Poker Industry Versus Melissa and Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice

This week’s episode of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice featured the poker industry, represented by Ultimate Bet pro and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Annie Duke, square off against Joan Rivers and her daughter, Melissa. Next week’s installment could even feature an appearance by Duke’s arch-rival, Phil Hellmuth.

Two tasks were included in this week’s two hour-long episode of Celebrity Apprentice. In the first, teams were asked to come up with packaging and retail store displays for Lifelock, an identity protection service. The two teams, Athena and Kotu, would be judged on brand message, originality, and overall design. Athena selected R&B artist Brian McKnight as its Project Manager, while professional golfer Natalie Gulbis stepped up for Kotu.

Duke had not yet volunteered to be Project Manager. She told NBC cameras in comments reiterated in a recent interview with Poker News Daily, “When you do any of these advertising challenges, it’s very subjective and depends on what the client wants. I didn’t want to manage something I had very little control over.” The winning Project Manager on Sunday would receive $20,000 for the charity of their choice. Duke is playing for Refugees International, which works closely with Ante Up for Africa, a charity she started along with actor Don Cheadle.

Duke’s team, Athena, met with executives from Lifelock. She prodded Todd Davis (Lifelock’s CEO) and another official for three keywords to describe the company. She also inquired as to whether the campaign should emphasize the benefits of obtaining Lifelock or be more fear-based. One of the executives explained in an interview with Celebrity Apprentice cameras, “Annie seemed to be the one that was asking questions and taking the lead.”

The construction shop that created the in-store displays for both teams was located in across town in Brooklyn and closed at 8:00pm. A few hours prior to the deadline, Duke’s team still had not sent any representatives to direct the shop’s workers, prompting the WSOP bracelet winner to instruct West Coast Choppers CEO Jesse James and Playboy Playmate Brande Roderick to head there. She cautioned McKnight that she was performing a task that wasn’t her job, leading teammate Melissa Rivers to comment, “Annie is tending to absolve herself of any responsibility. She started laying the groundwork in case it doesn’t go over well tomorrow.”

McKnight was laid back throughout the episode, whereas Gulbis quickly assigned tasks from the start and deferred to comedian Joan Rivers in several instances. The elder Rivers came up with the idea of using Kotu’s celebrities as a central selling point. Above each team member’s likeness, a thought bubble appeared explaining why Lifelock was important to them. Meanwhile, chaos engulfed Athena, with Duke continuing to prod McKnight to adhere to the construction schedule. She explained, “Brian should have been more aware of the deadline and he certainly should have been more on point with the other side of the team. He was too laid back.”

Roderick chose to take a backseat during the task, flirting with the construction staff rather than help push the process along. The lack of progress caused Duke to chastise, “I can give Jesse a pass because he’s sick, but there was someone else who knew what the deadlines were. To have Brande, who was literally just wood floating down the stream, is a hindrance more than a help.” James developed a stomach bug during the episode, but continued to compete.

In the end, Athena chose to use Davis’ likeness in a similar advertising concept to what the company had already successfully employed. Contrastingly, Kotu was praised for its use of celebrities. Its creativity was the deciding factor, as Gulbis was awarded $20,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The decision by Lifelock executives sent Duke’s team into the boardroom. Joan Rivers fully anticipated Duke to throw Roderick under the proverbial bus. She told NBC cameras, “I had dinner with Annie and she said, ‘Brande has to go. Brande’s stupid. Brande is not helping the team. We’ve got to get rid of Brande. She is an idiot.’”

However, the boardroom featured Duke blame McKnight for his lack of attention to deadlines. Joan Rivers promptly exploded at the poker icon, claiming, “Annie is a trouble-maker. She’s a snake.” However, show host and real estate mogul Donald Trump later asked Duke to evaluate Roderick. She commented, “Brande doesn’t stick her neck out. I think that, in poker, you have people who play to last and people who play to win.” Ivanka Trump then quipped to Duke, “You’re the dominant personality every time you’re on a team. You’re very authoritative. You’re very assertive except when it counts.”

Joan Rivers continued to unleash her angst against Duke while watching the boardroom unfold, at one point throwing a wine glass at the floor and shouting, “This girl has been such a conniver.” Joan Rivers decided to leave the suite so she would not have to be in the same room as Duke. However, outside the door was none other than her arch-rival. The two exchanged words in a heated argument, ending with Duke explaining, “Joan is overprotective of her daughter. She felt like I didn’t defend Melissa enough or lay into Brande enough.” Annie apologized and Melissa Rivers was spared being fired.

The teams were then called back into the boardroom, where Trump announced that their next task would begin immediately. The money-raising task featured teams selling pieces from Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line for charity in an auction. Duke stepped up to be Project Manager and appropriately squared off against Joan Rivers. Duke promptly delegated tasks to her team members. James was put in charge of designing the auction’s preview guide, Roderick selected outfits for models to wear and dealt with their agency, and Melissa Rivers was tasked with selecting jewelry.

Many of Joan Rivers’ interviews with NBC cameras during task featured quotes such as “Annie would spit on the ground and drown her own mother in it if it gave her a step forward in her life. She’s a… She’s not a nice person.” Her daughter chimed in, “Annie is very aggressive about raising money and she almost bullies people.” Duke stated that whoever raised the least amount of money on her team would join her in the boardroom should Athena ultimately lose the task.

The strained relationship between Duke and Roderick was repaired during the second task. Melissa Rivers mocked their closeness, commenting, “I’m really pissed at Annie’s two-facedness.” Gulbis, on Joan Rivers’ team, came up with the idea of soliciting Duke’s competition in the poker world to bid against her team. She focused in on Hellmuth and explained, “I want to see Annie’s reaction to seeing arguably one of the greatest poker players of all-time fundraising for me, not her.” Hellmuth is a fellow Ultimate Bet pro and owns the record for the number of WSOP bracelets won with 11.

The end of the cliffhanger show featured the first Celebrity Apprentice winner, Piers Morgan, called in by Trump to help be his eyes and ears. The episode continues next Sunday, April 19th, at 9:00pm ET on NBC. Hellmuth did not appear in its preview.