ShareDaniel Negreanu 2022 WSOP adventures are getting weirder by the day, DNegs receiving extortion threats via voicemails from a man accusing the six-time bracelet winner of abandoning his “family” to live the high life in Vegas.
You are lying. It’s on the Vlog and it’s nothing like you described. He didn’t bump into you and he didn’t follow you, not even for a second. Your encounter is at the 19 minute mark if you need your memory refreshed. https://t.co/fy1TFQk5g8
— dayoldtaco (@dayoldtaco) June 6, 2022
Negreau’s daily vlogs are an integral part of the annual World Series of Poker, a mix of hand histories, pre-tournament prep and on-the-spot WSOP fun.
This week, however, things have taken a more sinister twist, with Daniel first accosted and accused of “vaxxing innocent babies” by a conspiracy theorist, followed by disturbing text and voicemail accusations.
On his day 9 vlog Daniel reads out the text message: “I’m going to go public with what you did to your family in Lake Havasu. That was fucked – I know your little secret; the whole world is going to know!”
That was accompanied by a text, apparently to Phil Hellmuth, that read: “Phil, give me a call if you want to expose Daniel Negreanu. We can talk money. I have proof.”
Negreanu admits he had to look up Lake Havasu, which turns out to be in Arizona. “I have no family in Arizona and I've never been there,” says Dnegs.
He did, however, recall some previous accusations mentioning the same Lake Havasu and found the long and rambling series of voicemails...
Voicemail and blackmail?
“Listen in, check this out!” says Daniel before playing the voiceclips:
Day 9 Vlog is a CRAZY one but maybe it's just the distraction I needed to get my 2022 WSOP going the right direction. LIVE in 25 minutes!https://t.co/Y6wH8Y5shJ
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 9, 2022
"I really am calling you... I want to let you know what happened after you left Lake Havasu, alright, you have a right to know...,” begins the clip, with some unintelligible parts to it.
The claims are that Negreanu apparently left Arizona for Vegas, leaving behind a family including a child purported to be Daniel’s.
Bizarre claims of abandoning family for Vegas
The bizarre claims continue: “I just thought you'd want to know what happened to your other family that got abandoned. I got all kinds of people trying to hit me up to make this go public, but I'm giving you a chance to make it right, man, just you know what I mean.
Despite wishing Daniel well on his successes, the caller adds: “It's kind of fucked up you just left your family ...I'm like kind of grieving over it because I had to watch them cry outside my window from my bedroom for you."
That leads on to what seems to be the main point of the calls – an attempt to extort money from Negreanu.
Phil Hellmuth ...or the big Payoff?
“But I believe you don't want me to go public with it, so maybe you should give me a call back on this phone because I'm getting all kinds of...comments...hell, Hellmuth really wants me in, so they really want to use it against you.
“They really want to pay me, but I'm giving you a chance for me not to go public, and you pay me off, whatever, I'll keep quiet about it, I'll sign a contract, but let me know. Okay, Dan.”
With that over, Daniel asks to camera: “How seriously do I take something like this? And do I go to the FBI?”
That remains to be seen, but his encounter earlier in the week had him considering hiring a bodyguard.
Settle a debate with @RadioAmanda
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 7, 2022
If you were me at the WSOP do you think it would be worthwhile to have a bodyguard?
The Conspiracy Theorist
That arose after he had a run in with Sara Palmer, an occasional poker player and conspiracy theorist who tweeted that Negreanu was following her amongst other claims...though poker Twitter was quick to point out she was simply making things up...You are lying. It’s on the Vlog and it’s nothing like you described. He didn’t bump into you and he didn’t follow you, not even for a second. Your encounter is at the 19 minute mark if you need your memory refreshed. https://t.co/fy1TFQk5g8
— dayoldtaco (@dayoldtaco) June 6, 2022
What will Negreanu WSOP vlog bring next? Hopefully nothing too crazy and his fans can get back to rooting for him to win something, the poker side of his 2022 WSOP campaign less than stellar so far!
