SOURCE: MSNBC.com

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Site owned by Canadian Mohawks

Absolute Poker states on its Web site that it is owned by Tokwiro Enterprises Enrg., located in Kahnawake Mohawk territory nine miles south of Montreal, Quebec.

Tokwiro is described as a Mohawk owned and controlled sole proprietorship. The site also is licensed and ostensibly regulated by the tribe's Kahnawake Gaming Commission, though it is not clear what level of scrutiny the commission applies to its licensees.

Many poker players interviewed for this article expressed concern that the incident would be another "black eye" for online poker, which has surged in popularity in recent years despite attempts by the U.S. government and many states to prevent Americans from playing over the Internet.

Most indicated they would prefer that the sites were licensed and regulated by the United States, but said they consider most of the leading offshore sites to be fair and secure.

"I think that the reasons this got handled the way that it has, with a happy ending, is because the overwhelming majority of people in the industry ... want things to be run in a fair and honest way," said Small of Pocketfives.com.

"... There is a perception that a lot of people in the industry are thieves, but that's not the case for the most part. When something like this happens, the rest of the people, as soon as they catch wind of it band together and look for ways to pool information and bring people down who have done harm to them."

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