On Monday, poker pro Annie Duke, a contestant on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to talk about her upcoming showdown against comedian Joan Rivers. Duke even found time to discuss poker strategy with the talk show host.
In the upcoming season finale of Celebrity Apprentice, which airs at 8:00pm ET on Sunday night on NBC and runs for three hours, Duke will argue why she deserves to be crowned champion of the popular reality program. Her adversary, Rivers, has labeled Duke “two-faced” and “manipulative” throughout the series. DeGeneres asked whether Duke plays Celebrity Apprentice similar to a poker game. Duke responded, “It’s a game and you have to play your strategy. I think it’s a game about business, so I don’t understand the personal level [Rivers] brought it to. When you’re playing poker, you’ll check-raise your best friend and then go out for a drink with them and have a good time. Those things are really separate, so it’s confusing to me.”
One of Rivers’ prime accusations was that Duke called Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick an “idiot” during this season of Celebrity Apprentice, a charge that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner denies. Duke told DeGeneres, “I had lots of private interviews and cameras on me 15 hours a day, so they could have used that [if I said it]. The only people who have called Brande an idiot are Joan and Melissa [Rivers]. It is a game and it is a fake job and you get fake fired all in the name of raising a wonderful amount of money for charity, which is what it’s really about.” Duke has raised over $260,000 for her charity, Refugees International, an organization she works with as part of Ante Up for Africa.
During the most recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice, Season 1 winner Piers Morgan lauded Duke’s ability not to become upset despite being labeled a “Nazi,” “pit viper,” and “whore” by the Rivers family. On the comparisons, Duke commented, “It was so horrific to be attacked like that, particularly being called worse than Hitler, which is offensive. She’s comparing me to someone who slaughtered six million Jews and it’s not like we’ve solved hate crimes. It was an awful thing to have said to me.” Although last week Duke used an analogy comparing Joan Rivers to a cancer, she has largely remained composed. The Ultimate Bet pro explained to DeGeneres, “I learned at the tables that being emotional like that brings you down to their level. When people are trying to get power over you with those kinds of insults, the only way to give them that power is to react.”
The conversation between Duke and DeGeneres then turned to poker, with the talk show host questioning why she shouldn’t play 7-2 when the likelihood of the flop coming 7-7-2 is the same as it is falling Q-A-K. Duke imparted her poker knowledge: “You should only be putting the percentage of money in the pot the percentage of the time your hand will win. 7-2 doesn’t win very often.” Throughout the poker conversation, DeGeneres properly used terms such as “flop” and “boat” in front of her live studio audience.
The seven minute appearance ended with Duke autographing a WSOP Academy chipset to help raise money for the Humane Society. In addition, WSOP officials donated a $4,000 prize package to a future Boot Camp. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” airs on ABC. Rivers is slated to appear on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on Friday, which airs at 12:35am ET on NBC.
The three hour Celebrity Apprentice finale airs at 8:00pm ET on Sunday on NBC. Former contestants, including Roderick, NBA star Dennis Rodman, and comedian Tom Green will support Duke. Country music star Clint Black, Melissa Rivers, and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will be led by Rivers. According to a description found on Comcast Cable’s on-screen guide, the episode surrounds the Cirque du Soleil production Wintuk.