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Irish poker pro Ciaran "Big C" O'Leary has been fired as a paid flack for Irish online poker room Paddy Power Poker (http://www.paddypowerpoker.com).
Writing on his blog at http://www.cardplayereurope.com, O'Leary revealed: "Goodbye to Paddy Power...No more will ‘Big C'? be the traveling man...
"For due to some unfortunate things that are completely out of my control and more to the recent slow down in the economy over the last six months, they regrettably informed me a while back that they would not be bringing me back and were filing for a divorce.
"And though I am obviously somewhat saddened by this, I want you all to know that the Paddy Power brand and Ciaran ‘Big C' O'Leary part ways on the very best of terms. I suppose what it probably comes down to is the difference between the brand and I. For them it needs to be about the business and the numbers side of things but for me it was always about ‘The Pride of the Jersey.'
"And though granted it should be interesting to see who I will be with next, one thing for sure definitely is-Paddy Power along with all the elite who play there will always hold a fond spot in the ‘Big C' hand."
O'Leary, 35, was born in Ireland and moved to the USA about 12 years ago.
He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, USA.
He was officially hired by Paddy Power Poker in 2008 to serve as a so-called "brand ambassador" as well as a sponsored pro, playing online at the room and traveling around the world representing the room in offline tourneys.
According to tournament records, he has earned almost $1 million playing tournament poker in his career.
The bulk of those earnings-about three-quarters of a million dollars-came from winning a $1,500 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament at the 2007 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
He lists Chris "Jesus" Ferguson as his favorite poker pro.
Thomas Somach, www.pokerhelper.com
