They don't call Phil Hellmuth the Poker Brat for nothing. He is notorious for John McEnroe caliber meltdowns and storm-outs. Cursing cards, bad-mouthing opponents' play, trashing the very idea of luck, he unleashes profane tirades that are eye-grabbing sideshows on World Series of Poker telecasts.
Some believe that he went too far at last year's final table in the $10,000 buy-in seven-card stud championship at the Rio in Las Vegas. Enduring a bad run against Anthony Zinno, he stewed, fumbled chips and declared in a monotone, "So unfucking fair, man. I play like a fucking genius every fucking day. I think I am going to burn this fucking place down if I don't win this fucking tournament."
Other players ignored him as he sucked the air out of the game and slammed down losing cards. But the tournament ended, maybe, with a poetic justice: Hellmuth was fourth, Zinno won the bracelet and enraged online commentators couldn't get past Brat's last line: Did he really threaten to set the Rio ablaze? After all that, an argument could easily be made that Hellmuth's Twitter mea culpa-beginning with "I went too far in my rant"-was not enough. Never mind that he said he was joking.
A couple of months later, over dinner at Aria's Catch restaurant, the imposing (6-foot-7inch) player casts the incident in soft lighting. "I said to the table that I will get in trouble for saying this, it's a joke, but, I will burn this place down if I don't win.' I knew I was pushing the line. I didn't understand that the very first post, 30 seconds later, wouldn't say it was a joke. The post was put out to make me look bad, just for a headline. It dissipated very quickly."
Hellmuth has a life away from the poker table. He bonded with Tiger Woods, left, at a charity event and fellow pro Mike Matusow at the White House.
This story is from the May - June 2022 edition of Cigar Aficionado.
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This story is from the May - June 2022 edition of Cigar Aficionado.
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