A Twitter feud erupted between poker pro Doug Polk and 16-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth regarding their association with crypto businesses. The feud was unintentionally started by Nick Vertucci, co-founder of Hustler Casino Live.
Polk and Hellmuth have both been affiliated with cryptocurrency businesses, CoinFlex and Bitcoin Latinum, respectively. These affiliations have caused both the players to receive bad publicity and criticism from their followers.
In the past few months, Doug Polk has been critical of Phil Hellmuth wearing a hat with the branding of Bitcoin Latinum in public. Why? Well, the coin is currently facing serious allegations of security fraud and embezzlement of funds which were aimed at one of the executives. Despite this, the ‘Poker Brat’ took to social media to openly state that he only endorses the coin but isn’t giving any sort of financial advice.
This is not investment advice, and I am paid endorser of Bitcoin Latinum. Happy to see this! @BitcoinLatinum #POSITIVITY
Global Hospitality Powerhouse The H.Wood Group Enters the Blockchain with Bitcoin Latinum – Bloomberg https://t.co/25jkN3L3Id
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) August 12, 2021
However, even though Hellmuth has explained his decision, his continuation of wearing the Bitcoin Latinum hat has caused him to take heat from his followers. Polk, who was critical of Hellmuth, has now come under fire for a similar issue. The poker pro has been heavily promoting CoinFlex on his podcast despite the fact that the crypto platform has suspended withdrawals last month. This was after it found out that one individual’s account had gone into negative equity which affected CoinFlex’s customer balances. The person is allegedly believed to be crypto investor Roger Ver.
Currently, CoinFlex is trying to recover around $84 million in debt so that investors can begin to withdraw from the platform. While there is an effort to recover, the company’s reputation has taken a hit. Once the CoinFlex scandal was made public, Polk was quick to step down as its ambassador in a video he posted on his YouTube channel. However, his followers continued to give him flack for his association with CoinFlex in the past.
ALSO READ: Alex Foxen Involved In Cryptocurrency Lawsuit
Polk took to the social media platform to defend his affiliation with the crypto platform and was quick to distinguish his action from Hellmuth.
People are coming after me like I'm the person at fault and/or this says something about my character. I stand by my decisions and I have done the right thing every step of the way. The difference between this and closing your eyes and wearing a bitcoin Latinum hat is tremendous.
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) July 9, 2022
It was here that Vertucci chimed in to defend Hellmuth while taking a dig on Polk. He then deleted his tweet and apologised for his hasty and aggressive response after Polk fired back. He told him, “Nick, for starters you are a complete tool. You hit me up over and over again for me to give you free s**t (newsflash, I don’t know you). Anyway, there is a huge difference between the people I’ve gone after for unethical decisions and my situation. Not surprised you can’t see the difference.”
Polk even challenged Vertucci for heads-up, but the match is not likely to happen. This was where things took a dirty turn as Hellmuth bit back.
You made a big mistake @DougPolkVids! Then, you try to “compare” our involvement in the projects and throw shade at me? You are 100X more at fault. I never told anyone to buy, ever, I believed in LTNM, but I knew it was risky (I have made ZERO: was paid coins only, sold zero) https://t.co/NMu9LqlaR2
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 12, 2022
Polk did not take kindly to Hellmuth’s tweet and responded by telling the 16-time bracelet winner that whenever there is coin with Bitcoin or Ethereum in its name, that coin is a scam.
I told you this personally before but will say it here as well.
Anytime a coin pops up that uses "Bitcoin" or "Ethereum" in the name. It's a scam. The entire community knows this.
There's only one Bitcoin $BTC https://t.co/CFTVgZlinj
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) July 12, 2022
The Upswing Poker founder, then claimed, “The difference here is when I realise a company is doing something wrong, I have the courage to quit. That makes one of us.”
Since then, the two have appeared to move on from the short but fiery Twitter war. Polk also informed that he had made up with Vertucci via a Tweet on Tuesday.
For more news and updates, keep reading Gutshot Magazine. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Telegram.
Donna Amo was a writer at Gutshot Magazine. She is a graduate from Sophia College of Women, Mumbai with a degree in English Literature. When this October born foodie is not writing content or poetry, she spends her time laughing at memes or watching series. Based out of Mizoram, she is drawn to all things nature and has a soft spot for puppies.
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