Phil Hellmuth always makes headlines at the WSOP — and this year, he did it before a single card was dealt, announcing exclusively to PokerOrg back in February that he wouldn’t play the 2025 Main Event.
Not many players believed him. And, sure enough, the day before the WSOP started, he said he'd leave the decision in the hands of his fans and launched a poll on X
It started off well enough, with around 75% of the votes coming for 'Play.' And then the momentum shifted, with 'Boycott' taking over. And then the poll was pulled. Hellmuth didn’t make another comment — until he eventually announced he would be playing.
So what happened?
Hellmuth took time out on the WSOP floor to talk to us and explained all. You can watch the entire video above or read on below for the highlights.
No... Yes... Highway to Hellmuth
Hellmuth explains that he first told the WSOP back in October that he wouldn't play the Main Event unless changes were made. He claims that the WSOP agreed to give the players an extra day off but then confirmed to him later that no changes would be made. That's when Hellmuth went public with his plan to boycott the biggest tournament of the year.
"I had to take a stand," he says. "I was still committed to doing a Main Event entrance for BetRivers. My agent said, 'Let the fans decide and give the WSOP one more year.' I thought that was a great idea, so we put out a poll.
"My agent warned me it would be 90% Phil plays. I thought it would be 80%. Everyone wants me to play. There's no reason for anyone not to want me to play.
"We put out the poll, and after the first 4,000 votes, 73% said that I should play. And then all of a sudden, the poll turns, and there were 3,000 straight votes for 'Boycott.' It dropped from 73% in favor of playing to just 45%. My agent warned me that people could manipulate the poll, and 100% it had been manipulated.
"Doug Polk will probably compare me to Donald Trump not accepting the results of an election, but everyone else I've talked to said it's definitely a troll farm doing this, and I'm not going to let them make the decision."
And the entrance? It's set for July 2, and we can confirm that Jungleman and Phil's son Phillip will be a part of it. Expect to see Hellmuth coming in as an '80s rocker, with "long hair slicked back, leather pants, and a leather jacket."
"It's been a tradition to have the models," Hellmuth adds. "Some people want to cancel us for the models, not most people, but a few people... It's just a fun spectacle."
Changes next year?
Hellmuth hasn't given up on the WSOP making changes to the Main Event next year.
"As much as I want to play the Main Event, I don't think that I can win it based on my experience of playing five straight 10-hour days.
"Most smart, logical people agree with me," he says. "It's so tiring... I know Brian Rast got tired and made a mistake [last year]. I think about 70% of the people agree that you can't make fatigue a factor, and that's what they've done.
"Do you want the best poker players in the world there, or the very small percentage that you can play, you know, seven or eight days in a row of 10-hour days and still hold it together?
"I'm going to say that between 30 and 40% of the people cannot win the main event due to fatigue. And, you know, that doesn't include the people that are microdosing mushrooms, that are microdosing whatever, that are smoking pot, or that are microdosing Adderall.
"So I think they’ll change it — I hope they will. All I’m asking for is a day off on Day 6. I love the structure of that tournament."
#POSITIVITY
Hellmuth is known as the Poker Brat for his outbursts at the table, but he explains that's not really a fair reflection of who he is. And he still has lofty ambitions of winning another seven WSOP bracelets.
"My long-term goal is to win 24 bracelets, and I felt that would happen when it first hit my mind in 1993. It was a thought from God... I don't know how to describe it, a vision... I don't know; when you say stuff like that, people just think you're kind of weird.
"99% of the time I'm very positive. It could be more than 99%. It's only 1% when I lose it and the Poker Brat comes out and people film it. I know myself; I know poker. I don't really complain, but some years you have a set, and they have A-K, and they hit runner-runner. Some years it feels like you're touched.
"I try not to talk about the word 'deserved'. I can play great and feel like I played better than everyone in the tournament and feel like I deserve better results than I got that day.
"But then I'm rich and famous and have a wonderful life. Do I deserve health and fame and all that stuff? You don't want to mess with the word deserve. When I bust and I complain, I try and catch myself and keep telling myself to keep playing great. And eventually something great will happen.
"Remember when you get lucky. Sometimes you get it in with sixes, and they have nines, and you hit a six. Remember that one; don't just remember the negative stuff.
"When I won my last bracelet, it came down to a massive flip. The players who focus only on bad luck tend to forget when they get lucky."
