Although she is not listed as a pro or friend of the site, former Absolute Poker diva Lacey Jones has joined the ranks of Full Tilt Poker. A Tweet from Jones’ management agency, Poker Royalty, read, “Congrats to Poker Royalty client @laceyjones on her new sponsorship with Full Tilt Poker.”
Prior to the start of the ongoing 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Jones parted ways with the USA-friendly site Absolute Poker, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network. By June 12th, the mystery of where Jones would land was solved, as she turned out to the tournament series donning Full Tilt colors. Jones Tweeted her excitement with her newfound logo: “Can’t even begin to explain the joy I feel putting on a Full Tilt Poker patch.”
On May 21st, Jones issued a rather cryptic 109-character message that simply read, “Today is a new chapter of my life and I’ve never been more excited!!! Get ready for some big things everyone!” The poker hostess, player, and model is one of the game’s top ambassadors, having appeared in a wide variety of mainstream commercials, including spots for Sony, Panasonic, Chrysler, and Coors Light. Her looks, paired with her charm, have helped propel her to the top of the poker industry.
Jones had a major presence during the finale of the 2009 WSOP Main Event last November, conducting interviews onstage for the assembled crowd with the game’s top players and also providing coverage of bust outs. In 2006, she finished 75th in the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship at the WSOP for $2,000. This year, she took 41st in that event for $4,100, outlasting poker pros like UB.com’s Liv Boeree, “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho, and Bluff Magazine’s Jessica Welman.
One day following her announcement that she had joined the ranks of Full Tilt Poker, Jones indicated that she received a considerable amount of support from her friends and family: “Just getting my day started… lol. Thank you everyone for all the love and support. I couldn’t be happier right now.” The Tweet was time stamped in the late afternoon.
On June 15th, Jones, never one to be shy on Twitter or any other outlet, gave a play-by-play rundown of a dining experience at Garduno’s at the Palms: “Why must the weirdest guy ever sit next 2 me when I eat alone at the bar @ Garduno’s? OK to mace him if he doesn’t stop hitting on me?” She added, “And he just asked me if it was 6:40am or pm. No joke.” In addition to her role with the WSOP, Jones has taken on hostess duties for the U.S. Poker Bowl and Borgata Poker Open.
Jones does not appear as a sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker, a list that includes high-stakes cash game pro Eli Elezra, 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event champ Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and poker funny man Robert Williamson III. Full Tilt’s Team pros include 2010 WSOP Tournament of Champions vote-leader Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda. Full Tilt Poker happily accepts players from the United States.
Poker Royalty recently saw six of its clients voted in by the general public to play in this year’s WSOP Tournament of Champions: Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, Scotty Nguyen, and Antonio Esfandiari. The group of six will face off against 21 other players in a $1 million freeroll on June 27th. Other Poker Royalty clients include Dwan and David Chiu.
Several Full Tilt pros have struck gold at the 2010 WSOP already, including Praz Bansi and Richard Ashby. We look forward to Jones continuing her success on poker’s biggest stage between now and July 17th.
Sorry but what has Lacey Jones ever accomplished in poker to warrant any kind of endorsement????? Makes absolutely no sense.