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.
Anyone following the UB scandal over the past seven months, especially developments over the past 30 days that include the alleged involvement of Russ Hamilton, knows that UB is still in the midst of several investigations. Inquiries and scrutiny have plagued the site for more than seven months, yet there remain players waiting for reimbursements of cheated monies and interested parties looking for final investigation results from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission , Gaming Associates, and Frank Catania. Hamilton has yet to issue a statement, Hellmuth has yet to acknowledge a problem (too busy commanding his army of one?), and Duke has stayed away from the media since the Hamilton news broke. And although a spokesperson from UB offered to answer my questions, there has been no response in over a week. UB is one big mess right now.
Tiffany is a talented individual, a motivated and goal-oriented go-getter, and someone with whom I’ve spent a little bit of time socially. Her initial signing with UB for the WSOP main event didn’t come as a surprise, due to her agent and on/off boyfriend being closely associated with the UB brand. But after the flack she received for her choice, the long-term deal with UB is more than disappointing; it is truly shocking. Despite the fact that she’s only 24-years old and excited to be on the poker scene in a bigger way, integrity and reputation should have played a bigger role in her decision. She knows better and is in touch enough with the media to know what the ramifications of this signing would be. Many in the media will not be kind, some mutual friends of ours have expressed sincere sadness for her choice, and UB itself may have a limited shelf life.
Personally, I wish she had made a different decision, as it is not pleasant to try to report this news and be fair when I feel that UB is such a bad place to be. The site has given me no reason to be confident that this will see a quick, thorough, or satisfying resolution, and seeing Tiffany willingly associated with that brand is more than disappointing.
