According to US Poker, Paul Leggett (pictured), the former COO of Tokwiro Enterprises, is leaving Amaya Gaming. You’ll recall that on Friday, Amaya was one of a handful of companies that received transactional waivers to operate internet gambling sites in New Jersey in advance of the market officially opening up on November 26.

US Poker claimed it received an e-mail from Amaya CEO David Baazov, who said in part, “Paul is a consummate professional and has done an incredible job at Amaya. He has led the integration of the online businesses, developed our strategies for technology and product, signed key deals, and has put our online business on the path forward to greater things. He will be sorely missed… I would like to thank Paul for his dedication to Amaya and we wish him all the success with his future endeavors.”

His departure was reportedly “effective immediately.”

Tokwiro was the parent company of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, and Leggett was at the helm during the cheating investigation that permeated the sister sites. He resurfaced at Amaya Gaming as the company’s Head of Online in April of this year, according to eGaming Review. Amaya is the parent company of the Ongame Network.

You probably know that players on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have not been refunded their account balances and the sites are reportedly in liquidation. When and if players will see any of their online bankrolls back remains to be seen. Poker Players Alliance Vice President of Player Relations Rich TheEngineerMuny recently announced the possibility of using money set aside for Full Tilt Poker’s U.S. players to repay UB and Absolute customers. Read more.

As for why Leggett would leave Amaya, US Poker claimed, “A source inside the company believed that Leggett’s departure was made voluntarily and on good terms. The move was apparently intended to help Amaya receive licensing as quickly as possible, as Leggett’s involvement in online gaming post-UIGEA could potentially delay the process.”

The reaction from the PocketFives community to Leggett taking on a leadership role at Amaya was largely unsettling. One PocketFiver from Costa Rica wrote at the time, “Too bad. I liked Ongame a year ago. Just withdrew my balance.” Another lamented, “This is mind-blowing, absurd, disappointing, etc. Maybe they’ll hire Leggett’s brother and Lederer to their Board next.”

We’ll have more information on this story as it develops.

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