Poker News

Tiffany Michelle Talks Politics on Fox Business Network

If someone would have asked you who you thought would be a good person to appear on a national news program to discuss politics, we're guessing that UB.com's Tiffany Michelle would have been way down your list.  Sure enough, however, Michelle was Neil Cavuto's guest Tuesday on his Fox Business Network show, "Cavuto," comparing President Barack Obama's persistence with his health care plan to a poker player playing bad cards.

In the five-minute conversation, titled "Obama Making a Bad Bet?" on the Fox Business website, there was no debate on whether the proposed health care reform plan was good; it was simply assumed it was bad and that the majority of Americans are against it.  Cavuto's interview consisted of repeatedly asking Michelle to compare the President's health care efforts to playing poor hands.  For her part, Michelle came off fairly well, indulging Cavuto by using poker metaphor after poker metaphor to describe Obama's health care reform strategy.

Some tidbits:

Neil Cavuto: Taking a look at what the President's doing… a good gambler, I understand, or someone who bets a lot, understands, or thinks, that he or she has a good hand.  Am I right?
Tiffany Michelle: Yeah, generally you have a good hand, or you know if you have a bad hand, how to maneuver with that hand and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses.

Cavuto: Now, the President, fairly or not Tiffany, is viewed to have a bad hand right now because prior cards he's dealt have turned out to be, you know, threes and fours.  They haven't really worked out.  Yet he continues playing the same hand.  What is the strategy behind that?
Michelle: [Preceding portion of answer snipped] What often happens for some players is you continue to push the issues, you continue to play the bad hands, you continue to get in sticky situations, and what really needs to happen is you need to step away from the table, you need to clear your head.

Tiffany Michelle laid it on thick, inserting poker comparisons at every turn.  Some of her best lines included:

"Here we are, let's say we're deep in the World Series, we're coming close to the bubble, you can taste that final table and the money and it's not looking like it's going to happen."

"Not only did Barack Obama in his first year in office decide to tackle one of the toughest issues in U.S. politics… it would be like me approaching Phil Hellmuth on my first day of my poker game and saying, 'Hey, Phil Hellmuth, you have 11 bracelets.  I want to challenge you heads-up.'"

"Talk about Scott Brown, that was a really bad beat for Barack Obama and the Democrats, who really thought they had a good chip lead there.  You know, they thought they had a lock on this tournament."

Members of the poker community universally panned the interview.  The reactions, however, were split between those who detested the fact that Michelle was chosen as the poker representative and those who simply thought that the interview itself was horrible.

He added, "I thought it was evenly presented, the gambling expert knew as much about gambling as the politics expert new abt politics," as well as, "I think it was more shady that TM passed herself off as a gambling expert with a clue abt politics to promote herself."

"Hollywood" Dave Stann, one of Tiffany Michelle's fellow UB.com pros, was more disgusted with Fox Business, Cavuto, and the interview itself, Tweeting, "WTF FoxNews? Generic gambling terms dissing Obama, then using pro gamblers as pawns 2 back it up? I dodged their invite 2day, thank fuck!"

Summing it up for someone who asked what the interview was all about, Stann tweeted, "fucking Fox presenting right-wing editorial talking points as 'news' then interviewing pros as 'evidence' of Obama ineptitude."

Some of the more entertaining comments on the interview came from the Two Plus Two forums.  Forum poster "TheTruthSpeaks" wrote, "While I was watching it I kept waiting to wake up as this certainly must be a dream or something. I mean surely I didn't really just see Tiffany Michelle on a news channel talking about politics while using horrible poker analogies to do it.  This has got to be the first sign of the Apocalypse."

"Randomness28" may have had two of the best quotes on how ridiculous the interview concept was, first saying, "Funny that the Q is 'How is Obama playing his hand?' .... so they decide to bring in a poker player for analysis. Someone should tell the staff of Cavuto's that 'playing his hand' is just a figure of speech.  Next on Cavuto: 'Are Republicans a move ahead of Democrats in setting up for 2012? We bring in chess GM to discuss this.'"

He later added, "Equivalent of this would be for Fox to pose the Q: How is the Obama administration going to kick off its second term in office? And to bring in a third string kicker of a Junior College to answer the Q."

Judge the Tiffany Michelle Fox Business interview for yourself.

Tiffany Michelle got her start in the poker world in 2006, when she served as an on-air host for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) coverage on Sirius Satellite Radio.  In 2007, she appeared on-camera, hosting various segments and conducting interviews for PokerNews.com.  Michelle officially turned heads the following year when she was the last woman remaining in the WSOP Main Event, eventually bowing out in 17th place and earning $334,534.  She was exposed to a nationwide audience in 2009 when she and fellow poker pro, Maria Ho, competed on the hit CBS show, "The Amazing Race."

Tiffany Michelle Comments on New Amazing Race Cast

The pairings for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race” were released last week and, this time around, no poker players will make the journey. Competing last season was UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, who hit the “Amazing Race” circuit with Maria Ho. Michelle sat down with Poker News Daily to preview the new season, which kicks off on February 14th on CBS.

Poker News Daily: This cycle’s cast list includes former housemates on CBS’ “Big Brother,” Miss Teen South Carolina 2007, and a Major League Baseball third base coach. Who’s your horse?

Tiffany Michelle: It’s interesting to see that there are three all-female teams this season. Last year, it was a really young, competitive bunch. The producers have to keep it to where everyone’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities are on par with the others in that season. We thought it was weird that there wasn’t an old couple or a mom and daughter last year. This year, they opened it up again.

I’ve been watching the initial meet the cast videos and I think the cowboys (Jet and Cord) will be a fan favorite. The ones that stood out to me were the detectives (Louie and Michael). That’s an interesting type of person to put on the show.

PND: Were you surprised to see that no poker players will journey out for this season of “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Doing enough in the entertainment business, I have some insight into how casting works. You can’t exhaust one group of people. You want to keep it new and fresh every year and that’s why we were brought on last year. Each season, they’ll reach out to grab people from all walks of life. As hot of a topic as poker is, each of the poker players who have been on reality shows were there for a reason. I don’t think you’ll see a huge influx of poker players on reality shows.

PND: What about poker players gives them a leg up on the competition in a series like “Amazing Race”?

Tiffany Michelle: Your outlook on life, games, and competition is different than the everyday person’s. Poker encompasses psychology, mathematics, aggression, and observation. Poker is very similar to chess in that it requires a lot of mental stamina and gamesmanship. Poker players are used to approaching games from a different point of view.

PND: There has been a trend on the show to include racers who have already appeared in front of television cameras and in the public eye. Does that give anyone an edge?

Tiffany Michelle: After Phil [Keoghan] says go, you are not even aware of the cameras or audio guys. Within the first day, you’re oblivious to having a camera crew. They’re good at not getting in your way too.

PND: This installment’s cast is rumored to travel to places like Chile, Argentina, Singapore, and Seychelles. If you had the chance to run the “Amazing Race” again, where would you go?

Tiffany Michelle: Warm places like Australia, the Caribbean, and some lovely tropical destinations. This season, it’ll be a little bit colder and you won’t hit a lot of hot spots. A lot of our season’s cast wanted to go to Africa because it’d be an incredible experience. That was one place that I thought would be awesome. From a technical standpoint, it’s hard to pull that off, though. We went to Vietnam, which they said for years they had tried to do.

PND: How’d you fare at the L.A. Poker Classic?

Tiffany Michelle: I only played one event. Maria and I both played and it was nice to be back in the saddle. Now, I am off to Panama and I’ll be back at the Commerce Casino after that. I’m trying to decide between doing the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) or L.A. Poker Classic Main Events. In two weeks, I’m going to Las Vegas to do a show with the Harlem Globetrotters. We’re going to suit up and play against them. I’m pretty sporty, but basketball is my worst sport.

PND: We read on Twitter that you were reviewing movies for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. What’s your involvement with them?

Tiffany Michelle: I’m a member of SAG, which is the union for acting, entertainment, film, and television. Every year, whereas the Emmys and Oscars are voting on by academies, actors vote on the SAG Awards. During awards season, they send you movies to watch and you vote. I always get a slew of current nominees.

I thought “Inglorious Basterds” was incredibly phenomenal. I thought it was an amazing movie. “Up in the Air” was cool too. I’m a girl, so of course I loved “It’s Complicated.” For television shows, I love “Glee” and Kevin McHale is a friend of mine.

PND: How have you been faring in the ongoing Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC)?

Tiffany Michelle: Sunday was the $2,500 buy-in $1 million guaranteed. I played it even though I don’t play short-handed poker. I can play six-handed, but I know there are a lot of specific strategies with regards to starting hands.

Poker Pro Canada Magazine Announced

It is only five years old, but Poker Pro Magazine has already established itself in the poker world with a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies per month.  The publication is already available in the U.S. and Canada, but the company is now offering a something special for its Canadian readership.

Poker Pro Media recently announced it will be a launching a regional version of its popular magazine entitled Poker Pro Canada.  The Canadian edition will feature in-depth profiles of Canadian players, updates and news from the growing Canadian poker scene and, of course, strategy and tips from the pros.

Canadian Poker Pro Executive Editor magazine John “JohnnyQuads” Wenzel elaborated on the motivation behind launching the new magazine in an official press release:   “Some say this is a time of contraction for print media, but we’re bullish on the Canadian market.  The game is exploding in Canada and we intend to provide enthusiasts with a slick, upscale magazine that will be fun to read and will also improve their bottom line at the tables.”  Wenzel also serves as Editor-In-Chief of Poker Pro Magazine.

Wenzel makes a valid point, as there have been a number of popular events in Canada in the past few months, including the British Columbia Poker Championship (BCPC) and, more recently, the Fallsview Poker Classic in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  Several big names turned out for the respective events, including Full Tilt Poker’s Gavin Smith, UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, and Brad Booth.  Smith had an exceptionally good showing at Fallsview, where he won a $2,500 buy-in event and placed fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament won by Simon “pokerbrat13” Charette.

“The Canadian poker scene is fascinating, but it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. We’re going to change that,” explained Wenzel.  The long list of top Canadian players includes Smith, Booth, Watson, Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, Full Tilt’s Greg “FBT” Mueller, Michael “Timex” McDonald, Nenad Medic, former European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo winner Glen Chorny, Steve Paul Ambrose, Evelyn Ng, Betfair pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanan.  The country is also home to the popular Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) and the newly launched PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) also has plans to expand its tournament schedule into Canada.

This is not the first time that Poker Pro has branched out with a new publication.  The media company also produces Poker Pro Europe and Online Poker Pro, the latter of which is a publication dedicated entirely to the internet poker scene.  Poker Pro Canada will be sold at bookstores and convenience stores alike, gracing the shelves of stores 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart, Costco, Indigo/Chapters, and Shoppers Drug Mart.  It will also be available in casino poker rooms across the country.  The new magazine is set to launch in March and an accompanying website should debut in the coming weeks.

Poker Pro Magazine is not the only publication betting on Canada.  Back in September, Canadian Poker Player Magazine announced that it was planning to expand its media operation by launching a 24-hour online television station dedicated to the Canadian poker scene.  Modeled after the popular Poker Channel in the U.K., the site is supposed to feature poker-themed movies and television plus television coverage of past Canadian tournaments like the Canadian Open Poker Championships.

To date, the site has not gone fully live, but the project itself is another indication that many poker companies are setting their sights on the Canadian Poker scene.  Another indication is the recent announcement by PartyPoker that Kara Scott was joining its slate of sponsored pros.  Scott is supposed to promote the room in her home country of Canada by taking part in a number of CPT events.

Amazing Race 16 Cast Does Not Feature Poker Players

The cast for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race” does not include any poker players. In its last season, the show featured Maria Ho and UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle.

Ho and Michelle represented the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. The duo finished sixth in the around-the-world competition after their journey abruptly ended in the Netherlands, where a series of intense physical challenges proved to be too much for Ho and Michelle. A high striker, a common carnival game, proved fatal on one-half of the leg’s Detour, while windy conditions made a unique game of golf using wooden shoes unbearable on the other half.

A total of 11 teams will set out on the “Amazing Race” course for Season 16. Headlining the group are two “Big Brother” cast members from Season 11, Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder. The couple is “newly dating” according to CBS and will mark the latest pair to join “Amazing Race” after appearing on another CBS reality franchise. Schroeder is 31 years-old and from Norridge, Illinois, while Lloyd is nine years younger and hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd lists her lifetime goals as, “to be a dental hygienist, and to get married and have kids.”

Also appearing on the 16th running of “Amazing Race” is Caitlin Upton, who will travel to the four corners of the Earth with her boyfriend, Brent Home. Upton was Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007 and famously uttered the following response to a question about people being unable to locate the United States on a map: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."

Upton’s phrases “the Iraq,” “U.S. Americans.” and “like such as” have become staples of modern lingo, although the beauty queen is now three years removed from her escapade. In a video posted on CBS.com, Upton commented, “I’m stubborn and I hate losing, probably more than he does, and I have a very short fuse, so if somebody gets in my way, there’s going to be some trouble and I’m going to need somebody there to calm me down.” The couple may soon be engaged; both are models.

Cleveland Indians third base coach Steve Smith, 57 years of age, will run the “Amazing Race” with his daughter, Allie Smith, who is 23 and works in marketing. Smith was a coach on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team that won it all in 2008 and also worked with the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers. The elder Smith lists his biggest challenge as “not getting lost because we tend to get lost in our own neighborhood.” “Amazing Race” requires a keen sense of direction, as racers travel to countries where English is not the primary language, so road signs and other markers can often be confusing.

Rumored locations that teams will travel to this season include Bariloche, Argentina; Puerto Varas, Chile; and Singapore. The rumored departure city is Los Angeles. The show premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET on CBS, the same time slot as it held last season.

Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne took down the 15th installment of “Amazing Race,” whose finish line was ironically in Las Vegas. Besides Ho and Michelle, notable cast members vying for the $1 million top prize last time out included Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy and Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, who ran the race with her husband, Brian.

Poker in Twitter: PCA Bahamas, Haiti Relief, and the Brunson NFL Jinx

Twitter has revolutionized social networking, and the poker world was not immune to its 140-character charms. Poker News Daily has been following poker’s hot young stars such as Maria Ho and Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh along with more established players including Annie Duke and Andy Bloch, and even some of poker’s greatest legends – septuagenarian Doyle Brunson tweets on a daily basis,– to offer our readership an overview of what the most popular poker players are up to on Twitter.

These have been the most interesting Tweets since last Friday, encompassing players’ parting impressions from the Bahamas, their last goodbyes to the late Amir Vahedi, the drives to raise funds for Haiti relief and some NFL quandaries.

The end of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) involved many players complaining about the Bahamas prices, while others complained about the weather and a few even complained about customs on the way out. Vicky Coren had a late departure, and she tried to make the most of it: “Mmm, sunshine and cocktails. And who needs a book when you can listen to the on-hold music at Nassau Airport for only $200 a minute?" Fellow Brit Liv Boeree shared a sunny beach picture: “http://twitpic.com/yk7dh - photo from Bahamas... on the one good day of the whole trip.”

Vahedi was present in many poker player’s minds and Twitters as his funeral took place last Friday. Tournament director supreme Matt Savage summed everyone’s feelings in a poignant Tweet: “Spent the short fight to Burbank thinking about Amir and how his BIG personality will be missed! Hoping to say a few words today.”

The NFL kept a number of players glued to the television, especially those who had money on the line like Phil Hellmuth: “I liked Colts & Saints, but didn't bet, then Vikings (what poker player gets up that early?), finally bet $500 on Jets money line 3.15 to 1”. DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit "amak316" Makhija had a hard time choosing his allegiances: “Done working out, goin to grind Sundays and watch football! Do I root for the jets (love underdogs) or chargers (love awesomeness)?” Alex Outhred enjoyed a last laugh: “#fondmemories of the Cowboy fan last night who scoffed at my purpotion that the Vikes had 'a chance' today”.  And Brunson bemoaned his wife jinxing his favorite team: “it happened again. my wife walks in the room....BOOM, touchdown for the team i'm betting aganist... geeeez”

The humanitarian disaster in Haiti brought up many initiatives to raise awareness and funds. Shannon Elizabeth made a heartfelt appeal to remind all of the tragedy: “Good morning guys-we made it to the end of the week, but not everyone was so lucky-take a moment 2 remember those who didn't....” Adam “Roothlus” Levy voiced a more ambiguous opinion: “It's remarkable how the average American is facing financial hard times but yet, there's an outpouring of donations to #Haiti. Just awesome!” Andy Bloch donated time and money and played a lot of poker to aid the cause: “Just registered for the last 11 Aid for Haiti tournaments on FTP... may need a lot of caffeine. Sending autographed DVDs as extra bounty.”

Some players used Twitter for its original purpose of keeping friends and family informed of what they were up to. Beth Shak commented on her recent move: “Haha my decorator said no large men in my bedroom in NY..I wntd a king bed!!thnk gd my bf is small”, while Ho complained of health issues: “Dear Immune System, Why do you insist on taking days off without notifying me first? Please come back soon. *cough* Thanks.” Justin “BoostedJ” Smith revisited an old hobby: “Going to the gun range..something I haven't done in a long time and is so much fun,” and Leigh introduced her new love: “I'm SO in love.... Here's her picture! http://tinyurl.com/ygk7jpm =)” Liz Lieu enjoyed stirring up some suspense with the cryptic remark “I've just said "I WILL" ”

Some Tweets remain unclassifiable and they are arguably the most fun of all. Anthrax's Scott Ian talked about music: “Song of the day: Pussy don't fail me now. Any one know who that is?” Kevin Smith talked about religion (and several other unpublishable topics): “I never cram my religion down anybody's throat, so I ask you don't cram atheism down mine. My life's so blessed I GOTTA believe in God.” Meanwhile, Duke's boyfriend, Joe Reitman, complained about his phone service: “Dear AT&T...if u are going to have huge billboards in a stadium my iPhone should get a signal in said stadium” "Poker2Nite" host Scott Huff takes the prize for the most random Tweet of this edition, with: “This morning NASA found cocaine near the space shuttle Discovery. Come on, guys, space isn't high enough?”

Visit Poker News Daily every Monday and Thursday for an overview of the best Tweets in the poker world.

Poker Featured in Season Finale of Amazing Race

Sunday night marked the season finale of the 15th cycle of the CBS Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” Eliminated contestants Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle were featured, as was a crazy game of poker.

After departing from Prague in the Czech Republic, the final three “Amazing Race” teams headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, the Mecca for poker players around the world. After completing tasks at the Mandalay Bay and Mirage resorts, teams were told to find “the most famous casino in Monaco,” which any poker player could tell you is the Monte Carlo. The home of the annual end-of-season European Poker Tour Grand Final, the Monte Carlo’s U.S. version played host to the final challenge in this cycle of the top-tier reality franchise.

Team has to stack $1 million in poker chips from a table of 8,400 assorted denominations. Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the Monte Carlo after inadvertently heading to the Venetian and began furiously stacking the table’s red chips, representing the largest denomination on the table at $1,000. The duo stacked groups of 25, while at the same time, married couple Brian and Ericka and brothers Sam and Dan took a similar approach. After tackling the red poker chips, the squads then piled up the black chips, worth $500 each.

Meghan and Cheyne were the first to complete the task and received their next clue, instructing them to head to the MGM Grand High Roller suite, where “Mr. Las Vegas” would great them. Not knowing who that moniker referred to, the couple asked players in the poker room which personality they could expect to meet. The answer: Wayne Newton. There, Newton revealed that the finish line for the “Amazing Race” was at his ranch, Casa de Shenandoah.

At the finish line were none other than Michelle and Ho, who took sixth this season after being eliminated in the Netherlands. The duo were close with Sam and Dan throughout much of the race and their heroes ultimately took second, with Meghan and Cheyne crossing the finish line first and winning the $1 million grand prize. Michelle appeared teary-eyed after watching Sam and Dan cross the finish time and both women came clad in purple. Michelle and Ho represent the runners-up in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively.

Michelle was an active person on Twitter this evening as the “Amazing Race” season finale unfolded. Upon seeing that the final task was to stack poker chips, she commented, “Amazig Race season finale: Vegas… Poker chips… Ugg, I hate my life!” Echoing her emotions at the end of the season, Michelle noted via Twitter, “I don’t want to give anything away about Amazing Race for the West Coast… But I’m sobbing, in tears right now at the end of the episode!” Michelle then added that she was off to the “Amazing Race” after party.

No poker players have been spotted on the 16th season of “Amazing Race,” whose filming is currently underway. Rumored contestants include Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder from “Big Brother” season 11 and 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton and her boyfriend. Upton provided one of the most memorable quotes of 2007 when she referred to “the Iraq” and “U.S. Americans” during the Miss Teen USA pageant. No airdate for the 16th season of “Amazing Race” has been announced.

Michelle is a card-carrying member of Team UB.com, whose stable of pros also includes “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and “Poker2Nite” Host Joe Sebok. The show airs on CBS and held the 8:00pm ET Sunday night time slot.

British Columbia Poker Championship Winner Sophon Sek Arrested

Less than a day after winning this year’s British Columbia Poker Championship and earning the first place prize of $364,364, 30 year-old Sophon Sek was arrested on charges of manslaughter and breaking and entering.  As a result, his prize money is being held at the casino at the request of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and there is a chance it will be confiscated from Sek altogether.

Sek is the sixth person arrested in connection with the Surrey Six murder case.  In October of 2007, six people were shot in the head and killed in the Surrey area high rise apartment building Balmoral Towers.  The murders are believed to be an act of gang violence, as four of the six victims were known to be part of the British Columbia drug trade.  The men suspected in the murders are members of the Red Scorpions, one of the largest and most influential gangs in British Columbia.  The Surrey Six slayings are considered to be one of the worst instances of gang violence in modern British Columbian history.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reported that Sek is believed to be an associate of the Red Scorpions as well.  Statements from Corporal Dale Carr of the police force gave little insight on why Sek was arrested and faced lesser charges than the other five men previously detained in the killings, but the Sun reported that Sek is not believed to be one of the murderers. According to the paper, the RCMP believe that it was Sek who let the perpetrators into the high rise, though it is still unclear whether or not he was aware of their intentions.

Howard Blank, Vice President of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, reported that the RCMP requested Sek’s winnings from the $2,700 (CDN) buy-in event.  Sek outlasted a field of 679 players including poker pros Gavin Smith, “Yukon” Brad Booth, Mike “SirWatts” Watson, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Greg “FBT” Mueller, and Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, who made the final table, finishing in seventh place.

Sek was set to return to River Rock Casino in Vancouver, the site of the event, to pick up his winnings Monday, but his arrest prevented him from doing so.  He is currently being held in custody until his trial date on November 30th.  His lawyer, Alan Ip, spoke to the British Columbia Globe and Mail about the seizure of Sek’s winnings.  According to Ip, unless the money was taken as evidence in the case, it was unjustly seized.  Carr told the Sun he was not aware of the RCMP’s request for the casino to hold the funds and could not provide an explanation as to why the money would be seized in relation to the case.  Ip also emphasized how saddened his client was at the prospect of losing his tournament earnings, as he planned to pursue his love for poker and play in other events in the future.

One of the five other suspects in the case, Dennis Karbonavec, has already pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.  Following his admission of guilt, three others were arrested in relation to the case in April of 2008 and have been in pretrial custody ever since.  The charges against the men include first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and various firearms-related charges.

This is not the first time Sek has had a run in with the police.  He was previously charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm in July of 2008.

Poker Community Celebrates Thanksgiving

If you hail from the United States, this weekend is a time for family, food, shopping, and some nice downtime from the stresses of life.  If you’re a poker player, it is also time to squeeze in a tournament, be it in Costa Rica, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or Los Angeles and put in some extra time at the tables in between bites of turkey.

Players like Jean-Robert Bellande, Jon “pokertrip” Friedberg, David “Bakes” Baker, and Team PokerStars Pro Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck decided to escape the cold weather and squeeze in a tropical vacation shortly before the holiday, flying out to Costa Rica to take part in the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) event.  Meanwhile, other players like Eric “AvrilSharapova” Ladny, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Brian Lemke spent their time at the final table of the United States Poker Championships at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Even poker players who stayed at home still found themselves unable to stay away from the felt for too long and several players turned up for the $2,500 buy-in Main Event of the final Venetian Deep Stack series of the year.  Some of the players who took part in the event included Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler, UB.com Pros Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire and Brandon Cantu, Full Tilt Red Pro Jeff Madsen, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, Nenad Medic, Jamie “TheCronic420” Rosen, and Christina Lindley.

Lindley filled Poker News Daily in on her last minute change of plans when it came to her holiday vacation.  After a successful run online the past two weeks, including a runner-up finish in Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) Event #24 worth more than $106,000, Lindley decided to delay her trip home to Nashville, Tennessee in order to take part in the Venetian event.  She flew out the morning the event started, played until she busted, and then headed home for the typical Thanksgiving fare.  “I told my mom I’d get there in time to make a pumpkin pie,” Lindley explained.  “And maybe some karaoke with my little brother, who is home from college, if we’re lucky.”

Another player who is opting to stay away from the felt is Nick “fu_15” Maimone.  When Poker News Daily asked what his Thanksgiving plans were, he responded, “Not playing poker? AKA trying to be normal.”  Others are following Maimone’s lead and opting for traditional holiday plans including trips home.  A quick glance at Twitter indicated that poker pros and “The Amazing Race” teammates Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle would both be spending the holidays with friends and family.

Just because a fair share of players are heading home for the holidays doesn’t mean the poker rooms will be empty this weekend.  The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California will once again be holding their annual Turkey Shootout/Ho Ho Hold’em Series, with the first of 13 events kicking off Thanksgiving Day.  The “Turkey Shoot” tournament will feature a $100 buy-in.  If you are wondering just how many people would opt to play a poker tournament Thanksgiving Day, last year’s installment drew 230 players and offered up a first place prize of $8,600 to tournament winner Susie Baranowski.

Even players who take Thursday off for a little family and feasting may skip Black Friday shopping for some card playing.  The first event of the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic, the $500 buy-in SpadeClub.com tournament, is scheduled for Friday and players like Mike “GoLeafsGoEh” Leah plan on taking part.  Granted, Leah is Canadian, so his Thanksgiving happened a few weeks ago and he isn’t skipping any festivities to take part.  The Bellagio also has two other tournaments scheduled throughout Thanksgiving weekend, with events continuing daily until the World Poker Tour Main Event begins on December 14th and wraps up shortly before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Poker News Daily.

2009 BC Poker champion arrested

The 30-year old Surrey man has been charged with manslaughter and break and enter in relation to the gangland murders of six people, including two innocent bystanders, in 2007.

The incident is referred to locally as the Surrey Six Slaughter.

Sek made an appearance in Surrey Provincial Court today, but was sent back into custody to await continuation of his trial Nov. 30.

He could still face additional charges in connection to the murders, according to Cpl. Dale Carr of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Sek outlasted 679 players to win this year's $2,700 (CDN) buy-in BC Poker Championships late Sunday night at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver.

Sek's $364,364 (CDN) in prize money is being held by the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation at the request of the RCMP, according to Howard Blank, vice president of media, entertainment and responsible gaming at the GCGC.

This is the fifth year the BC Poker Championships have been held in the current format and the tournament continues to draw world-renowned poker players.

This year Amazing Race stars Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho played as well as Gavin Smith, Liz Lieu, Lacey Jones, "Yukon" Brad Booth, Greg "FBT" Mueller and Scott Clements. Clements made the final table but eventually busted seventh.

Last year Daniel Negreanu, who is perhaps the biggest name in Canadian poker, outlasted all 688 players to win the event for $371,910 (CDN).

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Poker News in Brief: Nov. 16-22, 2009

 

The 21-year-old generated some major mainstream press coverage this week by appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and CNN's American Morning.

There was plenty of news that didn't involve Cada, however, and as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief Feature we're going to break some of it down for you today.

This week we'll look at another man winning a ladies event, the end of Fair Poker, more support for an online poker bill, an upgrade for Cake Poker and more.

Man wins Ladies Championship at Lake Tahoe

Greg Sessler became the latest man to enter and win a female poker tournament last week.

Sessler won the Ladies Championship at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Lake Tahoe by outlasting all 95 players that entered the tournament. Of that total, four were men.

Although organizers encourage only women to play, Harrah's cannot exclude any player based on gender. After winning the tournament Sessler defended his decision to play.

"Me playing in this tournament really had nothing to do with trying to take advantage of the ladies or thinking it was a softer field," he said.

"If Jennifer Harman would have come and played in the ladies event, she would have been much tougher competition than me. I came here because I only had one day and I really like the structures and the payout."

Back in September Abraham Korotki entered a ladies event at the 2009 Borgata Poker Open and went on to win it. Former baseball star Jose Canseco also famously entered a women's tournament a few years ago.

 

 

More support for Frank's pro-online poker bill

The U.S. bill that would both legalize and regulate online poker has another co-sponsor.

Rep. Anthony D. Weiner of New York's 9th district signed on board this week as the 63rd co-sponsor of the legislation.

Rep. Barney Frank originally introduced the bill last spring but it has yet to be heard before committee.

Frank's bill would essentially repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that was passed in 2006 and put a regulatory system in place for the online gambling industry.

Unfair outcome for Fair Poker

Lesser-known online poker room Fair Poker disappeared this week, but its players found a new home at Noble Poker.

Both sites were members of the iPoker network and were merged into one site earlier in the week. Fair Poker players had their account balances and the iPoints they had earned transferred to Noble Poker.

iPoker remains one of the busiest online poker networks in the world with Titan Poker, ChiliPoker, Bet365, CD Poker, William Hill, Mansion Poker and numerous others all under the iPoker banner.

 

 

HeadsUp Entertainment to televise BC Poker Championships

HeadsUp Entertainment, operators of the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine, will help televise coverage of the 2009 BC Poker Championships in Vancouver.

"We are very pleased to be part of Canada's premier poker tournament," said HeadsUp President Kelly B. Kellner. "We consider it a privilege to be able to cover the event through both our magazine and on television."

HeadsUp Entertainment made a deal with The Score Television Network, which is the exclusive broadcast partner of the Canadian Poker Tour, to show highlights from the tournament.

The 2009 BC Poker Championships began this week with 606 runners. The event received the attention of some big name poker players including Tiffany Michelle, Liz Lieu, Maria Ho, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Gavin Smith and Brad Booth.

Last year Canadian poker super-star Daniel Negreanu outlasted 689 players to win the 2008 BCPC for $300,708.

Cake Poker adds players, synchronized breaks

Cake Poker had a busy week adding synchronized breaks to its software and taking players from Third Bullet Poker.

Third Bullet was already a member of the Cake Network and the company's executives made the decision to merge the player base onto Cake Poker for better technical support and customer service.

Meanwhile, Cake's synchronized breaks will let multi-table tournament players take a break no matter how many tables they are running. The breaks will occur at 55 minutes past the hour, every hour.

The breaks do not affect Sit 'n' Go tournaments with less than 30 players.

The feature is quickly becoming an industry standard as Absolute Poker and UltimateBet recently added synchronized breaks as well.

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Poker Pros Rally Behind Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack

Late last week, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack stepped down from his post and removed himself from Harrah’s entirely. The move caught much of the poker world off-guard and Poker News Daily solicited the reaction from a few of the game’s top names.

“Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up and marquee female pro Annie Duke told Poker News Daily that Pollack’s ascension to the role of WSOP Commissioner in 2006 marked a player-friendly movement for the tournament series. She explained, “The first thing he did was meet with top players and I was fortunate enough to be among them. He really listened to us. There was only so much he could do because in the end he didn’t own it, but he was committed to working with the players and making sure they had a strong voice.” Pollack formed the Players Advisory Council, of which Duke was a member.

On the future of the tournament series without Pollack’s involvement, Duke admitted, “I know that Jeffrey stood as a partner with the players and fought with management over some of the issues. I feel like he was the players’ protector and it does concern me that he’s gone. I hope people at the WSOP take a lesson from what he did and partner with the players because that’s how you grow the brand.” Two years prior to Pollack’s Commissioner nod, Duke won the WSOP Tournament of Champions event for $2 million.

Among those lamenting Pollack’s departure was PokerRoad’s Joe Sebok, who made a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event and finished in 56th place. Sebok told Poker News Daily, “I think it’s a bummer. The biggest thing is that the players are losing out. Jeffrey did a good job and people don’t understand how much he fought for different things. He really was an advocate for us, so it’s a sad day. He was a great Commissioner and I think he did a great job of fighting for the WSOP and fighting for the players.” PokerRoad will take to the television airwaves this Wednesday with the debut of “Poker 2Nite,” a poker news show that airs on Fox Sports Net.

Two Poker News Daily Guest Columnists also weighed in on Pollack’s resignation from the WSOP and Harrah’s. Linda Johnson, co-owner of Card Player Cruises, explained, “This is not necessarily the best thing for poker players. He was a great communicator. If you sent him an e-mail, he responded immediately and he listened to us.” ESPN “Inside Deal” host and noted poker author Bernard Lee added, “I’m surprised. I think he did a great job of bringing the WSOP to another level with not only the commercial success, but also the growth in the number entrants. I thought he was doing a great job.”

Last night, the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” aired, one of the first episodes since the elimination of poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, who were sent packing in the Netherlands. Michelle gave her take on Pollack’s exit from the WSOP: “I’m very sad to see Jeffrey Pollack resigning. He has been so instrumental in the excellent changes and adaptations we’ve seen over the last four years. Jeffrey was professional, yet personal, which is why I think he held the respect of the entire poker community.” Michelle was the last woman standing in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, while Ho held that honor one year earlier. In 2009, the designation went to Leo Margets, who finished in 27th place.

According to WSOP officials, there are no immediate plans to fill the Commissioner’s role, leading many to wonder who will become the next face of the annual festivities in Las Vegas. Pollack was slated to become the President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the casino giant’s Canadian-based online arm. Former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber remains the head of the new outfit.

Erik Seidel Appears on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

Normally, poker players are seen on television only within their element, in a poker tournament or cash game. Recently, however, a top pro took the time to appear on one of the most popular programs on cable television.

In last Sunday’s episode of the HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm” entitled “Officer Krupke,” Erik Seidel appeared in a non-speaking role on the show. Seidel was seated behind “Curb” star and creator Larry David and his on-screen wife, Cheryl Hines, as the couple dined in a restaurant. David and Hines discussed her auditioning for a role on the “Seinfeld” reunion, which has been a prominent part of this season’s storyline. Seidel’s prominence in the shot – he is framed by both David and Hines as they perform the scene – has led many to discuss how he got on the program.

On the poker forum TwoPlusTwo, some answers are given on how Seidel got his “moment in the sun.” A tweet from Seidel himself that was posted on the site admits, “Yes, that was my ugly mug on Curb. From a charity auction, I’m a huge fan of the show.” Also noted in the discussion on TwoPlusTwo were the appearance of actor/poker player Ben Affleck and that Daniel Negreanu will have a spin on another HBO program, “Entourage,” also because of a charitable cause.

Seidel’s charitable actions have been quite apparent over the past year. When poker pro and friend Annie Duke battled her way to the final two on the past season of the NBC reality series “Celebrity Apprentice,” Seidel was prominent in several of the tasks. Not only did he appear during the final episode pitting Duke against eventual winner Joan Rivers, but Seidel also contributed to one of the early tasks on the program. In that episode, Seidel was among several poker players that donated to Duke’s cupcake drive. Seidel purchased one of the cupcakes created by Duke’s Athena teammates for $5,000, helping the team to victory.

The latest sighting of Seidel on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” continues a long-running theme of poker players appearing in mainstream television, movies, and magazines. In addition to Duke’s “Celebrity Apprentice” appearance this year, the team of Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on the current run of “The Amazing Race” has drawn attention to poker personalities. After battling valiantly through several difficult physical stunts, the duo was eliminated two weeks ago, finishing in sixth place on the Emmy Award-winning program.

Negreanu has been able to parlay his poker stardom into a cameo role in one of the top films of this year, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” where he played poker against the character Gambit. Fellow poker players Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, and Phil Hellmuth joined Negreanu in the recent “Body Issue” of “ESPN: The Magazine.” In addition, popular recent poker films and television series such as “The Grand,” “Lucky You,” and the highly controversial ESPN series “Tilt” have featured some of the biggest names in the game such as Doyle Brunson and Antonio Esfandiari.

It is good to see poker players such as Seidel in an arena outside of the poker table and even better that Seidel was able to parlay his appearance on the program into a charitable cause. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode with Seidel appears nine more times between now and November 15th, so there are plenty of opportunities for poker fans to check out his turn on one of the most popular programs on cable television.

Amazing Race: Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle Speak on Elimination

In the Netherlands, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were eliminated from the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” when the duo was unable to complete either side of the leg’s Detour. The last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events sat down with Poker News Daily to recap their journey.

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on finishing sixth in the 15th cycle of “Amazing Race.” The show was filmed during the WSOP Main Event. How do you feel now after watching it unfold on television?

Ho: It definitely took some time after the fact to cope with, but watching it on television was hard for both of us. We’re living it and feeling those emotions all over again.

Michelle: We made it so much further than we thought we would. At any point, we were willing to accept our fate.

PND: Several in the poker community have labeled the Netherlands’ Detour as sexist due to the presence of a high striker and whipping winds at the golf course. Do you agree?

Ho: From a production standpoint, it’s so hard for them to come up with all of these tasks. We’re not going to call it unfair. All we knew is that we gave it everything we had, but what we had wasn’t enough to complete it. In golf, the elements were too much to overcome. For us to try the high striker 70+ times, it obviously wasn’t the easiest thing to do. It might have come off like we didn’t give it our best shot, but we did.

Michelle: We spent three hours giving each side of the Detour a decent shot. If you can’t finish a Detour, you got a penalty of 24 hours. At one point, EMTs had come out and assess that we weren’t getting hypothermia. Either way, we knew it would be tough to come back from that.

PND: What was the most memorable part of the race?

Ho: Every moment was memorable. We got to go to so many good places and do things that we would never be able to do under normal circumstances. It was memorable when we got a four-hour penalty after losing two tourists and also had a speed bump to overcome. I feel like people were going to count us out and we wanted to show that we could compete, so we gave that next leg of the race our all. It was so great to come in the middle of the pack on that leg.

Michelle: Any time I was able to do a challenge that the guys were doing, like in the Dubai desert, it was incredibly rewarding.

PND: Was it tough seeing that two Harlem Globetrotters were among your competition?

Ho: We definitely tried to size them up a bit based on what we saw. Once we got to know who they were, they didn’t physically intimidate us. It’s not always about being the strongest or the fastest.

Michelle: We started calling them the “Lakers” because they looked like basketball players. We knew that they were going to have a lot of strength physically, but we could use our intelligence and creativity to counteract that.

PND: Do you feel that you represented the poker community well?

Michelle: All that we can represent is ourselves. It’s a big burden to take the poker community on our shoulders. A lot of poker didn’t come into play and this is a very physically intense game. All that we can hope is that our friends thought well of it. All we could do is represent Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle the best we could.

PND: Are you changed after this experience?

Ho: The “Amazing Race” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s life-changing in the sense that you get to push your limits physically, emotionally, and mentally. This race gave us both the opportunity to do that. Given any situation we encounter, we know what’s inside of us and what we’re capable of. In addition, the bond between Tiffany and I will last a lifetime. We were close friends leading up to this race and there’s nothing like having a person to lean on.

PND: The finish line of this installment of “Amazing Race” is in Las Vegas. How disappointed were you to hear that given you’re both professional poker players? Also, who’s your pick to win?

Ho: You have some strong teams left. Sam and Dan are tough boys. Meghan and Cheyne won a lot of legs. The Globetrotters have been in it to win it. Matt and Gary have sneaked by. Any of the last five teams are going to be tough competition. We got so close with those top teams. We’re excited to see how it ends.

Michelle: This was ours to lose. Las Vegas is our second home. It’s a place we’re very comfortable and familiar with. It broke our hearts that we couldn’t be a part of it. Lady Luck was on our side for parts of the race. If we made it that far, we would have given the other teams a good fight to the finish.

Poker players gone from Amazing Race

The poker playing duo of Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho are the latest team to be eliminated from this season's Amazing Race.

Poker girls eliminated from The Amazing Race

Poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho have finally bowed out of TV show The Amazing Race. The pair couldn’t complete a pair of challenges relating to golf and a fairground test your strength machine and paid the penalty with elimination. The duo exceeded the expectations of many though, remaining in the competition until the middle of week seven.

Amazing Race: Reaction to Eliminations of Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho

Professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were eliminated during the latest episode of “Amazing Race” when the pair was unable to complete a challenging test of physical strength. The only all-female team on the show decided to quit after concluding that they would never finish the challenge.

In the leg’s Detour, teams were given the choice between two tasks, Farmer’s Game or Farmer’s Dance. Michelle and Ho failed to complete either mission, as the team couldn’t hit golf balls with a wooden mallet far enough in Farmer’s Game and ring a high striker in Farmer’s Dance. Rather than checking in at the Pit Stop, Michelle and Ho announced that they were quitting the race when met by host Phil Keoghan at the golf course.

Female poker pro “PeachyMer” is a regular viewer of the show and was critical of Michelle and Ho following their elimination. “Neither one of them were putting their weight into it right,” said PeachyMer, referring to the golf-like section of the Detour. “Maria was half-heartedly hitting it so Tiffany could have another go. Tiffany almost got it a few times and although I hadn’t cared for them, I was rooting for her to get it there. I know it’s different when you are freezing, exhausted, and annoyed in that situation, but it looks like if she had thrown a little more of her weight into it and swung around longer, they would have been golden. With that money at stake, let alone the drive to win, I would have been swinging it from the ground behind me with everything I had and hope my angle hit if nothing else.”

Michelle and Ho were the only team made up of two females and at times had trouble contending in physically demanding competitions. While the duo managed to stave off elimination for several weeks, the grueling nature of this episode’s challenge proved to be too much to overcome.

“It wasn’t a very fair Detour,” said TwoPlusTwo poster “True North.” “You were screwed without upper-body strength. You put any all-female team in the history of the show on that Detour and they don’t finish it at least three-quarters of the time. They should have had just the dancing and the fish for Farmer’s Dance; the bell was what made it unfair.”

Fellow TwoPlusTwo member “Jeff M” agreed: “It really looked like the designers of the course didn’t take into account the fact that one of the teams was composed of two 90 pound women. They could barely lift the sledge, much less hit the button with any real force. And the golf game wasn’t much better. They really had no shot at hitting the ball hard enough to make par.”

Others felt a lack of effort was the reason the two poker pros couldn’t keep pace with the other teams left in the race. “This was one of the most pathetic teams ever,” said online poker player and “Amazing Race” fan “medici.” “They quit twice. And they managed to sneak in once because a team lost its travel documents… How they managed to not even finish this week when the other couple couldn’t count the bells or read their clue and incur a 30 minute penalty is beyond pathetic.”

With the elimination of Michelle and Ho, the remaining five teams will travel to Sweden for the next leg of the 15th season of ” Amazing Race.”

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Eliminated in the Netherlands

Sunday night marked the end of the road for professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho on the Emmy Award-winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race.” The duo quit the race after encountering two insurmountable Detours in Groningen, the Netherlands.

The episode began in Dubai with all six teams traveling on the same flight to Amsterdam. There, teams made their way to a causeway and located a statue to find their next clue. On departing in second place, Michelle told “Amazing Race” cameras, “Second place is awesome, but we’ve learned from poker that it’s really, really easy to get comfortable and get involved in pots that you shouldn’t.”

After landing in Amsterdam, Michelle and Ho arrived in fifth place at the statue, where their clue instructed them to head to Martintoren, the town’s church. There, the leg’s Roadblock tasked team members with counting the number of bells inside its massive tower. Michelle breezed through the task after Sam, one-half of brothers Sam and Dan, told her the correct number when they passed each other on the stairs of the structure. Sam explained, “It was a smart move, in my opinion, because they’re a team we can beat.”

Meanwhile, former Miss America Ericka Dunlap struggled to count accurately, ultimately causing her husband and her to fall considerably behind. Meanwhile, teams arrived at Vierhuizen de Marne, where the town’s windmill served as the route marker. There, they encountered the leg’s Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons.

The options this time around were Farmer’s Game or Farmer’s Dance. In the former, teams had to strip down to their underwear and swim across a creek. Then, they had to use modified golf clubs with wooden shoes affixed on the ends to play three holes of golf. Team members had to alternate shots and complete each hole in eight or fewer strokes.

In Farmer’s Dance, teams had to ring a high striker (a carnival game requiring hitting a mallet to ring a bell, usually dubbed a test of strength). Then, they had to learn a traditional Dutch folk dance, perform it up to snuff, and eat a salted herring. Michelle and Ho elected to dance, but after 30 failed attempts at ringing the high striker, switched tasks and hit the links. Meanwhile, Dunlap finally completed the Roadblock. However, her team neglected to travel by bike around the Detour as instructed in the clue.

Upon arriving at the golf course, the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events realized that completing each hole in eight strokes or fewer was challenging given the oversized ball in play and a stiff wind. Consequently, they elected to head back to the high striker and try again. After 50 failed attempts at the carnival game, the pair “hugged it out” and tried to rally.

At the end of 72 unsuccessful rounds at the high striker, Michelle and Ho headed back to the links. Michelle commented, “We were back at the golf course weaker than we were before and more freezing than we were before.” Meanwhile, Brian and Ericka were penalized 30 minutes upon arriving at the Pit Stop in fifth place due to not riding bikes as instructed, setting up a dramatic finish to this week’s installment of “Amazing Race.”

However, Michelle and Ho could not overcome the elements or muster up the strength to bash the high striker. Instead of checking in at the Pit Stop as is customary, Michelle and Ho were met by host Phil Keoghan at the golf course, where they announced that they were quitting the race. The duo finished in sixth place in the show’s 15th installment (out of 12 teams) and represented the only all-female team to compete.

“Amazing Race” airs at 8:00pm ET on Sunday nights on CBS.

WPT signs on for Annie Duke Charity Tournament

The WPT is putting up a seat in its exclusive Celebrity Invitational tournament to the winner of the charity event.

Organizers have also released an updated list of celebrities to attend the Duke charity tournament.

It now appears Amazing Race competitors Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho will be buying in, along with fellow reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella, Magician Penn Lillette, world champion snowboarder Jeff Brushie, supercross icon Jimmy Button, actor Joshua Malina and several others.

The usual assortment of poker players will also be lining up to play with Duke, Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Joe Sebok, Greg Mueller, Adam "Roothlus" Levy, Andy Bloch and "Hollywood" Dave Stann scheduled to appear.

The public will be able to buy in for $330 and rub shoulders with all the aforementioned celebrities and poker players.

The top 10 finishers will receive prizes from sponsors WSOP Academy, ClubWPT.com, Rockwell Time, Crown Royal, Team UltimateBet, Cartwright Entertainment, Hardcore Elegance, AMA Supercross Anaheim and Commerce Casino.

Taking place at the Commerce Casino in L.A., the Annie Duke Celebrity Poker Night is set to benefit the Decision Education Foundation, which teaches young people to make smart decisions.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational takes place Feb. 20-21, 2010. Also held at Commerce Casino, the Celebrity Invitational is recognized as one of the biggest celebrity tournaments in the world.

The event has drawn the likes of Ben Affleck, Tobey McGuire, Vince Vaughn and Mena Suvari. Former winners include Phil Laak, Van Nguyen and Freddy Deeb.

To sign up for the the Annie Duke Celebrity Poker Night or learn more about it, click here.

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Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho Finish Second at Atlantis Dubai

Poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho posted their highest finish to date in the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.” The duo arrived at the Pit Stop in second place at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne set out on the leg in first place, leaving at 8:17am, well ahead of the other teams as a result of completing the Fast Forward last week. Their clue instructed them to grab a briefcase and travel to the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, where they had to search the marina’s boardwalk for their next clue. There, teams encountered the leg’s Roadblock, a task that only one person can perform. In it, racers had to row inflatable boats to a yacht anchored offshore and find a sheik, who would present them with a watch. Then, they had to return to the dock and unlock their briefcase by cracking its three-digit code. What teams had to discern for themselves was that the time frozen on the watch, 8:35, represented the three-digit code to their briefcase.

Michelle and Ho departed in sixth place out of seven teams remaining at 11:47am and did not appear on “Amazing Race” until 15 minutes into the episode. Ho told Michelle at the Roadblock, “It might be physical. You’re faster.” Tiffany powered out to the parked boat and back, telling “Amazing Race” cameras, “Every time I accomplish something all of the other guys did, it’s definitely very rewarding.” Ho and Michelle are the only all-female team this season and Michelle was the only woman to perform the Roadblock.

Michelle quickly figured out the code to the briefcase and lapped Flight Time and Big Easy, members of the Harlem Globetrotters, who struggled with the lock after leaving the Pit Stop in third place. The next clue prompted teams to head to the Abra water taxi station, where the leg’s Detour awaited. The Detour, which is a choice between two tasks, asked teams to complete Gold or Glass. In Gold, teams had to find a jewelry store and use a precision scale to weigh out $500,000 worth of the commodity. The exchange rate to use changed every minute, making the task complicated. In Glass, teams had to visit to a local spice market and assemble a dozen hookahs.

Ho and Michelle elected to put their thinking caps on to complete Gold, with the latter noting, “Maria and I know how handle money, so this should be good for us.” Brothers Sam and Dan, who had been in a loose alliance with the poker pros, also elected to do Gold and told “Amazing Race” cameras that they purchased a $2 calculator at Wal-Mart before leaving to film the show. Ho and Michelle borrowed the device and shouted out the correct weight in gold to put on the scale before the exchange rate changed. The quartet appeared to breeze through the task as a result of the teamwork, while racers performing Glass struggled with the intricacies of the hookahs.

The next clue instructed teams to head to the Atlantis water park, similar to its sister site in the Bahamas that plays host to the annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and look for the Leap of Faith, a six-story speed slide that takes riders through a shark tank. At the bottom, teams were told to look for Dolphin Bay Beach, the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Ho and Michelle quickly completed the plunge and checked in second, their highest finish so far. Sam and Dan arrived right behind them and upon seeing the siblings run down the beach in their swimsuits, Michelle commented, “Sam and Dan had a ‘Baywatch’ moment today. They were looking kind of cute in their matching red shorts.”

Meanwhile, at the top of the slide, Mika and Canaan raged war over Mika’s fear of heights. In the end, she could not bring herself to complete the task, walked down the steps to the bottom, and the Globetrotters checked in sixth. Mika and Canaan were eliminated and the former commented, “I feel like I let [Canaan] down.”

Next week, the six teams remaining in the hunt for the $1 million first place prize head to the Netherlands. “Amazing Race” airs at 8:00pm ET on Sundays on CBS.

Celebrity Apprentice 3 Cast May Not Feature Poker Players

In 2010, the third installment of the NBC reality franchise “Celebrity Apprentice” will hit television airwaves. The show, which featured comedian Joan Rivers best poker pro Annie Duke in the finale last time out, will likely not include a poker player this time around.

Ever since Duke finished as the runner-up to Rivers in May, the poker community has been abuzz that one of its own may appear in the third edition of the popular series. However, according to Huliq.com and the New York Post, the ensemble cast, which will likely once again pit men against women, does not appear to include a poker player. No official cast list has been released by NBC. The show is hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump and raises money for charity.

Last season, Duke played for Refugees International, an organization that she worked closely with as part of her own charity, Ante Up for Africa. In the process, the poker community was instrumental in raising $730,000 for the charity. Poker players who made cameos throughout the season included Ultimate Bet front man Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, 2009 Poker Hall of Fame nominee Erik Seidel, and Perry Friedman.

Embattled politician Rod Blagojevich headlines the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast in Season 3. His wife, Patty Blagojevich, appeared on NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” when Rod was unable to attend due to ongoing legal action. Blagojevich is the former Governor of Illinois and was impeached in January for, among other misgivings, allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by current U.S. President Barack Obama.

Joining Blagojevich on the men’s team will be another controversial celebrity, former baseball great Darryl Strawberry, a member of the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees. Strawberry exited the league in 1999 and was the National League Rookie of the Year 16 years earlier. Chef Curtis Stone will join the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast, as will popular comedian Sinbad, whose credits include “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.” He has also appeared in movies such as “First Kid” and “Jingle All the Way.”

Former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, who stormed onto World Championship Wrestling (WCW) scene with an undefeated streak in the late 1990s, will be a part of the new “Celebrity Apprentice” cast. Rounding out the men’s team is “Rock of Love” star Bret Michaels, who is also known for his work with the band Poison.

The women’s team features “America’s Got Talent” judge Sharon Osborne, whose fellow judge on the show, Piers Morgan, was the winner of Season 1 of “Celebrity Apprentice.” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” signer Cyndi Lauper will join the squad. Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders, who took down hardware in swimming in 1992, will also make her way to New York City to film “Celebrity Apprentice.” There, actress Holly Robinson Peete, wife of former NFL great Rodney Peete, will join her.

World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Maria Kanellis will also be a part of “Celebrity Apprentice,” as will comedian Carol Leifer, who has written scripts for hits like “Seinfeld” and “The Larry Sanders Show.” Finally, Selita Ebanks, a model, will round out the new cast.

The names of more cast members may be released, but for the meantime, it appears that the poker community will not be a part of the upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Over on CBS, Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively, are competing as part of the Emmy Award winning reality series “Amazing Race.” The show airs at 8:00pm ET on Sundays and viewers will see the poker playing duo race around Dubai, United Arab Emirates on this week’s edition.

The Post reported that the “Celebrity Apprentice” cast was seen recording the opening credits in the Meatpacking District of New York City and that the show would begin airing in March.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Finish Sixth in Dubai

Fresh off being spared elimination last week in Cambodia after a rival team lost their passports, poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho finished sixth in the Dubai leg of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.”

Teams began in Cambodia, where brothers Sam and Dan departed at 12:25pm. The clue instructed the “Amazing Race” competitors to fly to the Persian Gulf to find the world’s tallest building. Teams had to figure out on their own that the clue meant traveling to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to find the Burj Dubai, a building that is twice the height of New York City’s Empire State Building. Once there, they had to sign up for one of two elevator rides to the top. Michelle and Ho were the final squad to leave the Cambodia Pit Stop, departing at 12:55pm.

On the fate of the racers who misplaced their passports last week, Michelle noted, “It’s unfortunate what happened to Zev and Justin, but the rules are the rules. We’re appreciative for the lucky chances and we think we can be contenders.” All teams traveled to Dubai on the same flight and, once there, Michelle and Ho quickly righted the ship and left the airport in second place. They were the first team to arrive at the Burj Dubai and signed up for the 5:30am elevator ride, which carried four teams. The second lift departed at 5:45am.

Once at the top, the clue instructed teams to go to a parking structure at the nearby Dubai Mall, find a marked car, drive to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, and ride 4×4s to their next clue. They also received information about the only Fast Forward on this installment of “Amazing Race.” The first team that completed the Fast Forward would be able to skip all tasks on the leg and head straight for the Pit Stop. However, dating couple Meghan and Cheyne were the only team to attempt the task, which was to head to the Dubai Autodrome and drive an F3 racecar through a course in less than 45 seconds.

Michelle and Ho elected not to go for the Fast Forward and instead headed for the Conservation Center. On the way, Ho remarked, “Lots of sand in Dubai. Aside from the heat, this is an amazing place.” Once they arrived, a Roadblock, which is a task that only one team member can perform, was waiting for them. The challenge featured teams grabbing a traditional water bag and searching for water than had been placed in urns and buried in the sand. Several dry urns were also scattered, making the challenge tougher. Upon finding water, the team member had to fill their bag. Michelle performed the Roadblock, but came up dry on her first attempts.

Meanwhile, Cheyne registered 40 seconds on his F3 lap and received a clue to head to the Pit Stop, the amphitheater at Souk Madinat Jumeirah. Back in the desert, Brian, one-half of married couple Brian and Ericka, told Michelle where to find water, which allowed the last woman standing in the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event to complete the task. Upon leaving the Roadblock, Ho ran over a stake in the ground, which punctured her car’s radiator. A replacement car was provided and Ho remarked, “I have an excuse because I’m an Asian female driver.”

Teams then made their way to Ski Dubai, a massive indoor ski resort in the middle of the urban metropolis. There, they encountered the leg’s Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. The first option was “Build a Snowman,” in which teams had to carry snow from the wintry inside of Ski Dubai to the 120 degree heat outside and build a traditional snowman before Mother Nature melted their creation. Teams could also select “Find a Snowman,” in which they took a chairlift to the top of the massive Ski Dubai slope and then sledded down to the bottom, where they had to search through a giant pile of snow for a tiny snowman.

Michelle and Ho elected to find a snowman; however, the duo quickly grew frustrated and switched. Meanwhile, after not being able to find their way out of Dubai to the Conservation Reserve, engaged couple Lance and Keri were the last to leave the Roadblock, could not catch up, and were eliminated this week. After building their snowman, Michelle and Ho checked into the Pit Stop on Dubai in sixth place, ensuring another week on “Amazing Race.”

Next week, the seven teams still in contention for the $1 million first place prize remain in Dubai and head to the Atlantis Resort, which is similar to its counterpart in the Bahamas that hosts the annual Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic. “Amazing Race” airs at 8:00pm ET on CBS on Sunday nights.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Finish Last in Cambodia

Poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho finished in last place for the second time on this season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race.” This time, however, a team losing their passports saved the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events from elimination.

This week’s episode, which aired around 8:30pm EST due to an overrun of the NFL on CBS, began in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where nine teams departed from Reunification Palace. Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy left at 6:53pm in first place, while Michelle and Ho departed the Pit Stop in sixth place at 7:16pm. Teams were instructed to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first flight took off the next day at 12:15pm, with all nine teams making the journey together on a small propeller plane after spending the night in the airport.

Upon landing in Cambodia, Michelle and Ho left the airport in seventh place and headed to the Foreign Correspondence Club, where they were instructed to ask an editor for their next assignment. The clue, which appeared in a newspaper, was captioned, “The woman in this picture has a hotel suite named after her.” The “woman” in question was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who once stayed at the Hotel Le Royal. Teams headed to the hotel and searched for the real-life photo of Onassis to receive their next clue.

Michelle and Ho headed to the hotel and received information outlining the leg’s Detour, which is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. This week, teams could select between Cover and Wrap. In Cover, teams had to head to a motorcycle stand, select four helmets, and then sell them for $10 to a family of four. In Wrap, teams headed to the Russian Market, where they were given a colored scarf. Then, they had to comb through the massive market to find a woman wearing a matching scarf. Michelle and Ho chose the latter along with seven other teams, with engaged couple Lance and Keri being the only team to select Cover.

After finishing the Detour, teams traveled to Wat Toul Tom Pong on foot to search for their next clue. There, the Cambodian leg’s Roadblock, which is a task that only one team member can perform, asked racers to work with a Monkey Master to complete three maneuvers. While teams were breezing through the Roadblock, Ho and Michelle became stuck in traffic, losing valuable time. Upon finally arriving at the Russian Market to perform the Detour, Ho and Michelle received a green scarf and departed in eighth place out of nine teams remaining.

Friends Zev and Justin checked into the Pit Stop in first place, while brothers Sam and Dan took second. However, upon checking in, Zev and Justin realized that they had misplaced one of their passports. Host Phil Keoghan informed the team that it needed the travel document in order to continue the race. If they failed to re-check into the Pit Stop with passport in tow before the last team arrived, they would be eliminated. This opened the door for Michelle and Ho, who were among the teams in last place, to survive the leg of “Amazing Race.”

Meanwhile, Ho performed the Roadblock, with Michelle standing by and commenting, “She’s not the most athletic, dancer-y one of the bunch.” On her way to the Pit Stop, Ho remarked, “I’m very proud of how we’ve done, but I wish I could have been a better monkey for my teammate.” For the second time on this season of “Amazing Race,” Michelle and Ho arrived at the Pit Stop in last place, but were spared elimination because Zev and Justin had not yet produced the lost passport. Michelle exclaimed, “I wish we had this much luck. We’d be bazillionaires.”

Next week, teams head to Dubai, where they experience extreme heights, extreme speed, extreme heat, and a winter wonderland, according to the show’s preview. “Amazing Race” airs on Sunday nights at 8:00pm ET on CBS.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho Finish Sixth in Vietnam Leg

Sunday night marked the second installment of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race,” which is in its 15th season. After starting the leg in seventh place, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho finished in sixth. Nine teams remain.

After arriving at Cai Be, Vietnam for the Pit Stop, teams were transported by boat downriver to M? Tho. There, father and son team Gary and Matt were to first to depart the Bassac III riverboat at 5:45am. The clue instructed the teams, who had no idea where they were, to head to the Ho Chi Minh City Water Puppet Theater, a two hour taxi ride away. At the theater, they had to pluck a clue out of the mouth of a twisting, spitting water dragon. Michelle and Ho were the seventh team to depart, doing so at 6:11am. The last team to leave the Pit Stop, married couple Brian and Ericka, left just 18 minutes later.

The team of poker players exited the Water Puppet Theater in sixth place and were given a stamp with an image of a building on it, which they ultimately discerned to be the Main Post Office. There, teams were given their first Detour, a choice between two tasks, on this season of “Amazing Race.” The first option, “Child’s Play,” challenged teams to head to a local park, pick up a heavy concrete animal statue, and transport it along a course while collecting five colored balloons. In the second Detour option, “Word Play,” teams headed to the observation deck of a local hotel overlooking a busy traffic circle and had to spot six Vietnamese letters. Then, they had to leave the hotel and unscramble the letters to spell a common word.

Michelle and Ho elected to complete “Child’s Play” and selected a large wolf, transporting the statue on a cart, which quickly broke after leaving the start of the Detour. Fortunately, they were easily able to run back and grab a second cart to continue the challenge. With Michelle dragging the wolf through the Detour, Ho rolled the team’s luggage. Consequently, Michelle was exhausted. She told “Amazing Race” cameras, “The Detour was so incredibly tough. I was gasping for breath like I’ve never had to gasp before. Every other team has a man to lean on and we don’t.” Michelle and Ho are the only all-female team on this edition of “Amazing Race.”

Upon completing the Detour, teams received a clue outlining the leg’s Roadblock, a task that only one team member can perform. In the Vietnam leg’s Roadblock, dubbed “Who’s ready for a complete breakdown,” teams had to break down two VCRs, sorting their parts into separate piles. A man performed a demonstration on-site in a local market stall, Dien Co 008.

While teams were busy pushing and pulling their animals through the park, dating couple Marcy and Ron chose to complete “Word Play.” Upon figuring out what the six letters were, they failed to consult locals to unscramble the word for quite some time, a costly mistake that sent them into last place. Meanwhile, Michelle and Ho arrived at the Roadblock in sixth place, where the former disassembled two VCRs. The Ultimate Bet pro quipped, “I like these power tools. They are bad ass.”

Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy were the first to arrive at the Pit Stop, Reunification Palace, outrunning dating couple Meghan and Cheyne. For winning the leg, the Globetrotters earned a trip for two to Aruba courtesy of Travelocity. The island nation is currently playing host to the annual Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, whose $5,500 buy-in Main Event begins on Monday.

Brian and Ericka, who finished last in the first leg of “Amazing Race,” righted the ship to take fourth place this time around. Michelle and Ho checked in sixth, up one spot from last week. Marcy and Ron, after taking too much time to perform the Detour, checked into the Pit Stop in last place and were eliminated. For Marcy, it was bittersweet, as her father was shot down during the Vietnam War and rescued by American forces.

Next week, teams dress up like monkeys as the “Amazing Race” crew travels to Cambodia. In addition, “one team breaks the cardinal rule” and loses their passports. “Amazing Race” airs weekly on Sundays at 8:00pm ET on CBS.

PokerPages.com to Close October 31st

Along with the influx of players to the world of poker, the past decade has also seen an increase in the number of poker-related media, magazines, and informational web sites for fans to peruse. Since the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, however, many of these businesses have fallen victim to lean times. One of the recent casualties was also one of the first to set out into the poker information business back before the poker boom began.

It was announced on Friday that the longtime poker information site PokerPages.com, which has been in business since the late 1990s, would be ceasing operations come the end of October. In a brief statement on the site, PokerPages management said, “For many years Poker Pages has enjoyed providing the best source of poker related content, arguably the internet’s largest and most complete live poker tournament results and listings database, as well as a place to play poker for free. These services will certainly be missed, but we realize that the most appreciated benefit of our products and services has been the community created by our user base. We thank you for the many great years you allowed us to provide you with the best poker content on the internet and wish you all the best in your future poker endeavors. It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving you over the years!”

PokerPages.com was arguably one of the top sites for tournament schedules and reporting. Its international tournament listings were second to none and the history of many of the events in its database stretched back to the 1970s. PokerPages.com was also the home of Poker School Online, which featured poker instruction from poker veteran Al Spath and provided new players a place to hone their skills online for free before stepping out into the world of live cash poker.

Such noted players as poker legend T. J. Cloutier, 2008 “November Nine” member Dennis Phillips, pros Kenna James and “Hollywood” Dave Stann, and top female players Erica Schoenberg and Maria Ho added their insights through writing articles for the site. At one time, in addition to the numerous professional players and their thoughts, its writing staff featured such notable names as Mike Paulle, who was the originator (along with Max Shapiro and the late Andy Glazer) of the “tournament reporter” position that is commonplace in today’s poker media, and author Amy Calistri, who recently teamed with Tim “The Poker Shrink” Lavalli to pen “Check Raising The Devil,” the autobiography of Mike Matusow.

The original ownership of PokerPages.com, Mark and Tina Napolitano, recently sold the company, which was headquartered in Austin, Texas, and the site’s quality had begun to decline. Calistri noted on her blog that, in commenting on the death of Las Vegas legend Bob Stupak, “I knew it would be too much to ask to find one (a story on Stupak’s passing) on PokerPages, which is rehashing a lot of old articles and posting week-old news these days.”

In a comment to Poker News Daily, Paulle summed up his thoughts on PokerPages’ demise by stating, “Tina Napolitano was the heart and soul of PokerPages.com. When you lose your heart and soul, you die.”

PokerPages.com will cease operations on October 31st and, according to announcements on the site, there is no information as to what will become of the wealth of history that it has accumulated.

Poker Community Responds to Amazing Race Premiere

Professional poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle are quickly becoming the talk of reality television fans and poker enthusiasts alike after just one episode of the new season of the CBS series “Amazing Race.”  These two racers, who each made their claim to fame by being the last women remaining in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, are quickly gaining fans and critics after the two-hour premiere, during which they went from first to last place, impressing and irritating their competitors along the way.

Poker News Daily sought the opinions of those on both sides of the issue in order to gain more insight into why the Ho/Michelle team has such a polarizing effect on people.  In addition to discussing some of the pros and cons of their appearance, we also picked up behind the scenes information that sheds more light on how the two young women are being portrayed.

The Skeptic

It didn’t take long for occasional poker journalist and online poker regular Jon Wein to decide that he did not enjoy the duo of poker ladies participating in the show.  He tuned in to watch the show, but Wein claims he “had to turn it off after [Tiffany Michelle] and Maria Ho implied they were rich for the like eighteenth time.”

His biggest issue with the two women appearing on the show is that it deprives other, ostensibly more deserving, poker players from time in the limelight.  “It literally makes me sick that Tiffany Michelle gets this much coverage and publicity for one Main Event run. She’s done nothing else,” he explained.  “Ultimate Bet has all of these talented pros like Matt ‘mattg1983’ Graham and Adam ‘Roothlus’ Levy and then they have her… It’s a complete slap in the face to them.”  Wein even took a playful jab at Michelle’s former Poker News employer Tony “Tony G” Guoga.  “I literally curse Tony G’s name to this day because he put her in the Main Event,” he joked.

While Wein has a very clear opinion on Michelle, he has less to say about her partner.  “I don’t know Maria and have never spoken to her.  I only know what the media portrays her as,” he said.

Considering poker players do not get too many opportunities at mainstream media exposure, an appearance on a reality show can have a major influence on how the game is perceived by those who are not fans of it.  Wein is skeptical that the team, Michelle in particular, will grow poker’s popularity.  “Even if [Michelle] is the sickest ‘Amazing Race’ contestant ever, I just don’t understand how anyone can be like, ‘Wow, what a great ambassador for the game. What a humble person about their successes’…I think she is a poor example of what a poker player should be.”  His opinion is based not only on the first episode of “Amazing Race”, but also last year’s Main Event coverage and his own personal experiences over the course of several summers in Las Vegas.

He may just be one viewer, but the presence of Michelle and Ho on the show has actually convinced the longtime “Amazing Race” fan to take some time off from tuning in, as Wein said he had no plans to watch future episodes this season.

The Supporter

Like Wein, longtime tournament reporter B.J. Nemeth knew Ho and Michelle long before their appearance on “Amazing Race.”  In fact, it is only because of their presence on the show that he tuned in this season.  “I have never watched ‘Amazing Race’ before this season and I am watching primarily because I am friends with Maria and Tiffany,” Nemeth explained.  “I am also watching (to a lesser extent) because of my weekly appearances on PokerRoad’s ‘The Poker Beat,’ where I am sure we will discuss and analyze the show at some point, just as we did with Annie Duke on ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’”  He is a fan so far and even suggested that he might tune into the show for future seasons.

The show has made a fan of Nemeth, but he thinks it will have little impact on bringing new fans to poker.  He explained, comparing their appearance to Duke’s memorable run on “Celebrity Apprentice”:

“Amazing Race” is a unique game and the specific job skills that people bring with them will have little impact, whether they are a doctor, a lawyer, or a poker player.  “If [Michelle and Ho] perform well or win, it won’t be because they are poker players. If they embarrass themselves and lose, it won’t be because they are poker players. And I don’t think mainstream fans will judge the poker industry by how they finish… The impact on poker is very different from Annie Duke’s presence on ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ where she was only on the show because she was a famous poker player, and it was brought up repeatedly from a strategy standpoint and in the boardroom with Donald Trump.”

Nemeth also conceded that any publicity was good publicity though and, unlike Wein, believed that the appearance of the young female poker players would more than likely help rather than hurt the poker cause.  When it comes to Wein’s concerns that their behavior will come off as indicative of the poker industry as a whole, Nemeth disagreed.  “Even though ‘Amazing Race’ fans identify Maria and Tiffany as the ‘poker players’ or the ‘poker girls,’ that’s just an identifier because it’s tough to learn names of 10 to 12 two-person teams,” he pointed out.  “They refer to the other teams in similar ways – ‘the asshole lawyer,’ ‘the interracial couple,’ ‘the father-son team,’ and ‘the gay brothers.’ Reality TV fans are smart enough to know that personality traits are unique to individuals and not to entire professions or sexual preferences.”

The Scoop

Ho and Nemeth had a lengthy chat after the show’s Sunday premiere and Nemeth shared behind-the-scenes details of the first episode with Poker News Daily.  “Maria and Tiffany have agreed that they won’t be answering their critics or talking about specific things until the show is complete. It’s not easy, because they’ve seen a lot of the criticism and want to respond, but they know it would be counterproductive at this point,” Nemeth explained.  However, he did clear up a couple of early points of criticism on behalf of his friends.

He immediately addressed a major issue that both reality television fans and poker enthusiasts were quick to criticize the girls for - their rolling luggage.  Historically, backpacks have proven to be the most popular way to travel on the show and avid fans suggest that rolling luggage slows players down too much during crucial periods of the race where they may have to run.  Nemeth explained that their bags convert into backpacks and the clip showing Ho rolling it down the street was during a three mile walk from one location to the next.

Nemeth also filled us in on the controversial decision by the pair to conceal their occupation from their opponents.  According to Nemeth, the producers encouraged them to keep their status as poker pros under wraps since previous contestants like former “Survivor” winners Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich were highly criticized by their fellow racers for already being rich and famous.

As for their false claim that they worked with a non-profit group?  This is not entirely a lie.  Both women have done a lot of charity work, so there was more truth to their statements than the show depicted.  “The homeless charity that Tiffany mentioned on the show is a real charity that she has worked with and its director called her on Monday to support her,” said Nemeth.  He also said that the girls received less flack from their competitors about their tiny fib than the show implied and that they are still in touch with over half of the teams from the season.

These are just two of several opinions on a show that still has a long way to go to reach the finish line.  In every season of reality television, there will inevitably be heroes and villains.  So far, Ho and Michelle are netting their fair share of criticism compared to the other participants, but picking up a few new fans as well, so it will take a little more airtime to get a better idea of how they will be remembered on “Amazing Race” and whether or not it will have any bearing on the world of poker.

Hellmuth, Michelle headline Aruba Poker Classic

In fact, tournament organizers are expecting a record number of pros to make the trip to sunny Aruba.

"This is one of my all-time favorite poker tournaments," said Annie Duke, UltimateBet's Cardroom Consultant and member of Team UB.

"While the UB community is famous for gathering together at all sorts of other poker tournaments like the WSOP, Aruba is all about celebrating the successes of UltimateBet's online poker players. I can't wait to meet the people I play against online, party with old friends on the beach and make some new ones."

The entire Team UB roster is scheduled to appear including Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Joe Sebok, Adam Levy, Billy Kopp, Bryan Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Hollywood Dave Stann, Live Boeree, Matt Graham, Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon, Scott Ian, Michael Binger, Gary "debo34" Debernardi and Shawn Rice.

Also confirmed to play are Amazing Race stars Tiffany Michelle (who is also a UB pro) and Maria Ho.

Michelle mentioned she was looking forward to the event when interviewed by PokerListings regarding her Amazing Race experience.

"We've been doing a lot of press to support the show so it will be exciting to go to Aruba," said Michelle. "I'm excited to sit back down at a poker table and see if I still got it."

Lacey Jones and Matt Vengrin, who represent Absolute Poker on UB's CEREUS network, will also make an appearance at the tournament.

The Aruba Poker Classic began in 2002 and has since seen a number of high profile winners including Juha Helppi, Erick Lindgren, Freddy Deeb and Travis Rice.

Last year, online pro Matt Brady outlasted 550 players to win $1 million out of a prize pool of over $2.6 million.

Taking place at the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa, the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic will run Oct. 3-10 with the $5,500 main event starting Oct. 5. For the complete schedule go to the Aruba Poker Classic website.

Visit PokerListings.com

Poker Pros make slow showing in Amazing Race

Without spoiling too much of the first episode of this seasons CBS Amazing Race, professional poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho had a disappointing finish to the first leg of the race.

Love Them Or Hate Them? The Entertainment Media Reacts to Tiffany Michelle & Maria Ho’s Amazing Race Debut

When it came to Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho's debut as TV contestants on The Amazing Race, reactions across the entertainment blogosphere were polarized, to say the least. Hardly anyone found middle ground when it came to this pair of non-profit...

Sunday Night Football Dominates Amazing Race Premiere in Ratings

The National Football League (NFL) game between the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals garnered an 8.2 rating on Sunday night during the 8:00pm ET hour to lead all programs. The CBS reality series Amazing Race, which features poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, premiered at 7.1.

Amazing Race began around 8:15pm ET as a result of a late finish of a football game that aired on CBS. During the 8:00pm ET hour, Sunday Night Football generated an 8.2 rating according to HitFix, Amazing Race came in at 7.1, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition mustered a 6.4 rating, and Fox’s The Simpsons came in at 4.5. Another show that aired during the first of two hours for Amazing Race was The Cleveland Show (5.3 rating), which premiered on Sunday night at 8:30pm ET on Fox.

Amazing Race’s 15th season premiere featured a two-hour episode, seeing a 5.8 rating during its second hour, a sharp drop-off. Sunday Night Football, which was approaching halftime at 9:00pm ET, attracted a solid 9.7 rating during its second of three hours. Fox again ran two half-hour programs, with Family Guy grabbing a 5.7 rating and American Dad chiming in with a 4.1. Meanwhile, Desperate Housewives returned to score an 8.4 rating. The hour-long program airs on ABC and bumped Amazing Race to third in the ratings during the time slot.

The number of viewers of Sunday Night Football dwindled during the 10:00pm ET hour, when the game became a blowout, generating an 8.7 rating. Indianapolis won 31-10, with quarterback Peyton Manning tossing four touchdowns in primetime; the Colts led 21-3 at the intermission. The game generated additional interest given that Arizona is the defending National Football Conference (NFC) champions and narrowly defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in January’s Super Bowl.

HitFix noted that NBC averaged 12.7 million viewers during the three-hour time period and mustered an 8.0 rating. CBS, which carries Amazing Race, was in second place with a 7.3 rating and 11.7 million viewers. Amazing Race is regularly one hour in length, but aired for 120 minutes over the weekend for its debut episode. Next week, Pittsburgh will host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football, which will surely lead to another ratings-rich affair for NBC.

Previously, ESPN held the rights to Sunday Night Football before the honor went to NBC in time for the 2006 season. The NBC version originally featured Al Michaels and John Madden in the broadcast booth. Madden retired before the start of the 2009 campaign and was replaced by Cris Collinsworth. Amazing Race has aired on Sunday nights since Season 10 in the 8:00pm ET hour. Previous versions have aired on Thursday night, Wednesday night, and Tuesday night. The latter has been the traditional evening for new episodes of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN.

Amazing Race once again won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in 2009. In fact, Amazing Race has won the honor every year the award has been given out and, this time around, it bested American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, and Top Chef. Amazing Race features Executive Producers Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, and Jerry Bruckheimer, who has been behind movie blockbusters like Top Gun, The Rock, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Michelle and Ho were nearly sent home from Tokyo on the season premiere of Amazing Race, but finished last in a non-elimination leg. Despite having to complete a Speed Bump, an extra task only they had to perform, Michelle and Ho rallied to finish seventh out of 11 teams. Now, 10 remain as the cast heads to Cambodia. Check out Amazing Race at 8:00pm ET on CBS every Sunday.

Amazing Race: Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho Escape Elimination in Premiere

Poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were spared elimination on the premiere of the CBS reality show Amazing Race, which is entering its 15th season. Michelle and Ho arrived at the first pit stop in last place.

The 15th installment of the CBS franchise began in the L.A. River, the site of movies like “Grease.” Twelve teams arrived by bus, including Michelle and Ho, who told other teams that they worked for a non-profit instead of admitting they were wealthy poker players and the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events.

In a new twist, the first challenge took place immediately, with the last team to complete it eliminated at the starting mat. In it, teams had to sort through 1,000 license plates for one of 11 from Shinagawa, Tokyo, their first destination. Despite confusing license plates, some with misleading Japanese symbols on them, Michelle and Ho finished the task first and headed to the airport to fly to Tokyo. On completing the task first, Michelle quipped, “We have our Asian lucky charm right here,” referring to Ho. In the end, married yoga teachers Eric and Lisa were eliminated in Los Angeles.

All teams flew to Japan, where they were told to head to the Tokyo Tower Television Studio. There, a live audience awaited a game of “Sushi Roulette,” which capitalized on the popularity of Japanese game shows. The Roadblock, which is a task that only one team member can perform, asked contestants to stand in front of a giant roulette wheel and eat the food that landed in front of them. The two players who received scorching hot wasabi bombs had to consume it in less than two minutes in order to receive their next clue. Play continued until each team had eaten a wasabi bomb.

On-screen graphics like an alligator breathing fire added flair to this task, which saw the wasabi land on Ho’s space on the third spin. However, she was unable to eat it within the two-minute time frame and had to play again. As luck would have it, the wasabi once again landed on her space on the fourth spin. Ho told Amazing Race cameras, “My hands were shaking. I was tearing up. It was just like one of those moments where people say it’s mind over matter.” Ho finished her wasabi with two seconds left on the clock.

After completing “Sushi Roulette,” the teams received a colored flag, which corresponded to the visors of 20 audience members. They had to lead their group to the Konno Hachimangu Shrine across town on foot navigating Tokyo’s congested streets. Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the Shrine, the Pit Stop for the leg of the race, first and received trips to Aspen and Vail.

Michelle and Ho stopped at a hotel to get a map to the Shrine, sharing its location with brothers Sam and Dan. Michelle explained, “They’re both young, hot, 20-something guys who have become our friends.” Meanwhile, two members of Michelle and Ho’s group became separated in Tokyo’s maze of crowded streets. After hunting around, the poker players were unable to locate their lost crowd members and checked in at the first Amazing Race Pit Stop in last place. Michelle and Ho were assessed a two-hour time penalty for not completing the task, but were spared being sent home in a non-elimination leg. As punishment, they would be forced to complete a Speed Bump, which is a task that only Michelle and Ho would perform, in the upcoming leg.

The teams were then dispatched to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where they were taken by bus to Cai Be. Despite departing three hours behind other teams at 3:22am from the Pit Stop, Michelle and Ho were quickly able to catch up, as the first flight to Vietnam did not leave until 10:30am. Meanwhile, Lance Layne, an engaged lawyer from Massachusetts, lashed out at Michelle and Ho for not being eliminated on the previous leg: “I can’t believe they gave those two chicks a Speed Bump. Bastards should have been sent home.”

A person at the airport recognized Michelle and asked, “Did you get into the Top 15?” This generated doubt in Michelle and Ho’s stated profession as non-profit workers, eventually leading to other teams figuring out that they were actually poker players. Teams arrived at the Cai Be docks just before nightfall only to see that it did not open until 7:00am. In the morning, they proceeded to mud pits across the Mekong Delta and were tasked with scooping enough mud to fertilize a fruit tree by filling up its base to a designated red line.

Before completing the fruit tree task, Michelle and Ho served the Cai Be dock master soup for their Speed Bump. The poker-playing duo completed the extra challenge with ease before heading to the mud pits. Michelle and Ho were in last place leaving the pits due to the time lost while completing the Speed Bump, but gained ground in the leg’s Road Block, which consisted of herding 150 ducks across a bridge and back again in a fenced enclosure.

Michelle claimed that she had ducks growing up and “flew” through the task, leading to the team being in sixth place after finishing the Roadblock. The Pit Stop on the Vietnam leg was a boat, the Bassac III, and Michelle and Ho arrived in seventh place, surviving a chaotic two-hour episode. Father and son Gary and Matt came in first place and won kayaks.

Amazing Race airs every Sunday on CBS at 8:00pm ET. Next week will see Michelle, Ho, and the rest of the CBS reality show’s cast travel to Cambodia.