Sunday, Jul 13, 2008 Abusive Phil Hellmuth Penalized

Phil Hellmuth called Christan Dragomir "an idiot", and was penalized by the Tournament Director.

On the final hand of Day 5, Hellmuth lost it when Dragomir called a 260,000 re-raise pre-flop, forced Hellmuth out of the pot on a ten-high flop, and showed Td-4d, encouraged by Mike Matusow, who was sitting next to Hellmuth at the table.

Matusow and the crowd cheered, but Hellmuth, who had folded A-K open, didn't.

"Listen buddy, you're an idiot!" screamed Hellmuth. "This is the Main Event and you are the worst player in history!"

The official WSOP report has the following to say about the incident:

"On the final hand of Day Five, Phil Hellmuth was given a one round penalty by the Tournament Director. He violated a WSOP rule which forbids berating another player. Following a verbal warning, Hellmuth continued to criticize his opponent following a major confrontation. Accordingly, he was penalized for breaking the rule. Hellmuth will be forced to sit out the first nine hands of play on Day Six. "

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