Hellmuth Parting Ways with UB
Poker blogger B J Nemeth has set off speculation in poker forums with his theory that Phil Hellmuth is parting ways with online poker room UB, earlier United Bet. Nemeth’s argument, though somewhat tenuous, is not entirely unfounded. Hellmuth has been making public appearances without wearing UB patches, whereas earlier he was never seen without them. Nemeth cites a Poker After Dark taping and a visit to the WSOP November Nine final table. What cannot be guessed is whether Hellmuth got tired of UB or UB found him overpriced for the current market. UB has been signing up poker babes like Maria Ho, who are well below Hellmuth’s league as far as poker is concerned but cost less and offer greater public relations value. So the next question is where Hellmuth could be heading. At first the obvious choice would seem to be PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker, the biggest online poker rooms. The problem is that both are top heavy with poker professionals and none will give Hellmuth the center stage that he seeks.
And despite promises of having been reformed, the Poker Brat continues wanting to be the conversation piece. In a recent blog written by Hellmuth, he revealed the details of a meeting with former US President Bill Clinton. He wrote, “On August 12th, my wife and I were invited to Bill Clinton’s charity event in Lexington, Kentucky. We would spend part of the day at the Lexington Hearing Center with Bill Clinton then head off to Clinton’s charity event. My wife and I were honored to sit right next to Bill at the Gala dinner!” The highlight of the meeting was Hellmuth showing Clinton a beer can with his picture on it.
So if the split with UB is actually on the cards then who would be a suitable sponsor for the egoist Hellmuth? Nemeth argues that it could be WSOP.com, the online poker room of Harrah’s, which is currently operating from the United Kingdom and is out of bounds for American players. But with hope of legalization of online poker WSOP.com will definitely be in the big league, partly because it has been lobbying like crazy. Also online poker rooms with a shady past, like UB, may be kept out of the regulatory framework.
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