Jeff Shulman: I’d Throw the WSOP Bracelet in the Garbage

With only a few scant … um, months until the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event gets underway, the drama is already brewing. Anyone who’s been in the industry for a bit knows there’s no love lost between CardPlayer and Harrah’s, so it’s perhaps less than surprising that November Nine member Jeff Shulman has reportedly claimed that if he wins the WSOP Main Event, he’ll renounce the bracelet.

To be more clear, WickedChops quotes Shulman as saying: “If by renounce it you mean throw it in the garbage, then yes.”

The only other player we can imagine who would consciously choose to toss a WSOP bracelet in the garbage would be Ivey, but that would probably just be because there were too many cluttering up the island in his kitchen or his nightstand.

Shulman’s beef likely stems from the way Harrah’s has essentially shut out all media sources besides PokerNews and ESPN from any significant access to the WSOP, especially from the Main Event, and especially especially from the Main Event as the field shrinks down to the final table. Given his day job as the editor of Card Player magazine, you can understand his somewhat non-traditional attitude toward winning what is arguably poker’s most coveted prize.

However, as WC points out, it also seems a bit disingenuous for Shulman to bring negative attention to the WSOP given his day job as the editor of CardPlayer, a magazine that relies on a steady stream of new players for survival.

Shulman claimed in an interview with ESPN that his attitude had little to do with the CardPlayer / Harrah’s feud. “It’s about my lack of respect for the WSOP and the management here and what they’ve done to the players. That said, I still wouldn’t wear it if I was best friends with them. When I had a chance to win years ago, I said I wouldn’t wear it. I’m shocked that people wear those ugly things.”

Linky to the original story on WickedChops.