMean 1178

10 CFB402 1136

Last but not least I would like to thank all that helped to organize those games, especially fonzi and lkport on HPC and Ace Jones + JP to host the show on RR. I guess I am speaking for all participants that this was a fantastic event that will find a place in our memory. Thanks to Sadie for being a so damn good player and I could not imagine any better player to take this down, I hope to be around the next time as well to battle against you and am already looking forward to see you again next summer if you can make it to the Live OFC.

Hats off to all players that played in all 24 games and I hope your families and friends didn’t run away scared when you left the computer like a zombie after this marathon!!! A big well done to all in the top 5 in the leaderboard as well as all players that cashed in each event.

P.S. special thanks to colebex, badboyplayer and gypsy for the rail support and hugs to my divas Sadie, Mer and Sharon (great comeback at the end and way to go to get 5^th)

P.P.S that long bath and the 12 hours sleep afterwards helped a lot hehehe …

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