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.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Cigar Aficionado.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May - June 2022-Ausgabe von Cigar Aficionado.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Dean Poll, the owner of Gallaghers Steakhouse on Manhattan's West 52nd Street, has to think both like a restaurateur and the curator of a museum with an entire wing of art. Only, instead of tending to European oil paintings, Poll oversees images of Old New York. I work here every day. I am thinking about the food and staff, Poll says, sitting in a corner that could be called baseball cove. Over his right shoulder are stills of Lou Gehrig and the Yankees' Murderers' Row manager Miller Huggins. Jack Dempsey is clowning, grappling with a bat also held by Babe Ruth. "To Helen Gallagher, sincerely Babe Ruth," the inscription reads. Poll gestures toward signed caricatures of Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. "So I lose, to a certain extent, the importance of what's on the walls. But the photos are the decor. They lend some hominess to the place. It's the heart and soul of this restaurant. It's not cheap decoration. The only thing missing is the cigar smoke", adds Poll, who fancies a Partagás 8-9-8 It's what this restaurant is for 96 years.
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