With Hellmuth And Duke Gone, UB Must Regroup

Phil Hellmuth has left Ultimate Poker, causing the online poker site to regroup.

Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are two of the most recognizable names in professional poker. The pair have combined for dozens of major tournament wins, and even more publicity over the past decade.

Up until last week, both were part of the Ultimate Bet family. With names such as these powering UB, there was always an attraction for online players to latch on to. Last week, however, Hellmuth and Duke both announced they were leaving UB, and it became time for the gaming company to regroup.

Hellmuth recently was interviewed in Card Player and claims the decision to part was a mutual decision. It is likely that the “Poker Brat” became too expensive to keep around.

While Hellmuth insists he has no set plan on which poker site he will represent next, he did mention PokerStars and Full Tilt being at the head of the list. Bodog will also be a possibility.

Duke’s departure comes as a surprise to some, as reported in Bluff Magazine, but Hellmuth claims he knew for a while that Duke was intent on leaving UB. Joe Sebok also believes that Duke had been ready for a change for quite some time.

The online poker world has been preparing for the past several months for law changes in the US. Those changes almost came this past December when Senator Harry Reid proposed an online poker regulation bill.

Senator Reid pulled the legislation before it could go to the floor for a vote. Several lawmakers are considering online poker bills in 2011, and foreign companies have started to consolidate with the hope of positioning themselves to gain an Internet gaming license in the US should the laws change.