UB Poker released a bombshell just before the upcoming New Year’s celebration –actually TWO bombshells—as the popular online poker room has announced that both Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth are no longer part of Team UB!
The first announcement was initially made by Annie Duke on her blog where she informed her fans that she was leaving UB Poker:
“It’s bittersweet, but I’ve decided to leave UB.
I have nothing but positive things to say about UB and my experiences with the brand, management team, and dedicated employees who work hard every day to deliver a terrific online poker experience for players like you.
I’ve sincerely enjoyed wearing the UB patch, but it’s time for me to move on.
So why am I leaving UB? In a nutshell, professional and personal growth.
I’m going to explore and pursue other business opportunities on a full-time basis. And, while I will no longer be a part of UB, I will remain a part of the online and offline poker community and am confident that we will continue to cross paths playing this amazing game that we all love.
See you at the tables – always,
Annie”
UB Poker then issued their own statement on their blog, followed just one hour later by the even bigger news that Phil Hellmuth was also no longer part of UB Poker:
“Today we are announcing that UB.com and Phil Hellmuth have mutually parted ways. It has been great working with Phil over the last decade and we know we’re with the rest of the poker world when we say that we look forward to Phil’s next move on the world poker circuit,”
UB Poker’s Joe Sebok posted his own blog entry where he stated that even though Team UB Poker has been trimmed of its two most recognizable names the site was not sitting on its hands, and new members would be announced next week. Bluff Magazine pointed out a recent Tweet by Prahlad Friedman where he hinted at possibly signing with a poker site: “I said I would never sign with a pokersite. Should I ever reconsider? What yall think? I would have to get over the fact that I’m “selling out”. I’m the only poker player in the world that hasn’t wanted a deal that I know of.,”
Signing Friedman would greatly enhance UB Poker’s reputation, and not simply because Friedman is a top-notch poker player: Friedman was the biggest victim of the Super-User scandal and his signing would definitely signal to the poker world that the Super-User era is officially over at UB Poker.
Other big name free agents –with the right reputation for UB Poker-- include recent Card Player Magazine POY winner Tom Marchese, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, Daniel “Jungleman12” Cates, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, and Daniel Alaei.
Comments
Wow this is shocking news.Makes you wonder where Annie and Phil will go next......could WSOP be thinking of starting their own real money site?
Actually Harrah's has already launched a subscription-based WSOP online poker site, so that is definitely a possibility
Why now? Was this simply the expiration of their contracts? Could this mean there will more info on the scandal? When will Sebok find the real killers?
Likely it has to do with the new ownership not wanting to put the vast majority of their sponsorship $$$ on the backs of just two players --neither of whom are at the top of the poker world in terms of skill.
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