Hellmuth Bows Out Fast in WSOP Event

Poker legend Phil Hellmuth seems not to have luck siding with him this season at the world series of poker, when at the latest event he joined in, he's barely warmed up his seat when he was eliminated.

"Horrendous, horrendous luck," Hellmuth said Saturday, reeling from the surprise of being knocked out only after six hours. "I'm still half in shock."

Hellmuth had lost about one-tenth of his 10,000 chips before he even laid eyes on a card, a consequence of his being known to be always fashionably late.

Once he got to the table, Hellmuth said: "I kept thinking I wished I'd shown up earlier or much, much later."

Hellmuth was hit by bad luck and by the unpredictability of the style of amateur players in the event that had more than 8,600 entrants.

"Some guys are so bad, it's not even Texas Hold 'Em," Hellmuth said. "I think I'm the best Hold 'Em player in history."

It's not just all talk though, Hellmuth won his record-tying 10th WSOP bracelet earlier this month against a field of 1,690 players.

"I feel like I'm at the top of my game," Hellmuth said. "When I come into one of these tournaments, I'm not even looking for average luck. I'm looking for a little below-average luck. Today, it was just horrendous luck."

10/07/2006, Saturday
Matthew Dorst

Hellmuth Bows Out Fast in WSOP Event

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