It apparently was just a one-time deal, but still … I’ve never played for the Washington Generals, have you played for the Washington Generals? Pretty cool … as Team Tiffany and Maria continue on their 15-minutes-of-farewell tour, throwing themselves into as many non-poker spots as possible until the next season of The Amazing Race forces the Harlem Globetrotters’ opponents to retire their numbers:

[via Wicked Chops]

Watch Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Show The Globetrotters How To Play Basketball on RawVegas.tv

When the mainstream media attempts to interview poker players, it’s more likely than not there will be a moment where the poker enthusiast cringes. This interview with Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto and Tiffany Michelle is nearly 5 minutes of those moments:

@AllenKessler got a little peeved at @Pokerati last week for “spoiling” The Amazing Race. Whatever … This week, @Alexpokerguy blew it for me — I had completely forgotten about the show, or at least that it was Sunday. Asshole. Bummer, but hey, such is life when anyone has the ability to condense an hour-long TV show into 140 characters or less.

In case you did miss the show, you can catch episode 5 in its entirety here.

All we’ll tell you about it is that the Racers travel to Dubai, where eight teams are reduced to seven. Semi-spoiled: Tiffany being Tiffany + Maria driving => karmically fitting results.

And for something a little extra, here’s @TiffnyMichelle discovering that not all Arabs are terrorists:

I watched the season premiere of The Amazing Race last night … and I gotta say, I’m already hooked on the show, but probably for all the wrong reasons.

Guilty pleasure, I suppose. As a man who has misread my own standing and floundered prolifically before, I’m finding it oh-so-enjoyable — cringe-tickley, I’d say — to watch two hot(ish) poker girls (one of whom I kinda-sorta know personally) gloriously stumble for my amusement. Seriously, mocking each other’s failures and belittling successes is the foundation of some of my strongest, most enduring friendships! I think it’s how guys show love.

In the premiere episode of The Amazing Race, we see Tiffany and Maria start out in 1st, drop down to last, and rebound to finish in 7th. In the process they paint themselves (and poker pros) in a less than favorable light.

According to the E! Online blog:

The first team to put a bitter taste in our mouths, however, are unendearing professional poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, who incurred a two-hour penalty after losing two of their group. The shady duo rival Johnny Fairplay’s dead-grandma fib by telling teammates they work as counselors for a nonprofit organization helping homeless youth…a great lie, if you can keep it up for more than an hour. They couldn’t—when recognized at the airport by a poker fan, they basked in his adulation…within earshot of their amazed competitors. The duo also shared another “savvy” strategy: flirting with cute brothers Sam and Dan McMillen. Both of whom are gay—and playing their cards right by flirting right back with the femmes fatales.

Click below for more highlights, lowlights, and poker-focussed observations from episode 1:

More…

Here’s their preview video … gotta say, call me a homer, but I’m already a fan. Go purple!

I think you can see from this who is going to be the domineering personality … and I think you can tell they will probably go far. And you haters commenters can say all you want — LOL on their claims of $1 million in tournament winnings — but one of the things I like about reality TV is the risk the participants are willing to take. It’s not a new phenomenon … we know how it works, how the producers need to create storylines, and to do that they need characters. They need nice guys, meatheads, bitches, sluts, all that good stuff. And if you give them repeated indication of any distinct characteristic, they will edit away to make that seem like that’s all you’re about. And for the most part your true colors show.

Take Annie Duke on Celebrity Apprentice, for example. Extremely divisive character. Half the people thought she was a super-smart, savvy woman. The other half saw her as a total control-freakish bitch. Yep, no offense to Annie, but that pretty much lines up with all I have heard about her over the years within the poker world, and at least two of the above descriptors line up with my own personal observations and conclusions.

So while reality stars often claim they are misrepresented, frankly, in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, some might contend that you actually do get to see the real person even better when all the superfluous “personality” is stripped away and left on the cutting room floor. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to getting to see and know “Maria and Tiffany” — whom I suspect will come off a little different but not too much so from the Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho we already know.

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.

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.

In case you missed it (I did) here is some Pokernews video from the first of about a dozen big WSOP main event run-up parties, this one hosted by Ultimate Bet at Studio 54 in the MGM.

So much sayable about this, lol … and we can use the phrase “lol” because twitter comes into play. More Phil Hellmuth making a mockery of a few orbits before being pulled from the 2-7 Triple Draw … Tiffany Michelle talking about experimenting with UB and her breasts … Layne Flack being Layne Flack … Shawn Rice and Debo sitting … and just about everything else you might expect from a celebration of, by, and for “anyone who is anyone” in the UB poker world:

Oops, Pauly goes out of town and the show turns to pot … can you say irony? Got a couple of episode posts out of order, so catch up with what you missed as we explore the differences between a “donkament” and a big buy-in “small field” event — with a touchy-feely cameo appearance by Tiffany Michelle and a passby from a Wicked Chops sub-entity. Meanwhile, in the $40k, it’s about old dogs vs. new dogs and online player backing pools greg raymer chris moneymaker paris hilton boobs naked.

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

Episode 11.12: Donkey Shows
2:01

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Episode 11.13: Big Game Jack
3:56

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The $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special is nearing its final table as they’re down to 13 players and may stop for the day when they reach their final table. Jeff Oakes is the current chip leader with 2,400,000. Danny Fuhs is currently 2nd. Dan Heimiller and Steve Sung are other notables who are looking to make the final table, which will either take place later tonight or Wednesday at 2pm, as the scheduled streaming of the final table has been postponed.

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event is working their way down to its final table tonight. They currently have 27 players remaining as they went on their dinner break. Jonathan Tare will have the chip lead when the players return, Greg Pappas is currently in 2nd, with day 1 chip leader Jason Mercier is 3rd in chips. Former bracelet winners Dario Alioto, Eric Froehlich and An Tran are some of the notables making up the final three tables.

The $10,000 7-Card Stud World Championship has 45 players remaining while they play down to their final table. The current leader is Fu Wong, followed by Greg “FBT” Mueller, Max Pescatori, Nick Frangos, Hoyt Corkins and Cory Zeidman. A recent elimination was Day 1 chip leader David Oppenheim, along with Phil Ivey, Joe Cassidy and Bruno Fitoussi being day 2 casualties, falling far short of the money that will be reached when 16 players remain.

The $1,500 NL Holdem event got underway today as a field of 2,791 entrants flooded the tournament area, causing delays in the starts of several other events. Returning on the dinner break will be 889 players, with the current chip leader is Jonathan Little, with “Minneapolis Jim” Meehan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospelier, Tiffany Michelle and Chau Giang among the notables off to a fast start. The money will be reached when 297 players remain, with the winner taking home $666,853.

The $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw event started as 148 players took their seats, as plenty of notables round out the field, including Greg Raymer, Erick Lindgren, John Juanda, Billy Baxter, Chino Rheem, Gavin Smith and Pokerati’s own Tom Schneider as they play eight one-hour levels tonight. Follow all the tournament’s progress at www.worldseriesofpoker.com and Pokerati for DonkeyBomber and other updates.

Air Force One just landed at McCarren airport. The President is headed to Caesar’s Palace, for apparently what is a semi-controversial “junket” fundraiser for Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). We can not, however, confirm the rumor that he is in town to give the WSOP Stimulus tourney a $1 trillion overlay, nor that he plans to satellite into a Venetian Deep Stacks event.

Poker players arriving in town for the WSOP (via delayed flights) are twittering about it.

@Ali_Nejad has a pic of the motorcade.

LOL: Evelyn Ng and Erica Schoenberg just got done with their bikini photo shoot (with Tiffany Michelle) for Knockout magazine, and they’re all pissy about being stuck in traffic on the Strip — presumably unaware of why things are extra-congested on a Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: @JeffreyPollack is off to meet @BarackObama right now. Pre-emptive conclusion: good for poker!

UPDATE: President now headed to the Caesar’s Palace poker room. (Seriously.) via @Andy_Bloch.

Speaking of bikinis … there’s another poker-skin photo shoot fixin’ to go down in Vegas … reportedly Tiffany Michelle, Erica Schoenberg, and Evelyn Ng will be waxing up for a big poker-themed spread slated for a summer issue of KnockOut magazine, which is basically like Maxim Wicked Chops, only with more chicks and less poker.

Kinda unique here is the coming together of three poker patches — Ultimate Bet, Full Tilt, and Bodog — all in the same shoot.

And though I don’t know this for sure, my guess is that it’s all somehow connected to the forthcoming Knockout Poker Tour. Their inaugural event runs June 5-8 (during the WSOP) at the Hard Rock. This is not a four-day tourney, mind you, it’s a four-day “experience” … where the tournament is a $5,000 + 4,000 or 5,000, your choice depending on what level of VIP perks you want … private jets, limos, penthouse suites, VIP club seating, three parties, Rehab cabanas, etc. … and apparently surrounded the whole time by KnockOut hotties, who will happily let you take pictures with your hand on their butts. Oh, and the champion gets a bracelet, too.

Should be an interesting event, to say the least. And should you decide to forgo the $5k NLH WSOP tournament going on the same day (which pays out about 91 94 percent) in favor of the KOP event (paying out just 50 percent, but guaranteeing a higher booze-and-tail return) and actually win:

Private security will be on-call to fend off any over-zealous club girls who want a piece of the Knockout Poker Tournament Champ. Remember players, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. That includes the bevy of girls throwing themselves at your feet and the collection of email addresses and phone numbers you accumulated over the weekend.

I’m not sure what to make of this video … I think I like it, but I also like documentaries about insects and the Steve Wilkos Show … and if Tao of Pokerati can talk to hookers with the likes of Benjo and Professional Keno Player Neil Fontenot, then why can’t Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho walk the streets of San Jose in pursuit of hockey tickets, which they acquire with assistance from Layne Flack and Rick Fuller? Would dismiss it as just a personal non-pokery vid (and not worth posting) but they did add music to the background:

Just gettin’ ready to go “en studio” to record the next episode of The Poker Beat. This should be a good one … topics open for discussion between me, BJ, Gary, Stapleton, and Parvis (under the Scott Huff whip) will include:

– Russ Hamilton and Layne Flack on RawVegas.tv
– The Bluff Magazine Online Challenge (complete with breaking news about JJ Prodigy; oops, he did it again!)
– Steroids in poker?
– The poker event sponsorship biz
– Vanessa Rousso and Tiffany Michelle baring some but not all

Listen live here.

And feel free to call in and harass at 866.925.8255.

The Poker Beat Podcast
February 12, 2009

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Reminded via a Tiffany Michelle MySpace status update — “Excited about the Cereus launch this week!”:

The player pools, tables, tourneys, etc. from Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet magically merge today.

Trying to keep an open mind … because theoretically it is possible that the combination of two sites caught in the biggest cheating scandals in the nascent history of the online poker industry — having learned painful lessons firsthand — could become a paragon of integrity and security, a model for fully legal American online poker in the future.

But I just can’t help to think back to the Dallas underground … when a saturated market had rooms and games beginning to merge, two shady operators joining forces seldom led to anything good (save for some pretty juicy opening-weekend tourneys).

That’s my bias, I suppose … but with that in the back of my mind, I can’t help but think of how one of these sites seemed rotten at the core (with the exception of Mark Seif, I’ve yet to hear any former employee say anything good about Absolute), and the other … well, sure, they’ve changed management and have plenty of good peeps working for them (Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Mean Gene, et al.) … but the top of the pyramid hasn’t really changed as far as we can tell. And with all due respect to those who are just trying to throw good poker times … the mysterious, closely-guarded nature of Tokwiro+Kahnawake+UB+Chief Joe operating on the protected lands of the Mohawk Nation (with offices in Costa Rica) … that’s the definition of shady! Sorry, it just is.

Still, with $22 million in refunds, the action’s gotta be good.

Last Woman Standing Tiffany Michelle shows up and gets an unwarm reception from the crowd, perhaps inspiring her to play up her “bad girl” image? Oooh.

Book 4: WSOP Final Table
Episode 4.5: Boo Berry 4:18

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Jack Effel just introduced Tiffany Michelle to the crowd. Instead of cheers, she got booed!!!! A few cheers, but mostly boos, to which Effel said, “Don’t be hatin’.”

Tiffany Michelle officially responded to the “clock-calling” incident with Paul Snead on her website today:

I’ve had several people asking about MY SIDE of the story in regards to calling the clock on Paul Snead in the WSOP Main Event which has now become an infamous clip on ESPN. This is my response…

Really? None of you have EVER under any circumstance called the clock in the middle of a poker game…ever? Trust me, I don’t make a habit of calling the clock on people. I think in four years of playing tournaments that was probably the second or third time I’ve ever done that.

More…

Tiffany Michelle was the subject of much controversy over the summer when she signed a WSOP main event sponsorship deal with UltimateBet and incurred the wrath of Tony G and PokerNews in the process. There were several sides to that story, which consisted of a response from Tiffany and a personal account/semi-truce from Tony G.

Less than a month later, Tiffany signed a longer-term deal with UB. That spurred some talk within the poker community, but she is in the news again, this time as a result of her actions at the WSOP main event as chronicled by ESPN. The most talked-about incident involved her calling the clock on an opponent, during a hand of which she was not a part, and the criticism she received from Craig Marquis. If you haven’t seen it, here ya go, with the hand in question at the beginning of the video:

Evidently, Tiffany received some not-so-cutesy messages from people after the show aired, and she responded with a post on her website, MySpace, and 2+2. In essence, she blamed television editing, the fact that she’s a female, and the non-understanding people have of her and her poker game for the hubbub. To see the entire message, as posted on her website, click here.

In response to the post on 2+2 by Tiffany of the above-mentioned message, Craig Marquis called her disrespectful and rude. To see his short and not-sweet forum comment, click here.

Another perspective on Tiffany’s general demeanor at the WSOP main event was posted by F-Train, wherein he called her self-impressed and noted that as a tournament reporter, he was not a fan. For the post, click here.

The Poker King also had a few things to say about Tiffany by calling her out for general bad behavior and opining that her hype-train is now nothing more than smoldering wreckage. The entire opinion post can be found by clicking here.

While this is certainly not the biggest of controversies to hit the poker community, it has several interesting sides to it.

As Dan has informed me, my gambling has become a problem. However, the compulsive gambling that I’ve been accused of takes place nowhere near a casino. And quite honestly, in this game of roulette, I’m betting on the house.

Pokery Domains I own… And, yes, would consider selling

*** Oklahoma Poker ***
REDRIVERROUNDUP.COM/.NET – I don’t think Winstar abandoned this one after the rebranding. I’m thinking they never thought to buy it.
WINSTARBLOG.COM – Not bad. I actually know the guy who bought WinstarPoker.com,.net, etc. He’s somewhat to blame for my addiction.
OKIEPOKER.COM
OKPOKERBLOG.COM,.NET
CHEROKEEPOKERBLOG.COM,.NET
CHOCTAWBLOG.COM,.NET
CHOCTAWLIVE.COM,.NET
INDIANPOKERBLOG.COM,.NET
INDIANPOKERNEWS.COM,.NET

*** WSOP/Harrahs ***
THENOVEMBERNINE.NET,.CO.UK,.INFO,.ORG,.TV – Not sure why somebody doesn’t buy all versions of the domain. Didn’t they learn anything from the WSOP.com ownership battles?
THENOVEMBER9.NET,.CO.UK,.INFO,.ORG,.TV
THENOVNINE.COM,.NET,.INFO
THENOV9.COM,.NET,.INFO

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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.

More…

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.
More…

BJ’s had a hearty welcome to the Pokerati team, and I haven’t done any posts in a while, so here’s a few recent stories making news, while I’m wondering what Darus Suharto’s doing right now…

The last woman standing at this year’s WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle, officially becomes part of Team UB.

For those of you waiting for checks from Bodog, you may be waiting even longer for that money now that the Fed has taken $24 million of the site’s money.

Speaking of the government, four pro-UIGEA Representatives ask the Federal Reserve and US Treasury for clarification as to what is”illegal Internet gambling”

The FSN/WPT alliance gets a bit stronger in September, with a TV series tied into the WPT’s subscription based site ClubWPT.com

Was just going through some old, buried emails, and I came across one dated May 13, 2008, that I sent myself to remind me of all the good, unique-content posts I had building up that needed to get written before the WSOP. Obviously most of them didn’t make it … and while the time of relevance has passed for some, others still might make for good reads, and maybe someday I’ll have lots of free time and get around to crafting/completing thoughtful narratives. As for the rest, I figure their patent-time has expired, so here they are for anyone else to run with if you’re looking for fresh stories to explore. As for now, I really just wanna be able to delete the email.

[Note: Links and strikethroughs are contemporary add-ons, not part of the original email.]

• What’s Going on with the Poker Bowl?
• Will the WPT see 2009?
• Is High Stakes Poker in Trouble? (They haven’t filmed yet this year)
• My time at the table with a colluder-turned-killer (now in jail)
• Rock, Paper, Kenna: Roshambo with Kenna James
• Tiffany Michelle’s Inner Stripper
• Poker Politics out the Ying Yang
• Dance AJ Dance! (AJ Benza on Celebrity Fit Club)
• Chris Ferguson’s Tip for the Heads-Up Championship
• The Arizona Judge challenging the system with a legally questionable card room
• World Series of Beer Pong
• All sorts of readers writing in with questions about poker lawyers
• Multiple restaurant reviews
• Various social party things attached to playing poker afterwards
• Skill-based slot machines
• Etiquette: Why It’s Bad to Slowroll
• How My Friend Created a Law in Texas that Challenged the Amateur Tournament i created (Lodge tourney becomes $0+5 with state taking the rake – I call my friend out for doing sloppy work, and the courts agree by declaring his law unconstitutional)
• Pauly vs. Pauly (dumb kid’s comic strip “Poker Pauly)

Yeow, if someone actually wrote about all that stuff, it would probably make for a pretty good blog, no?

Photo: Flipchip/LasVegasVegas

This seems as good a time as any to share with you another leftover bonus! episode of Tao of Pokerati … where Dr. Pauly chats with Change100 (his personal fashion yogini) about Tiffany Michelle’s attire before her Ultimate Bet patchwork became such a major wardrobe malfunction. It’s sickeningly cute as this pokerblogging duo draws the fine line between rocker-chick chic and Tijuana hooker — and further fashion analysis tries to differentiate between the new-money stylings of Alexander Kostritsin, typical “online douchebag” and Mean Gene, and the poker-prep ways of Shronk and Brandon Adams.

Tao of Pokerati
Episode 28.5: Fashion Report (feat. Change100)

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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.

Pauly’s got up a great recount up of our whole Tao of Pokerati experience at the WSOP. But guess what, we’re not done yet … still have a few more episodes to share with you, and Brian Balsbaugh and Oliver Tse our agents are in negotiations with French authorities over possible continuation of the show.

Meanwhile, one leftover episode — actually it’s a 6-minute double-episode — that seems particularly timely with the benefit of hindsight was recorded from the dead-center of an emptied out Amazon room, shortly after Tiffany Michelle busted out in 17th place. Here Dr. Pauly and I survey the atmospheric damage as “the last hope” of the main event exits the building … and I argue that she was the only one of the final 27 players with true Chris Moneymaker potential — meaning her performance wasn’t so much about her own abilities to win big cash as it was about the future of poker. Comparisons to Scotty Nguyen and college basketball as well, before one of your not-so-gracious hosts goes through severe WSOP separation anxiety.

Episode 28: Exit, Stage Tiffany

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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.

More…

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.

More…

An oddly timed official statement, released from PokerNews Mgmt:

PokerNews Official Statement
July 14, 2008
PokerNews Management
The last 48 hours have been a crucial and trying time for PokerNews.

On the outset of the World Series of Poker, we have been associated with an outstanding female poker player, who until a few hours ago, was the last woman standing in the original field of 6844 entrants in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Official PokerNews representative, Tiffany Michelle, was one of the chip leaders for the better end of her run in the Main Event and was poised for a brilliant Final Table appearance that would make her the second woman in history to achieve such a feat.

As a company that truly believes in this industry and in the importance of supporting aspiring poker players, PokerNews sponsored her Full Tilt Poker into several buy-in events at this year’s World Series including the Main Event, enabling Tiffany to showcase her irrefutable talent and flair on the felt. However, a few days into the Main Event, several media outlets published reports and images showing Tiffany donning an UltimateBet.net logo during her play at the ESPN feature table.

It was later confirmed that without any consultation with PokerNews, Tiffany went ahead and signed a sponsorship deal with Ultimate Bet. While we welcome such sponsorship deals between online gaming operators and players, as a company we could see no reason as to why we were left out of such negotiations, especially considering the relationships that PokerNews has with all such entities. Tiffany was bought into the event by PokerNews and had a signed player contract with PokerNews Ltd. We believe, that based on advice from her agent that the contract may have loopholes; she went and made a deal with an online gaming operator that completely contradicted the trust that we had put in her, both as an employee and as a sponsored player. As an organization we felt completely sabotaged by Tiffany, her agent and Ultimate Bet.

More…

14 players left as they head to the dinner break, to return at 8:30). Average stack will be 9.77m as the players return at 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

Eliminations:
15th – Owen Crowe
16th – Anthony Scherer
17th – Tiffany Michelle

Chip counts at the dinner break:

More…

Well, that sure didn’t last. Pokerati’s only just-like-family player in the main event has been eliminated.

After losing momentum throughout the day, Tiffany Michelle’s last hand and last stand went down as reported by PokerNews:

Dennis Phillips raised to 500,000 from UTG, Peter Eastgate called and Tiffany Michelle called from the big blind. The flop was . Michelle checked, Phillips bet 1,000,000, Eastgate called and Michelle sat, propped up on her knees for about a minute before annoucing, “All in.” She had about 3.8 million behind. Phillips folded and Eastgate called.

Eastgate

Michelle

Tiffany Michelle needed serious help. Her top pair needed running straight cards to beat Eastgate’s set of aces. The turn was the and Michelle was drawing dead. The river was the and Tiffany Michelle’s Main Event run came to an end. She exited the stage in 17th place to a standing ovation.

Nice run, chica! Sorry we won’t be seeing you at the final table…

17 players left, players return from break at the 60/120/20k level:

Chip leader – Joe Bishop – 16.3m
Tiffany Michelle – 4.42m

Eliminations:
18th Jason Reisenberg
19th Albert Kim
20th Brandon Cantu
21st Paul Snead
22nd Judet Toni Cristian
23rd Tim Loecke

5:10pm Update: Tiffany Michelle out in 17th place.

The table draw with two tables left:

More…

Not long after I wrote about the finalists in the main event who might be closer to Pokerati than our own families – call that the blurry misconception of the WSOP long haul – one of our top two left the building. The Six Degrees of Pokerati will have to start making shit up expand its criteria.

After slowly losing chips throughout the day, Brandon Cantu took a bit hit with the following hand, as reported by PokerNews:

Dean Hamrick Doubles Through Brandon Cantu

Kelly Kim opened for 275,000, Brandon Cantu reraised to 950,000, and Dean Hamrick moved all in. The crowd let out an “Ooooooooooh!” and got on their feet as the action came back to Kim. Kim let his hand go and it was Cantu’s turn to tank. Cantu thought for well over five minutes (Tim Loecke getting knocked out in the meantime) before saying “I call.”

Cantu {10-Spades} {5-Clubs}

Hamrick {A-Hearts} {A-Clubs}

There was mass disbelief and gasps from the crowd as Cantu rolled over his hand.

The flop was {8-Spades} {7-Clubs} {5-Hearts} and Cantu flopped a pair of fives. The turn was the {8-Diamonds}, a bad card for Cantu as Hamrick made aces up. Cantu paced in back of the table looking resigned to his fate as his entourage called for a five. The river, though was the {10-Diamonds} and Cantu made two pair, but it was no matter– Hamrick’s aces and eights were best and he raked in the massive pot.

Cantu was down to 2.4 million after the hand while Hamrick was up to 5.5 million. Cantu is now the tournament’s shortest stack.

After the 10-5 fiasco, Brandon ended up all-in pre-flop with pocket 9’s against Peter Eastgate’s A-Q. Peter ended up with a flush, and Brandon was out in 20th place with a little $257,334 for his spending pleasure.

The last of Pokerati’s top tier of players in the main event is Tiffany Michelle, who would be a lot more adorable right now if she wasn’t wearing UltimateBet gear!

23 players left, returning to 50/100/10k level

Eliminations:
Aaron Gordon – 24th
Niklas Flisberg – 25th
Phi Nguyen – 26th
Michael Carroll 27th

Chip leader – Dennis Phillips – 14.4m
Tiffany Michelle – 5.1m (still sporting UB gear, athough Pauly says a deal with PokerStars had been made, then spurned)

Pokerati has no horses in the race, but in a remote way, we do. As a matter of fact, Pokerati is connected to all of the remaining 27 players in the 2008 WSOP main event. We like to call it Six Degrees of Pokerati.

Familiar with the Six Degrees of Separation? Or more importantly, the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? There’s our logic in a nutshell. It’s not the most original concept in the world, but give us a break, will ya?

Since some players will be eliminated as the day progresses, we should at least throw out the top tier – those who come in at only one degree of separation from Pokerati. Drumroll…

Tiffany Michelle: Dan and I both know her. We have been to karaoke with her at Imperial Palace, I have been to dinner parties with her at Mariealena’s, and I have even seen her sing at several L.A. nightclubs. Most importantly, Dan and I are both MySpace friends with her, and we’ve shared close quarters on media row at the WSOP. We’re practically family.

Brandon Cantu: We share some of the same friends, like Joy, Tiffany, and Jeff Madsen, and we have ended up at some of the same social functions. Not only are we MySpace friends, but he came to my 2007 birthday party at PURE nightclub. He’s practically a brother to me.

Players in the main event who are two or three degrees of Pokerati coming soon…

Today’s the final day of play in the Amazon Room, as the 27 players remaining will play down to the November Nine, as those players scatter around the world an the vultures agents that represent them in an attempt to maximize the profile and sponsorship potential of a relatively unknown group of players looking to win just over $9m early in the morning of November 11th.

To see those final 27, head to page 2:
More…

Oh shit, while contemplating the significance of Tiffany Michelle in a Matusow-less field, I almost completely overlooked Craig Marquis — an online player from Arlington (craigmarq) who Raj Kattamuri introduced to me just the other day. And lo and behold, he’s frickin’ second in chips! 11.5 million! Go craigmarq!

He says he doesn’t really play in Dallas underground games — just sticks to online — but he’s exactly the kinda player who I thought would do well this main event … a relative unknown who ain’t dancin’ at his first WSOP rodeo.

Big pre-emptive congrats, dude, and damn all you longtime Pokerati readers for not giving me the heads-up that a Dallas guy was still alive!!! thanks for giving us another person to cheer on as we work our way towards the November Nine.

Ouch … on a baddish beat where his trip aces with a jack kicker lost to a trip aces with a nine.

That means with 27 players left, there are only two I had heard of before the event started: Brandon Cantu and Tiffany Michelle. I gotta say, though our interaction has been limited to accepting MySpace friend requests and sharing a power outlet in the press box, I’m so ready to jump on the Tiffany Michelle bandwagon. If I’m gonna cheer lead for anyone right now, it’s gonna be her.

I’m almost afraid to comment too much on what her current chip position and status as Last Woman Standing means for fear of the jinx factor. And really, the relevance of anything anyone might have to say about her still depends on the fall of fuckin’ cards. But one thing is for sure, right now, going into the penultimate day of WSOP poker, there is no more valuable commodity player still alive in the main event than 24-year-old Tiffany Michelle — and based on the way agents and backers and Hollywood Daves are all up in her bidness, you can tell I’m not the only one to realize how much is really riding on her action.

He finished in 45th place, paying $154,400. It’s all probably Jen’s fault. I suspect the 10-4suited will now be wielded like The Hammer against Hellmuth only, and will become his kryptonite, impeding his effort to dodge bullets baby.

The people remaining that you may or may not care about:

Tiffany Michelle (Go MySpace friends!)
Mike Matusow (Go MySpace friends!)
Brandon Cantu (Go Jen’s MySpace friend!)
Gert Andersen
Kido Pham (Go Dallas Poker/MySpace friends!)

UPDATE: Kido rode a tournament roller coaster extremely deep, but in the end he got flung in 41st place, also for $154,400 — about the size of a big-ass pot in the 25/50 PLO game at the old Red Man’s in Dallas.

Play ended on an explosive note last night as Phil Hellmuth’s antics earned him a 1 orbit penalty for his prolonged verbal attack on Cristian Dragomir on the last hand of play. 79 players return at 12 today to play down to the final 27, however long that takes. There’s still two women in the field (Tiffany Michelle 5th with 3,438,000 and Lisa Parsons 73rd with 581,000). The leader is Mark Ketteringham, with 5.8m in chips,Andrew Brokos in 2nd with about 4.08m, and Nikolay Losev in 3rd with 4.06m. Notable names remaining include David Benefield, Brandon Cantu, Kido Pham, David “Chino” Rheem, Mike Matusow, Hellmuth, Victor Ramdin, Matt Matros, Keith
“The Camel” Hawkins, Alex Outhred, and Thomas Keller. To see everyone’s situation in terms of chips and where they sit, head to page 2:

More…

On dinner break until 9:30pm with 92 players left. Tiffany Michelle at 3,000,000 and Lisa Parsons at 1,200,000 are the last two women standing. Players will play one more level after dinner break, like Jen notes below.

Top 5 Chip leaders:

Nikolay Losev – 3,500,000
Mark Ketteringham – 3,450,000
Jamal Kunbuz – 3,250,000
Aaron Gordon 3,200,000
James McManus 3,200,000

More on page 2:
More…

Today is the day we watch the all-in-and-busts or all-in-and-double-ups while generally overlooking the pre-river play of players skillfully wielding medium-sized stacks to stay ahead of escalating blinds. It’s also the day that the 2008 189th through probably 28th or maybe 37th place WSOP main event finishers get crowned … so strike up the band(s)!

No more Team Pokerati members still alive … but we do have one Friend of Pokerati still with a fighting chance to make the bigger money — Raj Katamrsaddssldkasdi. He starts the day with 499,000 chips. (Avg. stack is 725k.) His table as Day 5 begins:

Seat 1: Mao Qiu – 1,200,000
Seat 2: Garth Paul – 647,000
Seat 3: Mark Owens – 577,000
Seat 4: Nicholas Sliwinski – 1,408,000
Seat 5: James McManus – 1,761,000
Seat 6: Stephen Kenna – 495,000
Seat 7: Alex Tinsley – 168,000
Seat 8: Raja Kattamuri – 499,000
Seat 9: Yde van Deutekom – 384,000

Others we’ll be paying attention to in the field include:

Phil Hellmuth — the last of the Big Three remaining, he’s impossible not to watch. 581,000

Mike Matusow — seriously, why is it that a guy who would be considered a total miscreant in just about every other profession is generally beloved in the poker world? I know I’d like to see him do well. 458,000

Tiffany Michelle — holy shit, like she can really play or something? Apparently more than just a texter. 909,000

Allen Cunningham — Dan Harrington’s long-lost child? (He’s on the same table as Tiffany.) 1,141,000

After it was decided to play one more level after the dinner break, the tournament staff decided to suspend play with just over 38 minutes remaining in level 19. Two possibilities: Since play started an hour later on Friday, ending it at the same time as the other Main Event days would seem right. Also, there was 21 full tables of 9 players when play was suspended. so that there wasn’t a disadvantage to the other tables.

The leader at the end of day 4 is Jeremy Joseph with over 2.18m in chips, Nikolay Losev is 2nd with 2.11m in chips. 46 players start play today with over 1m in chips, among those players include Brandon Cantu, Shawn Sheikhan, Alex Outhred, Mark Vos, David Benefield, and Gus Hansen and Allen Cunningham. Phil Hellmuth is the final remaining Main Event winner with 581,000 in chips.

Tiffany Michelle, Kara Scott, Minna Ritakorpi, Karen Manfrede, and Lisa Parsons, make up the remaining female players. To see how everyone will be seated today, head to page 2:
More…

About 215 players head towards their 90 minute dinner break, knowing that they’re only playing one more level when they return around 9:45pm. At that point, they should be under the magical 175 figure tournament director Jack Effel had mentioned when play could possibly be stopped early. Saturday is scheduled for another 5 two-hour levels, while on Sunday they play down to the final 27.

The chip leader appears to be Jeremy Joseph, currently atr 2.8m in chips, 1m more than Brandon Cantu in 2nd. Today’s been a moving day for many pros (live and online), as Allen Cunningham, David “raptor” Benefield, APT winner David Saab, and Alex Outhred have moved into the top 10, More notable names left include Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Hoyt Corkins, Raja Kattamuri, Chip Jett, and Adam “roothlus” Levy. There’s less than 10 female players left (Alana Morin leads the ladies with 1m in chips), but two of them are more known for their work in front of the microphone, as Tiffany Michelle (Pokernews reporter) and Kara Scott (EPT hostess) survived the dinner break as well.

More updates later, as the Amazon room gets more deserted by the elimination…

Line of PokerNews floor reporters following a coordinator to the corner of the Amazon Room for an impromptu meeting. All I caught was, “Okay…” I’m not a good eavesdropper.

Man playing a single-table satellite in a wheelchair. He has no arms, so he is playing – quite proficiently, I might add – with one foot. Impressive!

Players returning from dinner break to the Mixed Hold’em event and literally running to get back in time. Mark Vos came back a few minutes late, and evidently, he had been walking down the hall, drunk, and swept PokerNews reporter Tiffany Michelle over his shoulder. He ran with her toward the Amazon Room, and she’s next to me coughing up a little part of a lung right now.

Teddy “The Iceman” Munroe: Watch out for this guy. Tough to play against.

Tom is was the chip leader in the $2k Omaha Hi-Lo. That’s pretty cool.

UPDATE: Tom is out. Not cool.

And that limit event he busted out of yesterday … Erick Lindgren just missed the final table, which is now set with some interesting players, including Teddy Munroe, Ali Eslami, and Vinny Vinh. (Teddy and I go way back — last year I’d be typing outside and “The Iceman” would fill me in on the $100-$200 cash action while taking a piss on the tournament tent air conditioners. “Makin’ money, baby!” he’d say before shaking himself dry and heading back to the table.)

Even the $10k 7-Stud World Championship is getting interesting … with Doyle still alive and both Bob and Maureen Feduniak with the potential to become the first ever husband-wife presumably non-collusive team at the final table. Never mind. Since typing this, all the above-mentioned have been eliminated.

I learned about this 7-Stud shape-up from the a WSOP-TV vid. And though I tend to detest any lack of imbeddability, I gotta say I like a lot of what this ESPN/WSOP/Bluff (?) crew has got going here. For example, Harmonie Krieger does a basic feature video interview set on the different jobs people come to the WSOP from. Nice enough, right? — but very real when one of the guys she talks with is Jay Columbo, who ran the legendary Mayfair and Playstation poker clubs in New York City, legally questionable status notwithstanding.

And then, perhaps most shocking to me, I enjoyed Jean-Robert Bellande’s “Surviving the WSOP” — where the young, aspiring Eskimo Clark chronicles his ups and downs at the World Series while his video-podcast editors comment Pop-up Video-style — follow along as he hustles high-rollers for buy-ins.

Even learned something from Phil Ivey’s less exciting V-log … and that is that he’s playing so many big-field, low-buy-in donkfests because he has a lot of side action pending on whether or not he’ll win a bracelet this year. We’ll see if we can’t find out more about this.

Speaking of donkfests, the Ladies Event has already lost 2/3 of its starting field, and of those still remaining, at least three of them are Pokerati MySpace friends: Lacey Jones, Kathy Liebert, and Mandy Baker are looking strong and pretty much representing the spectrum of all that is good about women. Go girls! I mean chicks … er babes .. uh bitches?

UPDATE: Lacey is nursing a short stack. Poker Roadie Amanda Leatherman has come on strong, however, and picked up the aggressive pace. Michele Lewis, Tiffany Michele, and PokerNews editrix Haley Hintze are all out.

In the meantime, primarily because it is awesomely embeddable, check out the debut episode of The Degenerate Report, from Neverwin Poker:

LAS VEGAS–Be sure to check out Tiffany Michelle’s interview with newly crowned WSOP champ Jerry Yang. I gotta say … seems like a great guy. In this vid, he spells out the details of his poker tithes — to Make-a-Wish, Feed the Children, and Ronald McDonald House — and about two minutes in, gives us some insight into what went really went down on those bathroom breaks. On your knees in front of the urinals? Sounds like a crazy prop bet you might see on RawVegas. Either that or those Full Tilt guys must play rough!

OK, seriously … I don’t think we could ask for a better WSOP main event champ/Miss America of Poker. “The Shadow” clearly knows poker, but doesn’t claim to have done anything beyond the basics at the table. Pretty cool that a guy like this can win … and looks to be a lovable ATM spokesman for the game.