World Series of Poker 17-time bracelet winner and all-round poker legend Phil Hellmuth (pictured, left) this week celebrated turning 60 – next month.
Yeah, we didn’t get it, either. But hey, if you’ve won $26.735 million in career poker winnings, you can damn well celebrate your birthday, or anything else, whenever you want.
For his early festivities, Hellmuth started things off with– what else? — a high-stakes poker game at the PokerGO Studio inside Aria Las Vegas.
The next day, he went for a round of golf at the Wynn Golf Course, in the shadow of the Las Vegas Sphere, and followed that up with clothes shopping with several billionaire friends. He then topped off the weekend with a celebrity-filled birthday dinner before seeing the Rolling Stones perform at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night.
Attendees of Hellmuth’s dinner included basketballer Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and the world’s second-richest man, Elon Musk.
“I’m calling it the ‘Bestie Billionaire 60th Birthday Bash.’ All my friends here are celebrating my 60th birthday, even though it isn’t until July. Kind of fun,” Hellmuth said in a social media post.
High Stakes Weekend
The PokerGO visit wasn’t just for any poker game, either. Other players at the recorded event table included venture capital investor Chamath Palihapitiya, DoorDash CEO and billionaire Stanley Tang, and soon-to-be Poker Hall of Fame hopeful Andrew Robl.
The High Stakes Poker showcase won’t be seen on the internet for a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, Hellmuth was happy to post about the rest of his weekend on social media.
As well as golfing at the Wynn, the party visited several high-end Las Vegas clothes stores to upgrade the famously casual Hellmuth’s wardrobe. That apparently included some smart black pieces from Tom Ford, paired with yellow glasses. So not much of a makeover there, then.
Upon the party returning from their clothes shopping, an Aria employee presented Hellmuth with a custom bust. The mini Helmuth head came with signature headphones and an Aria casino resort hat. Beneath it was the simple inscription, “The Greatest.”
Future Plans
Hellmuth says he’ll be back in Sin City by the end of the month, as the 2024 WSOP world championship is set to kick off on May 28.
If Hellmuth, who plans to compete, can bag an 18th WSOP bracelet, it will be an even bigger celebration for his actual birthday, which is the day after the final tournament event. He also plans to hit the WSOP California circuit event at Commerce Casino in his residence town of Los Angeles later this month.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
