In a surprising announcement before the start of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), top female player/model/poker announcer Lacey Jones has revealed that she has parted ways with Absolute Poker.
According to a posting on the Bryan Micon/Todd Witteles owned poker forum Donkdown.com, Micon said that Jones informed him that she had left one-half of the CEREUS Poker Network without providing any information as to the reason. The departure was further discussed on Micon’s radio program, the Cold Call Show, but again no reason for the split was announced. Normally quite prolific on Twitter, Jones has not Tweeted since May 25th and, four days earlier, posted a cryptic comment that stated, “Today is a new chapter of my life and I’ve never been more excited! Get ready for some BIG things everyone!”
A visit to the Absolute Poker home page still shows Jones listed as a member of Team AP. Along with fellow poker pro Matt “Plattsburgh” Vengrin and recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational final table player Trishelle Cannatella, Jones’ profile is still on the site. Jones was a part of a sponsorship group that, along with sister site and fellow CEREUS Network partner UB.com, included Tiffany Michelle, recent European Poker Tour (EPT) San Remo champion Liv Boeree, and many other notable players.
A CEREUS spokesperson did not shed any light on the reasons for the split but stressed it had been an amicable one, telling Poker News Daily on Thursday, “We wish Lacey only the best in her future endeavors and know that she will be successful in whatever she chooses.”
Jones is known as much for her poker game as for her hosting abilities and looks. She was named the spokesperson for the Canadian Poker Tour earlier this year, signed a sponsorship deal with KSINO Clothing, and, most recently, was the floor announcer and hostess for the Full Tilt Poker Doubles Poker Championship, which will air on Fox Sports Net sometime in July. Jones’ departure from Absolute Poker makes her a very appealing commodity for another online poker site sponsorship deal.
Jones was dropped from the roster of Absolute Poker after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was enacted in 2006, but the twosome seemed to be on good terms last year. Absolute re-signed Jones to the sponsored players list last year around the end of the WSOP and, along with Jones’ poker skills and hosting abilities, was receiving good exposure from one of the classiest ladies in the game.
Looking forward to the WSOP, 70 Absolute Poker players have qualified into the Main Event so far. These lucky and skillful players will get a $12,000 package from the site which includes their Main Event buy-in as well as travelling and accomodation. On top of this, the site will divvy up an additional $350,000 among them according to the rules of a progressive prize pool. Depending on how many more players qualify, an Absolute Poker qualifier who made it into the final table of the Main Event could get an additional reward of up to $750,000.