The second season of Celebrity Apprentice aired last Sunday and I made sure to tune in. Honestly I hadn’t even heard who was in the line-up before parking it on the couch but I’m a reality tv junkie and who doesn’t love The Donald.

At first watch I realized quite quickly that the boys had far more star power than the female celebrities and found the teams to be quite unfair. Having said that my eyes quickly turned to one person in particular… Annie Duke.

I was thrilled to see her on there. Come on!  A female poker player on Celebrity Apprentice!! That’s GREAT news for ALL female poker pros out there. Annie’s gonna take you all mainstream.

For those of you who didn’t tune in to Sunday’s show or  are clueless as to who’s who in poker, Annie Duke is one of the best at her sport. As Donald said to Annie on the show (paraphrasing)  “I’ve seen many men lose alot of money to you”.

Annie is a poker pro and an author and earned her celebrity status by winning a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions where she earned the winner-takes-all prize of $2,000,000. Now that’s some serious Poker creds, for any female or male pro.

Professional poker career aside Annie has made a name for all female players in my opinion. Because of her and other pros like Jennifer Harman, female poker pros are treated with more respect and are becoming the ones to watch for in tournaments around the world.

Since my post in 2007 about the Women in Poker female poker pros have been crossing into mainstream media in full force and becoming viral phenomenons. With Annie Duke topping the cake in Celebrity Apprentice. Mark my words, this is only the beginning of this major crossover. Move over Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. It’s time to make room on the red carpet for women who have beauty, brains AND skills.

On a more personal note about the show, I think Annie Duke played it exactly how she should have. Sure she came across as bossy and opinionated but it’s a game people and as a female that’s how you get sh*t done. As a former reality show contestant I know how exhausting a day of taping is like on a reality show. There are 2 to 3 cameras literally in your face non stop and you go go go go go go go from the break of dawn till night. It’s ridiculous. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be on a show for weeks. And the fact that her team members sold her out before they even heard if they won was disappointing. The men stuck together till they had to turn on each other. Come on ladies, prove that you can be a good team player like the boys are.

Good luck, Annie! My money is on you to go far in the show!

Mark this one as a HUGE win for the women of poker.

(If you’re following the show Annie write her thoughts on each episode on her website. Here’s the link to her blog post about Episode One)