As young poker pro Tiffany Michelle made it deep into the WSOP Main Event and became the last woman standing at spot 17, some noticed a change in her sponsorship patches: while she started out wearing Poker News gear, she ended her Main Event run in Ultimate Bet logos. Poker News issued a strongly worded statement regarding what they see as a breach of trust, while Michelle states she never had an exclusivity deal. Here are both sides of the story.
Right after Tiffany Michelle busted out of the Main Event, Poker News released a statement accusing Michelle of breach of contract and announcing that they would stop promoting Ultimate Bet on their network. Some of the main points in the statement are:
- “As a company that truly believes in this industry and in the importance of supporting aspiring poker players, PokerNews sponsored her into several buy-in events at this year’s World Series including the Main Event.”
- “It was later confirmed that without any consultation with PokerNews, Tiffany went ahead and signed a sponsorship deal with Ultimate Bet.”
- “Tiffany was bought into the event by PokerNews and had a signed player contract with PokerNews Ltd.”
- “As an organization we felt completely sabotaged by Tiffany, her agent and Ultimate Bet.”
- “We are currently seeking legal (counsel) on this entire situation and potential damages to PokerNews.”
- “In regard to the Ultimate Bet and PokerNews relationship… PokerNews has decided that it will no longer promote this site within its network.”
While Tiffany Michelle has not yet issued a statement on the topic, she gave an interview on Poker Road radio where she answered a number of questions and explained her version of the facts. Michelle, who started her career as poker player and commentator at age 21, explained that she had always made a point not to ask for backing or sponsorship into events. However, at the Poker News party at the beginning of the WSOP she was approached with an offer. In her words, “Jeffrey Lisandro and (Poker News’ owner) Tony G were sitting there and they’re like ‘hey, you should play the Main Event, you play well,’ and Jeff Lisandro convinced Tony ‘Let’s go half and half.’”
Michelle found the offer too good to decline, so she accepted, but she insists that the terms were friendly and non-exclusive: “Jeff and Tony bought me into the event and the only thing I signed (for Tony’s personal benefit) was something that said ‘hey, I’ll wear the Poker News patch for the duration of the series’ and the percentages… that is all I signed, no exclusivity.”
As she went deeper into the tourney, she says, “Ultimate Bet were the first and only site interested in throwing something on me,” and when it became clear that she was on the run for the November Nine, more and more sites accosted her with offers. She hinted that some of these offers could have been higher than Ultimate Bet’s, but that she was so impressed by the way they treated her that she honored her initial commitment: “on a personal level I was humbled and could not believe what respect they’d shown me as a person and as a player.”
When questioned about Ultimate Bet’s questioned reputation after the recent superuser scandals, all she had to say was “I appreciated how they treated me and I can only go on that.” On the other hand, she is neither intimidated nor impressed with Poker News and their threats of legal action: “I was backed by two people, Jeff and Tony… and that’s all there was to it”
Michelle is now preparing to make a change into full-time poker playing after her successful WSOP experience. She is elated with her success: “this is so huge for me… for poker… for women… for younger chick poker players,” and plays down Poker News’ accusations of sabotage, saying simply, “as people start doing well … drama happens.”