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[Editor’s note- It’s important to know, before reading this article, since the time of this publication Dewey Tomko has come out and said he knows nothing about this published op-ed. You can read about that right here: Dewey Tomko – Subject of Op-Ed Hoax? ]

Poker Hall of Fame member Dewey Tomko and professional poker player Bill Byers delivered a now published Op-Ed to the Press of Atlantic City in which they, essentially, beg for further security stress testing of the newly regulated real-money poker sites in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

In the co-authored piece, the pair raise the fear of all the security leaks that may be present including hacking, collusion and, of course, the Sheldon Adelson Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling raised issues of potential terrorists funneling funds from Americans to hurt Americans.

In fact, we are concerned that an even more damaging scandal than one involving underage players could emerge, and that it will tarnish and even ruin the game. What worries us is well-organized teams of cheaters using hidden technology to steal from novice players now that Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have gone live with legalized Internet poker.

All scary stuff, right? They seem to be concerned that the game, if not tested correctly, can be permanently damaged. The piece zeros in on the problem of collusion – people chatting or using “cell phones” or the well-defined “hacker technology” to cheat people out of their hard earned money.

Hey, this is a real concern for sure.

It is disturbing that the industry, regulators and organizations purporting to protect the interests of players have not addressed the issue, despite their claims that the game is safe. Rather than being comforted by the industry touting that there have been zero problems in Europe, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada, we find that analysis less than credible. A more realistic view is that collusion and cheating are indeed occurring but going undetected.

Wait, WHO finds that less than credible? You two?

That’s right it’s these two guys who want more testing and that sounds like it could be a legitimate request. There should be no limit to the lengths to which we’ll go for consumer safety.

But why are these the guys calling for it? Why now? Oh…here it is:

Realistic tests of the Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey online-poker regulations should be conducted. But David Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, did not even respond to a letter we sent offering to stress-test New Jersey’s real-money poker websites.

That’s right folks. They want the job. The Op-Ed, no matter how legit a claim in wanting consumer safety, is really them calling out the fact that they offered to do the job – probably for money, right? – in an open letter and were snubbed. So, while it’s a concern, they opted to write another open letter, this time as an Op-Ed, where they blame the industry for not choosing their security stress test solution in order to apply more pressure.

They call out David Rebuck, by name, in hopes that you will read this and get his office phones ringing asking him why he didn’t allow Byers and his team to put the industry through the paces.

Maybe they do have the best collusion detecting system on the planet. Who knows? But they definitely have a poor strategy for getting the right people to take them seriously. An open letter followed up by an accusatory Op-Ed is not likely to ingratiate themselves to those in charge of online poker security. Not many people respond well to being called out in public.

If you are interested in what Tomko and Byers are selling, check out their website: UndetectableLaundering.com