Author Jennifer Newell's poker week in review for May 13-19.

Our consolidation of the week's news is quick and to the point — seven stories, to be exact — for the week ending May 19. Let's go.

No. 1 — Initial Fallout from UB Audio Tapes

Little more than a week ago, audio tapes were released from an UltimateBet meeting at the time of the scandal. Former employee Travis Makar made and just revealed the tapes, which included Russ Hamilton admitting to cheating and implicating others like Freddy Deeb and Annie Duke. Phil Hellmuth was mentioned as being kept in the dark, and he released a statement regretting his affiliation with the company and confirmed that the news was a surprise to him.

Duke finally released an official statement regarding the tapes, in which she says that she was unaware that the "god mode" — the ability to see holecards in real time — existed until the scandal broke. She also said that she never used access to players' holecards during real-money play, only to view holecards after a delay for tournaments she was commentating on. She also regrets encouraging players to play on UB under that management and is very sorry that she ever agreed to work with them. In addition, former UB commentator John Vorhaus and former UB Pro Relations Manager Jo Priam released corroborating statements supporting Duke and saying that she never had access to "god mode."

No. 2 — Nevada Investigates Ties to UB

The new UltimateBet tapes brought companies with ties to UB into the spotlight, especially Iovation, a company used by UB that assisted in viewing holecards of players for cheating purposes. Iovation was being used by newly-launched Ultimate Poker in Nevada, but player concerns prompted UP to discontinue using their services last week. Iovation is not a Nevada-licensed company but is used by CAMS, which does have a Nevada online gaming license. The state's Gaming Control Board plans to look into the relationship, albeit over, between Ultimate Poker and Iovation.

Another Nevada-licensed company, Amaya Gaming, is also being investigated because of the hiring of Paul Leggett as the head of online. Leggett was the COO of Tokwiro Enterprises, owner of UltimateBet, during the investigation into the cheating scandal. It was under his reign that UB and Absolute Poker folded after Black Friday and never paid any customers or worked on a solution with the U.S. government.

No. 3 — California Moves on Internet Poker

Previous proposals to the California legislature regarding the legalization of online poker have failed to gain traction, mostly due to disagreements with various Native American tribes who have gambling stakes in the state. However, a new group of eight tribes have devised a new proposal that seems to resolve those issues.

The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act has been drafted by tribes like Pechanga Agua Caliente and seems to have the support of many card rooms, as well. Establishments already offering poker would be the only ones eligible for online poker licenses, and horse tracks would be prohibited. License fees would be $5 million, and awarded licenses would last for 10 years. This draft will be developed into a bill and introduced to the California legislature in the coming months.

No. 4 — PokerStars Loses New Jersey Court Battle

The plans for PokerStars' parent company Rational Group to buy the Atlantic Club Casino in New Jersey ran into snags over the past month when the Atlantic Club tried to nullify the agreement and Rational filed a lawsuit to continue the purchase process. The temporary restraining order was granted by a judge, and a motion to lift the ban was denied. Rational claimed that an investment of $11 million into the deal warranted more time to finalize the deal.

However, a hearing last week revealed that PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, who has a pending indictment with the U.S. government stemming from Black Friday, was initially involved in the Atlantic Club deal. Despite PokerStars' promise to keep Scheinberg out of the company in any management or directorial role, Atlantic Club's CFO claimed that Scheinberg participated in discussions after that time. In addition, the Atlantic Club claimed that PokerStars failed to secure a temporary license to operate the casino. The court then ruled that the Atlantic Club was able to terminate the deal and find another buyer for the property.

No. 5 — Phil Ivey Involved in London Lawsuit

The situation began in 2012 when Phil Ivey played a game called Punto Banco at the Crockfords London gaming facility and won the equivalent of more than $12 million. The casino denied payment with the exception of his original £1 million stake, and the situation continued until Ivey filed a lawsuit this year. Ivey contended that he was given a receipt for his winnings but never paid and was forced to take legal action.

The latest move came from Crockfords, which alleges that Ivey cheated with the help of a 37-year-old woman who played alongside him at the casino. The statement detailed how Ivey was able to see imperfections in the cards during the dealer's actions and identify the cards in order to play optimally. With the help of fraud prevention specialists who examined the casino tapes, Crockfords claims that the reading of patterns with the cards is cheating, and the method was used by Ivey.

No. 6 — iPoker Network Investigates and Cracks Down

The iPoker Network has been plagued recently by player-to-player transfer controversies, and the network recently limited those P2P transfer options. An investigation ensued due to rumors of American online poker players using VPNs (virtual private networks) to play illegally from the U.S. on sites that prohibit them from doing so.

The investigation led to the discovery of a ring of players using VPNs that were connected to the iPokerVIP affiliate website owned by Jamie Nevin. With an already-sour reputation in the industry, Nevin is in the spotlight for facilitating VPN-based player signups, transfers, and cashouts. While allegations have yet to be proven, players on iPoker skins will continue to experience limitations on transfers until the source of the problem can be pinpointed.

No. 7 — New Jersey Releases Online Gaming Regulations Draft

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released a draft of its proposed regulations for online gaming that will officially be published on June 3. The regulations will pertain to the casinos that will operate licensed online gaming. Permits will be granted to offer all types of gaming on the Internet and on mobile devices, and those permits are renewable yearly but expire in 10 years. Some of the basics of the regulations include the 21-year-old age limit, location in but not residency in New Jersey, one player per account, and details of player verification. All in all, security, player protections, and casino rules are detailed.

When the official release is made on June 3, there will be a 60-day period during which the public is invited to comment.