Despite being in the middle of a firestorm of controversy surrounding her ongoing battle with Poker News, Tiffany Michelle found time to sign with Ultimate Bet in a move that was officially announced on Tuesday. The 24 year-old will become the newest member of the site’s Star Player team, which currently includes Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and James “POKERPRO33” Campbell. She’ll be playing at UB under the name “Tiffany M.” Michelle signed a sponsorship agreement with Ultimate Bet during the Main Event of the 2008 World Series of Poker. UB’s endorsement came as Poker News, which is owned by poker pro Tony G, bought her into the $10,000 event, leading to a swarm of debate as to whether her actions were justified.
Poker pro Annie Duke, who along with Phil Hellmuth are the main faces behind Ultimate Bet, commented in a press release distributed on Tuesday, “From Hollywood to Vegas, Tiffany Michelle is a rising star in so many extraordinary ways. We’re thrilled to be able to bring such a talented force on board.” In the Main Event, she was the last woman standing, finishing 17th out of more than 6,800 entrants and banking a colossal $334,534.
She had previously served as a reporter for Poker News, which led to Tony G and Jeffrey Lisandro buying her into the Main Event. When the pair saw her donning UB gear and virtually hiding her Poker News patch on Day 5 of play, a war of words erupted on the major online forms. She told PokerNewsDaily in an interview that she interpreted the backing as coming from Tony G and Lisandro, not from Poker News. Each backer received one-third of Michelle’s winnings, or over $100,000. No legal action is expected in the matter.
The singer, actress, and songwriter has a laundry list of credits to her name. She appeared in Will Ferrell’s hit movie “Semi-Pro” and starred in the 2005 movie “Carrie’s Choice.” She has appeared on the NBC hospital drama “ER” as well as FX’s plastic surgery show “Nip/Tuck.” Michelle was also a contestant on the World Series of Blackjack during the first episode of the show’s fourth season. In 2006, she worked with Bluff Radio as part of its broadcast of the entire WSOP, which was heard throughout the United States on Sirius Satellite Radio. Most recently, she worked as a reporter for Poker News.
She becomes the third member of UB’s star player team, which also includes Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and James “POKERPRO33” Campbell. Josephy is one of the legends in online poker. He’s also a WSOP bracelet holder by virtue of winning a $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud tournament during the 2005 World Series. His list of accomplishments is long, but he recently took down the $100 rebuy on PokerStars twice during a span of 10 days in June. It boasts one of the toughest tournament fields in online poker and requires a healthy bankroll in order to play.
Campbell has chopped the PokerStars Sunday Million, cashing for nearly $200,000 in one of the top moments of any player’s tournament career. Ten days ago, he won the $1K Monday on rival site Full Tilt Poker for $67,000. Campbell just wed his high school sweetheart and lives on the East Coast.
Congratulations to Tiffany Michelle for signing with Ultimate Bet, which recently merged with Absolute Poker to form CEREUS, the third largest online poker network available to players today. Ultimate Bet alone has over two million registered players.
