M
Marginal
Junior Member
Silver Level
Or it could just mean his contract is up and he does not want to be involved any further? People reading way too much into this. Does not mean end of world
B
Boomswitch
Rock Star
Silver Level
I know, but I still it find it fishy is all. I am just giving my opinion, cause you know someone has to be the paranoid omg its all over guy.
absoluthamm
<==Poker Face
Silver Level
other way around. Annie's news broke first
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
I lol'd.
LarkMarlow
Legend
Silver Level
Though I'm aware that most guys dislike Annie Duke. I know lots of women who really respect her. I, for one, would take her over Phil Hellmuth any day. She's worked really hard to promote the legalization of online poker in a big way, including appearing before a Congressional Committee last year. Her philanthropic efforts are legend. Phil is all about promoting Phil.
Back to the latest gossip--apparently pro Joe Rietman (sp?) finally asked Annie to marry him on Christmas Eve and she said yes. Regarding affiliating with another site anytime soon, she said no.
Divebitch
Miss you, Buckster,,,,,
Silver Level
Sounds pretty bad to me. Aside from Annie & Phil, I couldn't even think of any other pros there. Sadly, I never deposited there, so can't withdraw. And at this point, I'd be afraid to, like maybe cut my losses. I mean what could UB be thinking? You gotta imagine an total onslaught of withdrawals are in progress - or should I say attempted. Hey, could anyone else see Hellmuth at Carbon?
Sysvr4
Rock Star
Silver Level
Yeah, makes me wish I'd tried to trade my $10 with someone on Stars or FTP before now
Honestly, if anything, I'm surprised it took this long. Once their respective scandals broke, both UB and Absolute should have been entirely void of players, in my opinion.
dmorris68
Legend
Loyaler
I listened to Dennis Phillip's radio show yesterday and they had Annie on. She explained several things to dispel all the rumors circulating. Let's see if I can remember the Cliff Notes:
- She resigned, they did not let her go. And she had no knowledge that Phil was leaving. The timing was a coincidence, and an unfortunately one according to her, since it fueled a lot of conspiracy theories and unfounded speculation.
- She has a lot of other business ventures going on and was wanting to get out of endorsements. She actually made the decision in the summer or fall, so I guess she was just waiting for a contract expiration or something. She has two books in the works and some other projects she wanted to focus on, including her involvement as a legalization advocate.
- Specifically, she stated she did NOT leave to join her brother at FT, even though she understands why people would suspect that. She left Ultimatebet to get away from endorsements, not go after another one. She said that when you see her playing in live tournaments this year, she'll be wearing NO sponsor patches at all.
- She doesn't know anything about Phil's situation, but suspects that he left to go to PokerStars. When she actually suggested that Dennis would have some inside info there (him being a Stars Pro), he quipped "no speaky English" and later mentioned to his co-host Paul Harris that it had been discussed but he had no inside information that it was going to happen.
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
If Phil does actually go to pokerstars.. I would love to see some Dusty Schmidt vs. Phil Hellmuth heads up matches.
dmorris68
Legend
Loyaler
I'm pretty certain it will never happen because Phil would just embarrass himself.If Phil does actually go to PokerStars.. I would love to see some Dusty Schmidt vs. Phil Hellmuth heads up matches.
But I would fully expect Phil to try and throw his weight around with PS management to put the screws to people like Dusty that he might have a beef with. Hopefully he won't wield that much influence, and PS won't cater to his ego that much.
O
onemorechance
live free or die
Silver Level
lol so you didn't think to get your money off there before?
DINGO8MYBABY
Rock Star
Silver Level
I came here to make a post about this. UB said last week they were going to sign young aggressive players throughout the year. Prahlad is the first. Thus, the belief that UB is going down because Hellmuth and Duke are out is a bit exaggerated. Afterall, Joe Sebok never left. I bet UB is bent that FTP has Dwan as he'd fit their gameplan. And the guy who may be the best young player, Yevgeny Timoshenko, seems committed to poker stars.
dmorris68
Legend
Loyaler
Especially since (a) he was probably the biggest victim of the Russ Hamilton cheating scandal, and (b) he has long been outspoken against online poker sites and endorsement deals, accusing pros of "selling out." Then what does he do? Sell out to arguably the most controversial of all online sites, who happened to have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from him. It makes no sense. Irony, meet Prahlad.
Daniel suggested in a tweet last week when the rumors first broke that the only explanation he can come up was that Prahlad must be on some sort of level with Ultimatebet, and is secretly planning to sabotage them. Would be epic if true, lol.
absoluthamm
<==Poker Face
Silver Level
yea, there is either something going on in Prahlad's head or UB just went deep into their pockets to try to get him, but I can't see why they would do that with someone like him. Not only because of their history, but also because Prahlad isn't a huge name like so many others out there. He's a great player, but your average casual poker player won't know his name and therefore won't bring new people to the site because of it.