We’re two weeks out from when news originally broke about PokerStars acquiring Full Tilt Poker. While no officially announcement has come from either PokerStars or Full Tilt regarding the progress of the deal...
Well this is interesting. While we can’t get any official word yet, we are hearing significant chatter among players and local Vegas gaming sources that the Palms casino may end up having to...
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Who is going to replace Hellmuth and Duke next week?
Team UB pro Joe Sebok has been doing the media rounds today discussing the departure of Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke from UB today.
We caught up with him for a brief podcast on why the departures happened, how much of a break UB is making with its past, and where UB is headed in the future (plus who the “big announcement” joining the team could be).
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So what logo will Phil Hellmuth be wearing during next year's WSOP entrance?
In a move that surprises no one, Phil Hellmuth and UB have announced they are parting ways today.
In a move that surprises some, Annie Duke has announced she’s leaving UB as well.
The timing of the announcements today obviously aren’t a coincidence. UB has a history for releasing big news during dead press times (Exhibit A: super-user list on 9/11), and this is something that must’ve been in the works for awhile between the parties.
Having said that, this feels like a win-win-win for everyone involved. For UB to effectively move from the past, cutting ties with Hellmuth and Duke (and of course, Excapsa) was a must.
And for Hellmuth and Duke to shake the dirt off their shoulders from the UltimateBet super-user scandal and rebuild their reps, leaving UB was a must as well.
UB is moving in a different direction with their team and marketing efforts, building up more of a youth-orientated squad headlined by Eric Baldwin, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Maria Ho. We expect this trend and complete remodeling of the team to continue in the near future.
What’s next for Hellmuth and Duke? That’s not as obvious. Although one person who has to be happy about this is Hellmuth’s agent, Brian Balsbaugh at Poker Royalty. Love him or hate him, Hellmuth is the biggest needle mover on TV for poker. A deal with any number of sites (U.S. or non-U.S. facing)– or perhaps some new venture– feels almost inevitable for Hellmuth. The only question is how fast will he be scooped?
Also, if Hellmuth actually does land on Dancing with the Stars and manages to last a few weeks, that would absolutely broaden his appeal to other poker–or more mainstream–sponsors as well.
As for Duke, she’s done a great job positioning herself for more mainstream opportunities, and we could see her expanding past the traditional online poker sponsorship opportunities.
Anyway, it should be an interesting few months for Hellmuth, Duke, and UB.
Expect a podcast with Team UB member Joe Sebok about all of the changes later tonight or tomorrow. We will try to land a podcast with Hellmuth, or his agent Brian Balsbaugh, early next week.
Read Duke’s statement here.
Read Hellmuth’s statement here.
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Yesterday’s episode of This Week In Poker is now up on YouTube here.
Once again another really solid show of This Week In Poker thanks to some great guests and questions from the live online audience. The main topic this week was online poker legislation, including the recent mark-up and committee approval of Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Bill, H.R. 2267. Joining us in the studio was poker pro Annie Duke, a woman, who recently testified before the House Finance Committee on the issue, and via skype we had John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, and Dan Michalski of Pokerati.com.
Honestly, you’re not going to get a more thorough discussion of the topic than this with a good hour or so dedicated to covering HR 2267 and online poker legislation in general, including what are the chances we’ll see the bill reach Obama’s desk before mid-term elections, where do things stand in the Senate, the support and opposition from brick-and-mortar card rooms and Indian casinos and what the US online poker market may look like post regulation.
We also introduce a new segment with Jess Welman, a ginger/woman, where she breaks down the biggest poker news of the week, and we’re talking big like Beth Shak being on the new season of “Millionaire Matchmaker.”
Later in the show, Vikki Blows may or may not enter the studio and do a striptease on our shiny translucent table before we talk to Annie about all the non-poker stuff she’s busy with including her new venture, MyMixedNuts.com. Finally we wrap by challenging Annie to a speed round of “Poker Metaphor Signifying You Have to Act Quickly.”
Watch the full episode above or on our official “This Week In Poker” page here.
You can also download the audio podcast via iTunes here.
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Annie Duke (on left) has been getting a lot of attention lately with the approval of HR 2267.
New episode of This Week in Poker broadcasting live online tomorrow at 4pm PT / 7pm ET.
We have another solid episode of This Week In Poker lined up for tomorrow. Our main topic will be the House Finance Committee’s approval of Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling bill, H.R. 2267, and what we can expect over the coming months and year both in Congress and in the U.S. online poker market.
Guests will include Annie Duke, a woman, who testified in support of the bill, and John Pappas, the exec. director of the Poker Players Alliance. Also joining us will be Pokerati‘s Dan Michalski, who followed the mark up proceedings every step of the way.
Finally, we’re introducing a new “Poker Headlines” segment with our new favorite ginger Jess Welman, a ginger (sorry Lance Bradley, a ginger).
As always, we want to work in your questions for our guests as much as possible (fyi – we’ll be talking with Annie about things besides the legislation). Post them in the comments below or ask them live during the show in the Ustream chat box, on Twitter of via Facebook. We’ll once again be giving away sets of Skull Candy headphones today to those who ask the best questions.
In related news, check out some of the arguments for and against legalizing Internet Gambling made in a “Room for Debate” discussion on NYTimes.com. Annie Duke’s post here.
Watch Tuesday at 4pm PT / 7pm ET here.
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Annie Duke is in D.C. to testify before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday at 2pm ET.
Annie Duke will speak at Wednesday’s 2pm ET House Financial Services Committee hearing on Internet gambling.
Duke, testifying on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance, joins four other panelists, including (copy + paste from the House Financial Services website):
Importantly, there is no markup of the H.R. 2267 bill scheduled. So don’t expect much momentum to shift here. Just another hearing. From every source we’ve spoken with–even among the most optimistic of the bunch–no one believes anything significant is going to happen with H.R. 2267 before the mid-term elections, and we could be in a long, long grind if the Republicans take over the House in November.
Anyway, you can watch the hearings via live web stream at 2pm ET here.
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Just getting Part II of our podcast up. No poker here. 100% discussing and debating The Walking Dead. We’re joined by an esteemed panel, including Jason Newitt, Dave “F-Train” Behr, Jeff Holsey, and Entities Chops and Colin. If you were a fan of the show, you’ll like the debate. We discuss problems with the show, [...]
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We recorded a two-parter podcast yesterday. Part I is now live and discusses The Rise and Fall of Ray Bitar WCi feature with its author, Dave “F-Train” Behr. In it, F-Train details the interview process for the feature, as well some conclusions that could be drawn about the man who helped make Full Tilt Poker the [...]
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