Gene Teibloom, at the age of 79, had one thought as he entered his first WSOP Main Event:
"I hope that SOB Phil Hellmuth isn't at my table."
It wasn't anything personal. Teibloom didn't have any experience with the Poker Brat in his past. In his retirement years, the La Jolla, CA man has spent his poker time in the occasional Seniors event or playing dailies down the road at Oceans Eleven in Oceanside, CA.
Nevertheless, it was Teibloom's first Main Event. Why ruin it by listening to Hellmuth whine all day?
So, Teibloom showed up, found his Day 1 seat, and realized Fate is a pretty mischievous SOB, too.
Behave, Phil
Teibloom is a seasoned vet of broadcast journalism, a capital "R" Radio Man among radio men, and no stranger to tough talk from difficult dudes. To wit, at one point in his career, Teibloom interviewed a pre-politics Donald Trump and got a quick lesson in how Trump responds to things he doesn't like. Teibloom's story included only a couple of soundbites from Trump (fewer than Trump apparently wanted), and the news team soon found themselves uninvited to a Trump Atlantic City event.
"[Trump] kind of revealed himself," Teibloom said. "He thought it was all about him."
Though once as thick-skinned as any journalist of his generation, Teibloom is a grandfatherly poker player today, and why in the world would he want to spend a lifetime poker moment in the presence of a man who is known for berating his opponents and whining when he loses? Hellmuth was, in Teibloom's early estimation, another man who routinely expects everything to be about him.
For example, consider this moment: Teibloom is locked in, trying to play a hand on the very first day of his Main Event life, and Hellmuth--ever the showman--shows up looking like a dystopian superhero with a parade of paid models in tow.
When Treibloom's hand was finally finished, he turned to one of poker's biggest stars and offered Hellmuth some learned advice.
"Phil, I hope you behave," he said.
Mean Gene outlasts The Brat
Donald Trump once surprised Teibloom, but the odds were much longer that Phil Hellmuth would do the same. Hellmuth takes great pride in his consistency, after all.
Before the end of Day 1, Teibloom would be sitting on one of the televised feature tables where commentators dubbed him "Mean Gene" and cemented this week as one Teibloom's family will forever remember.
Teibloom himself might remember something much different: Hellmuth wasn't the man he expected him to be.
"He turns out to be the perfect gentleman," Teibloom said.
Teibloom's daughter was celebrating her birthday, and Hellmuth recorded a video shoutout for her and then spent the rest of the day acting exactly opposite of how The Brat is expected to act (with the possible exception of wearing spandex pants and a cape all day long).
"He more than changed my opinion of him," Teibloom said.
And while no rivalry bloomed in that first day, Mean Gene ended up with more than a Hellmuth story. The Poker Brat didn't survive until the money bubble and busted out on Day 3.
Teibloom?
His story continues. More than 90% of the 9,208 players who started this event are already already gone. Teibloom made it into the money today, is already guaranteed a $20,000 payout, and still has a chance to go deeper into the prizes.
And maybe the best thing of all? The next time Teibloom enters a tournament with Hellmuth, he won't have worry about "that SOB" ruining his day.
Phil Hellmuth photo courtesy WSOP
