He is a 17-time bracelet winner, however Phil Hellmuth has informed PokerNews he is greater than only a poker legend.
Along with being a serial entrepreneur — Hellmuth says he is an advisor to 35 firms — he says he is received his finger on the heart beat of the following poker increase, in addition to the expansion of ladies in poker and associated initiatives.
And he is mentioning the Celeb Poker Tour for “catching lightning in a bottle” as a key a part of poker’s success in 2026 and past.
Advisor to the Superfounders
“It is sort of loopy,” he admitted, once we requested him concerning the number of firms he advises. “However on the similar time, it is enjoyable for me to sort of be concerned on this stuff. I give my founders ten hours a yr, so it isn’t a time factor.
“However I am going to converse with the CEOs and alter an organization by possibly 10% or 20%. You recognize, introduce them to a celeb, introduce them to a billionaire. After which swiftly I’ve earned it, so I really feel good.”
Hellmuth says he is a tinkerer, even developing with concepts the night time earlier than conferences with these “superfounders”.
“Considered one of my founders known as me two days in the past, and he mentioned, ‘I’d not have made it with out you’. And now he is come to me and requested me to function an advisor to his subsequent firm. So we negotiated, and now I am going to have a bunch of factors, and he is gonna do it once more, and I am gonna make some huge cash!
Hellmuth Commits $25,000 to Help Ladies in Poker
And it is that cash Hellmuth says he is placing to good use, revealing plans to take a position closely in a women match in Texas.
“About two years in the past, I made a decision it was gonna be my mission to get extra girls into poker,” he mentioned. “So I am gonna put up $25,000 of my very own cash for a women match at one in all my casinos in Houston.”
Hellmuth mentioned that this quantity was going to be matched by “two or three” different individuals.
He’s additionally a vocal supporter of Poker Energy, the group based by self-made billionaire Jenny Simply and her daughter Juliette Hulsizer, which goals to show 200,000 girls strategic life expertise via poker.
“I attempt to help [Jenny] and the whole lot she’s finished for poker. A variety of ladies begin to play, they usually begin out nervous and laughing. However by the second time they performed the sport, they begin to take the sport extra critically.
“Jenny did not play any poker, however someday she determined, ‘Ladies do not take sufficient dangers’. So she realized easy methods to play and launched this organisation.”
The New Increase
Hellmuth can also be of the opinion {that a} new poker increase is on the playing cards on account of a basis laid through the pandemic. As former gamers returned to the sport as extra mature, higher gamers, they in flip drew within the present wave of youthful 21-25 yr olds.
“Each airport I am in, children come as much as me telling me ‘I am your largest fan!'”
“All these individuals who had stop poker and given up, they got here again! They had been all 10-15 years older they usually had been all higher gamers, as a result of they had been extra mature. In order that they began having higher outcomes. So then what are the youth gonna do? They began taking part in massively.
“Each airport I am in, children come as much as me telling me ‘I am your largest fan!’ And I am like ‘Properly, how are you aware me?’ And it is TikTok. I do not actually have a TikTok account. Nevertheless it’s nice.”
One of many tasks concentrating on this youthful demographic is the Celeb Poker Tour, and Hellmuth says he sees a kindred spirit within the younger CPT founder, Blake Wynn.
“Blake Wynn, he is lower from the identical material as all these superfounders that I take care of,” mentioned Hellmuth. “Steve Wynn did all this nice stuff, and he listened to the neatest individuals. Bobby Baldwin insisted that Steve had poker at his casinos, and Steve did not take heed to Bobby all of the instances.
“And in case you’re a superfounder, you wish to take heed to the actually good individuals that you simply encompass your self with, identical to Steve did. Blake is a 25-year-old celebrity founder, you understand? It is nice for poker what he is doing. It is superb. All these massive numbers, all these individuals coming into the sport, and I feel poker ought to 100% help this.”
Hellmuth sees the CPT as an important power within the recreation’s resurgence, particularly amongst youthful demographics, noting that the true “superpower” of superstar poker lies in its relatability.
“[Wynn] has caught lightning in a bottle too, as a result of younger individuals are actually beginning to love their poker.”
“The facility of the Celeb Poker Tour is that the common individual at house who’s not good at poker is watching it and might relate! Lots of them are watching it, saying, ‘I am higher than these celebrities!'”
Will Shillibier
Managing Editor
He graduated from the College of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He additionally holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports activities Journalism.
