Phil Hellmuth enters dressed up as Caesar

The latest amusing anecdote comes straight from the WSOP in Las Vegas. It is about the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em champion, Phil Hellmuth who dressed up as Julius Caesar and paraded through the entrance to the World Series of Poker last Sunday. He arrived in a car outside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and was accompanied by dozens of women and trumpeters, which drove the fans into frenzy.

11-time gold bracelet winner Hellmuth had won the WSOP main event 20 years ago and now appears again at the event’s poker table. Female gladiators with body paint and muses carrying rose petals in bags accompanied him throughout. “When you dress as Caesar you actually feel more powerful. Kiss my ring!” Hellmuth’s said while speaking to the AP, and continued “Hail Caesar!”

The television cameras showed how Phil was rolled in, greeted Jeffrey Pollack, the World Series of Poker Commissioner, and then had a quick change into standard attire for the tournament start.

During last year’s WSOP, Hellmuth surprised everyone with his Gen. George S. Patton attire, and this year it’s Caesar, and so the guess is that this annual dress up will become a tradition. “It’s a kind of fun. I think it’s great for poker” were his words.

Compared to Hellmuth, the other players had everyday attire without a bombastic entry but some players did have some gimmicks up their sleeve during the tournament of 2008, trying to draw attention to themselves and may be distract competition. Such as last year’s number three, Dennis Phillips, who won USD 4.5 million at the series’ final table and had a dozen supporters dressed in a white collared shirt and a St. Louis Cardinals hat.

Meanwhile, the WSOP sell-outs are looking great this year with almost 1,700 players entering this year’s tournament last Sunday. Many are expecting a bigger sale by today, one to reach a record of 2,600 players. In fact, July 6 is the last day and entries to the tournament are accepted with hopefuls guessing on an additional 800 new tournament applicants. Last year it was the turn of Peter Eastgate to win the event with a prize of USD 9.15 million. Eastgate had entered the event through a USD 10,000 buy-in tournament contested by another 6,844 players.