Annie Duke Brother
Annie grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, USA, along with her brother and notorious poker player Howard Lederer In 1994, Annie walked away from her academic pursuits in favor of beginning a family life with her partner and began to play poker as a side-interest to. Epic Development: Annie Duke League Suspends Brother. Written by: C Costigan. Published on: Sep/22/2011. The Epic Poker League has suspended Howard Lederer.
The Epic Poker League has suspended Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson after news surfaced this week that they were named as defendants in a complaint filed by the US Justice Department against Full Tilt Poker. The complaint alleges that both Lederer and Ferguson took part in a massive ponzi scheme.
These developments are significant in that the Epic Poker League has come under intense criticism for taking action against certain poker players like Mike Divita, whose name appeared on the sex offender registry, while looking away when it comes to other indiscretions, specifically Lederer and Ferguson’s involvement in Full Tilt Poker. The once second largest Internet poker company has failed to pay its US customers since an indictment was handed down against two co-founders on April 15.
The axe finally dropped on both Lederer and Ferguson Wednesday after the US Government announced its latest action against both men.
Annie Duke, Commissioner for the Epic Poker League, just happens to be Lederer’s half sister. The League made sure to stress that Annie Duke is a non-voting member of the committee and does not participate in any committee decisions or discussions that involve league member discipline.
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The Epic Poker League might not be through yet, according to poker news report which noted that even Duke herself has somewhat of a checkered past:
In addition to Andy Bloch (who recused himself from voting on the suspension of Lederer and Ferguson), there are plenty of other players permitted to compete in the Epic Poker league who have a past they – and the league – would rather forget. Dutch Boyd, who reached the final table in the last EPL Main Event, was the man behind PokerSpot – an online poker site, which “disappeared” in 2001 owing players $400,000. Mike Matusow has spent time in jail for drug offences and, of course, there is Annie Duke herself who, although not eligible to compete in any of the EPL Main Events, was getting paid to promote a site that had a long history of multiple cheating scandals and which still owes online poker players $50 million in unpaid cash outs.
The reference to Duke is in regard to UB.com, a website that was profiled on 60 Minutes after it was revealed that a poker pro and one time associate of UB.com, Russ Hamilton, had taken part in an “insider cheating scandal”. For years, Ms. Duke had acted as the spokeswoman for that company along with Phil Hellmuth.
An executive in that company was also charged on April 15 with money laundering and bank fraud. Following the cheating allegations, affected customers were compensated in full.
Duke has yet to comment about her brother’s suspension on her Twitter page as of the time this article was published.
Although it’s been over seven years since her last tournament cash, and despite being persona non grata in the poker world, Annie Duke has managed to keep her name in the headlines.
At the suggestion of her brother, accomplished poker player Howard Lederer, Annie Duke entered the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1994. Over the course of the next 15 years, she established herself as one of the top players in the male-dominated game. In 2004, she bested a field of 234 players to win her first WSOP bracelet. Then again, most poker players aren’t Annie Duke. After pursuing a psychology Ph.D. On childhood language acquisition, Duke turned her skills to the poker table, where she has taken home over $4 million in lifetime earnings. For a time she was the leading female money winner in World Series of Poker history, and remains in the top five.
Duke, who now calls herself a business consultant, speaker, and author, recently appeared on CNBC.com to promote her latest book. It wasn’t a rare media appearance for the WSOP bracelet winner, who has somehow stayed relevant since she fled the poker scene with mainstream outlets such as Forbes, NPR, Reuters, Slate, and others all offering publicity with little-to-no mention of her ties to major scandals at the now-defunct UltimateBet and Epic Poker League.
The appearances don’t sit well with many in the poker community, who were left robbed of money in both cases. Duke’s EPL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection nearly six years ago and was millions in debt when they went under. The league was forced to cancel a pair of tournaments, including a promised $1 million freeroll for the league’s top performers in the inaugural season. Executives, including Duke, with the EPL’s parent company Federated Sports and Gaming were paid hefty six-figure sums despite the financial troubles of the league.
Duke also faced criticism for her work with Ultimate Bet, a poker site that closed in the aftermath of Black Friday. Many former customers of the site are still waiting to get their money back. UB was under heavy fire years earlier thanks to a cheating scheme involving so-called “super users.” The scandal featured UB founder and 1994 WSOP main event champion Russ Hamilton, who admitted to swindling other players out of about $16-$18 million from 2003-2007 using a “god mode” cheat in the software that allowed him to see other players’ hole cards.
Duke denied any involvement in the scheme, but that didn’t stop players from voicing their displeasure with her when she tried to come back to the WSOP in 2012. Top pro and bracelet winner Jason Dewitt was quoted telling Duke that “she is a disgrace to the poker community” while at her table, and in the years since, she hasn’t been around the game.
The piece from CNBC’s Dan Schawbel draws comparisons between poker and investing, describes Duke as a “world renowned poker player,” and credits her tournament wins, but many of today’s players just want to her to stop speaking on behalf of the poker world.
Really setting a low bar for journalism. A little due dilligence goes a far ways. How about delete this article praising a scam artist and instead give a platform to someone like CrownUpGuy?.
Annie Duke Jennifer Harman Feud
— Ryan Laplante (@Protentialmn) February 7, 2018
The poker community despises Annie Duke for her endorsement of multiple products that cheated their customers. Surely there is a better representative of the poker community to interview.
Annie Duke Broke
— Oliver Gill (@capitao85) February 7, 2018
A minimal amount of research would have revealed to you how terrible of a choice it was for you to give her a platform. Annie and her brother scammed the poker community for millions of dollars and are widely considered scum. There is really a low bar for journalism these days eh?
— Kevin MacPhee (@KevinMacphee) February 7, 2018
You should hold it against him. Do some basic research before featuring someone for your shit. Who the hell considers her a world poker champ
— Joseph Cheong (@subiime) February 7, 2018
Sigh.. I wish Dan and Cnbc had looked more into the background of a person who was heavily involved and endorsed Ultimate Bet and Epic poker (both failed businesses that cheated their customers). So many honorable poker players- no need to pick scammy Duke https://t.co/oKVmu2bexC
— Ari Engel (@AriEngelPoker) February 7, 2018
‘Once a world renowned poker player and now, arguably the biggest disgrace the game has ever seen, Annie Duke…’
Here. I Fixed your opening line of your article. Let me know when you want to interview a decent human being next time. I know people. You’re welcome. https://t.co/3YfB9aUT9W
— Danielle Andersen (@dmoongirl) February 7, 2018
Annie Duke Divorce
To her credit, Duke has stated that she is retired from poker. But that begs the question, why do mainstream media outlets continue to give her time in the spotlight while glossing over her messy exit from the game? One would assume that by now she would have exhausted her celebrity capital from being on a reality show like “The Apprentice.”
Whatever Happened To Annie Duke
Annie Duke Poker Player Brother
When asked about her departure from poker, Duke stayed cryptic, “I moved forward, I had to let that go, which was challenging.”