Some Thoughts About Black Friday
As an affiliate of all of the indicted companies, I must say that I have no sympathy to their legal plights. With the exception of PokerStars, who have more or less been upfront and aboveboard to deal with, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker/UB have been a complete nightmare. As an affiliate, I always felt that I was being robbed by these companies. I could very rarely get any answers to my queries, and I just kept seeing my commissions disappearing, no matter how many new players I signed up.
Other, smaller gaming companies that I have dealt with have been much more honest and helpful, eager to treat their affiliates well. But Full Tilt and AP/UB… the worst. However much I hate that the USA doesn’t clearly clarify the legality online gambling, with no clear statutes, and has taken the extreme action of seizing these domains (creating a bit of a PR nightmare for them, I’ve heard), I still have very little sympathy for these companies. Thieves, when they are caught, always make victims happy. A feeling of retribution. I have felt victimized by these companies, and as such, it feels like justice being served. And I hate that. If they had been a bit more honest and responsive, and a lot less greedy, I’d most certainly be on their side in this fight. But as far as I’m concerned, they can dangle in the wind. Good riddance. Perhaps the online gaming industry will consolidate and become more reputable with these rogues out of the picture. Perhaps, at long last, the US will finally start legalizing and regulating online poker, state by state, and then at the federal level. One can only hope. To not do so is to basically make all of the millions of online poker players into criminals. And that’s just insane.
Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Lands at UB.com
Less than one week after earning Player of the Year title, top ranked poker player joins UB.com’s Team UB.
After taking the poker circuit by storm and tearing up the tables for $1.5 million in 2009 alone, Eric Baldwin has landed at UB.com, the site today confirmed. The announcement comes just days after Card Player declared Eric Baldwin the 2009 Player of the Year.
Eric Baldwin isn’t just a new UB pro, he is UB. Eric loves this game more than anything in the world, he plays to win, and he’s respected for his passion at the tables. We really couldn’t be more ecstatic to have the Player of the Year on our team.
Annie Duke
Cardroom Consultant @ UltimateBet.com
Since beginning his poker career just a few years ago, Baldwin has built a reputation as one of the most dangerous poker players to ever play the game – online and off. He’s also garnered the respect of his peers for his down-to-earth persona, building a name for himself without losing the everyman qualities that have made him so revered.
Along the way, 26-year-old Baldwin has also amassed a small fortune, winning over $2.6 million at the land-based and online poker tables. In 2009, Baldwin earned $1.5 million playing poker, a figure that matches the lifetime winnings of some seasoned poker pros. This year alone, Baldwin has made 17 final tables, including one at UB.com’s signature Aruba Poker Classic. Baldwin finished in 4th place of the $5,500 Main Event for a $126,710 payday. He holds the record for most final table appearances in 2009.
But it’s not just about final tabling tournaments. It’s about winning them. Most recently, Baldwin finished first in Event #15 of the 2009 Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio, securing $256,600 for his win. Other notable first place finishes in 2009 include a $198,933 win in Event #24 of the 2009 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza II, and a $521,932 bracelet win at this year’s World Series of Poker.
I am eager to be a part of UB’s new brand direction. I carefully weighed my sponsorship opportunities over the last couple of months and after meeting with UB officials and the Team UB pros, it’s very clear that UltimateBet.com is the perfect fit.
Eric Baldwin
Card Player Magazine Player of the Year
Eric Baldwin plays at UB.com under the name eric_baldwin. Online poker players at UltimateBet can employ the online poker site’s free UltimateBuddy feature to discover where Eric Baldwin is playing.
About UB.com
Built for passionate poker players, UB.com offers top poker rewards, optimal poker tournament structures and fast-paced action games in one of the largest online poker communities in the world. Players can download the free poker software, play in free ring games and tournaments, plus meet and chat online with Phil Hellmuth and other Team UB pros to learn and enhance their playing strategy. UB provides the best poker games available on the net as part of the CEREUS poker network.
Ultimate Bet Prize Pool Reaches Over $2.3 Million
Winning Big via UltimateBet
For two years running, a Pennsylvania resident has won the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic Main Event. Brandon Hall won the Aruba poker tournament Saturday night, a first place prize of $753,330. Last year Matt Brady, also from Pennsylvania, won UltimateBet’s 2008 Aruba tournament for a pay day of $1 million.
For the 8th year in a row, the Aruba Poker Classic returned to the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. Online poker players were invited to win their way to Aruba for the Texas Hold’em tournament through low-cost satellites at UltimateBet.com for amounts as low as $0.10. The festivities included many parties, non-stop poker tournaments, cash tables and VIP treatment for the highest rated members of UltimateBet’s RAI$E program.
Star poker players such as Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Joe Sebok, Adam Levy, Billy Kopp, Bryan Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Liv Boeree, Tiffany Michelle, and many others were also in attendance.
Poker Pool Worth Over $2.3 Million
Four hundred seventy five (475) enthusiastic poker players took their seats in the $5,550 Main Event to face-off for a slice of a prize pool that reached $2,303,750.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary dealing cards online, UltimateBet also included a number of other land-based poker tournaments in Aruba with noteworthy top prizes.
Below are the results of the final table, which played out on Saturday, October 10th, 2009:
- 1. Brandon Hall $753,330
- 2. Robert Mizrachi $414,680
- 3. Chase Steely $218,860
- 4. Eric Baldwin $126,710
- 5. Jose Santos $ 92,150
- 6. Brock Parker $ 66,810
- 7. Matt Ross $ 41,470
On October 9th, a 10-player final table for a Mercedes ML-350 played out in the lobby of the Radisson. The seats were awarded to players at UltimateBet through a series of qualifiers at the online poker site. Elliot Smith left the table with the keys to the Mercedes.
Also held in the tournament room of the Radisson were nightly $500+40 poker tournaments, two separate $2,000+100 No Limit Hold’em tournaments and a $1,000+60 event, providing poker players with ample opportunity to profit from poker while in paradise.
An inside peek at the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic can be found on UltimateBet’s poker blog, accessible on the UltimateBet site.
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