Phil Helmuth
The notorious “Poker Brat”, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. holds the record for the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker main event for his 1989 win at the age of 24. More incredibly still, he earned that first world championship bracelet by beating 2-time defending champ, Johnny Chan. Since then, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. has proven himself a solid poker pro and a consistent contender with a killer instinct (and an attitude to match) notching up 9 more WSOP bracelets and 57 in the money finishes.
Phil Hellmuth, Jr. dropped out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison so he could play high-stakes poker full time, much to the dismay of his dad, a PhD and a professor at the college. Despite his bratty reputation and his father’s disapproval (or maybe because of it), the insolent and indomitable Phil Hellmuth, Jr. is a highly respected No Limit Texas Hold’ Em player throughout the poker scene.
And it’s no wonder! Besides his World Series of Poker achievements, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. was also the champion in 2000 of season 3 of the British hit televised tournament Late Night Poker, winning $45,000 for his troubles. Later, in 2005, he won the first ever National Heads-Up Poker Championships, defeating fellow poker stars Lyle Berman, Antonio “the Magician” Esfandiari, Men Nguyen, Paul Phillips, Huck Seed, and ultimately Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, raking in the $500,000 grand prize. In 2006, he lost in the first round against Chip Reese. He’s finished in the top 10 of 5 World Poker Tour events. All in all, he’s won over 50 No Limit Hold’ Em tournaments.
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Unarguably a consummate entertainer in his own way, when he is not playing poker, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. has a second career as a poker celebrity, making appearances all over popular media. Just this past spring, 2006, he took over for Phil Gordon as expert commentator on Bravo Televisions Celebrity Poker Showdown. He also provides comments on numerous other televised tournaments (not the least of which is the World Poker Tour) as well as online via live streaming audio and podcast. He is one of the official spokespeople for UltimateBetPoker at UltimateBet.com.
Coming soon, according to an announcement he recently made on Sirius Satellite Radio, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. will be appearing on VH1’s hit show The Surreal Life. Other slated cast members include Randy Savage (the wrestler), Tina Marie Jordan (the Playboy playmate), and Peter Steele (frontman for the band Type O Negative). That ought to be a hoot!
Capitalizing on his “Hell Mouth” reputation, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. also wrote and published a book that is part autobiography and part poker advice, entitled, “Poker Brat”. He has written several other books as well – namely: Bad Beats and Lucky Draws, Play Poker Like the Pros, and The Greatest Poker Hands Ever Played – as well as numerous articles for Card Player Magazine.
And marketing on that perpetual babyface nobody knows better than he was made for television, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. has also recorded a number of instructional poker videos, such as Phil Hellmuth’s Million Dollar Poker Secrets and Ultimate White to Black Belt Poker Course. He and famed sunglass maker Oakley are designed Phil Hellmuth signature shades.
His career earnings, as of 2006, total more than $8.75 million, though he claimed on ESPN that he could earn as much as $400 million off any one poker table. Wouldn’t you love to see him try? He’s the man who has stated goal in life is to become the worlds best poker player ever. He is the man who wholeheartedly believes, “If luck weren’t involved, I’d win every one.” He’s the inimitable Phil Hellmuth, Jr., and luck has nothing to do with the fact that we’ll be seeing him on the No Limit Holdem scene for a long long time to come.
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