Daniel Negreanu has said that he thinks the WSOP has treated Phil Hellmuth differently from other players in the past, saying, "There have been times Phil has done sh*t during the World Series that he should have got a penalty for. No question."
Negreanu was talking about rules and fairness on the new episode of the Mania Podcast with his wife, Amanda.
In the discussion, Negreanu admits to being a 'rule follower' and says that rules should apply equally to everyone, no matter their status in the game.
Negreanu warned at Paradise
It's a fascinating discussion because Negreanu is seen as having huge sway with the WSOP, and potentially more so after it was bought by GGPoker in a $500 million deal last year. Negreanu is an ambassador with GGPoker.
Negreanu was quick to point out that he doesn't expect, nor want, special treatment because of this, which led to Amanda asking why he was allowed to film his vlogs at the table and others aren't.
"Because that's not true," Negreanu replied. "Just to let people know, when I'm doing the vlog, I'm not the only one; there are several people. What you've got to do is get media clearance. You have to go through the application process. You have to get a press pass to be able to film."
To reinforce the fact that he follows the same rules as everyone else, Negreanu went on to say that he got a warning at the recent WSOP Paradise festival.
"There are rules too," Negreanu said. "I got reprimanded, and it was a small thing. I didn't think it was a big deal. But no filming hole cards when a hand is live, right?
"There was one hand I was all-in, so I didn't think it was a big deal. I showed my cards to the camera, and it showed up the next day on the vlog, and I got sh*t for it: 'That can't happen again!' Gotcha. I'm a rule follower."
Hellmuth should have had WSOP penalty
Negreanu went on to say that the WSOP hasn't always applied the rules equally.
"There have been times Phil [Hellmuth] has done sh*t during the World Series he should have got a penalty for. No question. And, partly, they were afraid to give him a penalty because of who he was and they didn't.
"If it was average Joe who said what he said or did what he did, they would have had a one-round penalty."
Negreanu didn't talk specifics, but Hellmuth's more excessive blow-ups at the WSOP have been well documented, and one against Cristian Dragomir, which you can watch below, escalated quickly, with even Mike Matusow telling Hellmuth he was out of line.
That doesn't mean Negreanu wants Hellmuth to curb his behavior, however. Negreanu added that he loves "watching Hellmuth lose his sh*t... It's exciting; it's interesting."
