Leave it up to Doyle Brunson to stir the pot. Texas Dolly recently posted a challenge on Twitter, looking for takers in a bet on who would win more WSOP gold bracelets this year between Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu. His tweet found quite a few responses, with a definite divide between the pro-Hellmuth and pro-Negreanu camps.
Last week, Brunson tweeted, “Of course all the Daniel haters that say the little guy is a terrible player, pick someone against him to win bracelets this year. 100k max.” He posted the tweet after Negreanu took to the social media platform and discussed his performance following Day 1 of the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) at the Aria in Las Vegas.
Of course all the Daniel haters that say the little guy is a terrible player, pick someone against him to win bracelets this year. 100k max https://t.co/6R8lmqiBq9
— Doyle Brunson Legacy (@TexDolly) May 28, 2018
Dr. Marvin Karlins, who wrote the poker book “A Chip and a Prayer,” responded to the challenge, tweeting, “I’ll take Phil Hellmuth to win more bracelets during the 2018 @wsop than Daniel Negreanu for 10K. If neither win one, or they tie, the bet is off. Tweet me back if you want to take this bet.” That’s one for Hellmuth.
“The Jon D” chimed in, showing his support for Kid Poker and no love for Hellmuth. He posted, “@RealKidPoker 100%, @phil_hellmuth spending too much time doing everything but working on his washed up game.”
Hellmuth may already have won more bracelets in his lifetime than Negreanu—14 to six—but he certainly isn’t starting the season as a winner. He showed up (late) to the SHRB, only to be sent to the rail during his first day of action. Negreanu, on the other hand, at least made it to the final table of the tournament, ultimately being eliminated in a heads-up battle against Justin Bonomo.
Every year there seems to be a challenge involving the two polarizing players. While neither has seen the triumphs they achieved several years ago, they’re still here and still going strong. Negreanu has repeatedly said that this will be his comeback year and he appears to already be off to a good start. Hellmuth, however, seems to be taking a more lackadaisical approach to tournaments and may have, finally, run out of steam.
