Phil Hellmuth's Exit from UB.com

Poker Pro Phil Hellmuth have officially announced his exit from UB.com. He is one the last of the remaining inaugural pros and after almost a decade representing the site, it was a bittersweet announcement for him. He has been endorsing UB.com which was formally known as Ultimate Bet for a long period of time.


UB.com has announced that they would be filling the veteran vacancies with younger, newbie professionals. UB.com has had a difficult few years. In 2007, a cheating scandal broke. One player had been caught cheating high stakes in No Limit Hold 'em Games, viewing his opponent's cards in big money matches. UB.com was forced to pay back more or less $15 million to players who had lost money in the scam.


Ever since Phil Hellmuth put on UB.com patch, he has been the face of the UB.com brand. Having won many World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets than any other player in the world, and also being one of the most outspoken and dramatic player to ever sit at a poker table has helped push UB.com's acknowledgment with the poker community. Now that the eleven time world champion has left, there maybe a major emptiness in UB.com's line up.


Hellmuth's exit should not have come as a surprise to anyone. Rumors swirl wild after Hellmuth was seen not wearing UB.com logos on some poker events but instead was seen on ESPN sporting logos for the Aria Casino and WSOP Academy. That was where all speculations that he was on the outs with UB.com begun. This appears to have been correct. UB said during the announcement, “UB.com and Phil Hellmuth have mutually parted ways.. While Hellmuth is no doubt an instantly recognizable poker personality, team UB will continue to be stacked with young aggressive poker professionals who today's passionate online poker player can really identify with”. Hellmuth will no doubt be picked up by another site in the near future as he will continue to compete on the live tournament circuit.


Hellmuth released its statement just a few hours after his co – poker pro, Annie Duke officially left the poker room saying that he and UB.com have “mutually parted ways”. This statement does sound scanned, but the statement is supported by current UB.com pro Joe Sebok in an interview he had with PokerNews. It was stressed by both Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth that their parting ways with UB.com is 100% amicable.


At this time, it's still inclear what Hellmuth plans to do or if there is another sponsorship deal in the works, but having poker's biggest ego Helmuth will most likely not gel with the two largest poker room in the world, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, as Hellmuth would have to be the center of attention as he was at UB.com and Full Tilt Poker on the other side stress the focus on team and everyone is important.