Photo courtesy of Bluff Magazine	Born :	July 16, 1964 in Madison, Wisconsin
	Residence :	Palo Alto, CA
	Nick Name:	"Poker Brat"
	Career Highlights:	Phil has won 11 WSOP bracelets, including the Main Event in 1989.

Phil Hellmuth Facts:

• Phil is the youngest player ever to win the WSOP Main Event.
• He is married to a Psychiatrist.
• Over six and half feet tall.
• Phil is the only American to win the European Poker Championship.

BIO

The English clairvoyant Rose Gladden told a 17 year old Phil Hellmuth “You’re going to be very famous.. or infamous.” Deciding which category Phil falls into is mostly a personal choice for poker fans. Labeled “The Poker Brat” because of his almost childlike behavior at the poker table. Phil Hellmuth is one of the most recognizable figures in the poker world today. His popularity is fueled by a combination of his televised antics and many tournament successes. Away from the bright lights of the felt table, Hellmuth is a compassionate father and loving husband.

There were times when Hellmuth’s family life wasn’t always in perfect order. Phil Sr., an assistant dean, was not pleased with his son’s decision to become a professional poker player. At the time Phil Hellmuth Jr. was attending the University of Wisconsin where he was studying accounting and philosophy. He first discovered poker while at the student union and started playing in the low limit games held there. Phil was playing so well that he was able to pay off all of his student loans and build a $20,000 bankroll. In his junior year Phil dropped out of college and moved to Vegas to start playing poker full time.

While still working to repair his relationship with his family, Phil started to have some success at the WSOP. He finished 7th in the 1988 Seven–Card Stud Split event and 33rd in the No Limit Hold’em Main Event. Then in 1989, with his father in attendance, Phil won his first bracelet, the WSOP Main Event World Championship. When Hellmuth defeated Johnny Chan, who was going for his third straight main event title, Phil became the youngest Main Event winner in WSOP history. Since winning his World Championship bracelet, Phil has won eight additional WSOP tournaments and over 6 million dollars in tournament winnings from around the world. Phil won the 2005 National Heads Up Championship on NBC and was the season 3 champion of Europe’s Late Night Poker.

Phil’s accomplishments are often times overshadowed by his pompous outbursts and verbal chiding of other players. A favorite of the ESPN TV cameras, Phil has been captured giving the following words of wisdom at the poker table:

“If there weren't luck involved, I guess I'd win every one.”

"This Frickin Donkey stuck fifteen thousand in with king jack... I mean... The guy can't even SPELL poker.

"I've busted a million Europeans."

“I played so perfect, I couldn't play more perfect.”

“I was supposed to go broke on that hand, honey, except they forgot one thing: I can dodge bullets, baby.”

Although many don’t believe him, Phil professes that his behavior is not an act and it is something he is working on improving. It’s hard to imagine Phil has any time to work on his behavior with all his projects outside of the card room. Phil is the author of several poker books and instructional videos. He has his own clothing line and is in talks with Oakley sunglasses to develop poker shades. Hellmuth is a spokesperson for UltimateBet.com and contributes articles for Card Player Magazine. Starting in 2006 Phil Hellmuth will replace his friend Phil Gordon as the co-host of Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo.

So what are Hellmuth’s goals for the future? “I want to earn the right to be considered the best poker player of all time. I want to achieve greatness by winning all of the major tournaments. In 10 years, I want people to say Phil Hellmuth broke every record in poker, and no one else even comes close.”