WSOP News: Hellmuth's Night of Hell as Poker Pro Suffers Whiplash in CrashUltimate Bet poker pro and legend, Phil Hellmuth, nearly saw his life flash before his very eyes Sunday evening. Family members were alerted to a near fatal crash in the parking lot of Rio Hotel and Casino in Vegas during an Ultimate Bet WSOP promotional event.
"I was awoken at 3 am and advised to pay close attention to the Gambling911.com website," said a first cousin of Hellmuth's. "I spent the next half hour calling up other family members."
By 4 am Eastern Standard Time, Gambling911.com had offered relief to shaken Hellmuth family members, confirming Phil was all right.
Ultimate Bet released a statement Monday morning that Hellmuth had lost control of their promotional car during an event in the Rio parking lot.
"It looked as if the brakes failed," a bystander reported to Gambling911.
Hellmuth rammed the UltimateBet race car into what appeared to be a concrete barricade. Traumatized UltimateBet officials referred to the object as a "pole". (see video of incident here)
Hellmuth had spent the day testing the 200 mph racecar in the Nevada desert. Upon approaching his hotel, the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner lost control of the vehicle and crashed head-on into a pole.
While the racecar was totaled, witnesses report that Hellmuth was conscious as he left the vehicle unscathed but visibly shaken. According to one onlooker, Hellmuth quipped, “Well, you can’t win every race.”
With the Main Event of the World Series just hours away, it’s still unknown whether the UltimateBet.net pro will recover in time to vie for the Main Event title and a 12th WSOP bracelet.
"I'd be amazed if he was able to play poker today after such a high-speed collision,” stated eyewitness Brian Balsburgh of Poker Royalty. “He had severe whiplash.”
Hellmuth’s Main Event start time was scheduled for 12pm on Monday, July 9th. While friends and family are no doubt praying for a quick recovery, foes are likely relishing in his misfortune. After all, Hellmuth’s absence from the floor at the Rio Hotel & Casino definitely makes the playing field a lot less fierce.
Gambling911.com can confirm that air bags did deploy within the vehicle. Although Hellmuth was mobile after the freak accident, he was taken to a nearby hospital for a routine check up. Results of those tests were not immediately known at press time.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published July 9, 2007 12:03 pm ET
