Tiffany Michelle entered the WSOP 2008 Main Event sponsored by PokerNews.

For the last few years Tiffany has been doing interviews for PokerNews at all major tournaments around the world. As a part of her job she has been enjoying the best of PokerNews hospitality.

Sensing her poker abilities PokerNews backed her in a number of events in the WSOP 2008.  In the Main Event Tiffany justified the faith that PokerNews had put in her. For most of the time she was in the top nine and her many fans expected her to repeat the feat of Barbara Enright and become only the second woman in the history of poker to reach the WSOP Main Event final table. But that was not to be. Tiffany crashed out in the 17^th spot. Perhaps she had other things on her mind.  Earlier we reported about the VH1 Tiffany Michelle story.

During the course of the event, while still under contract with PokerNews, Tiffany signed a lucrative deal with the online poker room UltimateBet. Poker fans will recall that UltimateBet had been ditched by Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch earlier this month and that the superuser scandal the engulfed them earlier is refusing to die out with fresh disclosures coming out every now and then. Tiffany even wore the UltimateBet logo while playing at the ESPN feature table. 

Naturally PokerNews was livid. Justin Robert Huxley, the Vice President of PokerNews Ltd., released a strongly worded statement at the PokerNews website. He commendably began by praising Tiffany’s achievements. But the bad news had to be given. Huxley said, “It was later confirmed that without any consultation with PokerNews, Tiffany went ahead and signed a sponsorship deal with UltimateBet.” This definitely came as a surprise to PokerNews because PokerNews has excellent relations with all its players and all online poker rooms as well. The players and the poker rooms have from time to time received publicity on the web site of PokerNews. It appears that there were loopholes in the contract between Tiffany and PokerNews and Tiffany had been given legal advice that she could get away with ditching PokerNews in the manner she did. The words “As an organization we felt completely sabotaged by Tiffany, her agent and UltimateBet” sum up the deep anguish that PokerNews is experiencing at the moment.

The statement goes on to emphasize the scandals that have been rocking UltimateBet. This makes one wonder why Tiffany chose to join a sinking ship when she could have had the world eating out of her hand. Perhaps it is in her nature to be a bit of a rolling stone. She began her professional poker career by playing in WSOP 2006 for Bombshell Poker, which sponsors the hottest poker girls and offers its players prizes such as a night in Playboy Mansion. While playing for them Tiffany was taken aboard Bluff magazine by Nick Geber. She soon left Bluff to join PokerNews. PokerNews has severed all relations with UltimateBet and are contemplating legal action against Tiffany. Hence further developments are expected on this front.