Hellmuth wins record 12th bracelet at WSOP
14 Jun 2012
But talking the talk is one thing. Walking the walk is quite another.
Hellmuth not only walked the walk in the most recent WSOP tournament, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. He circled the field and did a victory lap, ultimately dominating one of the most stacked WSOP final tables in recent memory. Consider that there were six former gold bracelets winners among the top eight finishers – with 20 combined victories.
Hellmuth won the $2,500 buy-in Seven-Card Razz tournament, which concluded late on a Sunday night in front of a packed gallery of spectators surrounding the Pavilion stage. In a fitting bit of irony, just a few feet away from final table action were virtually all the remaining gold bracelets to be given away at this year’s WSOP positioned in a teasing and tantalizing manner as if to say to "Go Ahead, Make Your Day."
Half of the sardined stargazers appeared to be cheering for Hellmuth. The other half (okay, maybe more) were cheering against Hellmuth. No surprise there. Hellmuth is used to his detractors. He even relishes the role of villain. All great athletes and legendary sports teams divide the public's rage and fancy, but there was one thing everyone in the crowd could agree upon -- that the Rio was the place to be at this very special moment in the poker universe. Each spectator was one of a few hundred lucky souls witnessing poker history being made by one of the most skilled craftsmen at the very top of his game.
This conquest marked Hellmuth’s record-smashing 12th WSOP gold bracelet, the most by any player in history. He collected $182,793 in prize money – which for reasons any poker fan understands was the very last thing on the great one’s mind as the precious amulet was uncased from the display and positioned around the poker king's saintly wrist. For Hellmuth, the special significance attached to this victory, and the number 12, was the perfect symbol of a stellar career which shows no signs of recess.
Hellmuth now holds a comfortable -- and some might say insurmountable -- two-bracelet lead over his two closest rivals: poker legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who each have 10 wins. Given his age - now 47, one must presume Hellmuth isn’t quite finished yet, nor is he ready to hang it up and call it a career.
If any suspense remained about Hellmuth’s next big score in poker, it wasn’t so much if but when he would finally hit the magical milestone of one-dozen WSOP wins. Yet, what is most surprising about tonight's victory is that it came playing a game not normally associated with Hellmuth’s undisputed reputation as a Hold’em master.
Indeed, all of Hellmuth’s 11 previous gold bracelet wins had taken place in one form of Hold’em or another – limit, pot-limit, and no-limit, you name it. Of those, his most memorable win was clearly his initial triumph which took place in the 1989 Main Event Championship, where he defeated nemesis Johnny Chan in heads-up play and launched what would become an international dynasty that eventually transcended the green felt.
Year-by-year as he stacked bracelet upon gold bracelet and earned cash after cash, Hellmuth built what would become a pyramid of self-worship, manifested in a “bad boy” image and marketing empire that catapulted him into arguably the most famous poker player in the world.
By the mid-2000s, Phil Hellmuth wasn’t merely a poker champion. He had become a living, breathing, crying, screaming, fist-pumping, whining, money-making, individual “brand” and sideshow carnival all unto himself, relishing every victory and defeat while the public wallowed in the movement of his shadow.
Along the way to hyper super-stardom, there were sweetheart deals from those bearing gifts. All sought the occasion to snuggle at the altar of the Phil Hellmuth business empire. First, it was a major online poker site. Then, a phone company came calling. Next, a brand of beer wanted Hellmuth's face on their cans, thereby giving brew guzzlers some esoteric delight in emptying a 16-ounce tall boy and then pulverizing a mini-pint of aluminum emblazoned with "the Poker Brat's
face" with a single stomp. After that, it was a clothing line. The macabre of absurdity had finally been reached. Ralph Lauren. Christian Dior. Phil Hellmuth. Could dog food and diapers be too far behind?
But as the endorsement deals and dollars consistently rolled into the kingdom, as the sycophants continued to pump up the Hellmuth ego balloon the size of a zeppelin, something seemed to happen to Phil Hellmuth -- the poker player. You know, the player -- the great talent that has won and won and won and won again when the stakes were highest and things counted the most.
Hellmuth’s performance didn’t exactly slide, no, but there was a period when he wasn’t able to quite match the glorious accomplishments of yesteryear. Six years ago, for instance, he fell behind Johnny Chan in the gold bracelet chase. The gaps between wins began to reach multiple years. He did manage to seize the all-time wins lead for the first time, in 2007 -- arguably his second-greatest triumph. But in the three-year span afterward while the business deals were whirling, the best finish Hellmuth could muster was a third-place showing in 2008. By the start of the 2011 WSOP last year, there was also the problem that appears to be the immovable elephant in the room for every old-school poker pro, including Hellmuth -- it's called the young 20-something revolution.
All of this made Hellmuth's four final-table appearances last year "must see" poker theater. In each of his final matches, Hellmuth faced a series of brutally tough lineups that included some of the best tournament specialists in the world. By the time the series came to a close, Hellmuth had cemented a record that is staggering to ponder, yet at the same time -- dubious in the alternate universe of Hellmuth-think. For the first time in history, a player finished second three times. Second place might be acceptable to many players, but not Hellmuth. Anything other than first place is "unacceptable," he once famously said.
"Last June 1st, according to millions of players on the Internet, I was a horrible player," said Hellmuth. "By July 1st, I was then, you know, one of the greatest players. So, I mean, people are results-oriented, and they should be in life. So, I don’t have a problem with that. If you want to be great in our game, you
have to win. So, it feels so good to me because it’s been so long. I mean, three seconds last year, looking back, it was a great year. But I told everyone, 'Listen, if I can have three seconds in the modern era, why can’t I have three firsts?'"
On Sunday night -- five years to the very day when the great one had won gold bracelet number 11 -- one had to wonder if Hellmuth would again fall short. All that stood between Hellmuth and perennial ecstasy was a poker pro named Don Zewin, who in a bamboozling bit of bitter irony finished third in the 1989 world championship won by Hellmuth 23 years ago. The two poker combatants -- polar opposites in terms of disposition and imagery -- traded chips back and forth like two prizefighters deadlocked in a tie during the middle a championship fight.
Then, with everything on the line and the entire poker world watching and waiting, out of nowhere, it happened. It all came so quickly. Suddenly, Zewin was all-in. Hellmuth had his opponent on the ropes. The crowd rose to its feet. There were screams and shouts. Then, there was one final card and Hellmuth ultimately triumphed, which was a final-fisted glove to the hopes of the challenger.
Hellmuth won. Everyone else lost. All was right again on Planet Hellmuth. Proper balance had returned to the universe. The circus never ends. It's the greatest poker show on earth.
Zewin endured a level of disappointment that may be impossible to comprehend. Since finishing third to Hellmuth and Chan in the 1989 WSOP Main Event, he’s largely become a footnote in poker history, posting about $200,000 in winnings spread out over two decades. Late on Sunday night, Zewin has the chance of a lifetime, an opportunity to bury the beastly demons of disappointment at Binion’s Horseshoe and reverse the roles of fortune.
To his credit, Zewin proved to be a tenacious competitor – a tiger in a cage refusing to relent and surrender in the spotlight of the poker world’s eye. Zewin fought back several times during the duo’s three-hour heads-up showdown, but he ultimately came up short. It was like stepping in front of the roaring freight train of poker destiny.
On this most memorable night, Zewin ended up playing an unwelcome role in a giant supporting cast that ultimately allowed Hellmuth to shine as the star. He did, however, get to claim a $113,024 consolation prize, less than $40,000 shy of his third-place prize in 1989.
Other players to make the final table included: Brandon Cantu (3rd), Scott Fischman (4th), Brendan Taylor (5th), Barry Greenstein (6th), Michael Chow (7th), and Jeffrey Mitseff (8th).
A total of 309 players entered the tournament, with 32 players finishing in the money. Notable players who finished in the money but did not make the final table included: Scott Clements (18th), Joe Tehan (23rd), Allen Bari (26th), Sam Grizzle (27th), and Ted Forrest (30th).
Last year, 363 players entered this event; tournament participation fell nearly 15 percent this year.
Modified from tournament notes provided by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla.
Hellmuth wins record 12th bracelet at WSOP
is republished from CasinoCityTimes.com.