The newest episode of Poker After Dark is going live in a few hours. The title of this show is “Phil Hellmuth’s Home Game”, and the gracious host sent out a last-minute invitation.
Phil Hellmuth tweeted directly at NBA superstar LeBron James, asking if he wants to join the game.
Would LOVE to have @KingJames play w us tomorrow on Poker After Dark, only on @PokerGo App. Lebron – hearing you here in Vegas now, Day Day will text you. Game at 2 PM, $5,000 buy in, great guys #POSITIVITY pic.twitter.com/7hAw2RLmEE
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) September 25, 2019
Poker Great Phil Hellmuth Reaches Out to Basketball Great LeBron James
Both Hellmuth and James are true legends of their field.
Phil Hellmuth has won 15 WSOP gold bracelets, more than anyone in the history of poker. LeBron James’ 3 NBA championship rings is far from being a record. However, his 4 MVP titles and 15 All Star game appearances make him one of the greatest of his generation.
Unfortunately, “King James” hasn’t replied on Twitter yet. That is despite the fact that Hellmuth claims to know that he is in Las Vegas right now.
However, the Poker Brat also promised that another NBA star, Draymond Green would shoot him a text – there’s no word whether or not LeBron James responded to his invitation that way.
Despite Hellmuth’s best efforts, it seems very unlikely that the Los Angeles Lakers star will actually show up on PAD. The line-up still is sure to feature at least one NBA star.
Other Famous Basketball Players at the Poker Table
Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green is confirmed to play on PAD tonight.
Don’t miss @Money23Green on #PokerAfterDark!
The @warriors legend joins @phil_hellmuth and @MariaHo LIVE on PokerGO! 🏀💰📽️
Watch: https://t.co/Y6Y29nLXJZ
Sign up: https://t.co/5rUlItuiNK pic.twitter.com/M4Gptrd5Gq— PokerGO (@PokerGO) September 24, 2019
He joins the list of elite basketball players who have competed on high levels at the poker table as well.
Last month, Paul Pierce appeared on Poker After Dark. He took down this hefty, over $40K pot with pocket Jacks.
He even made a deep run in the 2014 WSOP Main Event, finishing just short of the money.
Shawn Marion and Gilbert Arenas also frequent high profile poker tournaments, especially at the World Series of Poker. However, their success as a carplayer is dubious at best – all they have is a $5,000 cash by Marion from a 2016 tourney among them.
Despite that, poker does seem to attract a lot of basketball players.
This might be because of the competitive nature of the games. NBA players also like to talk about the importance of the “mental game” in basketball – something that is also crucial in poker.
Or, poker might just be a cool way to gamble for rich NBA players.
Basketball players aren’t the only prominent athletes who like to play a bit of cards from time to time. German tennis legend Boris Becker, Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar, and former NFL defensive tackle Richard Seymour are all known recreational poker players.
Barcelona footballers Arturo Vidal and Gerard Pique even cashed in the €25,000 EPT event last month.
Poker After Dark is Back Tonight with Phil Hellmuth’s Private Game
Poker After Dark returns 12:00 PM CET tonight with the second night of the Hellmuth Home Game.
We can’t promise LeBron James will show up, but Maria Ho, Draymond Green, the “host” Phil Hellmuth are all confirmed to play an exciting session of $100/$200 No Limit Hold’em.
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