It might not come as a huge surprise but poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho have officially been confirmed as participants on season 15th of the Amazing Race. CBS officially released a list of the participants on September 9th, 2009 and both Ho and Michelle were shown prominently on the website of the show. Michelle said in a video on the site that they are very excited about the contest since no female team has ever won the Amazing Race.
Also taking part in the show are 2 members of the Harlem Globe Trotters, a former Miss America and her husband, dating aspiring country singers and 8 other teams. In the poker circuit, Michelle and Ho are well-known for being the last woman standing in the WSOP Main Event in consecutive years. Ho finished in 38th place in the 2007 WSOP Main Event to take home a total of $237,865 while Michelle won a total of $334,534 for coming in 17th place in the 2009 Main Event.
This summer, Maria Ho, narrowly missed out on the final table of the $10,000 World Series of Poker Limit event by coming in 11th place for $41,040. Ho and Michelle are also active in the entertainment industry and both poker pros have worked as on-camera talent for numerous poker news outlets. The announcement is not all that surprising considering that Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle were rumored to be participating in the show in mid-July and both were absent from the 2009 WSOP Main Event.
Michelle even wrote on her Twitter account that she would be gone filming a new project for several months. Participating in reality TV shows is nothing new for poker pros as Jean-Robert Bellande participated on Survivor: China in 2007 and Annie Duke was a participant on Celebrity Apprentice earlier this year.
Bellande was eliminated early in Survivor but Duke made it all the way to the final of Celebrity Apprentice before losing to Joan Rivers. The Season 15 of the Amazing Race will premier on September 27th, 2009 on CBS.
09/21/2009 22:23 PM