Monday, Nov. 12, 2007

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0-for-ever: Hellmuth back for more PAD

Once, twice, five times a Poker After Dark donator.

By Christopher Hunt

Phil Hellmuth is, apparently, a glutton for Poker After Dark punishment.

A five-time loser already in the made-for-TV, $120k winner-take-all spectacle - having been felted by a wide assortment of poker pros over the course of the past year - the one and only Poker Brat is coming back for more in this week's edition of PAD.

His opponents: Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen and Howard Lederer - all familiar faces to the poker-viewing public and, apparently, also gluttons for easy Hellmuthian money.

All five, as a matter of fact, are also previous visitors to the PAD winner's circle.

This week's match, NBC assures us, is filled with a little of everything, from "intense poker marked by long and difficult decisions" to "more smiles from Phil Ivey than anyone has ever seen."

It also has, of course, a steady diet of Hellmuth, including some "eyebrow-raising behavior most viewers have never witnessed."

As added fuel for the fire: Before the match even started, Hansen laid Hellmuth 4.5-1 odds for $20,000 that Hellmuth would yet again go away empty-handed, putting an additional $90,000 on the line.

Hellmuth replied to the challenge by saying he didn't care who was playing, he was never a 4-1 dog in any six-handed match, ever.

Should he lose, he would be the first player in two seasons of Poker After Dark to hit 0-for-6.

The match starts airing tonight on NBC, at 2:05 a.m (EST), and continues until the standard "Director's Cut" finale after Saturday Night Live on Nov. 17.

Each of the match's six segments can also be viewed daily at www.nbcsports.com/poker.

Related Articles:

• Poker After Dark Introduces Two New Players
• Stakes Go Up After Dark
• Poker After Dark Sets Table for Party
• Fossilman Not Afraid of Poker After Dark

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