We’ll be seeing the brackets for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship soon (drawing party is tomorrow) … and with some help from KevMath, I put together a list of who’s going to be represented at the mini-tables in this made-for-TV event. The list isn’t complete — feel free to let me know if we missed any representatives that are already settled and we’ll update accordingly — but it does give an interesting snapshot of where things stand in the competitive online poker landscape-dot-net circa early 2010.

Totals:

Full Tilt – 21
PokerStars – 15
UB – 4
Victory Poker – 2
PartyPoker – 2
Doyle’s Room – 1
Bodog – 1
Betfair – 1
Expect – 1
bet365 – 1
Cake (Unabomber Poker) -1
Non-Poker (GoDaddy) -1
Unknown / Undecided / For Sale – 8

Should be interesting to see how at least a few of these unknowns end up. (Darvin Moon, for example, and Jamie Gold.) Click below for a breakdown by player …

More…

Boycotting may be too strong a word … “avoiding” could work, as could “snubbing”, as could “pissing off its own players by telling them they can’t go.”

Supposedly, highly reliable sources are saying, Full Tilt brass in Ireland are telling Full Tilt-branded American (and non-American) pros that they are not allowed to play in the Venetian Deep Stacks main event … as it is part of the newly launched NAPT, presented by PokerStars.net. What, are you guys not buying their claim that Stars-dot-net is different than Stars-dot-com? Interesting …

We hinted that something was coming on The Poker Beat a couple weeks ago. Kudos to ESPN’s @GaryWise1 for digging up the confirmation on the above. Listen below to a 5-minute excerpt of the bubbling under.
TPB2510-excerpt

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Apparently, Howard Lederer really has stepped away from calling the operational shots at Tilt, and it’s totally news to Bitar & Co. that Full Tilt pros were ever stepping foot in non-Tilt branded events, such as the PCA (PokerStars) and Aruba (UB). Sure enough, the Hollywood snub at the Sharon Osborne Trash Talk Championship of the World (at the Hard Rock) charity tournament was a sign of more serious fissures in the poker world to come.

Kinda funny … because these sites have been so worried how a new Harrah’s-branded online gaming presence would negatively affect other online sites branding opportunities at the World Series of Poker, and now their reaction to the threat seems on track to becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.

UPDATE: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4921898&name=poker

BJ disappeared to somewhere near the Arctic Circle, leaving Huff to moderate an imaginarily bloody tete-a-tete between me (representing the down-and-dirty side of poker) and G-Wise (representing “big slick”). Bernard Lee also stepped into the fray briefly to discuss his new deal with Foxwoods and offer up his services as a stand-in panelist. (Doesn’t the ESPN analyst and Boston Globe columnist know we can’t let any ole riff-raff into our shtick!)

In addition to a slew of newsbriefs and snoozing through the segment on the Durrrr Challenge, we discuss Lee’s signing with Foxwoods as well as the Forbes’ laying the online poker cards on the table/cover for all to clearly see.

The Poker Beat
2/11/10

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The Poker Beat Crew celebrates our first-year victory in Bluff Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards. Then we take on the Kathy Liebert / Daniel Negreanu confab in Mississippi where they talked about what it really takes to get a sponsorship deal in this day and age … and we speculate on where Annette Obrestad fits in to all this. Then, what it means if anything that Phil Ivey dethroned Daniel Negreanu as the all-time tournament money leader.

The Poker Beat
1/28/10

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Here are the other winners:

Favorite Poker Personality: Mike Sexton
Top TV Poker Show for 2009: High Stakes Poker
Favorite Poker Podcast: The Poker Beat on PokerRoad.com
Top Poker Blog for 2009: WickedChopsPoker.com
Favorite Poker Forum: TwoPlusTwo.com
Best Poker Twitterer: Doyle Brunson
Favorite Las Vegas Poker Room: The Bellagio
Favorite Poker Room Outside of Las Vegas: The Commerce
Favorite Online Poker Site: Full Tilt Poker
Favorite Online Poker Resource: CardRunners.com
Top Story of 2009: Phil Ivey Makes WSOP Main Event Final Table
Best Online Poker Player: Tom “durrr” Dwan
Favorite Poker Villain: Phil Hellmuth
Favorite Player of 2009: Phil Ivey

I couldn’t help but find this convo between Kathy Liebert and Daniel Negreanu incredibly interesting. Not just because they kinda-sorta call Annie Duke a “Hooo-ore”, but also because Pokeratizens have long dealt with @donkeybomber’s bitchings about why he doesn’t get the accolades and patch deals offered less accomplished players. With him, my usual answer is, “What have you done for me lately?” But that doesn’t necessarily apply for Kathy Liebert — who is pretty much always winning something. Instead, there’s another game out there, Negreanu suggests, that Liebert chooses not to play.

From the WPT:

NOTE: Kathy Liebert still has a standing offer to play for Team Pokerati. We don’t pay your buy-ins, but we will put a patch on your chest and clap extra loud for you.

Had to double-read this one … How is it possible that Kara Scott isn’t already in the pocket of PokerStars or Full Tilt? Or at least UB/Absolute! Oh well, like a late draft pick, PartyPoker — in yet another sign of their prepping to re-enter the American market — has added the new High Stakes Poker co-hostess to their start-from-scratch poker crew. Back in the day, PartyPoker prided itself on having no pros — save for Mike Sexton. But now it seems they’re clearly trying to build a real, competitive team of personalities like the American-friendly sites have been doing for years.

More…

Jim McManus appeared on All Things Considered the morning the November Nine was getting underway, to offer a little cultural (and presidential) history of the game, based on his new book, Cowboys Full.

Not to be a spoiler, but the closing line features a sound clip from Darvin Moon, with weekend host Guy Raz saying, “That is Darvin Moon, and he’s about as far away as you can get from poker royalty.” That is a funnier line than Raz even realizes, considering Moon’s resistance to all things sponsorship.

Raz does a follow-up the next day, just on Darvin Moon:

For more academic intellect surrounding Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, check out our favorite new older-than-25 Betfair blogger Shamus’ interview with McManus here.

And for a little low-brow historical perspective on McManus from a pre-Darvin Moon era, here’s my interview with the author of Positively Fifth Street from 2004.

(Yikes, 2004!?!)

OMG. Is that a nipple + beaver peek? While this photoshoot may juxtapose troublesomely with our “Talk to Your Kids about Poker” post … maybe not … at least not any more so than pop-culture characters in music, movies, Japanese anime, or regular-ole-TV in Europe.

Beth Shak should so have a sponsorship deal with Cougar Cruises.

It’s pretty safe to assume that Darvin Moon didn’t get the memo that complementary promotion of the NFL goes against the ways of the pay-for-play online sites. However, it is not clear if his donning of attire for his local card room came at a cost. Check it out … though I didn’t see this yesterday, he’s clearly getting some good logo placement for the Wheeling Island Casino in Wheeling, West Virginia:

click for more Darvin

We’ll see if we can’t find out what sorta deal is in place there if any, or if this is just a friendly gesture to the card room where he won his seat into the WSOP. Regardless though, it does make you wonder why sponsorships from the likes of The Venetian, Caesar’s, Bellagio, and other B&M card rooms have yet to come in play.

Beyond being the alligator on Darvin Moon’s Izod, here’s what we do know about the place, via the ThePokerAtlas:

Great Room
Wheeling Island
Wheeling, West Virginia
by fiftyouts

Even though this room has only 20 some tables it is very nice. Great staff and friendly folks. This is a “MUST PLAY” room if you’re in the area. The casino is upscale (you might think you’re in Vegas) with good action. This is the ‘Best Kept Secret’ of West Virginia !!!

photos: IMPD for WSOP.com

No new sponsors added to the WSOP in the November Nine interim … save for AMC-The Prisoner on Steve Begleiter.

(We did, however, get a free packet of beef jerky upon entering the building.)

Saw this truck parked downtown (next to Binion’s) this weekend. And not only did it finally teach me the proper/awkward way to spell and punctuate “Jack Link’s” Beef Jerky … but also it made me laugh seeing that the title sponsor of the 2009 WSOP is also a major sponsor of Snack Man!

(Seriously, how have JLBJ not chosen Darvin Moon to be “their guy” at the final table?)

ESPN had a little tele-press conference about the upcoming coverage of the WSOP November Nine. ESPN’s chief Flack George McNeilly moderated the call, and on it taking questions were Norman Chad, Lon McEachorn and Doug White, ESPN’s Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions.

(Jeffrey Pollack bowed out with regrets, apparently claiming “tummy-ache”/swine flu.)

For a little preview of what’s in store — from the perspective of storylines, production, and a wee-bit of Darvin Moon sponsorship business …

ESPN 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table Media Cattle Conference Call
Oct 29 2009
McNeilly, McEachern, Chad, White, et al.

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download

SPOILER ALERT: More heads-up coverage, table/stage a bit closer to the crowd, welcome to the show ESPN Inside Deal, and play along online at ESPN.com. Go Phil Ivey or Darvin Moon, and really any of the other guys, too! Akenhead is kinda a funny last name. Presented by Jack’s Links Beef Jerky, yum. Let’s dance.

That’s not really the point of this video, but hey, when Lacey Jones talks for 15 seconds about the business of getting naked, people listen.*

The Absolute Poker/Zizzazz girl’s latest spokesmodel gig is with Ksino.com (a gambling-themed clothing line by the people who helped set standards for douchebag- club-culture fashion with Caffeine).

The vid gives a little behind-the-scenes peek at her signing the deal, and then follows her as she hits the streets of Manhattan, where she runs across at least one New York City underground player who offers a glimpse of how the games work there. She also explains how above-ground casinos handle the shark-whale relationship, and eventually starts dressing dudes she meets on the streets … which is kinda like undressing them, but not quite. Special appearance by Spongebob Squarepants.

* listening props: @AlCantHang

For a guy who’s not interested in getting press nor a sponsorship from an online poker site or anyone else … November Nine chipleader Darvin Moon sure did get some good ink this weekend, with a major feature in the Sunday Washington Post. Not bad for a guy who was living in a trailer at the foot of Backbone Mountain (before receiving his 9th place money and replacing it with a new modular home).

My favorite excerpt:

Moon started playing poker after giving up softball because, he says, “I got fat.” … Of course, in the slovenly melting pot of the poker room, having a half-watermelon for a gut doesn’t stand out, particularly not at the World Series, where players have been known to show up wearing animal costumes or dressed as Roman emperors.

LOL, “slovenly melting pot” … It’s funny because it’s true! fair description?

BTW, check out the comments on this piece … you’ll see at least a few WaPo readers question why they should even give a flip about this story.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but wonder if Moon isn’t a matter of weak-means-strong … both on the table and off. (I guess that’s one of the things we’ll be looking to find out at the final table, and the lead-up to it.)

Says Card Player magazine President Jeff Shulman, who will be sitting at the final table with Moon in November, albeit with 40 million fewer chips: “Darvin tries to say he’s not that good, he’s just an amateur who got lucky and ran really well for eight days. But at some point, you can’t say you’re just lucky. He was making good decisions.”

The final teams have been picked … Annette Obrestad and Daniel Negreanu did the equivalent of a coin flip when they drew for high-card … and now action is underway.

The WSOPE’s made-for-TV special event:

Team Europe is comprised of – Annette Obrestad, Peter Eastgate, Dario Minieri, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Ilari Sahamies, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, and John Harvey – Betfair Qualifier.

Team Americas in comprised of – Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Huck Seed, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein.

Caesars Cup began at 1 pm on Friday, 25 September at the Empire Casino in London. Play is expected to last until Friday evening, when one team wins four match victories and wins poker’s ultimate bragging rights.

You can follow American coverage here. And for a European perspective, our friends at Betfair have it here.

Aww, sad for Annette_15: The European captain is the only player without a sponsorship patch, and it’s her site’s event!

Click below for a closer look at the trophy that Fake Phil Ivey is just dying to win. Says Fake Phil: “Winning this will be the pinnacle of my career. My patriotism is on the line. I’m doing it for America. I’m doing it for Barack Obama … oh and Jesus, of course, but I’m always doing it for Jesus. Big ups!”

More…

“Mark my words,” he says.

Phil Hellmuth — fresh off the announcement of his coaching relationship with Harrah’s-hater Jeff Shulman and apparently still on tilt about having to pay for his own room at the WSOP this summer — appeared on the Hardcore Poker Show today (on the internet and Sirius 98) to reveal a Glenn-Beckish unease amongst some big-time pros about the WSOP’s intent to launch its own online poker site … and hints that Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Ultimate Bet might be talking about colluding cooperating to start their own WSOP alternative … a move he suggests could make the WSOP “worth nothing”.

Phil Hellmuth on Hardcore Sports Radio – excerpts
Sep 23 2009

“There’s a huge battle brewing …”

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Find the whole interview here.

In addition to the warning, Hellmuth calls out Harrah’s for “not giving any of [money] back to the players” and takes a pop at Jeffrey Pollack for not reassuring him that everything is gonna to be alright; but it seems, without naming names, that his fear and vitriol is really directed at Mitch Garber — FTP, Stars, and UB’s old rival at PartyPoker, who’s never really played nice with any of them before.

My question: How did UB outplay Doyle’s Room for third position in the unofficial alliance of American-friendly online poker rooms?

Didn’t really see this one coming, but Joe Sebok explained in great detail why he made the decision to join the UltimateBet team. His latest blog post on PokerRoad starts with his skepticism about joining UB when he was asked on previous occasions, and it ends with the reasons he not only agreed to be a sponsored player but a consultant for the company in charge of media and operations.

The stipulation for joining the team came with wanting to ensure that the company moves forward – away from the scandal – in a positive direction and maintains a spotlessly clean reputation and record. Feeling responsible to the poker community that is part of PokerRoad, he wanted to be sure that he will represent a company that he believes in and one that the poker world can again trust. And to show that UB is willing to be as open as possible, the company has agreed to let Sebok’s first priority be the release of all hand histories associated with the scandal and the names of those paired with those accounts. Though KGC wanted no part of releasing the names of Russ Hamilton’s 31 co-conspirators, UB seems to have changed its mind on the subject.

Sebok wrote:

The first order of business with my position at Ub has been to help aid in the release of not only ALL of the hand histories from the super-user scandal, but also the accounts that were used to perpetuate the scandal itself and the actual physical names of those individuals who we believe to have been directly involved in disparate ways with the actual cheating. As most of you know, two-thirds of this has now been accomplished. Please take this as a first step in showing that things will be different at UltimateBet moving forward. I commend Paul and the management team over at Ub for being open to this release and making it happen at my insistence . They deserve all the credit in the world today in taking these first steps in ensuring that this case gets closed, and closed correctly.

While the criteria for getting, retaining, or losing online poker sponsorship deals remains a mystery in many cases, decisions are made, and we regurgitate from press releases report. Some are not surprising, like Jason Mercier signing with PokerStars, while others (like half the Full Tilt roster) are baffling. Regardless, two developments came to light today.

First, UltimateBet announced that Tiffany Michelle has been re-signed to another one-year deal with the site. In addition to again noting her deep run in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, the press release cites “accomplishments in land-based events and UltimateBet’s online poker tables.” Coincidence that the announcement came on the same day as her photo appeared on the Amazing Race website?

“I’m happy to be signing on for another year with UltimateBet and I’m eager to get back to playing in live tournaments and exclusively at their online tables,” said Tiffany Michelle. “The corporate team at UB has been so welcoming and supportive and I’m thrilled to be working with them. I can’t wait for the exciting things in store for us.”

Second, the European Poker Tour Barcelona live reporting team let it slip (after a commentator first did on the EPT Live broadcast earlier in the day) that Isabelle Mercier is no longer a PokerStars-sponsored player. Since sites usually give no reason for dropping players, much less release that information themselves, we can certainly speculate don’t know why Isabelle was dropped. The blurb from the PokerNews reporter:

Incidentally, owing to the folks on the live feed and their tendency towards verbal incontinence, it has just now become public knowledge that Isabelle Mercier is leaving Team Pokerstars. The very best of luck to Ms. Mercier in all her future poker endeavors.

A $2,250 Mega-Sat for the $50k HORSE breaks out right in front of us, where suddenly the seasoned pros are kicking it old-school — playing with jovial intensity and the hope that their real poker dreams can be bought at a bargain. It’s the poker economy, the regular economy, and backer variance in play … with satellite sponsorship deals, backing syndicates, and a question about what kinda team Russian backers will deploy. Special appearances by Michael Mizrachi, Allan Kessler, Bill Chen, et many medium-higher-rolling al.

presented by:

Tao of Pokerati at the 40th WSOP
Las Vegas, NV

Episode 11.21: HORSE Hunting
4:09

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Episode 11.22: The Satellite Economy
5:06

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I’m posting this latest Nolan interview because it touches on some familiar laments we’ve heard around these parts before. Who woulda guessed there were others who wonder how the not-best players get some of the sweeter sponsorship deals:

QUESTION: What were your expectations coming into this year’s World Series of Poker?

LISANDRO: Before it all started this year, I was very disappointed. I could not get a sponsor. I made the usual rounds to find out if anyone needed a player. I could not get a response. I spoke about it with a few of my friends. Finally I said, you know what – never mind. I am going to blast them right out of the water. I think I have done a lot in poker. But I’ve always been a little bit short of doing something really great. So, there was this doubt and maybe an excuse that I had not done quite enough to deserve (being sponsored). This year, I asked around. There was no response. No one got back to me. I’m just going to go ahead and win three (gold bracelets). I said that to a few of my closest friends. And, now I have done it.

More…

Pokerati continues to be all over the banner sponsorship deals taking shape at this year’s WSOP, particularly amongst former main event champions from the early ’90s whose banners happen to be hanging right above the press box.

Said the fabric of Jim Bechtel’s image about the surprise deal he inked with Ultimate Bet: “It’s a proud day when a guy like me gets to be on the same team as Tiffany Michelle and Hollywood Dave. I also think Annie got totally screwed on the Apprentice!”

The face of a Team Pokerati player about to lose all his chips, just in time for the cameras.

So Pat Poels (aka “Patch” Poels) heads over to the press box — a long walk from the Brasilia Room — to let me know he’s in the money in $3,000 HORSE and to get a new patch for his presumed run to the final table …

A few minutes later, I walk over that way to buy Benjo a drink to grab a picture of our latest Team Pokerati money player, and I stumbled onto a hand that looks to be getting big. Sure enough, they’re playing 7cs-hi-lo, and Poels is about to be all-in with the nut-flush and nut-low draw, and two cards to come. His opponent has trips … Pat goes blank-blank … and just like that he’s out — in 47th place, for a $5,277 payday.

Just coincidence, for sure … but it did remind me of patching up Gregg Merkow the other day. Without a doubt, it was a thrill on my end to have a player representin’ at a final table. And by all means, with 9 left, and him in 4th or 5th chip position, I think we all were thinkin’ … yeah, bracelet. Actually, when I went to give him his patch, another player at the table asked for one, too. I denied him, saying we don’t work that way — being a Pokerati preferred player is too big an honor to just give away willy-nilly. In the $2,500 NLH, that player went on to take 3rd place. Merkow …

Gregg Merkow busted out in 9th place, fewer than five minutes after posing for a picture with his new Team Pokerati patch.

UPDATE: @donkeybomber just busted out of his second tournament of the day — $10k 2-7 NL-1D. He’s still 0-fer, and has yet to go deep enough to display his ‘ati affiliation.

A patch-wearing Team Pokerati player goes almost-deep in the $1k Stimulus Special, and Pauly seizes on his own feint connection to the player by becoming an dirty-rotten-scoundrel agent to potentially exploit his winnings. That’s my take on it … Pauly sees things a bit differently, however, and contends he’s the one looking out for players, because he’s the one sweating their action and making sure they get appropriately paid for their torso real estate. All I know is that Pauly claims to now be first-time WSOP casher Cliff Fisher’s representative, and Cliff busted out of the tourney shortly after Pauly started hounding him.

Tao of Pokerati at the 40th WSOP
Las Vegas, NV

Episode 11.11: Donkey Agents
5:05

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Talk about a shocker, I know … and even though all our contacts at Full Tilt are being completely mum on the issue, that’s the word from the press box. Have a look for yourself at the Russ Hamilton main event champion banner, which just so happens to be hanging right over media row where some people may or may not occasionally leave patches lying around:

Necessary(?) FYI: JK

A slightly different take from Pauly. I intellectually don’t agree with his boisterously pessimistic outlook, yet he seems to have a read on many in the poker world’s gut … from Tao of Poker:

God bless Ty Stewart for saving the WSOP. I mean, this guy should get Salesman of the Century Award for finding someone stupid enough to shell out millions of dollars to sponsor a stagnant product in an industry with a murky future.

Pope Benedict should make Ty a saint for providing the WSOP a secure financial future and also giving me and the rest of the derelicts in the poker media an endless amount of material to work with this year. As one of my Canadian colleagues noted, “Premium meat snacks at this year’s WSOP. The jokes, they write themselves.”

I haven’t seen a deal that bad since the Ruskies signed away Alaska in 1867 to Secretary of State William Seward for $7.2 million. If that Seward’s deal never happened, Sarah Palin would be speaking Russian.

The WSOP almost slipped one by us … back in February we reported that Milwaukee’s Best Light had re-upped with the World Series, which was technically true … but our spin-detectors must have been low on batteries, because we totally woulda negatively re-spun the hedline to “WSOP Loses Top-Level Sponsorship” had we recognized that too was technically the case. Very clever, WSOP.

But now we know … the official new name of the biggest annual mass pilgrimage to the desert this side of Mecca is:

the World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky

Mmm, tasty!

Click the link and come up with your own funny pokery sayings that can fit in with Jack’s marketing message that dried beef snacks are a better alternative (from a mom’s perspective) than chips. From our perspective, we’re just happy to be able to provide you a link to a presenting sponsor that honors hirsuteness doesn’t require age verification first. (Hi kids, welcome to poker!)

Anyhow, always interesting and presumably good for the game when a new player sits down. We’ll be sure to let you know what they bring to the table. Click below for the well-crafted official details:

More…

That’s the unconfirmed word on the street … despite what seemed like a semi-big win for Team Aced/Gold at Dream Team Poker … Dream Team can probably go ahead and retire that jersey set, because the new online poker site and former WSOP main event champion supposedly have broken up.

No details yet … just third-hand information over here. But I’m hearing that either Gold said hey, time to pay up and they didn’t have the cash, or Aced said, yo, Jamie, where are all those players you promised us?

Either way … assuming that some element of the above is true, is it shocking that this didn’t last?

Ack … I hate that I wrote a hedline that sounds like something out of a PokerStars press release, but not sure how else it could turn out when Italian soccer star Christian Vieri announced his intention to play in the upcoming EPT Championship at Monte Carlo.

The deeper he goes, the better I gotta think it is for (European) poker.

Thanks, Craig, for the link!

We try not to engage in too much schadenfreude here at Pokerati, but the last post about Amarillo Slim’s efforts to restore his stature in the poker world has me contriving a poll in my head about who are/were the most undesirable people in/from poker.

Current Poker Sith Lords
Russ Hamilton — guilty til proven innocent, and with good cause.
Ernie Scherer III — he’s still innocent til proven guilty, but considering that he faces the death penalty for killing his parents to pay off poker debts — and the last 10 Google searches found on his computer were “countries that don’t extradite to the U.S.“, I think we can rest assured that he will not become a Full Tilt pro anytime soon.

Dishonorable Mentions
James McDaniel — this Dallas poker room operator was convicted of killing an ex-cop, engaged in collusion in Oklahoma (my personal observation and unproven accusation), and is currently on trial for supplying drugs to one of his railbirds who ended up OD’d-dead in a portable toilet.

Reformed Reputations
Jamie Gold
Justin Bonomo
Dutch Boyd

Jury Still Out
David Sklansky — technically crime-free, but young aspiring female players are hardly flocking to his tutelage.
Amarillo Slim — he says he’s not guilty, and his family and a lie detector now apparently agree, even though his criminal record implies otherwise.
Layne Flack — everybody seems to like Layne, but unless he’s working undercover a la Poker Brasco, hanging with Russ Hamilton surely won’t help him get sponsored by Ultimate Bet.

So who else? Really, I’m not looking for a bunch of potentially libelous name-calling … but I am looking to create a list of once and future poker bad-guys, and maybe a rating system for criminals and outcasts and offenses that may or may not attract the attention of law enforcement, but still result in scorn and contempt from fellow poker players.

For the first time in six years, Amarillo Slim’s speaking out on charges that he inappropriately buggered his granddaughter. In Part 1 of 2 of Nolan Dalla’s interview, Slim addresses specific allegations and tells us that charges have been dropped, and family relationships repaired. In Part 2, we learn more details behind what were apparently incriminating plea deals. We hear nothing, however, about his loss of sponsorship at WinStar. I’m having a hard time finding any info about that — but wasn’t he accused of inappropriate sexual advances toward a teenage employee when the casino first opened? I could be confusing that situation, of course, with the parking lot proclivities of any number of my friends.

A few things jump out at me from the pieces … 1) be sure to read Johnny Hughes’ comment about the old days with slim; 2) his declarations of octogenarian impotence — “Back when I could have sex, I don’t have it anymore – I can’t help that – I would have had it when I could. How come I waited until I was impotent to do something like this?”; and 3)

There was a site [WickedChopsPoker] which called me a pedophile. I’m considering suing them if they don’t publish a retraction because none of it is true.

Libel cases are, thankfully of course, difficult for plaintiffs to win. He’d have to show:

1. Blatant disregard for the truth … that should be no problem with WCP, they do that all the time! But it’s also arguably part of their shtick, so …
2. Financial damages … easy enough. Without a doubt, Amarillo Slim missed out on plenty of sponsorship opportunities because of his poker-boom reputation as an extra-dirty old man. But is Wicked Chops any more responsible for this than, say, 2+2 or any other blogs that reported the same things with similar verbiage?
3. Malicious intent … and this is probably what saves Wicked Chops from legal trouble — he’d have a near-impossible time proving The Entities had it in for him and therefore were specifically out to do him harm.

With all this said, am I the only one who thinks there might be more to AS’s coming clean/defending himself? The WSOP is coming up, and World Championship buy-ins can be pretty darn expensive. Being able to wear a patch promoting an online poker room would certainly help the cause, and that simply wouldn’t be/hasn’t been possible with a sexual predator stigma hanging over him.

But now with the likes of Russ Hamilton and Ernie Scherer III out there, and dudes like ZeeJustin being welcomed back at PokerStars, the timing seems right for him to remind the world that, hey, I’m endorsable, too! I’m predicting a Doyle’s Room patch … but wouldn’t it be kinda funny if he ended up as Bodog’s partyin’ grandpappy?

Team Tao of Pokerati hits Caesar’s Palace (and Bellagio) for the first open-field running (second overall) of Dream Team Poker. Have a listen to join Pauly and Dan + Shaniac on our ventures to the registration and jersey-issue cocktail party … a pregame breakfast at Cafe Bellagio (where we declare ourselves the favorites, or at least a Top 10 team) … and then back to Caesar’s for the tournament itself. Along the way we analyze the intricacies of team play, formulate an alliance against TJ Cloutier, negotiate a deal to off Jerry Yang, and show you how big bets on March Madness might be the secret antidote to tilt. Intense strategy talk and hand breakdowns to boot …

Chapter 10: Go Team

Episode 10.1: Gel Time

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Episode 10.2: Shirts vs. Skins

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Episode 10.3: Spam and Eggs

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Episode 10.4: Karma, Villanova, and Thor

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Episode 10.5: Bustout Strategy

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Episode 10.6: Better Luck Next Time

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The World Series of Poker has released the rules for their 2009 event. There’s a couple of interesting changes from last year that will be interesting to see how they are enforced.

36. Harrah’s prohibits the use of obscene or foul language in any public area of the casino at any time. Any player who uses such language or makes a foul, profane, obscene or vulgar statement, or speaks abusively or in an intimidating manner to another player, a dealer or a Tournament staff member, will be penalized. These penalties will be levied based on Rules 31, 52 and 53.

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Ahh, spring is in the air, and WSOP deals are starting to take shape. One of them that wasn’t a guarantee but has been re-solidified is Milwaukee’s Best Light, which signed a two-year deal to be the official beer that’s brewed for a man’s taste of the World Series of Poker presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light. The fear back in the summer was that Miller would scrap the MBL brand altogether (as it’s the lowest performer in the Miller family) … but poker has arguably kept the beer alive, and to some extent a little vice-versa. Either that or Miller just wanted to get the most value out of all those inflatable beer cans they purchased.

From the WSOP:

Milwaukee’s Best Light Dealt a Winning Hand as Official Beer Sponsor of the World Series of Poker®

2009 Marks Fourth Year as Official WSOP Sponsor for the “Beer That’s Brewed for a Man’s Taste”

MILWAUKEE (Feb. 25, 2009) – Milwaukee’s Best Light is betting that continuing its relationship with the popular World Series of Poker® will turn into a winning hand for the “beer that’s brewed for a man’s taste.” In 2009, Milwaukee’s Best Light will be the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which featured increases in spectators and participants in 2008, as well as a highly rated, primetime broadcast of the final table on ESPN.

“Poker continues to enjoy growth both as a leisure activity and as a televised sporting event, so we want to make sure Milwaukee’s Best Light is the beer of choice whether fans are playing or watching at home,” said Chad Dern, Milwaukee’s Best Light marketing director. “When we look at opportunities for developing alliances that make the most sense for this brand and help us connect with the right audience, the World Series of Poker is simply the best.”

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Where in the world is Jamie Gold these days? Maybe he’s looking for the plethora of jobs that aren’t available in Hollywood. Could be that he’s trying to develop “America’s Unemployed Hot Chicks.” But in the world of poker, he does have a gig. Bankroll Boost is reporting that Gold has signed on as a sponsored player at Aced Poker.

Say what?

Good for Gold in finding a gig in these tough times. Honestly, kudos to anyone who is securing work instead of being on the unfortunate end of losing it right now. Maybe we’ll hear more about Aced Poker in the near future, if the site decides to promote him (which they have yet to do – Aced has no mention of him on the pages of its site thus far). And come to think of it, Betfair wasn’t big until it signed Annette Obrestad and Sorel Mizzi, and Cake Poker still hasn’t signed any players to a roster but continues to gain popularity. Aced Poker is clearly trying to work its way into the upper echelon of sites in the American market by signing a recognizable name to promote it. Keep your eyes open for “Aced is Gold” and other oh-so-clever promotions.

It seems that David Benyamine is no longer a “red” pro at Full Tilt. According to several sites, Benyamine is still playing on FTP but no longer a paid pro. And in return, they’re possibly working on a deal with Tom Dwan. According to not-so-reliable reports the forums, FTP is clearing the way for Dwan, better known online as “drrrr,” by asking someone else who just happens to be of the same name to relinquish his online name.

Nothing wrong with wanting Dwan on the list of pros, but dropping Benyamine doesn’t exactly make sense, especially when glancing at the looooooong list of pros and finding more than a handful of unrecognizable names. For instance, take this guy.

Recognize him? Evidently, he’s Greg Mascio, plays mixed games, and has a sponsorship deal with FTP.

Just not sure who’s running this Full Tilt show. First, they call Clonie’s bluff and get slapped with a $40 million lawsuit, and no matter their thoughts on winning-this-thing odds, is any publicity really good publicity? Second, their list of pros just doesn’t make sense. Sure, their Team Full Tilt kids are top-of-the-line in most respects, but it seems strange that an in-charge someone wouldn’t look at that list of a kazillion Full Tilt Pros and scratch a few to trim it up all nice and perty. But I’m not making millions and running a successful online poker site, so what do I know? Would love to see something positive come from FTP in the coming months.

Mr. Peanut demanded too much money to call the opening cards in the air, so the WSOP got Michael Buffer instead.

As the 2008 WSOP was coming to a close a few days ago, Pauly and I couldn’t help but notice that there seemed to be no new sponsors that weren’t already around for in the summer. Disappointing, sure — but maybe it’s just the general economy?

I began to speculate that WSOP marketing honcho Tye Stewart must be in BIG trouble, dude! couldn’t have been too happy that the most celebrated deal inked between July and November was an extended contract with Johnny Chan’s All In Energy Drink. About 10 minutes later, though, Jeffrey Pollack was speaking to the crowd, giving specific thanks and extreme kudos to Stewart as the successful, hard-working architect of the The November Nine vision. And indeed, we now know the broadcast returned some admirable TV numbers; and even as players got eliminated, there were lines of people in the Rio hallways to fill the Penn & Teller Theater’s 1,200 seats. So maybe now, with something definitive to sell potential backers in the future, what looked a little disappointing while riding up and down the escalators is actually a sign of better things to come?

Below is a pictorial look at some added value for official WSOP banners (and inflatables) in action:

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PokerStars had the advantage coming to the final table today with six out of the nine players on their team: Dennis Phillips, Ivan Demidov, Peter Eastgate, Ylon Schwartz, Darus Suharto, and David “Chino” Rheem. The only three players on the Full Tilt roster were Scott Montgomery, Craig Marquis, and Kelly Kim. C’mon, math geniuses, calculate ‘dem odds.

With the elimination of Craig Marquis in ninth place, and the sudden eighth place elimination of Kelly Kim in the very next hand, Full Tilt is left to hang all of its WSOP champion hopes on Scott Montgomery.

All of the PokerStars players remain at the table… I’m notoriously bad at prop bets, but I’m thinking – work with me on this one – tomorrow’s champion might be decked out in PS gear.

After some speculation amongst poker insiders between Dan and Pauly, it seems that the bigwigs at the World Poker Tour and Full Tilt Poker were talking….just not about a buy-out. The agreement has been signed and announced to give FullTiltPoker.net the title of “exclusive educational poker sponsor” for all WPT Season 7 episodes to air on Fox Sports Net someday.

To add a little more speculation to the mix, this contractual friendship between WPT and FTP could lead to bigger and better things should the WPT Enterprises end up going private in the next few months. With the WPT having officially dropped any hopes of running its own online gaming site, with the exception of ClubWPT (that inside sources tell me is not doing well), the company could very well be entertaining the idea of partnering in a bigger way with Full Tilt in the future. Speculation only at this point…

For now, here is today’s press release:

FullTiltPoker.net is Exclusive Educational Poker Sponsor for WPT Season VII Episodes Airing on Fox Sports Net and in Mexico

LOS ANGELES, Nov 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — World Poker Tour(R) creator WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq:WPTE) and FullTiltPoker.net(TM) today announced a television sponsorship deal, aligning the leading powerhouses in televised and online poker. The deal–which is based on a unique sponsorship model for the sports and entertainment television industry–further boosts WPTE’s growing sponsorship business.

Under the agreement, FullTiltPoker.net(TM) receives title sponsorship and exclusive rights to in-show educational gaming brand integration for the 26 all-new WPT Season VII episodes scheduled to air on Fox Sports Net in the United States, as well as Season VII episodes that air in Mexico.

“We are delighted to be in partnership with FullTiltPoker.net(TM) and bring together two very strong brands with proven global reach and a loyal network of poker fans,” said Steve Lipscomb, WPTE founder, president and CEO. “With WPT’s incredible brand value and TV distribution through FSN coupled with FullTiltPoker.net’s massive online following, this partnership opens more channels to reach new fans and continue feeding the appetite for new poker content.”

FullTiltPoker.net(TM) is one of the leading online poker instruction sites, featuring Team Full Tilt – 13 world-renowned poker pros. Team Full Tilt is a select group of the world’s finest professional poker players, including Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius who have collectively won 10 WPT titles, 35 World Series of Poker bracelets and more than $80 million in career earnings. FullTiltPoker.net(TM) offers players the unique opportunity to Learn, Chat and Play with the best poker pros in the game.

The final table of the World Series of Poker is less than a month away, and the pressure is on to find sponsors to make a little more money than the $900K and the potential of more than $9 million. Yeah, life is hard.

Since the big name sponsors that they were hoping for aren’t beating down the doors of the members of the November Nine, it’s time to kick the efforts into high gear. Ylon Schwartz has proactively hired RecordWeb Communications to help with the marketing, and they issued a press release stating that sponsorship opportunities are available through eBay.

The eBay item already has one bid of $37,500 from f***2. (Would love to see what that proposed ad is…) Here is part of the page that lists what is being offered:

Ylon Schwartz is offering one lucky and smart bidder, the chance to place a 10 Square Inch patch on his arm, chest, hat or other mutually agreed upon location or a branded item to be placed on his chips or cards. Your brand will benefit from proven Nascar-style advertising as this patch or branded items will be seen by TENS OF MILLIONS of ESPN viewers…

As you can see the photos of Ylon at the poker table, his torso, head, arms, chips and cards are clearly visible to the viewer. Any time Ylon plays a hand in this event; your patch or branded item will be seen by millions of fans. Ylon is currently 5th in chips and will be in this event for a long time. The event will probably play for 15 hours more and then will be shown to a prime time viewing audience on ESPN on November 11th, 2008.

Three of the top pros in the poker biz finally got sponsorship deals. J.C. Tran, Quinn Do, and Nam Le are all accomplished pros recently signed deals to promote the Asian Poker Tour. Yep, they’re Asian. Makes sense, right?

Here’s what gets my goat (no jokes about my goat, please). J.C., Nam, and Quinn have consistently proven their skills at the tables. Not only are they successful on the tournament circuit (Tran with nearly $7 million in winnings, Le with close to $5 million, and Do closing in on $2 million), but they are some of the most respectful gentlemen at the tables. They all carry themselves with a great deal of class and dignity, and they are known to be financially responsible, generous with friends, and kind to others. Who wouldn’t want any one of these guys representing their brand at poker tournaments all over the world?

Evidently, not PokerStars, Full Tilt, Doyles Room, Bodog, or any of the other major online poker sites. For the love of sponsorship deals, J.C. Tran even won the 2006 PokerStars WCOOP main event! Granted, I am not privy to behind-the-scenes information with these guys, and I cannot swear that they have not been offered deals. However, J.C. Tran has gone on the record to say that it is odd that Asian women get inked by online poker sites – Liz Lieu, Evelyn Ng, JJ Liu, to name a few – but Asian men quite often get left out of the mix.

Whether or not there is outright prejudice affecting these decisions is pure speculation. And it is satisfying to know that J.C., Nam, and Quinn have secured deals through the Asian Poker Tour, especially with the predicted growth of poker in the Asian markets. So, to the online sites who haven’t signed these guys, what’s the problem? And to the guys themselves, congrats, safe travels to the next APT stop in Seoul, and much success to you in the future.

As BJ Nemeth’s earlier entry mentions, there’s been a few Olympians who’ve played at the World Series of Poker. But none of them would top the credentials of Michael Phelps (from the NY Times:)

An avid cards player, Phelps said it would be cool to participate in the World Series of Poker. “My game is a little off right now,” he said, “so I’ll have to start improving it a little bit.”

A few weeks back, a bunch of us got a press release from PokerStars boasting that six of The November Nine were Team PokerStars players. Now don’t get me wrong — I’ve got lots of friends at PokerStars and generally like what they do. But c’mon, who ya tryin’ to fool? Those guys aren’t really PokerStars players — at least not in the way Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer were!

So while I’m happy to share the official word on the Stars-heavy WSOP main event final table (even though none only one of their 2,000 true online qualifiers made it), I couldn’t help but try to get a little more info first on what goes into buying a temporary online team in an effort to increase the odds that the buyers will indeed get to be the site that crowns the next American (or non-American) Poker Idol:

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Justin Shronk is also disappointed in Tiffany Michelle’s decision to sign with UB, and he made no bones about his feelings in an open, thoughtful letter to her on the PokerRoad website. In his Pokerazzi column dated today, he notes that he wants the best for his friend but believes this sponsorship deal is not it, and he hopes she goes the way of Eric “Rizen” Lynch and detaches herself from the UB brand.

Shronk’s letter in full is reprinted here:

BACKGROUND: I worked with Tiffany Michelle as Multimedia Manager for PokerNews from February to October of ‘07. Tiffany was our first on-camera hostess at the LAPC in February ‘07 and we worked together everyday at the ‘07 WSOP. I still consider her a good friend and respected colleague.

Tiff,

As is everyone that knows you, I’m really proud of what you did in the recent WSOP Main Event – and not just for placing 17th, someone does that every year. I took genuine joy in watching the poise with which you handled yourself every single day of the tournament. Maybe it was the lack of testosterone, or maybe it was your experience in front of cameras and crowds, but it’s not often you see a first-timer displaying more class than a lot of the players who’ve been there before.

That being said, as proud and happy as I’ve been for you, I’ve been equally disappointed with some of your choices – namely your association with Ultimate Bet. At this point, no one needs the details of the cheating scandal spelled out, and you probably know more about it than I do. This letter isn’t meant as an indictment of Ultimate Bet as a company – for that you can read the news releases or forums. Ultimate Bet is presumably now as clean as any other site, but it’s the past behavior of their owners that makes your decision such a terrible one. The current owners of Ultimate Bet are accused of dishonest and borderline criminal activity – and by representing the site you’re helping these same people make money.

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Team UB: These sponsored players proudly wear the Ultimate Bet logo and/or the emblem of Satan.

I meant to put this picture up (or at least its predecessor) about 10 months ago to make fun of Tom, who was being told, sorry, there just aren’t any sponsorship deals out there for fat, balding middle-aged white American pros. So either someone was lying to Tom and/or he’s simply no Shawn Rice, because clearly Ultimate Bet wasn’t shying away from a certain marketably questionable ilk. Anyhow, the guys pictured here are the colonels in the “UB Army” Tiffany Michelle just joined. They are all supposedly really nice guys and seem happy to help market Ultimate Bet in exchange for buy-ins and free hats. Is that so bad?

In fact, I had forgotten … they even added another bald white guy to their mix recently — Scott Ian, the guitarist for Anthrax! Dude, Anthrax rocks! The guy Ian replaced in the pic (via Photoshop, apparently) was Jim Worth (aka KrazyKanuck). Not sure if Worth left the team on his own accord/principles, a la Eric Lynch (Rizen) or if he just couldn’t keep up with the “gripping lifestyles” (UB’s phrase, not mine) of Rice, Mark Kroon (P0kerH0), and Gary DeBernardi (Debo34). But regardless, you’ll notice Ian isn’t wearing any Ultimate Bet logotry in this official UB pic, but he is proudly displaying a Satanic pentagram from what we can only assume was a previous long-term patch deal with the devil.

I really don’t know where I stand on this — especially without knowing the backing details and long-term intangibles — nor whether or not it’s even my position to have a stance when I think just about everyone is stupid, lame, and corrupt for working for The Man!. So I have put it to the readers … new unscientific poll on the right, asking how you would handle a potential business relationship with and de facto endorsement of an ethically challenged poker enterprise.

The official announcement came on July 29, but the post has been delayed as I decided how or if to mention it.

After Tiffany Michelle’s impressive run in the 2008 WSOP main event and 17th place finish, she has been offered a sponsorship deal by UltimateBet. She is now part of the site’s roster of pros, which includes Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, and James “POKERPRO33” Campbell.

For Tiffany’s poker career, this may seem like a positive step, as she will be able to play more poker – live and online, cash games and tournaments. She will have an income regardless of her poker results, which will do well to make up for the lack of future income from PokerNews. After having previously defended her decision to wear the UB patch on PokerRoad Radio because she felt that the site treated her well during the main event, this announcement came as no surprise.

Even so, the Tiffany Michelle/UB partnership did come as a disappointment to many.
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Posted this link in a comment down below, but really it deserves a little more pimpage … as this write-up by Change100 provides one of the best factual recounts and opinionated analyses of the whole Tiffany Michelle final table sponsorship saga. She tells a compelling story of girl-power gone awry, and the deeper Tiffany got, the more in over her head her agent may have gotten … all while having to make decisions affected by the emerging corruption of Ultimate Bet and escalating high-pressure tactics from frothing sponsorship-brokering wolves trying to mount her in the midst of her WSOP heater.

Jeffrey Lisandro, one of Tiffany’s backers, had been hovering around the Amazon Room all day on Day 6. The other, PokerNews owner Tony G., had already left Las Vegas several days prior. The UB scandal was blowing up, and so was Tiffany’s chip count. Personally, I was concentrated on the task at hand– reporting the tournament– but couldn’t help but notice all the little side conversations that were taking place in the empty back quadrant of the room, which, until only 48 hours prior, had been a sea of poker tables. PokerNews people and Tiffany’s agent, Katie Lindsay. PokerNews people and other agents. And Lisandro himself, putting his arm around Lindsay and walking off with her to have a private discussion. The war over Tiffany Michelle was in full swing as she sat 100 yards away, propped up on her knees, playing in the biggest game of her life.

I spent 8 years in the Hollywood machine and dealt with a lot of agents in my time. They are some of the most ruthless, yet sickeningly hardworking people you will ever meet. The client’s interest is your interest, and it is the only interest. Everyone else can go fuck themselves. Agents can piss people off and get away with it because they hold the keys to the castle by controlling the talent. Talent is the only real currency in Hollywood. Producers, financiers, studio executives, marketing divisions, publicists? Without the talent what do they have?

While I’m not so sure I agree with pinning so much blame on Katie Lindsay from Suited Connections — full disclosure: she’s a personal friend of California Jen’s, and I always saw her as one of the “nice ones” — Change has a little more understanding of how a cutthroat television world can work (a world that is new to poker even though we’ve been on TV for 5+ years) and has me wondering if Tiffany Michelle weren’t, at least indirectly, an unforeseen casualty of a delayed final table that noticeably upped the television stakes as we got closer and closer to The November Nine.

Oh, one other interesting thing … check out Change’s post right before this one. You’ll notice on that picture of Tiffany Michelle, posted before anyone knew of the brewing UB/PokerNews friction … the PokerNews logo is the most prominently displayed, even after she did her deal with Ultimate Bet.

Some numbers coming in over the Batpod … about deals surrounding the November Nine as they made their way to the main event final table:

According to super-duper-secret well-connected, highly reliable inside sources some guy in Colorado, Peter Eastgate, the 22-year-old from Odense, Denmark, currently sitting 4th in chips was originally a Ladbrokes qualifier. Upon his making the final 72, Ladbrokes offered him $1 million to patch up. Full Tilt then came over the top with $1.75 million, and in the end, PokerStars took it down for $2 million.

(NOTE: What I’m not sure of are any “contingencies” in these deals — whether that’s $X million up front even if you finish 71st, or $Ythousand right now, and $Z million if you make the final table.)

The scandal seems to be at an end, at least as far as official statements go. PokerNews took the first shot and Tiffany Michelle took the last, or so it seems, but somewhere in the middle, PokerNews’ big daddy, Tony G, had his say as well. He recounted the situation as he remembered it and ended by saying, “It’s over.” Let’s assume he doesn’t mean that in the I know people and you’ve screwed me for the last time sense, but in the My contract wasn’t as detailed as I thought and I can’t sue you sense.

Just so we’re comprehensive in our coverage, here is Tony G’s full statement, as taken from his blog:

While the game of poker is normally considered to be played across the green felt with chips in hand, the game encompasses a whole world of deals, situations, complexities, and extremes that are never placed in view on the felt. I am deeply distressed over a situation that I feel did not need to happen and it goes against the integrity and trust that I placed in someone that I considered to be a friend and an employee at PokerNews.com and I need to air the events to help myself deal with what has just happened.

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The recent brouhaha involving Tiffany Michelle, her agent, PokerNews, and UltimateBet has become a bit less one-sided clearer with the release of an official statement from Tiffany Michelle.

PokerNews released an official slam statement on its popular website – incidentally, the official provider of World Series of Poker live updates – just as the WSOP main event was winding down on Day 7 and while every poker fan and his/her mother was checking the site for updates. The public release of the scandal that had exploded behind closed doors (and in front of the press box in the Amazon Room) was timed for prime readership and seemingly to take the wind out of the sails of Tiffany, who had just finished 17th in the main event for $334,534. The next few days in Tiffany’s life were undoubtedly a mix of celebration and concern, and she posted her response today on MySpace. (Again, stop laughing. Everyone doesn’t have access to official PR companies… Wait a minute… Never mind, that’s beside the point.)

Tiffany’s statement indicates that her contract with PokerNews was loosely written and did not indicate that she was unable to choose her own online sponsorship deal. Seriously, UltimateBet??? She discusses the “slanderous accusations and inaccurate information” and explains her actions. Here is the statement in full:

Tiffany Michelle Official Statement
Thursday, July 17, 2008

It is with great sadness that I’ve had to see my accomplishment of finishing 17th in the WSOP Main Event clouded by slanderous accusations and inaccurate information. I have been humbled by the overwhelming support from friends, fans and the media and for their sake as well as mine I feel as if I must respond and bring clarity to the situation.

There is no denying the positive press and exposure I brought Pokernews by wearing their logo and being their representative during the 2008 World Series of Poker main event. After such a successful series, I am greatly dismayed by Pokernews’ subsequent actions. No one has ever questioned my integrity before this and I am so distressed that Pokernews is using their powerful public forum to spin such a negative recounting of the facts of what occurred during the final two days of the main event.

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