Online poker site Ultimate Bet issued a press release today announcing they’ve added JohnnyBax to their “roster of respected online poker professionals”. This news came as a shock to much of the online poker community as Ultimate Bet is not looked upon very highly these days, and JohnnyBax is a true online poker legend and idol to many aspiring poker professionals and online poker enthusiasts alike.

JohnnyBax has often been the top ranked online poker player in the world and is a co-founder of a poker training company called pokerXfactor. He’s had a large following online since 2004 and is arguably one of the most looked up to online poker players in the industry. In real life the player behind the JohnnyBax online alias is Cliff Josephy, who’s also build a name for himself with his real name. In 2005, he won a World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,500 seven card stud event and has faired well in numerous other live tournaments. To date Cliff Josephy’s career live poker winnings exceed $1,350,000.

Ultimate Bet is obviously hoping JohnyBax’s presence will help them recover players they lost after their company was caught red handed covering up the largest known cheating scandal in online poker history. To date, open allegations with remarkable evidence suggesting players were cheated out of millions of dollars by players who could view each of their opponents down cards exist. This evidence further suggests that at the very least high ranking employees not only knew this cheating had occurred but took steps to both assist the perpetrators and to cover up and thwart investigations of the crime. A detailed summary of the Ultimate Bet cheating can be read in this 2+2 thread.

As is evident by the hundreds of derogatory posts made in this 2+2 thread by players appalled at Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy’s decision to align himself with Ultimate Bet; generally speaking: the poker community has not received this news well. To note, there are some players which support Bax’s decision but from what we’ve read so far; these players are certainly in the minority.