Phil Hellmuth stretches at the final table of the $50,000 buy-in Poker Player’s Championship during the World Series of Poker on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at the Rio.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015 | 1:45 a.m.
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Two days ago, Phil Hellmuth used his twitter account to vent frustration after a solid but unspectacular start in the $10,000 buy-in razz championship at the World Series of Poker.
“Knowing I’m playing great is a reward in itself,” Hellmuth posted. “But sadly my chip stack doesn’t reflect it!”
That had changed by early Tuesday morning at the Rio. All of the chips were in front of Hellmuth as the 50-year-old professional added to his own record by winning a 14th WSOP championship.
Hellmuth outlasted the other 102 entries in the event to win $271,105. The score brought his overall earnings to $12.7 million at the WSOP and $18.5 million in all live tournaments.
But at this point in his career, Hellmuth is far more concerned with WSOP bracelets awarded after a victory than any financial gain. And he successfully extended his lead over Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan — who have 10 titles apiece — to four bracelets.
Hellmuth, who resides in Palo Alto, Calif., dedicated the victory to Silicon Valley executive David Goldberg, a close friend who passed away last month.
“I’m going to give this bracelet to his wife and kids,” Hellmuth told WSOP.com. “This is for Dave Goldberg. Goldy, I love you.”
The win was Hellmuth’s first in Las Vegas since 2012 when he prevailed in a $2,500 buy-in razz tournament for $182,173. “The Poker Brat” also finished second in a razz event last year.
His success in the lowball stud variant of poker has eradicated old criticisms of Hellmuth being a no-limit hold’em specialist. Each of his first 11 bracelets were in no-limit hold’em, but Hellmuth has thrived in mixed games over recent years.
The razz championship was the 17th of 68 WSOP tournaments scheduled for the Rio this summer, concluding with the $10,000 buy-in Main Event in July.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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