Some love them, some hate them, but no matter people’s feelings, it is hard to ignore Phil Hellmuth‘s grand entrances to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) the last few years. He used to just arrive late so that everybody could see him strut into the room, but starting in 2007, he began dressing up in gaudy costumes and putting on a show in an effort to promote himself and UB.com. That year, he dressed up like a race car driver (and accidentally crashed a car in the Rio parking lot). In 2008, he really started taking it over the top, dressing like General Patton and arriving in a jeep with a few lovely ladies in tow. Last year, he was Caesar, again with women tagging along.
On Tuesday, the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner posted a link on his Twitter page along with the following message: “Check out this link for free poker strategy + to see my WSOP entrance costume! Gold or black costume?”
So, rather than surprise the poker masses, the UB.com spokesman is offering up a free preview of what he is going to do for this summer’s Main Event. The link in the Tweet takes us to a “Train for Poker” page at UB.com. Front and center on the page is a video animation of Hellmuth bobbing up and down, looking ready to throw a right jab, wearing a black boxer’s robe with gold trim. In the background is what looks to be a Japanese Buddhist temple (at least to this eye, which is not at all trained in Japanese architecture).
Surrounding Hellmuth are six keys to both poker and fighting: Aggression, Emotional Control, Discipline, Quick Thinking, Endurance, and Deception. Clicking on each brings up a video featuring a short verbal poker lesson from Hellmuth. He draws a parallel between poker and fighting during each lesson, illustrating the comparisons with a video from a Bellator Fighting Championship mixed martial arts (MMA) match. Bellator, not coincidentally, is sponsored by UB.net. In the videos, Hellmuth is wearing a yellow boxer’s robe with black trim, the reverse color scheme of the one he is wearing on the landing page.
At the end of each video, one of Hellmuth’s fellow Team UB pros delivers a Japanese proverb of sorts. They are made to mimic a classic Japanese film, complete with choppy English voice-over and Japanese subtitles. Team UB pros featured include Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Scott Ian, Joe Sebok, Brandon Cantu, Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, and “Hollywood” Dave Stann.
Aside from the costume, Hellmuth has given no indication as to the rest of his Main Event entrance spectacle.