BY TOM SOMACH

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has begun a probe into allegations of cheating at online poker room Absolute Poker (www.absolutepoker.com.)

The poker room is run by the Kahnawake Indian tribe from its reservation outside Montreal, Canada.

Commission chairman David Montour said in a statement Wednesday that the commission has appointed an Australian consulting firm, Gaming Associates, to conduct an audit of the site.

“The audit will not be restricted to examining theories circulating in Internet chat rooms and forums,” Montour said in the statement.

“It is essential that all online gaming and wagering is conducted in a fair and honest manner where customers are protected,” he said.

“It is important that we, as a commission, act on findings and not allegations alone.”

Speculation, fueled by gossip, rumors and innuendo on poker chat rooms and posting forums, has been rampant for weeks that at least one poker player at Absolute Poker has been cheating.

It was alleged that the player, judging by his play, knew the hole cards of his opponents and, betting accordingly, was able to win large sums of money.

Some media outlets, including the New York Times, have reported that the cheating player is none other than Scott Tom, one of the co-owners of Absolute Poker.

By examining hand histories and game action of the suspected cheater, it may be possible to definitively determine whether cheating has occurred, Montour said.

Online poker players have long suspected that some online poker games are rigged, but until now, no absolute proof has surfaced.

If cheating at Absolute Poker is determined to have occurred, it will be a crippling blow to the entire online poker industry, which is already on shaky ground due to goverment attempts in the U.S. and elsewhere to shut down all online gambling.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)