Ivey’s Celebrity Status transcends Poker
Many people already regard Phil Ivey to be the best all-around poker player in the world. And while there are numerous laptop jockeys who will squabble about this for hours in between their high stakes Full Tilt Poker games, the fact remains that Ivey has won in everything he’s ever played. Due to his impressive poker accomplishments and camera friendly demeanor, Ivey has gained major celebrity status.
In fact, ESPN the Magazine recently did a feature article that focused on this celebrity status as they followed him around for an E:60 segment. In the article, Chad Millman (the writer) talked about how Ivey has transcended the game of poker and is now hanging out with A-list celebrities. He not only texts Michael Phelps about different stuff, but he also hangs out with Jay-Z backstage at concerts and golfs with Michael Jordan.
Ivey said that being able to do all of these things is definitely a dream come true. However, Ivey has always been a person who likes his privacy so being a celebrity makes it tough on him to keep his life private. Reporters now hound him a lot more since he is already so great, and is in the hunt to win the World Series of Poker Main Event.
Right now Ivey sits in 7th place in terms of chips. He will need to make some big moves to get up the ladder, but Ivey isn’t phased by what stands ahead of him. Phil is very focused on winning the Main Event despite the fact that he has a celebrity status to deal with and a lower than average chip stack.