UltimateBet Signs Tiffany Michelle to Star Players Team

| July 29, 2008

After putting together a strong performance at the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event as the last woman standing, Tiffany Michelle now has a sponsorship deal with online poker room UltimateBet.

“From Hollywood to Vegas, Tiffany Michelle is a rising star in so many extraordinary ways,” stated Annie Duke, UltimateBet’s Cardroom Consultant. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring such a talented force on board.”

Michelle finished 17th in the Main Event and is bound to receive plenty of attention from ESPN when the episodes begin to air September 2. Prior to her run in the Main Event the 24-year-old was already well known in the poker community as a result of her work as a on-camera reporter work for PokerNews.com.

Her decision to sign with UltimateBet does not come without controversy. On July 14, the last day of play in the Main Event until November 9 and the day Michelle was eliminated from play, PokerNews issued a statement condemning Michelle’s choice of UltimateBet and accused her of violating her contract with PokerNews, where she worked as a reporter and the sponsor of her entry to the tournament.

“Tiffany was bought into the event by PokerNews and had a signed player contract with PokerNews Ltd. We believe, that based on advice from her agent that the contract may have loopholes; she went and made a deal with an online gaming operator that completely contradicted the trust that we had put in her, both as an employee and as a sponsored player. As an organization we felt completely sabotaged by Tiffany, her agent and Ultimate Bet,” the statement, signed by Robert Huxley, Vice President of PokerNews Ltd. “In regard to the Ultimate Bet and PokerNews relationship, Ultimate Bet has come under considerable scrutiny from the Poker Community for several scandals involving high-ranking employees and the use of defective software that allowed these users to see their opponent’s hole cards.”

The scandal at UltimateBet, and sister-site Absolute Poker, is currently the subject of an investigation by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. In her official response to PokerNews, Michelle indicated she was happy with her choice of UltimateBet and suggested that it was their management’s approach that helped make the decision.

“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.”

Michelle’s signing is the fourth recent signing by UltimateBet. As the WSOP was starting the online poker site signed Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy to its Star Players Team and Eric “Rizen” Lynch. Only one month later however, Lynch had a change of heart and decided to leave the Star Players Team. A few days later James “POKERPRO333 Campbell was added to the roster.

Michelle can be found playing on UltimateBet under the name “Tiffany M” and will be featured in a number of upcoming promotions. For more information visit UltimateBet.com.

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