Maria Ho + Tiffany Michelle on Amazing Race

It may be old news, it may be new news but who cares because Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle will be fun to watch when the Amazing Race premieres at the end of this month.  Ladies, did you take the pretty yellow dress on the road with you? 

More later… Watch the video below…

photo and video courtesy CBS

Celebrity Apprentice Rivers An Ace

Annie Duke clearly pulled off what I would want from an employee.  Raising more funds, pulling things off after the rug had been pulled out from under her and showing far more class than the high maintenance gossip queen.  Yet, despite Duke’s success, Donald Trump awarded the trophy to Joan Rivers who has long ties with NBC.   I was being subtle.

It’s amazing Rivers won after a design firm was so offended by her they said they wanted nothing to do with Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice.  That alone would make me want to fire someone.  But I would have fired Rivers the moment her high drama, temper tantrum, finger ear plugging childish behavior began. And tonight Rivers claimed Duke was sooo beneath her.  Funny, I’d like to hear Judith Martin’s opinion.

Don’t get me wrong, like Duke, Rivers is obviously passionate about her charity but tonight she said it wasn’t about charity anymore.  Well, wasn’t raising money for charity a goal? Either way, I’m not really qualified to say because I don’t watch reality television.  I made a special exception tonight and I don’t think I will do so again.  Because this seems to be a clear case of playing an A game only to have your heads up opponent hit a three outer on the River.

And the best part is the Twitter aftermath…

RealAnnieDuke:  RT @RafeFurst: Grass roots campaign 2 raise $250k for @RealAnnieDuke charity donate at http://refugeesinternational.org… please RT!

Joan Rivers:  I won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Big difference in sportsmanship.

Joan Rivers VS White Trash Annie Duke?

I enjoy television but lack of time prevents such simple pleasures.  However, with the Joan Rivers / Annie Duke white trash comment spreading through the poker world… I worked the final episode of Celebrity Apprentice into my schedule.  After all, Ms. Rivers has been so kind to call all the attorneys, doctors, mathematicians, programmers, Duke graduates and even the… teachers who are also poker players… white trash.  The poker community is so insulted even Doyle Brunson is wanting an apology.

I’m not sure where Ms. Rivers learned her manners so I say…consider the source.  How can we be offended by such words when they come from someone who has earned a paycheck by bashing, insulting, ridiculing, belittling and verbally abusing people?  Or by someone who would seriously put her fingers in her ears when someone else was speaking.  I don’t know much about Rivers but I can say a few things about Annie Duke…

Duke is well known in the poker industry for her strong and vocal opinions.  Probably more so than any other poker player.  However, it’s rarely pointed out that her vocal opinions are usually about what’s best for people and not what’s best for Annie.  She may show her temper, she may show impatience but as a mother I can tell you time isn’t only money, time is precious and there isn’t much time for wasting.   When you walk away from Annie Duke… you know exactly where you stand.  Duke is someone who will suit up and show up often risking her own reputation simply to stand up for what’s right.   And that… is someone I would want standing behind me.

photo courtesy AnnieDuke.com

60 Minutes of Online Poker Cheating

Do players losers people really cheat in poker?  That's crazy! 

Well, at least there isn't any cheating in other sports, whew!

Watch CBS Videos Online

Poker After Dark Gets New Host & Pros

When I’m in Las Vegas, I rarely head downtown. However, when my friend Lisa Wheeler asked me to host at the WSOB & (Phil) Budding Ivey Foundation Charity Event at the Golden Nugget’s Shark Tank, I was so there for the more-than-fun function.  I knew the Nugget’s renovations would be nice since (this will be confusing) it’s owned by…. Landry’s Restaurants, which is owned by Tillman Fertitta… until he went public… but has since been buying up the stock… so now Landry’s is private again.  I only know these things because Fertitta lives here in Houston and I read the Houston Business Journal (when I have breaks from watching Sponge Bob Square Pants).

The Golden Nugget announced today they will be hosting NBC’s Poker After Dark which will start dealing cards in October and airing in December.  Other good news…. NBC’s Poker After Dark has secured NBC for their network.  Again. 

According to the Press Release, here are some expected poker sharks who are not new:

The program will feature the world’s top pros, such as Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, Gus Hansen and Phil Hellmuth fighting it out for poker supremacy in a mix of 6-handed, winner-take-all freezeouts and high-stakes cash games

Unless of course, Ivey, Lindgren and Negreanu get stuck on the golf course.

Photo Courtesy MSNBC