New WSOP Champ Jonathan Duhamel Talks Trash

Poker's latest celebrity has a message for all his fans:

Do as I say, not as I do!

The hugely hypocritical remarks come from the mouth of newly-crowned World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel, who last week went from obscurity to worldwide celebrity in an instant, when he won the world's most prestigious poker tournament and earned $8.9 million.

Returning from Las Vegas, where he won the title, to Montreal, Canada, where he lives in a quiet suburb, the suddenly-egomaniacal Duhamel held a pompous welcome-back press conference for local Canadian media and told people not to emulate him.

"I don't want to glorify anything with that win," Duhamel said. "I'm just one lucky guy who got far in that tournament. I don't recommend anybody should quit school or stuff like that. I'm kind of an exception out there. I don't recommend anybody playing high stakes or stuff like that."

Oh, okay.

Except for one thing.

Duhamel himself is a college dropout who plays for high stakes.

Nevertheless, that was the message he wanted to get out, especially to his young fans.

Don't drop out of school like I did, don't play high-stakes poker like I do, and don't win nine million bucks like I did for playing a game.

That wasn't all the 23-year-old University of Quebec dropout from Boucherville, Quebec, Canada had to say.

He admitted it wasn't just his superior poker skills that earned him the crown--and a championship gold bracelet.

"I played well, but I was super lucky as well," Duhamel said. "That I know. This (bracelet) means you're the world champion. I could look at it for hours. It's amazing. The bracelet is more important than the money."

The bracelet is more important than the money?

So if he had to give one back--either the $8.9 million or the much less valuable bracelet--he'd give back the jewelry?

We're still waiting for him to get back to us on that one.

By Tom Somach

Gambling911.com Staff Writer

tomsomach@yahoo.com