A prolific tweeter, the Team UB.com pro Annie Duke made the following announcement on her Twitter account on December 25th: “I said yes!”
In case her more than 25,000 followers were confused as to exactly what she was talking about, Duke posted a picture of herself showing off her new diamond engagement ring to the camera while sitting in her fiancé Joe Reitman‘s lap.
Shortly thereafter, the well wishes started streaming in from every corner of the Twitterverse. Most were from fans, but several fellow poker pros sent their best as well. Fellow Team UB.com member Tiffany Michelle Tweeted, “Huge congrats to @AnnieDuke and @JoeUgly on a Christmas engagement. Love it! It’s about freakin’ time!”
“Hollywood” Dave Stann, another UB.com pro, weighed in, making a statement with which most people would agree: “Best Xmas present ever!”
Other poker players Tweeting their regards included Eric Froehlich, Rafe Furst, Alex Outhred, Liv Boeree, Andy Bloch, and Prahlad Friedman, along with Team UB.com members Joe Sebok and Samantha Ryan.
One person who non-poker players might recognize was actor Kevin Pollak, who Tweeted, “Congrats to a very surprised @AnnieDuke on her engagement today to her very wise fella, @joeugly.” Pollak is in the midst of hosting FOX’s “Million Dollar Money Drop.”
For you gossip hounds, Duke has not divulged how Reitman proposed and no wedding date has been announced.
Duke and Reitman met in 2005 when a mutual friend in Los Angeles introduced them to each other. The two started the same year as Reitman separated from his first wife, fellow actor and poker enthusiast Shannon Elizabeth. Duke had also been previously married. She wed long-time friend Ben Duke in 1991, a marriage that lasted 13 years and produced four children: Maud, Leo, Lucy, and Nell.
Reitman is an actor, writer, and producer who has had supporting roles in many films and television shows. Movie buffs may recognize him from “Lady in the Water,” “Drop Dead Sexy,” “American Pie II,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” and “Clueless.” His numerous guest appearances on television include “CSI,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Monk,” and “Judging Amy.” He has also had recurring roles on “Charmed,” “Townies,” “Blood Ties,” “Married with Children,” and “Jack and Jill.” In addition to his acting roles, Reitman has produced and directed several episodes of “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and wrote and directed “Survivin’ the Island” and “Leo.”
On the poker front, Reitman has had three minor World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes, but he caught the attention of the poker world when he won UB.com’s $1 million Guarantee in early 2006.
Duke is one of the most prolific live tournament players in poker history and currently ranks second on the women’s all-time money list with over $4.2 million in career earnings. She has 37 lifetime WSOP cashes, the most significant of which came in 2004 when she won her first and only bracelet in a $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event. During the same WSOP, she won the inaugural Tournament of Champions, taking home a $2 million check. Her most recent career highlight came this March, when she bested good friend Erik Seidel in the finals to win the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and $500,000.
