Todd Witteles speaking out against Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst has been called a ‘disgrace to the poker community’ after a thinly-veiled call for President Donald Trump to be assassinated, Todd Witteles calling her out as unfit to be a mother….
This woman is a disgrace to the poker community and should not be raising a child. She was already known for a nasty demeanor at the table (to both men and women), but this is a new low: pic.twitter.com/xEIb99mORm
— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles) November 11, 2020
The now-deleted tweet came as the former world number 1 female poker player joined others on Twitter to discuss Trump’s recent moves since losing the presidential election to Joe Biden last week.
Though not specifically naming Donald Trump, Selbst, an avowed ‘left-winger’ opposed to Trumpian politics, is apparently shocked at the President’s actions this week, putting a series of tweets on the subject…
What in the ever living fucking hell is going on? https://t.co/94kYOKKArw
— Vanessa Selbst 🏳️🌈 (@VanessaSelbst) November 11, 2020
Although many others are equally concerned about recent events, it was Selbst’s brutal and quite likely illegal language that riled Witteles. He stated in a reply to his tweet above: “This is someone committing a crime, not cancel culture.”
Selbst apparently believes a ‘coup’ of some sort is underway. She talks about, ‘nukes directed at the blue states’, as well as another comment apparently directed at Trump staying: ‘death would be too good for him.’
While the poker world has been polarised as much as the rest of the nation about Trump, the former poker pro and world number one female player of all time has been much more outspoken than most.
Last week Selbst claimed that “…most of the Trump electorate is brainwashed into oblivion rather than hateful or evil (though that faction exists too).”
That elicited at least one negative response, though by Twitter standards it was very mild…
https://twitter.com/shaun_stapleton/status/1324031404288724994?s=20
Threatening the President?
Witteles was less reserved in his condemnation of Selbst’s assassination tweet.
“My stance is that anyone who threatens or implies assassination of a President should be in prison. This person definitely should never be a licensed attorney or work on Wall Street.”
He added, replying to a comment about Trump ‘basically trying to start a civil war’, “My standard is that no matter what your disagreement is with the current President, you cannot threaten him, and doing so is never justified, regardless of the mental gymnastics one might utilize to explain why it’s “okay this time”.
Neither Selbstnor Witteles are strangers to controversy, though just as with their politics they are most often on opposite sides.
Selbst, who amassed more than $11million in her stellar poker career, claimed she gave up the game ‘…in huge part because I hated this role of being in the spotlight and judged and criticized and it wore me down.’
That included a well-documented and very costly $1.8million WSOP bracelet bet with Jason Mercier that turned sour.
Selbst claimed she was almost “blackout” drunk on alcohol when she offered Mercier 180-1 odds on a $10k bet that he wouldn’t win three gold bracelets back in 2016.
That led to a bitter and highly-public Twitter battle. Selbst eventually offered a $100k buyout but Mercier refusing it as “way below expectations”.
almost black out?? We were at a Pokerstars team pro dinner… You are grossly exaggerating how drunk u were
— Jason Mercier (@JasonMercier) June 15, 2016
Although the ‘Summer of Mercier’ saw him just miss out on the three bracelets, the controversy left a rather sour taste.
As for Witteles, he is currently embroiled in the $300million Mike Postle defamation lawsuit, something he plans to defend himself against rigorously.
Aside from this, he is known for his Poker Fraud Alert radio show and forum, in which his alter ego ‘Dan Druff’ chases up the latest gossip and scandals from around the poker world.
What happens next with Selbst’s ‘assassination’ tweet is anyone’s guess. However, it’s a good reminder that just as politics is not a good subject at the dinner table, it may not be the best idea around a ‘poker table’ either.
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