The Chancer: Shout-Out To Annie Duke
Annie Duke's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee reminds us she's no ditzy poker chick but a force of nature...
22 November 2007 by James Hipwell
"She's one of the most highly intelligent and thoughtful people playing professional poker today"The Chancer first had the opportunity to meet Annie Duke back in May 2004 when he took a coach up to Newmarket with the world’s most famous woman poker player (sorry Annette_15 but you hadn’t been born yet) to see the 2,000 Guineas. Duke was, as she still is, sponsored by UltimateBet who were sponsoring the famous horse race. Annie even got to dish out the winner’s trophy to Hamdan Al Maktoum, the oil-rich owner of victorious colt Haafhd.
I got to interview her in the sponsor’s box which had the best view of the Suffolk racecourse you could get. Annie explained that this was by no means her first trip to the racetrack and she even had a piece of a friend’s action in the Kentucky Derby, run at Churchill Downs on the same day as the Guineas.
“How big a piece of your friend’s action have you got?” I asked.
“About $20,000,” she replied.
Blimey! Up until that point I had never met a woman who liked to gamble as much as I did. Sure, the wife likes to go to Plumpton on the May Bank Holiday and will somewhat reluctantly pony up her maximum stake of £2.50 each way on the horse she likes the look of (which tend to be greys whatever the form). But $20k! That is proper gambling. Annie had won The Chancer’s total respect.
Futhermore, she was no Vegas moll but an academic who apparently lived simply in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Ben, and their four gorgeous children. Every now and again she would hit the road and join brother Howard ‘The Professor’ Lederer playing in the biggest poker tournaments that America had to offer. Pretty good she was too, taking down winnings of almost $3.5 million.
But then something happened. The poker boom got into its groove and Annie, being sponsored AND a girl, became famous. I’m not saying the fame went to her head or anything but it wasn’t long before the husband got dumped, and Annie got a boob job before moving into a “Mediterranean-style home” in the Hollywood Hills with her new beau. This turned out to be Joe Reitman, an actor and producer (aren’t they all?) formerly hitched to Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie fame.
All of a sudden Annie was on TV several nights a week and appeared in the national press all the time. Last year she even did an ‘At Home With...’ in the New York Times. Yup, Annie had well and truly got caught in the dazzle of Tinseltown’s headlights. From now on we would be less likely to see her round the baize than in the waiting room of some upscale cosmetic surgeon.
I had all but given up on Annie until last week when she turned up in front of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on internet gambling. On behalf of the 800,000 member Poker Players Alliance she gave some of the strongest testimony, asking for government regulation to help protect online gamblers. She insisted that the personal freedoms and responsibility of American's should not be undermined by the current laws forbidding online gambling.
The speech Annie delivered really had its moments showing us that she is no ditzy silicon-pumped poker chick –she’s one of the most highly intelligent and thoughtful people playing professional poker today.
“From the writings of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, through their application by Jefferson and Madison, this country was among the first to embrace the idea that there should be distinct limits on the ability of the government to control or direct the private affairs of its citizens,” she told the Committee.
Jesus H! It was almost as if Annie was delivering the Gettysburg Address rather than a piece of testimony on the online future of a card game. Once again she has proved she is deserving of our total respect.
Duke – you rule!
22/11/07
James Hipwell gives a shout out to Annie Duke