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Absolute Poker and UB.com Cancel Pro Contracts

Bad news has hit for fans of Absolute Poker and UB.com as the two companies have just announced the termination of some of its most popular professional poker players’ contracts. The move to immediately dump some eleven pros has come as a surprise to many.

Both networks are part of Blanca Games Incorporated and Cereus Poker Network, corporations that were greatly affected by the recent American federal indictments (dubbed Black Friday) leveled at online poker sites PokerStars, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker. The indictments charged individuals associated with these poker companies with various illegal gambling activities and have resulted in massive repercussions for the involved businesses. Due to the legal fallout, Absolute Poker and UB.com have dismissed eleven of their professionals (Maria Ho, Eric Baldwin, Joe Sebok, Brandon Cantu, Prahlad Friedman, Scott Ian, Adam Levy, Dave Stann, Tiffany Michelle, Trishelle Cannatella and Bryan Devonshire). Absolute Poker and UB spokespeople attributed the firings as part of both businesses’ focus on efficiency measures. The companies, now faced with losing income from the United States, are being forced to take drastic measures in order to ensure their survival.

Absolute Poker and UB.com’s decision is a major one that is sure to send shockwaves throughout the industry. The loss of the entirety of Team UB along with one of Absolute’s top brand representatives is a sure sign of further financial difficulties to come. Statements from the Blanca Games companies were issued that expressed regrets for the sudden terminations and best wishes for the players’ futures.

UltimateBet Signs Prahlad Friedman to Team UltimateBet

Team UltimateBet sponsors some of the poker world’s finest players to represent their brand and compete in both online and offline events. Now, with their decision to sign Prahlad Friedman, a professional competitor with serious talent, they’ve managed to add yet another asset to their world renowned team.

Friedman has long been considered an impossible player to sign, refusing to accept sponsorship from any of the major teams throughout his career to date. Now, however, the 32 year old pro has been locked down by UltimateBet and agreed to act as one of the popular website’s representatives. Prahlad Friedman is certainly no rookie and has been active in the professional poker scene for many years. His most notable accomplishments include a WPT Legends of Poker title, a WSOP bracelet and millions of dollars in collected winnings. Friedman is also well known for his aggressiveness at high-stakes tables and apparent fearlessness in playing even the most expensive hands.

Considering that Team UltimateBet recently lost two of their most recognizable (and successful) members — Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth —their signing of Prahlad Friedman comes just in time. They plan to celebrate their good fortune by running several (currently unannounced) promotions that feature Friedman in some manner. UltimateBet members that want to try their luck against Friedman now can make use of the site’s UltimateBuddy feature to track him down while he’s active at the tables.

Absolute Poker and UltimateBet Overhaul Tournament Leaderboards

Two of the online poker industry’s most popular sites, AbsolutePoker.com and UltimateBet.com, have just launched new and improved versions of their tournament leaderboard systems. The redesigned leaderboards have been overhauled in order to make payout and reward scales distribute more evenly over the entire year, giving all types of poker players more chances at taking home substantial prizes.

Both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, sites belonging to the Cereus Network, have launched their new leaderboards in an effort to draw players in for an exciting 2011. Weekly, monthly and yearly competitions have been revamped so that payout structuring is more frequent and evenly distributed. The Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) Leaderboard competition found at both sites is the beneficiary of some of the most substantial changes. Monthly MTT leaders will now compete over a $15,000 prize pool each month with the top spot earning $5,000. The best overall player of the year at both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet will receive entry to the World Series of Poker and $10,000 in cash while the runner-up also earns a seat and $5,000. Aside from these differences, Absolute and UltimateBet have bulked up their leaderboard-based freeroll offerings and added additional cash prizes as well.

The new leaderboard system provides online poker players with a great excuse to sign up and log onto Absolute Poker or UltimateBet and should help to keep both sites viable in a crowded, highly competitive industry. The new tournament leaderboards are live now.

New Security Measure Support is Added to Absolute Poker and UB.com

Players want to know that their bankroll is secure and most online gambling networks work hard to let their members play with confidence in their protection. Absolute Poker and UB.com are two of the latest sites to increase their security by adding extra layers of privacy maintenance and user authentication measures to their platforms.

Absolute Poker and UB.com are now giving their users access to Security Token, an electronic device that can be activated and linked to an account for greater security. The Security Token makes it necessary for players to login with their password and also have the device itself on hand before being able to access their accounts. Even if a password is compromised, the Token is able to safeguard funds while a solution is enacted. With this extra layer of security in place, private information and bankrolls are as safe as currently possible: the Security Token utilizes the same technology that banks and similar institutions rely on.

The Security Token is an essential item for serious poker players with large amounts of cash kept in their online bankrolls and Absolute Poker and UB.com’s decisions to implement this protection measure is a great way to ease the minds of their high rollers. Interested online gamers can purchase the Security Token through both of these site’s reward stores and activate them in conjunction with the newly available SecureID PIN system.

Ultimate Bet Provides an Unlucky Member with Massive Bad Beat Jackpot Prize

A bad beat ruins even the best session at the tables, online or off. Ultimate Bet has always tried to make up for instances of extraordinary bad luck by rewarding certain players through its Bad Beat Jackpot, a promotion that provides a great cash prize for site members who have suffered noteworthy losses.

Ultimate Bet’s most recent Bad Beat Jackpot recipient was a Canadian player competing under the name, “RUNRAGGED”. RUNRAGGED was awarded more than $100,000 after he was struck by extreme bad luck last Wednesday, 3rd November. Seated at a game of $0.25/$0.50 no-limit hold ‘em, RUNRAGGED was taken down with quad nines by four Queens. Ultimate Bet took note of his bad beat and RUNRAGGED was eventually awarded a total of $100,956. The 838 other Ultimate Bet members playing at the same stakes level as RUNRAGGED were also given a part of the bad beat haul, taking home $61 just for having the good luck to be playing when they were. The seven other competitors at RUNRAGGED’s table were given $1,000 as well.

RUNRAGGED is sure to get over his bad beat a lot faster with the help of over $100,000 In cash from Ultimate Bet. To date the online poker company has awarded roughly $60 million over the past three years through its Bad Beat Jackpot promotions. Ultimate Bet revealed that its most recent Bad Beat Jackpot had a total jackpot of $201,047.

UltimateBet’s Ultimate Bet Online Championship 5 a Massive Success

Online poker site UltimateBet recently wrapped up the fifth edition of its UltimateBet Online Championship (UBOC), the second UBOC of 2010, and is now providing details of just how successful its most recent series was. With millions of dollars in prizes awarded and an enormous swell in site traffic noted, UBOC5 is being regarded by the poker network as a great payoff to its risky decision to host two series in a single year.

UBOC5 saw UltimateBet members playing for generous cash prizes across twelve days of fierce competition. UltimateBet has revealed that, throughout the series, over four million dollars in prize money was awarded to event winners and that the series saw some 8,712 members entered into the series. UBOC5 consisted of 20 guaranteed events in which 911 participants took home a portion of the $3,912,260.00 prize pool. 416 other entrants cashed on the $100,000 of extra, promotional prize money available through single event satellites and pro bounties.

The UltimateBet Online Championship 5 kicked off on 18th August and finished eleven days later with a climatic, one million dollar prize pool main event ($1,050 buy-in no-limit hold ‘em) hosted by celebrity pro, Phil Hellmuth. UltimateBet told press that it was delighted to see such enthusiasm displayed for the trial run of what could very well become a bi-annual series.

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UltimateBet Comes Under Fire with New Poker Controversy

UltimateBet has been forced to deal with yet another online poker controversy after a questionable hand was awarded to losing player, Phil Hellmuth. The internet gaming giant is now attempting to rectify the issue without garnering any further negative attention from the press.

Popular poker forum, 2+2, has been dealing with the controversy for some time now and subsequently forcing an examination into the matter. The scandal surrounds a showdown between
Hellmuth and an UltimateBet member with the handle, Doubleballer. At the end of a tense game between the two competitors, Hellmuth mucked his hand, ending the game but still receiving the $5,599 pot.

Hand #1162170993 has become infamous in highlighting a glitch in the UltimateBet software, sparking complaint and concern from regular players at the site who are now afraid to enter into large games where their winnings may go unaccounted for. Management at UltimateBet have blamed a recent software upgrade to the Cereus operating system which could be responsible for the problem (and be a reason for worry at Absolute Poker, Cereus’ other main client).

It’s a bad time indeed for UltimateBet to be rocked by another scandal considering the controversy the site was forced to field in previous exposés by MSNBC and the topical American news program, “60 Minutes”. Corporate spokespeople have assured the public that Doubleballer will be funded his rightful winnings and that the technical glitch will be addressed as soon as possible.

UltimateBet and Ante Up for Africa Present Celebrity Weekend for Sudan

Industry giant, UltimateBet has recently announced a partnership with the “Ante Up for Africa” foundation to launch a high-visibility charity event. The upcoming gaming series is filled with some of the most recognizable faces in the world of professional poker and film which is sure to create a lot of attention as its weekend draws near.

This enormous event has been created in order to raise funds and promote awareness of the ongoing genocide of the Sudanese population in Darfur. Ante Up for Africa will feature substantial prizes and celebrity endorsement in order to create the kind of stir it aims for. Among the featured guests to be in attendance are, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Tiffany Michelle and actor, Don Cheadle. Celebrities will be playing online games and users will be able to go up against them for the chance to run into their favourite stars or vie for great rewards (such as tournament entries, trips or private poker lessons).

Ante Up for Africa has been in the works since July and now this weekend (August 22nd to 24th) players and business backers will finally see the potential good possible through such a charitable event. The announcement of the fundraiser detailed different manners by which UltimateBet loyalty points (UltimatePoints) can be donated to the relief efforts so those users interested should log on now and check out the program.

UltimateBet Adds Celebrity Tiffany Michele to Team Roster

Tiffany Michelle
UltimateBet have recently announced the addition of celebrity poker player, Tiffany Michelle to their line-up of professionals. Although this kind of acquisition is usually more of a publicity stunt than anything else, Michelle’s relatively obscure status and considerable skill at the tables may actually hint at something more than just name recognition behind the move.

Tiffany Michelle, twenty-four, is a former actress and singer-songwriter who has been making a big name for herself in the world of poker. With this year’s 2008 World Series of Poker Michelle emerged as the only female competitor left at the Main Event, ultimately finishing in 17th place overall and setting the record for best performance within her category. She was fully decked out in UltimateBet apparel but wasn’t yet signed to the premier poker brand yet. Michelle initially started appearing at big tables as a way of supplementing her acting and music income but it took her little time to show up on sponsors’ and professional player’s radars (including Annie Duke, legendary player and UB Cardroom Consultant who sung her praises during press releases).

After taking home $334,534 from the WSOP Main Event Michelle was quickly snatched up by UltimateBet to become the newest member of their franchise. This Tuesday made the move official and will likely see the actress turning her poker-hobby into a much more substantial part of her career. UltimateBet users may stumble across Michelle as she plays under the name ‘Tiffany M’ online.

UltimateBet Signs New Pros to Ward off Cheating Scandal

Recent allegations of shady business practices have meant a widespread decline in traffic for UltimateBet.Com and related Tokwiro internet casinos. In a widely publicized move the company has announced the signing of two new additions to their professional team which could be interpreted as an effort to create some level of distraction or legitimization.

Last month saw the
Tokwiro network subject to torrents of bad press due to a problem wherein certain players were able to view their opponent’s cards. The company blamed previous employment but the service’s reputation was badly damaged especially in light of similar allegations aimed at AbsolutePoker.Com from earlier in the year, a client also maintained by the corporation. These software errors were defended and subsequently said to have been fixed although in many ways the damage to PR is continuing to have irreversible effects on public trust.

Now
UltimateBet.Com has signed Cliff Josephy and Eric Lynch to their casino offering in an attempt to finally warrant positive media coverage. The new additions have had to repeatedly defend their contracts in light of the prevailing, malignant attitude toward their new benefactors. Only time will tell how this acquisition ultimately works on popular perception of the corporation but it is one step that has at least been able to provide the industry with news diverted from scandal gossip.

UltimateBet Offers Expanded Poker School

Industry leader, UltimateBet has announced the expansion and further promotion of their online poker school, a feature of the site which has long held a draw for many players looking for expert advice. With a well developed tutorial section and the guidance of some of the best card sharks in the field it is certainly a good move for the company to promote this section.

The
poker school gives competitors an extra edge at many different levels of play by providing tips for novice to more experienced fans of the game. Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke (two of the leading poker professionals in the industry) belong to the UltimateBet team and are now being touted as extremely qualified tutors. By emphasizing free games and low-stakes play the site should be able to continue implementing educational gaming as a major aspect which dwarfs the competitions similar efforts.

Although many online poker sites have adopted in-depth tutorials and guides to the game,
UltimateBet’s offering is quickly becoming one of the best to be found anywhere. With more funding being put toward its further development and advertising as a key aspect of the site’s experience expect the service’s fan base to expand even further in the future.