Wednesday, January 11, excitement spread across internet poker message boards after a programming error on Party Poker’s website credited possibly thousands of customers’ accounts with hundreds of dollars each.
The strange mistake was somehow discovered when a player logged into his account page on PartyPoker.com. Party Poker is currently running tournaments for players to win entries into the Party Poker Million V, a World Poker Tour event held onboard a cruise ship. On the account page, there was a link to take you to information about the cruise, had you been fortunate enough to win the trip and entry. The thing was, everybody who went to their account page and clicked this link was informed that they had won the cruise for two.
This is where the fiasco began. As a players advanced through the pages about the cruise, the site gave the option to upgrade or downgrade the room that they had “won.” If someone downgraded the room, a deposit would be made into their Party Poker account for the difference in price, which in this case was $400 for two people. Some people only got $200, for some reason, but most people, simply by clicking on a few things on Party’s site, received $400 in their Party Poker accounts – instantly.
On top of that, many people found that they only needed to click on the cruise link, not even going as far as downgrading the room, to get the money.
As one would expect, this created a firestorm of activity across internet poker forums. Players debated on whether or not to play with the money, and if so, what games? Some thought that they should just try cashing out immediately. Other scolded the people who wanted to use the unearned money for being unethical. If they did cash out, would Party Poker try to get the money back? Would accounts be banned? Arguments raged on throughout the day – sinners versus saints, with many entertained observers laughing at it all.
The biggest problem for Party Poker is that there were most likely many people who did actually play with the money. It’s one thing if they lost it all playing blackjack – no harm, no foul. The money goes back to the house. But what if they lost it all at the poker tables, as many reported they did? Can Party Poker figure out which players won money from those who had used the $400? If so, can they legally, ethically, or feasibly take it back? After all, in most cases, the person who won the money didn’t know anything shady was going on. While Party Poker is a big company with deep pockets, it would only take 2,500 players, a tiny sliver of Party’s total customer base, to potentially cost the poker room $1 million. No matter how you spin it, that’s a lot of money.
In the end, people thought that players losing the money at the tables would be the biggest problem for Party, as it would be hard for the company to recover those funds. The thought was that if anyone tried to cash out the $400 immediately, or maybe after winning a few hands at the poker or blackjack tables, the funds would never actually leave Party Poker’s site. After all, Party still reviews all transactions and does not allow money to leave until the cash out has been approved. But, apparently, according to some conversations on the poker forums, many people did have their cash outs approved and currently have the money in their Neteller accounts. Oops.
The latest word, as of Thursday morning, is that Party Poker has e-mailed some (or all) of the players who successfully cashed out the “free” money, requesting that they call Party’s toll free number. Reasons for the call are unknown at this time, but speculation is that Party might ask for the money back. Time will tell on this one.
The bottom line is that, while depending on one’s definition, anyone who used the $400 may or may not have actually been “stealing” from Party Poker. But, any reasonable person should be able to realize that using the money, and to a greater extent, cashing it out, is unethical. Yes, Party Poker did put the funds in players’ accounts. Yes, the message on the account page was that players won a cruise for two, plus entry into the Party Poker Millions V tournament. But everyone (aside from maybe a handful of innocents who completely oblivious to yesterday’s craziness) knew that it was a computer mistake. Everyone knew that the money did not rightfully belong to them. Just as a car dealer should not be required to sell a $50,000 luxury car for $5,000 because they missed a zero in a newspaper ad, Party Poker should not be expected to have to fork over $400 to every person who decided to take advantage of the glitch. Yes, Party Poker is responsible for its mistakes, and is definitely going to have work to do to correct the problem, but just because the money was there for the taking does not mean it is everyone’s to take.
Maybe it was because Party Poker is the behemoth of the industry. Maybe it was because it is so easy to do over the internet, when people don’t have to look their victim in the eye. Maybe people had a problem with Party Poker, for some reason. In any case, Party Poker’s mistake was an unfortunate one, and those who decided to fleece the company of $400 need to take a closer look at their own morals.
But it sure was entertaining while it lasted.
Originally published January 12, 2006
The strange mistake was somehow discovered when a player logged into his account page on PartyPoker.com. Party Poker is currently running tournaments for players to win entries into the Party Poker Million V, a World Poker Tour event held onboard a cruise ship. On the account page, there was a link to take you to information about the cruise, had you been fortunate enough to win the trip and entry. The thing was, everybody who went to their account page and clicked this link was informed that they had won the cruise for two.
This is where the fiasco began. As a players advanced through the pages about the cruise, the site gave the option to upgrade or downgrade the room that they had “won.” If someone downgraded the room, a deposit would be made into their Party Poker account for the difference in price, which in this case was $400 for two people. Some people only got $200, for some reason, but most people, simply by clicking on a few things on Party’s site, received $400 in their Party Poker accounts – instantly.
On top of that, many people found that they only needed to click on the cruise link, not even going as far as downgrading the room, to get the money.
As one would expect, this created a firestorm of activity across internet poker forums. Players debated on whether or not to play with the money, and if so, what games? Some thought that they should just try cashing out immediately. Other scolded the people who wanted to use the unearned money for being unethical. If they did cash out, would Party Poker try to get the money back? Would accounts be banned? Arguments raged on throughout the day – sinners versus saints, with many entertained observers laughing at it all.
The biggest problem for Party Poker is that there were most likely many people who did actually play with the money. It’s one thing if they lost it all playing blackjack – no harm, no foul. The money goes back to the house. But what if they lost it all at the poker tables, as many reported they did? Can Party Poker figure out which players won money from those who had used the $400? If so, can they legally, ethically, or feasibly take it back? After all, in most cases, the person who won the money didn’t know anything shady was going on. While Party Poker is a big company with deep pockets, it would only take 2,500 players, a tiny sliver of Party’s total customer base, to potentially cost the poker room $1 million. No matter how you spin it, that’s a lot of money.
In the end, people thought that players losing the money at the tables would be the biggest problem for Party, as it would be hard for the company to recover those funds. The thought was that if anyone tried to cash out the $400 immediately, or maybe after winning a few hands at the poker or blackjack tables, the funds would never actually leave Party Poker’s site. After all, Party still reviews all transactions and does not allow money to leave until the cash out has been approved. But, apparently, according to some conversations on the poker forums, many people did have their cash outs approved and currently have the money in their Neteller accounts. Oops.
The latest word, as of Thursday morning, is that Party Poker has e-mailed some (or all) of the players who successfully cashed out the “free” money, requesting that they call Party’s toll free number. Reasons for the call are unknown at this time, but speculation is that Party might ask for the money back. Time will tell on this one.
The bottom line is that, while depending on one’s definition, anyone who used the $400 may or may not have actually been “stealing” from Party Poker. But, any reasonable person should be able to realize that using the money, and to a greater extent, cashing it out, is unethical. Yes, Party Poker did put the funds in players’ accounts. Yes, the message on the account page was that players won a cruise for two, plus entry into the Party Poker Millions V tournament. But everyone (aside from maybe a handful of innocents who completely oblivious to yesterday’s craziness) knew that it was a computer mistake. Everyone knew that the money did not rightfully belong to them. Just as a car dealer should not be required to sell a $50,000 luxury car for $5,000 because they missed a zero in a newspaper ad, Party Poker should not be expected to have to fork over $400 to every person who decided to take advantage of the glitch. Yes, Party Poker is responsible for its mistakes, and is definitely going to have work to do to correct the problem, but just because the money was there for the taking does not mean it is everyone’s to take.
Maybe it was because Party Poker is the behemoth of the industry. Maybe it was because it is so easy to do over the internet, when people don’t have to look their victim in the eye. Maybe people had a problem with Party Poker, for some reason. In any case, Party Poker’s mistake was an unfortunate one, and those who decided to fleece the company of $400 need to take a closer look at their own morals.
But it sure was entertaining while it lasted.
Originally published January 12, 2006
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any idea where the story came from. 
