Phil Hellmuth recently hinted that he might sign up with a new sponsor. According to Hellmuth, he is lucky enough to be in a position where more than one offer of sponsorship has been made to him. He credits this to the growing interest in online poker, now that there is a serious movement to legalize online gambling. Phil stated that some large companies and personalities have begun preparing for the market becoming legalized and regulated. Hellmuth went on to hint that the company he will be signing up with would be unknown to the poker community.
Hellmuth’s Previous Sponsorship Deals
Phil, often referred to as the ‘poker brat’, has been a long time player at UltimateBet. He was sponsored by it since the site began in 2001. However, Hellmuth ended his association with the online poker room towards the end of 2010, months before Black Friday. UltimateBet, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were all shut down and the companies were charged with crimes such as money laundering, fraud and operating illegally in the United States, against a law that was enforced by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
His Poker Career So Far
Hellmuth was noticed by the poker community when he won his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event when he was 24. At the time, he was the youngest player to ever win a WSOP title. Over the course of his career, Hellmuth has won 11 WSOP bracelets and has garnered more than $13 million from tournament wins. He has been a final table contestant at 45 WSOP events and was inducted into the tournament’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
Brunson Awarded Lifetime Eligibility by EPL
Poker Legend, Doyle Brunson, is slated to be honored by the Epic Poker League (EPL) with a lifetime card. Brunson has won 10 WSOP bracelets in the duration of his career and has approximately $6.1 million in live tournament career earnings.
According to Annie Duke, the Commissioner of the EPL, Doyle was the most obvious choice for the honor as he is one of the biggest reasons why poker is a popular card game. She said that Brunson was one of the best ambassadors of the game.
Brunson is the recipient of a two year exemption from the qualifying rounds of the events conducted by the EPL, a status that will now be his right for the remainder of his life.
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