by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
April 25, 2009
The poker industry has had its first recorded cat fight this week, with a quarrel between WSOP bracelet winner and Ultimate Bet spokesperson Annie Duke and comedian Joan Rivers on an episode of Celebrity Apprentice. The television series, which runs for two hours every Sunday night on NBC, ended this week with Rivers comparing Duke to Hitler.
The disgruntled comment came after a phone conversation between Duke and professional golfer Natalie Gulbis. Allegedy, Phil Hellmuth was contacted by Gulbis to start a fundraiser against her as the objective of this week was for each team to raise money for charity by auctioning off jewelry from Ivanka Trump.
Hellmuth, a friend and colleague to Duke called her to let her know of her oppostition’s plans, after which the following comments were recorded during a phone call. ““Natalie called me and she wants to talk to me in a few hours, but you’re my girl.” Duke then stated to NBC cameras, “When I found out that a friend facilitated someone getting in touch with people to try to fundraise against me, you can imagine I was not happy.” Duke called the mystery middleman and lambasted him, stating, “Why the f--- would you do what you did? You were f------ played. I suggest you call [Natalie] and tell her never to lie to you again.”
After selling all of her team’s jewelry, some criticized her for having been too aggressive. Duke commented that it was not only disrespectful to the creator to not sell the items but to the charity as well – to which Rivers retorted, “You’re a despicable human being. You’re a perfect poker player. You’d spit on the ground and drown your own mother in it… You’re not that smart. Your ego is so beyond where you are.”
After then being compared to Hitler, Duke responded, “I’m the one who, when I call [poker players] and tell them to get on a plane at 6:00am to come help me, they do.” In the end, Duke’s fundraising efforts led her team with flying colors, profiting $153,000. The opposition raised $92,000. The win meant that Duke’s charity, Refugees International, received $245,000, the largest paycheck in Celebrity Apprentice history. To date, the show has raised over $700,000 for the contestants’ beneficiaries.
The tiff continued to the end of the show as Duke later commented that Rivers’ remarks demonstrated “the qualities she accused me of. This woman is completely f------ dead to me.” Rivers proceeded into the boardroom when the younger Melissa Rivers added to the fire, “Annie mode is that she’s going to get her way come hell or high water. Her giving up on an idea is impossible.”
The cat fight will resume next week, with the preview showing Joan called Duke “white trash.” Viewers are likely to be presented with a side of the Ultimate Bet professional poker player that has never been seen before. Celebrity Apprentice airs at 9:00pm ET every Sunday on NBC.
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