Annie Duke Under Fire in First Episode of Apprentice

NBC’s second season of the “Celebrity Apprentice” got under way Sunday night and among the contestants was none other than World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Annie Duke. The 16 contestants are divided into two teams, men versus women. In the first episode, the women outsold the competition and comedian Andrew Dice Clay was fired. Teams are given a new task each week and the losing team is sent into the board room where a member is fired by real estate mogul, Donald Trump.

Duke’s teammates who named themselves Athena, include TLC member Tionne Watkins, reality TV star Khloe Kardashian, talk show host Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa, “Deal or No Deal” and “The Price is Right” model Claudia Jordan, Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick and professional golfer Natalie Gulbis. As Duke went into Season 2 of “Celebrity Apprentice” Duke said that she rented the first season on DVD to develop a game plan for raising the most amount of money for her charity, Refugees International, an offshoot of Ante Up for Africa.

In Sunday night’s episode, the teams were charged with designing, baking and selling as many cupcakes as possible. The team who generated the most revenue would win. The women’s project manager was Joan Rivers immediately got a taste of Duke’s straight forward, no nonsense personality when Duke didn’t agree with Rivers about where the team should set up shop. Duke continued to get into scuffles with her teammates when it came to making the cupcakes and later selling the cupcakes as well. She talked up the poker industry several times and brought in several players who made generous donations during the competition. The next episode airs on Sunday, March 8th a 9 pm EST.