Phil Hellmuth has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. This is especially true when it comes to the World Series of Poker Main Event. The 1989 WSOP Main Event winner has often made a spectacle of his entrance into the prestigious annual tournament, and according to his Twitter feed, this year will be no different. Hellmuth has teased that he will be appearing at the 2021 WSOP Main Event as Gandalf the White from the Lord of the Rings franchise.
Phil Hellmuth is the master of “white magic”
The term “white magic” has been thrown around by Phil Hellmuth in recent years to describe some of his unorthodox (and yet still effective) plays and decisions at the poker table. So who better than Hellmuth to play the role of the wizard Gandalf the White?
Hellmuth took to Twitter early Tuesday morning to ask his fans what Dan “Jungleman” Cates should dress as, if he joins the 16-time WSOP bracelet winner in this epic entrance. “If Jungle joins my WSOP Main Event entrance Tuesday at 7pm [PST], what evil ‘Lord of the Rings’ character should he dress up as? We already have 16 models dressed in black, me as ‘Gandalf the White’, one elf and ‘Gimli’ (a dwarf).”
This is a lot to take in. Hellmuth will not only be appearing as Gandalf, but will also be accompanied by over a dozen models and will have at least one elf and dwarf in his entourage. The public’s top choice for Cates’ costume has been Gollum/Smeagol, but fellow wizard Saruman would perhaps make the most sense for this grand entrance.
Cates just recently won the Poker Players Championship while dressed as Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Considering he was able to win his first career bracelet while doing cosplay last week, it should come as no surprise that he’d be ready to don a costume at the poker table again when presented with the opportunity to do so.
Hellmuth’s history in costumes
Perhaps the most famous of all of Phil Hellmuth’s grand entrances to the WSOP Main Event came in 2009 when he was carried into the Rio as Julius Caesar. Hellmuth has also appeared at the Main Event as a war general, a boxer, and a race car driver -- just to name a few.
Fresh off of the release of Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, Hellmuth arrived to that year’s Main Event as Thor. His Thor was surrounded by a legion of models dressed as Wonder Woman. Sure, Marvel’s Thor and DC’s Wonder Woman exist in two separate universes, but that’s nothing a little “white magic” couldn’t fix.
Phil Hellmuth has already had quite the memorable series in 2021 with five separate final table appearances including a runner-up finish in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship and a victory in the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw event. Appearing at the WSOP Main Event as Gandalf the White will be icing on the cake.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter - PokerGO News
