Phil Hellmuth makes grand entrance at World Series of Poker Main Event

Third starting day brings huge field; Main Event on pace to break 7,000 players

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Sam Morris

Phil Helmuth, dressed as a mixed martial arts fighter, begins play on the third day of the opening round of the World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday at the Rio.

Published Thu, Jul 8, 2010 (9:05 p.m.)

Updated Thu, Jul 8, 2010 (12:32 a.m.)

WSOP Day 3

Phil Helmuth poses for a photo with a fan as he makes his grand entrance on the third day of the opening round of the World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday at the Rio. Launch slideshow »

No word yet on whether UFC President Dana White will offer Phil "The Poker Brat" Hellmuth a fighting contract.

There's still some uncertainty regarding Hellmuth's skill level in the octagon. Hellmuth proved he could look the part Wednesday at the Rio, though.

Hellmuth made his annual grand entrance into the World Series of Poker Main Event, this time dressed as a mixed-martial-arts fighter, adorned in a black robe and gloves.

"We throw these ideas around and someone was like 'MMA fighter,'" Hellmuth said. "I said, 'OK, cool,' and we went with it."

Hellmuth went all out with the idea. A group of 11 scantily clad women — one for each of his World Series of Poker bracelets — led Hellmuth into the playing area after announcer Bruce Buffer introduced him to the crowd.

"He's been crushing egos ever since he won his first bracelet in 1989," Buffer bellowed. "He's loved by many, hated by many more and admired by everyone."

The last part may be debatable. Hellmuth's annual entrance — last year he came to the Rio dressed as Caesar accompanied by hundreds of women in togas — has become a fiery debate in the poker world.

At least a handful of fellow poker professionals criticize the spectacle and label Hellmuth's actions as narcissistic. The most outspoken critic is the Godfather of Poker himself, 76-year old Doyle Brunson.

Although Brunson will not start playing in the Main Event until Thursday's Day 1D, he chimed in on Hellmuth's entrance through his Twitter account.

"I'm glad I'm not playing today so I won't have to see Hellmuth make a fool out of himself with his entrance," Brunson tweeted. "I can't help thinking it's terrible."

Hellmuth said he talked to Brunson after the tweet, and the two agreed it was a little harsh. Although Brunson did not take the message down, he did wish Hellmuth good luck in his next tweet.

Hellmuth said Brunson was in the minority and estimated that 70 percent of poker players supported his entrances.

"This stuff is good for poker," Hellmuth said. "I know it's good for poker, and it's good for me. Poker can be a little slow sometimes, but if you watch someone do an entrance and use that for a couple minutes in the show, then it's fun."

No one can argue with Hellmuth's history at the World Series of Poker. His 11 bracelets are the most won by a player.

He's cashed in four events this summer for $110,528 and made the final table in a $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha hi-low split 8 or better tournament.

"A lot of people say it's a great series, but to me it's not a great series," Hellmuth said. "I've played really well, and I felt like if the cards were a little better to me, I could have won another bracelet."

With the 2,314 players who showed up for the third starting day of the Main Event, it appears this year's tournament will be the second biggest in the event's history.

Official numbers and prize pool information won't be released until Thursday night, but the winner will likely receive somewhere around $9 million.

"It's huge numbers," Hellmuth said. "I'm at the peak of my powers. I don't know if I'm at the very peak, but I'm close."

Seventy percent of the field made it to Day 2, but Hellmuth was not among them. Hellmuth was eliminated six hours into play when his pocket Jacks ran into an opponent's pocket Queens.

Some notable professionals off to a fast start at Day 1C included David Williams, Johnny Chan and Carlos Mortensen. Williams,who recently won the World Poker Tour World Championship at Bellagio, was up to 130,000 chips in four hours. Chan and Mortensen, two former Main Event champions, both were around 70,000 chips.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer for live updates from the Main Event.

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