'New footage' of Hellmuth crash materializes

The marketing behemoth that is Phil Hellmuth reared its head again today, as a press release exposing "unseen footage" of his well-publicized - and some suggest staged - crash in the Rio parking lot was dropped on the Web.

"The new clip," Hellmuth says in the release, "sets the record straight on what really happened behind the wheel. Hopefully, this will put all rumors and conspiracy theories to rest."

The "new footage" shows an unidentified driver taking the race car out for a spin in the desert before bringing it back in to the Rio parking lot to "perform a series of precision victory laps."

Hellmuth is then shown "carefully sliding the car into it's designated parking spot," a concrete barrier.

The clip continues with the number one poker player in the world stepping out unharmed, and cuts to footage of him making his entrance to the Rio for the Main Event, surrounded by 11 models.

The press release then suggests Hollywood insiders are reporting Hellmuth is "using millions of his career poker winnings to fund the film adaptation of TV's Knight Rider."

One Hellmuth rumor that is supposedly true, however, which he confirmed in a recent interview on Sirius satellite radio:

The Poker Brat will be a cast member on Season 7 of The Surreal Life, joining former professional wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Dabney Coleman and beefcake prop comic Carrot Top, among others.

courtesy of Christopher Hunt

News Added: 18 July, 2007

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