All Phils Out at the WSOP
July 15, 2012
The 2012 WSOP is turning out to be an unlucky one for famous Phils. Four famous players sharing the same first name – Phil Ivey, Phil Laak, Phil Helmuth, and Phil Galfond have all been knocked out of the tournament. The July 13 WSOP main event wrapup on Carbon Poker’s blog noted the exit of Phil Galfond; here we’ll examine the exits of all four famous Phils who won’t be making it to the final table this year.
Phil Ivey was knocked out on day 2B, and as Bluff Magazine observed, the television cameras had been lingering over his table engaged in what they dubbed the “death watch.” Indeed, Ivey met his WSOP death after coming to the table severely short stacked. ESPN’s blog reported that Ivey was near the bottom of the over 2300 player field chips-wise and was knocked out of the tournament within an hour.
Perhaps Ivey was distracted by his personal woes, with his ongoing messy divorce again in the news this week. The Washington Post reported that Ivey’s case will be going before the Nevada Supreme Court. At issue is whether Clark County family court judge William Gonzalez was influenced by a $5000 campaign donation contributed by Phil Ivey. In Nevada, judges are elected and therefore it is necessary for them to raise campaign funds. Individuals are permitted to donate up to $10,000 to a judicial campaign, a rule that has long brought speculation about favorable treatment by judges. Though the Iveys’ divorce was finalized in 2009, Luciaetta Ivey returned to court in 2011 seeking payment of spousal support, bringing to light the campaign contributions given to Gonzalez.
Phil Helmuth busted out on Day 1A of the main event this year, and tweeted his displeasure at such a quick exit:
I’m out of Main Event!Feeling tortured: Feeling sick…Maniac winning every pot w K-9 + Q-8, KNEW he would implode, BUT he busts me 1st
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 8, 2012
His despair was short-lived, however, as he tweeted three days later about a pretty nice win after leaving the main event:
After I was eliminated from Main, I played all night and won 20K.Then I played 30 hrs at Aria and won 16K, and I just won 29K in 2 hrs.
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 11, 2012
Another famous Phil, Phil Galfond, also took to Twitter after busting out of the main event, saying:
Extremely happy with the way I played, met lots of cool people, and enjoyed playing the entire time. Honestly, not upset in the slightest.
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) July 13, 2012
The most intriguing Phil story is that of Phil Laak. It’s a bit of a mystery just what happened to Phil Laak this year. He doesn’t appear on the chip counts for day five, yet news of his exit from the tournament can’t be found. He did give an interview when he showed up for the tournament, which is posted below.
Be sure to keep up with the 2012 WSOP main event at http://www.carbonpoker.ag/.