Late last week, poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth parted ways with UB.com, a USA-friendly site on the CEREUS Network. Word quickly spread that Prahlad Friedman would be signing with UB.com as a replacement in the coming days, sparked in part by his name appearing on Duke’s old biography page.
Over the weekend, PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu bantered on Twitter about Friedman’s rumored signing. Negreanu congratulated Hellmuth for leaving UB.com last week and then fired off a series of Tweets blasting Friedman’s decision. His first thoughts were, “So disappointed in @prahladfriedman signing with the devil who stole millions from him. He was so ‘anti-sellout’ and then he did the unthinkable… They must have paid him a lot to join the dark side and endorse the exact same people who ruined him. So sad and so mind-boggling… The current owners of AP/UB are spending Prahlad’s money. They must be mocking him at this point. Cheat the dude and watch him endorse us!”
Among those responding to Negreanu was bracelet winner Jon Friedberg, who inquired, “Is that official? I thought just speculation. Smart biz move for @UB if it’s true, despite any opinions about him or them… And again if true, then they obv convinced him that they’re not shady anymore. He’s a very bright guy. Anxious to see if true.” Negreanu retorted, “Sure, totally cheat and destroy a guy and then offer him a deal. That company is no less shady today and they cannot prove otherwise?” “Kid Poker” added, “It’s true and you are all being lied to if you think the infrastructure of the company has been miraculously cleaned up.”
In other responses to inbound Tweets, Negreanu replied, “I also like Prahlad a lot, just disappointed he would do something this stupid after years of saying he’d never sign with a site.” Negreanu countered other nay-sayers by continuing to rip the Blanca Games site: “Imagine a world where crooks weren’t held accountable and continue to rob people with no recourse? The world should know… I’m all about 2nd chances in the right circumstances; this isn’t one. They are no more transparent today than in the past.”
Negreanu’s series of Tweets sparked the ire of two-time bracelet winner Matt Keikoan, who fired, “I can see people like @RealKidPoker, sitting behind his $4 mil a year PokerStars contract, w/ his nose up in the air, judging other people.” Negreanu countered, “I spoke out against UB when I was broke, always will. Prahlad is the one who said he’d never sign with a site and then chose UB… I was dead broke and turned down a deal with them. I don’t hate Prahlad, I’m disappointed he made what I think is a bad move.”
Keikoan asserted on Sunday, “And what, PokerStars is some great moral company, out for the good of all mankind? Gimme a break.”
One of Negreanu’s followers asked the PokerStars front man what would happen if his home online poker site experienced a scandal similar to the one that unfolded on UB.com. Negreanu claimed he’d be exiting stage right: “If anything like that were to happen (it won’t) my morals would have me resign immediately.” PokerStars recently found itself in hot water over a scandal involving Chinese players in its Double or Nothing games.
A possible signing by Friedman would signal a changing of the guard of sorts at UB.com, whose roster of sponsored pros would become remarkably younger. It currently includes players like Maria Ho, Tiffany Michelle, and Joe Sebok.
Daniel doesn’t have the responsibilities Prahlad has to be spouting off about this decision. He was undoubtably not actively involved with these negotiations — the fact that he thinks it’s appropriate to provide unsolicited commentary to the public about what Prahlad believes is in the best interest of his family is beyond questionable. It’s not at all uncommon for past conflicts to be resolved, in life and in business. It’s not at all unreasonable to assume Prahlad was made whole from what happened in the past with this offer/deal. There’s nothing worse than a know it all that sometimes is right. Easy for KidPoker to levy criticism from behind the safetey, security, visibility and personal branding PokerStars deal he has, he should pick his spots better than this.