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Monday, July 2, 2007
Devilfish more like David 'Don Juan' Ulliott
The Devilfish knows his poker, style and horses.
By Erin Warner
At the World Series of Poker, David "Devilfish" Ulliott's reputation precedes him.
He's not best known for his cred on the felt - although he has plenty of that given his gold bracelet, 10 WSOP final tables and $4.5 million in career tournament cashes.
The relentless British poker pro is a playboy.
Twice married, the suave father of seven denies he is a ladies' man, insisting he's just looking for a little bit of love. His favorite hunting grounds? The hottest nightclubs in Las Vegas - his playground during off hours from the WSOP; Caesars Forum shops - one of his stops to load up pieces for his new casual-chic look; and, apparently, the rail at tournaments.
Upon meeting a self-professed poker groupie during a break from the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha championship Sunday, Ulliott gives the squealing woman a hug which is followed by much arm rubbing and a succession of raised eyebrows and winks over lowered Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses.
"You've got a firm grip - don't waste it," says Ulliott says to me when shaking my hand minutes later.
Oh dear.
It was the first of Ulliott's notorious flirtatious comments from which I would never recover during our brief interview in the WSOP VIP room.
Did you have any goals coming into the World Series this year, or do you do that sort of thing?
Yeah, I come here to get a bagful of bracelets but I party too much, baby.
You're a bit of party animal I hear.
I was out again last night.
Oh yeah? What were you doing?
I was at Pure. It's a nice club on a Saturday. I always get the best tables and stuff, so it's pretty cool.
I hear you're single and you've also got a reputation for being a bit of a ladies' man.
That's not true.
I don't believe you.
There's no point in asking for your phone number then.
I guess not.
I was going to. But don't always believe what you hear. No, it's not true. I actually had a Chinese girlfriend; she was living with me and she was one of the top models in China. We split up in January and I was with her for close to a year. I like a bit of love, baby.
Are you looking for love this World Series?
I'm looking for you.
(Nervous laughter.)
I'm serious. I'm not laughing.
(Awkward pause.)
I've got you off track.
You've thrown me off my game. So, how do you think Harrah's is running the Series so far?
There's a lot of things that need straightening out, I think. I don't like this sequestered tent where you can't see the final; I don't think that's very fair. I don't like the way the prize money is being diluted, you know, spread out to so many people. It's great for Harrah's because the more people that get money, they can enter more tournaments and satellites and they can spend it in the casinos but I don't think it's great for poker players - especially ones that are getting backed, you know?
There's a lot of poker players who have supported the poker world for the past 12, 15, 20 years who rely on backers. And if there's no money on the final table because it's all being spread out, we're going to run out of backers, you know? I don't have a backer anyway, so it doesn't affect me, but you see my point.
What do you think about Harrah's adding the World Series of Poker Europe. As a European player, are you into that?
I'm going to attend it, yeah. They're going to have a talk with me apparently. We're going to have a talk here and hopefully we can get it going over there pretty good.
What are your plans for after the Series?
I'm probably going to take you to the Caribbean or somewhere.
I don't know about that. Any other plans?
Then I'm going to take you to... heheheheh. Any other plans? I'm going to London to do some TV stuff and then in August my family has a place in Portugal, so I might go there. And after that ... (At this point, Phil Ivey walks by and gives Ulliott a jostle on the shoulder, saying "Devilfish!" He replies, "How 'ya doin' bro?") What's after that, baby? Oh, I think there's a tournament in Barcelona and then I go to Aruba in October. There's lots of stuff going on.
Do you have some new rings there?
(Ulliott is wearing a new-looking set of knuckle-dusters. They are similar to his infamous gold set, but are white gold with encrusted diamonds that spell 'devil' on one hand and 'fish' on the other.)
Yeah, I bought these in December, just because I wear white gold stuff as well. (He flashes a diamond studded watch.)
You noticed that you made the PokerListings.com best dressed list at the 2007 World Series of Poker. Is this something you think about before you show up to play?
No, no. When I get knocked out of a tournament, I like to go and shop. I like to buy nice clothes. I've got loads of nice clothes. I usually come here with one suitcase and go back with three. I shop all over Caesars Forum and all the big stores. All over the place, really. I don't always spend loads of money on the stuff, you know? It's just if I like it.
Yeah, I like clothes. I just bought a beautiful long black cashmere and it's got a dragon embroidered all around it. It's really cool. It's really cool. I don't really need it in Vegas though.
Are you into fashion? What are you interests outside of poker?
Oh yeah, I love fashion. I play the guitar; I play the piano. I've got a guitar in my room, baby. I've been shooting pool over there (he gestures to a pool table in the VIP room where Chris "Jesus" Ferguson is cueing up, sans cowboy hat). I've probably won about $25,000 on the pool table in here, but now no one will play me.
Do you have any leaks? Do you make lots of side bets at the World Series?
No, I don't make side bets; I don't play the tables; I don't have leaks. The only thing I gamble on besides poker is the horses in England. I'm actually banned from all the bookmakers because I'm a really good judge. Yeah, there's a meet called Royal Ascot - it's the biggest meet in England - and every race has got, like, 20 runners in it, 15, and Joe Beevers from the Hendon Mob was putting bets up for me because I was banned from everywhere. And actually there was six races on this card and I backed all six winners. It was in all the newspapers that it was 14:1 or 20:1 to win them. I'm a really good judge on the horses.
Well, I don't really have any more questions. Is there anything else you want to talk about?
Um, me and you.
Sorry, I'm taken.
You're taken?
Oh yes.
Well never mind. (Ulliott grabs my hand and rubs it.) Your hands are as soft as mine.
Indeed, when speaking to a lady, Ulliott could put Scotty Nguyen to shame for the number of times he ends a sentence with 'baby.' The funny thing is, however, the man they call Devilfish doesn't need to resort to artifice to win the respect of a person of either gender.
Devilfish has it all: fame, wealth, style, personality, and unshakable record at the poker table.
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