Eleven and counting
Eighteen years ago, a brash, cocky kid skateboarded into Binion's Horseshoe Casino and shocked the world. Just 24, Phillip J. Hellmuth Jr. defeated two-time defending World Series of Poker champion Johnny Chan to launch himself into poker's spotlight. He hasn't let it go since.
What's good for Phil is good for poker. I believe this fervently, because as personalities go, his more than any other drives the drama of the game. So many protest him, spewing hatred without realizing they love to hate him. He's a car accident in which no one got hurt but the machines got totaled; you can't help but slow down, take a look and appreciate the ugly artistry of the moment.
Hellmuth won yet another bracelet Monday night, defeating 2,627 other players en route to the title. You can't deny the magnitude of the thing or the skill it represents. In capturing his 11th, Phil becomes the sole occupant of the top of the career WSOP bracelet list. He's also got more cashes (59) than anyone else. Two days ago, I was complaining that we didn't have any strong stories emerging at this year's WSOP. Now, that's all in the past, and Hellmuth is all we'll talk about for a while.
Hellmuth defeated chiropractor Andy Philacheck to win the bracelet, hardly his most glamorous heads-up opponent. That distinction has to go to Chan, the man whom, along with Doyle Brunson, Phil was tied with before the big night with 10 titles. Phil defeated Chan to win his 1989 world championship, earning the first of the 11. Chan and Brunson were both on hand to make the event something more than just another poker tournament.
|
•Where is Vinny Vinh?
•Feldman at the WSOP •More from ESPN |
Phil was masterful from the start. He entered final-table action trailing Rick Fuller for the chip lead and immediately went to work. After young stud Scott Clements took out Taylor Douglas, he and Phil started jawing at one another. Clements took out Ut Nguyen (the nephew of Men the Master) and took over the chip lead until Phil took it back by eliminating Frenchman Fabrice Soulier. Clements started hemorrhaging chips, and after Fuller took down David Simon, Hellmuth took Clements out, capturing the chip lead for good. He let Fuller take out Morgan Machina, then took out Fuller. Then it was Philachack and the championship.
It was a quiet path Hellmuth paved to the final table. I wondered at the beginning of the day whether Phil's banishment to the sequestered streaming video table would diminish his mojo. Bluff Media's hole cams prompted the Nevada Gaming Commission to rule that those with knowledge of the goings on must be barred from contact with outsiders and vice versa. A small stage designed to keep potential intruders out was constructed with only enough room for one spectator per player. The benefits of sharing the hole cards with thousands of Internet denizens were deemed enough to deprive those who wished to share the Hellmuth experience live. Not everyone was pleased.
Among those wishing to share the moment with Hellmuth was longtime rival and close friend Mike Matusow. "The Mouth," notorious for his mood swings when off his antidepressants, admittedly had strayed from his Ritalin in the days leading up to Phil's triumph. When informed his favorite target was en route to No. 11 but he couldn't watch, The Mouth went ballistic. His screams of outrage were heard across the Rio, but on the inside, Hellmuth was pleased with the development.
Phil said the day after that he enjoyed the booth experience. Not having a crowd to play to allowed him to stay focused on the task at hand, the quiet augmenting his concentration. On top of that, he felt it allowed him to share the experience in a whole new way.
"Phil told me today that that he liked that his fans got to see the win," one Harrah's official said. "He liked that his fans could see how well he played." Indeed, for a guy who takes a constant stream of criticism across the Web, the experience provided a degree of vindication.
Brunson and Chan were graceful in celebrating the competition's moment, even if Johnny did try to take a chug of his new energy drink as the cameras flashed. Phil told the story of Doyle having bet $400,000 on him winning the bracelet, a fact Doyle would call "a small consolation" with that famous, toothy smile adorning his weathered face. You could see in their union a mutual affection between three men who share something most of us will never truly understand.
Now the debates begin again. Whether Phil is the greatest tournament hold 'em player of all time is still up for discussion, but there seems to be little doubt that against mediocre players, there's nobody better. During dinner afterward, Dutch professional Steve Wong told me he felt that at a table of his peers, Phil might be overmatched, "but against everyone else, my money is on Phil." I can't think of anyone else I'd wager on.
Love him, hate him or love to hate him, you need to appreciate what it means for a man to will himself to victory over that many players. Phil's record in the WPT has been lacking of late. His cash game results, despite his claims, seem to be coming up short. But time and again, the Poker Brat comes through at the event he cherishes and wants most. For Phil, it's about greatness, which he measures in titles. As titles go, there are none more valuable than those that come with bracelets attached.
"I'd buy 40 bottles of Dom Perignon," Phil said in typical fashion, "if my attorneys weren't worried about someone getting drunk and crashing their car. I'll take care of my friends, though." Take care he did, letting the bubbly flow in a not-so-private celebration into the night. Still, one thing was abundant in the chaos: the man isn't sated.
"I'm most excited about this because I think it shows I have a real shot in the main event. I mean, it's just five more hours of play."
It's nice to know some things don't change. Hellmuth's eye is on the biggest prize, and the spotlight watches him want it.
Gary Wise is only 11 bracelets short of the promised land. Fortunately, he got to share Phil's champagne.
