World Poker Tour Signs on With Fox Sports Net!
July 19, 2008
WPT Finds New Home On FSN.
After months of speculation, the World Poker Tour has finally found a new home to broadcast its popular tournament series.
Once the most highly-rated program on both networks it was featured on - Travel Channel and Game Show Network - the WPT can breathe a sigh of relief after being signed by Fox Sports Net this past week.
The popular poker show, which is hosted by Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, was in turmoil to start the year after it was reported that GSN had no plans to retain the show - despite it being one of the most watched programs on its network schedule.
Talks went through nicely, and the Fox syndicate will start airing new episodes of the World Poker Tourin the coming months. Overall, 26 episodes are slated to be aired, with the first two coming from the recently completed Bellagio Cup IV.
Poker Blogger -Natarem- Threatened Over UB Scandal.
July 18, 2008
Nat Arem Physically Threatened During UB Controversy.
Famed poker blogger and poker consultant Nat Arem, who was the main figure who brought the Ultimate Bet superuser scandal to light over a year ago, has officially been threatened with physical violence in the latest controversy to come to light regarding the online poker giant.
In a HUGE thread that has been developing nicely over the past week or so over at 2+2, it looks as if MORE dirt has been brought up that indicates UB not only knew about the cheating, but also blatantly tried to cover it up, and then tried to cover up the fact that there were in upwards of a dozen or more ADDITIONAL superuser account names that have been uncovered in the scandal.
Their official statement, which was made public on PO a few weeks ago, named and indicted all those involved. However, it now looks as if there are even more names to be added to the list, and there’s a VERY strong indication that 1994 WSOP Main Event winner Russ Hamilton may be more directly involved in the Ultimate Bet cheating than originally thought. Hamilton was a former shareholder/purported owner of UB in the 90’s, and has now been laying very low in the poker world despite his name frequently being used in regards to UB’s troubles.
Nat Arem brought all this up and more in the aforementioned 2+2 thread, and he recently stated in a post on the same site that he was threatened with physical violence if he didn’t stop digging up more dirt on the story! He has mentioned that being the recipient of physical force wasn’t worth it, and bowed out of the whole thing by forwarding his information to trusted sources on Two Plus Two - and letting the other detectives on the powerhouse poker forum do the rest in his absence.
More to come on this ever-developing story….
Tiffany Michelle Controversy Getting Heated.
July 17, 2008
Former PokerNews Host Releases Official Statement.
Tiffany Michelle, the former color commentary girl for PokerNews, has been in a lot of hot water lately stemming from her recent 17th place finish in the 2008 WSOP Main Event.
Michelle, who was put into the tournament by her company and owner Tony G, was making the run of her poker career in this year’s Main Event. In doing so, she was turning a lot of heads - and proving a lot of the skeptics wrong when it came to a woman’s poker skill.
Tiffany was en route to becoming the first woman to final table this storied tournament since Barbara Enright did it back in 1995, however, a stem of bad beats and unfortunate calls sent her to the rail with just TWO tables remaining. She did take home a nice paycheck of just over $300k though!
What makes the story so intriguing was her sponsorship selection towards the end of the tournament. Unbeknownst to PokerNews, Tiffany Michelle was approached and eventually signed with controversial poker site Ultimate Bet, and therefore began sporting UB gear throughout the remainder of the Main Event. She even will be seen on ESPN’s featured table coverage later this year donning the Ultimate Bet insignias.
At first, it seemed as though Michelle had blatantly gone behind PokerNews’s back and violated the terms of her contract with the company. However, after consulting legal counsel via her agent, it was ruled that a possible loophole in her contract did not prevent her from signing with another poker site and wearing their gear during the tournament. She would be chastised and burned alive by many poker forums and news sites, all of them claiming she screwed over her employer by pulling such a “stunt” - and to make it worse, with a company engulfed with an ever-evolving superuser scandal that will soon be featured on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Well, Tiffany has finally come out of the wood works and released her official statement regarding the matter. Please read up and enjoy - and formulate your opinion from there =)
“It is with great sadness that I’ve had to see my accomplishment of finishing 17th in the WSOP Main Event clouded by slanderous accusations and inaccurate information. I have been humbled by the overwhelming support from friends, fans and the media and for their sake as well as mine I feel as if I must respond and bring clarity to the situation.
There is no denying the positive press and exposure I brought Pokernews by wearing their logo and being their representative during the 2008 World Series of Poker main event. After such a successful series, I am greatly dismayed by Pokernews’ subsequent actions. No one has ever questioned my integrity before this and I am so distressed that Pokernews is using their powerful public forum to spin such a negative recounting of the facts of what occurred during the final two days of the main event.
As we all know, it is standard practice for players to wear multiple logos during the main event. Pokernews was aware of this, having placed their logos on a number of players with sponsorship deals with other companies. Throughout the World Series I saw several players wear the Pokernews logo alongside the logos of online card rooms such as Pokerstars and T6. This makes it very clear that Pokernews supported this practice as a rule and were not against players wearing their logo in conjunction with the logo of an online card room. Like many other people, I wore multiple logos but in no way diminished the presence of Pokernews in doing so.
Unfortunately in this instance, Pokernews suddenly felt that I was in violation of my backing deal by wearing another logo. I have a written contract that has been reviewed by legal counsel – and it is very clearly a non-exclusive contract meaning that while I was expected to wear the Pokernews logo – I was in no way prevented from wearing any other logo. Furthermore Pokernews did not possess any power to make, advise or negotiate any kind of logo or sponsorship deal that came about via my playing the main event. In light of recent allegations by Pokernews, I have had this contract reviewed again by legal counsel to reconfirm my stance – that I in no way was in violation. It was never even said to me verbally until after the fact that there was an expectation of exclusivity. Even in my previous dealings with Pokernews, as their On-Camera Host I have made a point to never agree to any kind of exclusivity with their company as advised by my talent manager. The first I heard of Pokernews’ disapproval to me wearing the UB logo was after I already had it on and was playing on the featured table.
It was unfortunate that while I was working hard to try to win the main event (and in so doing help to further promote Pokernews) I was chastised by Pokernews representatives at all hours of the day and night for wearing a second logo. Despite my repeated requests that they go through my manager and let me just concentrate on playing, they insisted on contacting me directly, greatly upsetting me during the most important weekend of my life. These representatives of Pokernews kept repeatedly telling me they had nothing but ‘my best interests at heart’ yet I felt bombarded by several parties trying to control my decisions and pressure my actions.
A fact that is known to Pokernews is that I was approached by many online poker sites wanting me to represent them during the last few days of the event; however I chose to work with UltimateBet. Tony G even quotes in his BLOG “I had been working on putting a deal together for Tiff with PokerStars and they had just emailed me. I knew Tiff could become a huge star and I was going to allow her to do a deal that would protect Pokernews also for the main event”. The fact that Pokernews was willing to work with PokerStars on a joint deal says it all – the contract was NONEXCLUSIVE.
I am a grown woman and I can decide for myself who I choose to associate myself with. That should not be Tony G’s decision. Just because Tony G. backed me in the event (and profited quite nicely by doing so) does not mean that he should be able to control or profit from any logo or sponsorship deal I might make or have any say in how I handle my career. I have been around poker a long time and it’s widely known that a backer has no say or cut of a player’s sponsorship or logo deal. Again, I had seen several Pokernews sponsored players wearing online card room logos already so clearly the backing deal and the logo deals were separate for every other player wearing Pokernews. Why would it be different just for me?
In the end, I completely stand by my decision and I feel that UltimateBet was the one site that treated me with the respect and dignity deserving of someone in my stressful situation. Throughout the whole event they were insistent on wanting me to just concentrate on my play and were clear that the decision in the end was mine and I should do what I felt was best for me.
It is unfortunate that Pokernews has taken the step of publicly accusing me of breaching their contract when I have been scrupulous in fulfilling my obligations. I have always felt that disputes like this should be handled privately and in this case using such a broad reaching platform to air such a dispute seems really inappropriate to me. Still, I want to say how much I appreciate the opportunities that Pokernews has given me. I am deeply grateful to Jeff Lisandro and Tony G for backing me in the event and giving me this opportunity to play in the most exciting event of my life.”
2008 WSOP Main Event Final Table Set.
July 16, 2008
The 2008 WSOP Final 9 on “Hiatus” Until November.
FINALLY!
That’s the one big word that comes into mind when it comes to describing the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table countdown…
After the Main Event started play on July 2nd, it took nearly another 2 weeks for the final 9 to hit the felt at this year’s WSOP.
With 6,844 entering this year’s M.E., the prizepool grew to a staggering $64.3 million! When the final table begins play, first place will be worth a little over $9.1 million, with the last 8 players in the tournament being guaranteed at least a million bucks in prize money.
When the LIVE final table begins play in early November, there should be no shortage of excitement despite the 4-month layoff. I’m assuming all of the final 9 will be working on improving their game dramatically, as well as the possibility of a few of them hiring poker coaches to step up their game even more when it comes time for the ESPN cameras to televise the action.
Recreational poker player Dennis Phillips will headline the final and bring in a sizable chip stack of over 26+ million in his arsenal. He holds a slight chip lead over 2nd place Ivan Demidov, who brings in a stack of 24.4 million. Bubble boy Dean Hamrick would be the unfortunate 10th place finisher, and will no doubt be wondering “what if” over the next few months before the final table is actually played out. His A J off suit was no match for the pocket Queens of Craig Marquis, whose hand would hold up against the 25-year old, setting the stage for the final 9 players.
Until then folks, we’ll see you all in November!
Here are the seating charts and chip counts for Main Event final table:
Seat 1: Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Seat 2: Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Seat 5: Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
Seat 6: Chino Rheem - 10,230,000
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Seat 8: Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
