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Written by Stefan | Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Icon of poker, Phil Hellmuth, made an appearance in London last week for the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). The Main Event, held at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square, drew in 346 players, but the biggest entrance of all had to be Hellmuth’s. He arrived for the event like something straight out of Vegas, exiting a red double-decker bus with a gaggle of Lady Gaga dress alikes.
The UB.com pro said, “I was pumped to see such a huge crowd gathered at ‘the Empire’ like never before when I arrived to take my seat at the WSOPE. Quite the arrival I’d say. The London double-decker, the brass band, and 11 Lady Gagas all add up to the most unique media event in poker so far. My crazy themed grand entrances to the WSOP in Vegas are an institution, and now London’s WSOPE seems to have embraced a whole new tradition too.”
All of this was, of course, set to the hit “Poker Face,” played by a 23-person marching brass ensemble to kick off Day 1A of the Main Event. In past years Hellmuth has made grand entrances to the WSOP in costume, such as the entrance to this year’s WSOP Main Event at the Rio in Las Vegas dressed in MMA fighting gear joined by Bruce Buffer, MMA Octagon announcer, but this time he was dressed down, leaving the theatrics to the Gagas and the British band.
At last year’s WSOPE, Hellmuth arrived via a horse-drawn carriage wearing a toga and sandals to resemble Julius Casear. In 2008 he held a contest for lookalikes of himself, inviting fans to show up dressed as “Hellmuth.”
These shenanigans may or may not add to the somewhat bittersweet love affair poker players have for this poker legend, but a strong argument can be made here that Hellmuth just doesn’t care what people think of him.
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Written by Stefan · Filed Under news · |
