CEREUS Network Traffic Rises with Celebrity Apprentice

Among those tuned in to the season finale of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice was Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett. Finalist Annie Duke is a sponsored poker pro of Ultimate Bet, which is owned and operated by Leggett’s company. He watched as comedian Joan Rivers became the Celebrity Apprentice winner and shared his thoughts with Poker News Daily.

Sunday’s boardroom played out in front of a live studio audience in New York City. Show host Donald Trump asked the two finalists from last season’s Celebrity Apprentice, Piers Morgan and Trace Adkins, who should take home the show’s $250,000 check for charity that goes to its winner; both said that Rivers should. NBA star Dennis Rodman and figure skating legend Scott Hamilton agreed, while West Coast Choppers CEO Jesse James advised the real estate mogul to select Duke. Leggett told Poker News Daily who should have won Celebrity Apprentice: “I think Annie deserved to win. In my opinion, she was the best competitor with the most business acumen.”

Duke represented the poker community, whose members came out on multiple occasions to help raise money for charity. Perry Friedman paid $10,000 for a wedding dress in one episode. Full Tilt Poker pro Erik Seidel purchased a single cupcake for $5,000, while Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth bid $25,000 for a round of golf with LPGA pro Natalie Gulbis, a contestant on the show. In a blog by Daniel Negreanu on Full Contact Poker, it was revealed that Howard Lederer, Duke’s brother, contributed $100,000 during the final episode to help his sibling.

On how poker was cast during Celebrity Apprentice, Leggett commented, “Annie showed that poker players are extremely intelligent and competitive. Despite the many negative comments from Joan Rivers, I think that Annie’s success on the show has cast poker in a positive light and shown players as a cohesive and generous group that has a sense of community and a charitable spirit.” A pre-taped segment that aired during the finale included “Hollywood” Dave Stann, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Matt “mattg1983” Graham sending their best wishes to Duke.

As a sponsored pro of Ultimate Bet, Duke serves as one of the main faces of the U.S.-friendly online poker room. As such, Leggett was overjoyed when he learned that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner would head to New York City to begin filming. Leggett told Poker News Daily, “We were excited about the prospect of seeing Duke compete on Celebrity Apprentice. We saw Annie’s appearance as an opportunity to go beyond our usual reach of the poker world to non-poker playing America for some fantastic brand exposure.”

Leggett revealed that a “a major increase in traffic” has occurred as a result of Duke’s weekly exposure during the two hour NBC reality series. The show began airing on March 1st. According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, between March 13th and March 25th, the CEREUS Network boasted over 4,000 real money ring game players on eight days. Since then, the 4,000 mark has been broken just once (April 13th). CEREUS is currently the seventh largest online poker network worldwide and the third largest that accepts U.S. players behind PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. The new network was formed back in November after the player bases of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were merged. On Sunday nights, Ultimate Bet qualified players for an opportunity to win an Aruba Poker Classic prize package. The Main Event of the promotion, which takes place next Monday, is dubbed “Annie Duke’s Apprentice Challenge.”

In an interview with Poker News Daily last week, Hellmuth stated that he would consider becoming a member of the cast of Celebrity Apprentice Season 3 if asked. The series’ third celebrity version and ninth overall installment is slated to hit television airwaves in the beginning of 2010. Leggett gave his two cents on how Hellmuth would fare: “Phil would be great, but very different. He is much more expressive and explosive. The audience couldn’t help but be engaged by his antics and outbursts, which would be inevitable if he competed in Trump’s boardroom. Phil is passionate about everything he does and is just as charity-minded as Duke.  I think he’d go deep if he went on the show.” Hellmuth owns the record for number of WSOP bracelets won at 11 and has made three World Poker Tour final tables.

Duke and Hellmuth collaborate on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Poker Show.” In addition, Duke has appeared on NBC’s “1 vs. 100,” serving in the “mob,” and also on a bevy of televised poker tournaments. Leggett noted that Duke’s vast experience in front of television cameras was beneficial during Celebrity Apprentice: “I think Annie’s experience with the Best Damn Poker Show has helped her in some ways because she was already comfortable in front of a camera. She was also very aware of how perceptions can be created or skewed by the editing process.”

A special thank you from all of us here at Poker News Daily to Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett.