Hailey Welch, widely recognized as “The Hawk Tuah girl,” has reemerged in the spotlight following a three-month break, making an appearance at a celebrity poker tournament held at Aria in Las Vegas.
The Hawk Tuah Girl Attends CPT Poker Tournament
The Celebrity Poker Tour Game Night VI, held at ARIA’s PokerGO Studio, was a single-table freeroll event with a $10,000 prize for the winner and a lineup of celebrity participants, including chess players, athletes, and influencers. Welch previously competed in last September’s Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational IV and admitted she hasn’t played a single hand of poker since. She explained it felt good to be back, although she also said she has no idea what she’s doing.
Welch first caught the public eye following her infamous viral “hawk tuah” moment last year. She quickly capitalized on the sudden worldwide fame and started a YouTube channel and podcast where she talked with various celebrities and online influencers. Her growing fame, along with large profits from the sale of merchandise, her Instagram followers, and other social media channels, further blew up her career. Welch even hired a large professional PR team to help her further grow her brand.
All of this culminated in her launching a memecoin by the name of $HAWK. It initially soared to a market capitalization of nearly $500 million before falling off a cliff, leading to accusations of a “rug pull” scheme or pump and dump in late December. It was this scandal, and the fallout from the criticism Welch received, that caused her to suspend most of her online activities.
How Did She Do in the Tournament?
Despite the damage to her reputation, it seems that Welch has been planning to return to the influencer scene over the last month. In late March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded its investigation into the $HAWK coin, determining that Welch was not involved in any wrongdoing.
It seems that the influencer used the Celebrity Poker Tour tournament as a way to get back into the relevant scene. Despite feeling nervous, Welch kept a bright smile throughout the tournament, celebrating enthusiastically when she won a pot and folding decisively after carefully considering her moves. However, she eventually bled down to her final chips as she fell in fifth place out of the ten participants.