It was pretty much confirmed by everyone but Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, but now the CBS website lists the contestants for the upcoming broadcast of the Amazing Race, and they’re on it. The Associated Press provided a quote from Ho:

“It’s obviously different from competition at the poker table,” said Ho, who came in 11th place at this year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. “It’s outdoorsy. This is physical and mental, but we will definitely be applying whatever skills we have as gamers to this competition and push ourselves in different ways that we’re not used to doing.”

Their combined bio can be found on the CBS website and describes them as well-traveled, extremely competitive, strong-minded, and savvy. (Funny – but not really – that they’re described by most poker media as simply “hot.”) Despite my usual ban on reality television, I’ll set the DVR to see how far the ladies make it. The premiere is Sunday, September 27.

Phil Gordon has had his ups and downs playing poker in recent years, but he was able to finally win in court. Courthousenews.com reports that Tony DeRosa-Grund, lost an appeal to pay $600,000 to Gordon for lining up fellow pros to play in a scheduled series of poker tournaments against amateur players on CBS called Projo Poker.

Apparently DeRosa-Grund wouldn’t have made an offer to Gordon if he knew that he was a shareholder in Full Tilt Poker, because Gordon had only mentioned he was a consultant. Gordon eventually won summary judgment in January 2008. DeRosa-Grund appealed the decision, saying that the disclosure of Gordon’s ownership in FTP could not have been discovered in time for a new trial. He also said that he found the information about the ownership details from a different 2008 lawsuit filed by a former business partner of Gordon’s. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote stated that lawsuit had no bearing on this case and upheld the judgment, while declining to award Gordon no additional monetary sanctions.

Nat Arem sure has sources. He recently received a forward of an inter-company memo from Tokwiro Enterprises COO Paul Leggett regarding the upcoming 60 Minutes story. Leggett has reason to believe that there will be a bias against Tokwiro and its companies, going further to say that online poker will emerge with a bad reputation. Thus, they did not appear on camera for interviews. (A little like saying that the jury has a bias, the judge is going to declare me guilty, so why defend myself?)

Leggett wrote:

“We have every reason to believe that the 60 Minutes producers are intent on portraying the online poker industry and our companies in a negative light, and we do not expect that the program will be either fair or balanced.

Because of 60 Minutes’ apparent bias against Tokwiro and online poker, we have decided not to appear on camera. We have, however, had many conversations with the program’s producers. We provided them with extensive background materials and documents, and we answered questions on-the-record, but off-camera. Despite all this, it is not likely that our views will be properly represented. Therefore, it is important that all of our staff know the following facts about our company:”

The remainder of the memo states some facts about Tokwiro Enterprises and the cheating scandals, most of which were released to the public in UltimateBet, Absolute Poker, or Kahnawake Gaming Commission press releases or statements.

The tone of the memo and words chosen by Leggett indicate that the 60 Minutes piece could portray online poker in a bad light. In fact, what Leggett fears is that Tokwiro and its online poker entities will look bad. Well, that is entirely possible because the way in which the scandals were handled was bad, and if that comes out in the reporting, who is really at fault, especially when the company in question refuses to go on camera with a statement and show otherwise? And in truth, what is said about AP, UB, and Tokwiro really doesn’t reflect on the entire online poker world, and there still remains some hope that the reporters for 60 Minutes and the Washington Post will make that clear distinction.

It seems that the World Series of Golf has come and gone. A car salesman from Michigan, Andrew “AJ” Johnson, won the $250,000 first prize, and Erick Lindgren came in second place for $60,000. Also in the final round was Allen Cunningham. (Is there anything that guy can’t do?)

The Full Tilt-sponsored 80-person event took place at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort and concluded on May 15. The WSOG is scheduled to air on CBS Sports on June 28 and 29.

Can I get a golf clap?

So the WSOG has been a really cool event … it grew this year from 60 players to 80 players, probably only 30 of whom were poker players. I hope it continues to grow to the point that poker has only a minor connection to it … because when they can get the Charles Barkleys and Michael Jordans competing in it, then I gotta think it would be a huge TVmajig. (Currently it will be airing on CBS as a time-buy, paid for primarily by Full Tilt.)

Here’s an article about the WSOG in USA Today. What I find most fascinating are the comments it has gotten — comments not by staunchly pro- or anti-poker people … but by run-o-the-mill Americans who have a slight interest in reading a not-so-prominent article about a quirky variant of golf. They give a lot of insight into the challenges that poker faces in the future (on TV and otherwise):

More…

Brace yourselves – celebrities have not been playing poker and talking about it lately. The gossip columns are too busy watching Brittany Spears flirt with life/career/family disaster to focus on who’s been playing poker. Priorities, people!

Speaking of priorities, the writers’ strike is continuing, and many TV show productions have already shut down. Though there are secret talks rumored to be happening, no clear end is in sight. To find out more about the strike, check out United Hollywood. Keep in mind that without the writers, you’ll get more shows like Dancing With the Stars. Think about that.

The biggest news of late has been the elimination of Jean-Robert Bellande from Survivor: China on CBS. He was eliminated in ninth place but wasn’t put on a plane back to U.S. soil right away; he remains on the show as a part of the jury that will ultimately vote to award one person the $1 million prize. In his exit interview, he says he realized that he may have pushed all-in too early, but he was playing to win. (Writer’s note: Now that Jean-Robert is gone, go James!)

For those who watched it, what did you think of Bellande’s play, aside from the random corny poker references?

Some of you may remember Wil Wheaton from Star Trek: The Next Generation – or even further back from the film Stand By Me, but he has also played a role in poker over the past few years – playing and blogging. Aside from still being active in various TV shows and films, he has also self-published a book called “The Happiest Days of Our Lives.” Reviews are good, and the hardcover was just released with 300 autographed copies available. Get ‘em while you can!

In other news, Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon are still married. We all know it can’t last long, so the tabloids (and me) are awaiting the filing of divorce papers. Yes, that’s an assumption, and I’m a notoriously bad prop bettor, but does anyone really want to challenge me on this?