Gossip Column: Doug Polk to Come Out of Retirement to Face Arch-Rival Daniel Negreanu in Grudge Match & More

All sports have epic rivalries, whether it’s India vs. Pakistan, Australia vs. England, Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi, or Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal. One of the most followed rivalries in poker has been between two former WSOP bracelet winners Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk.

The festering animosity has finally led to a ‘Grudge Match.’ Proposed by poker vlogger Joe Ingram, Polk and Negreanu have agreed to fight it out one final time (hopefully!). The terms have been vaguely discussed on Twitter, but details are still being hashed out.

The ongoing lockdown seems to have made people bonkers. The number of gambling-related arrests in India appears to have spiked over the past few months. The latest in the long list of arrests include Kollywood actor Shaam and Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal’s younger brother Himanshu.

Daniel Negreanu & Doug Polk Gearing Up For a Grudge Match

Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Doug Polk may have retired from the game, but he certainly hasn’t let go of his animosity towards six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu. In fact, the former reignited his feud with Negreanu by challenging him to a heads-up battle.

The Canadian pro hasn’t had the best of time lately. Though Negreanu has scored 15 times at the ongoing 2020 WSOP Online series, he has also had a few outbursts.

His first meltdown happened while he was playing Event #10: $600 Monster Stack on WSOP.com. The site froze up multiple times for the GGPoker Ambassador, leading to him physically acting out and ranting during his live-stream.

His latest tirade happened just a few days back when a commenter insulted his wife, Amanda Leatherman. He went on yet another rant, but this time, he made several vulgar physical threats that ended up getting Negreanu, a lot of flak from the poker community, and a ban from Twitch!

Negreanu tweeted on July 27 that he would be sharing a statement regarding his behavior on his live stream.

I will be reading a prepared statement on my stream tonight at 6pm PST.

$400 Freezeout tonight, so if I bust it will be read on tomorrow’s stream.

6pm-7pm PST Monday-Friday on FB Live, Periscope, and here:https://t.co/AEhGo8fXDo

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 27, 2020

To which Twitch replied…

pic.twitter.com/FbHp3rHVG5

— TwitchPoker (@Twitch__Poker) July 27, 2020

And Daniel was ready with his comeback…

HAHA! Sorry you guys banned me, what can I do.

https://t.co/wc8WPnn14Z

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 27, 2020

Negreanu posted his announcement on YouTube while live-streaming Event #27: $400 No-Limit Hold ’em Freezeout. He stated, “I would like to formally apologize for suggesting that breaking a troll’s teeth and then feeding them to him anally is the appropriate way to deal with an opposing viewpoint.”

You can watch the entire live-stream below.

He followed it up by tweeting a message to his “loyal and dedicated trolls”.

A message to my loyal and dedicated trolls. All the usual suspects. I missed you!

So glad I could provide you with some content to obsess over. You are welcome!

Gotta get that clickbait money to sell poker coaching!#Clicks4RentMoney pic.twitter.com/3PkKeD8jir

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 26, 2020

Coming to the topic of trolls, one of Kid Poker’s long-standing rivalry has been with retired poker pro Polk. The two have argued over several issues in the past, including rake. The duo had battled it out three years ago when the then-PokerStars Team pro had shown support to the brand’s decision to increase rake in ring games. Polk had ranted against Negreanu, which was followed by a clash on Twitter.

A couple days after Negreanu’s last outburst, Polk released a video trolling Negreanu’s now-infamous tirade and a few of their past disagreements. YouTube has since removed the video.

On Monday, poker vlogger Joe Ingram tweeted that the duo should “settle this” by playing heads-up. Polk quote tweeted Ingram and said that if the tweet got 1,000 retweets, he would “come back to poker” for one final head-up match.

If this tweet gets 1k retweets I will come back to poker for a No Limit Hold’em heads up for rolls grudge match against Daniel Negreanu.

He wont do it though, cause he knows he has no chance to win. https://t.co/L8P2CkJNrH

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) July 28, 2020

As expected, the tweet got the required number of retweets, and Polk officially offered a match Tuesday afternoon. He offered to play four tables of heads-up No-Limit Hold ’em for 25,000 hands. There would likely be a side bet on whoever won the match, as has been the case with every other similar heads-up challenge, but it was never stipulated in the original offer.

In before he wants to play 9 card omaha 12 or lower stud session, and then play 1 tournament and call it a day.

I want a 25k hand 4 table HUNL THROWDOWN. LETS FUCKING GO

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) July 28, 2020

Negreanu is less of a Hold ’em specialist and scoffed at the idea of taking on Polk in a game he has spent countless years studying and mastering.

Ok so I’m clear:

You want to play the format you studied the most and I haven’t.

You want it to be played online.

And you want me to play 4 tables at the same time?

Anything else? You want me to stream it too so you can see my hole cards? https://t.co/3k1wuRwBd2

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 28, 2020

Polk then offered a middle ground where they each pick a game, and the match would be split between two different disciplines.

How about this, we each pick a game. Challenge is split between both formats.

I want to do this online so we can actually play some reasonable volume, but I am willing to move it down to 2 tables.

Also I have never used a solver in my life and havent studied in years. https://t.co/PAVOc6Ibmt

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) July 28, 2020

Negreanu responded to the tweet, asking if he wanted the entire match played online and indicated that the virtual arena would give Polk a massive edge. The two have yet to agree to terms.

Negreanu even got a jibe at Polk, sharing his views on why the latter dislikes him so much.

I get it. He looked up to me growing up. I was his favorite player. Then he starting making some click bait videos attacking people and I didn’t think they were appropriate.

Had to hurt his feelings which turned into a multi year obsession. https://t.co/drOFZr1DQG

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 28, 2020

Polk is yet to respond to that tweet, but if he does choose to respond, we’re sure it’s going to be epic!

Lockdown Blues: Illegal Gambling Leads to Actor’s Arrest & More

The lockdown still continuing in many Indian states has led to people doing some pretty crazy things. From well-known actors to relatives of celebrities getting arrested and gambling dens failing to maintain hygiene, there’s a lot to unpack here. So, let’s get started.

Tamil Actor Shaam & 12 Others Arrested For Gambling

Kollywood actor Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam, was arrested by the Chennai Police on July 27 for allegedly gambling at his property in the upscale Nungambakkam. He was arrested along with 12 others after the police raided the actor’s property based on a tip.

According to reports, packets of playing cards, tokens, and other items have been seized by the police. Police found that they have been indulging in gambling ever since the lockdown started. The gambling club would operate between 11 PM and 4 AM.

The F-3 Nungambakkam police registered a case against the actor and others. Later, all of them were released on bail.

While it has been speculated that the police received the tip from another popular actor who had lost money in gambling at Shaam’s place, it is unknown if there were any other actors in the group that was arrested.

Paresh Rawal’s Brother Arrested For Gambling in Mehsana

Another high-profile arrest that took place on July 27 was Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal’s brother, Himanshu Rawal. He was among 20 persons detained by Mehsana district police after being caught gambling at a senior citizen’s club. Rawal was also charged with operating a gambling base.

The Parole and Furlough team of the Mehsana Local Crime Branch (LCB) had received intimation that gambling activities were taking place at the Mathurdas Club near Krishna Cinema in Vijayanagar. It was reported that persons from outside of Mehsana had also been invited to the club to gamble.

Based on the tip, a team led by Police Sub Inspector S.B. Zala raided the gambling base around 1:30 AM. After arresting those involved, items worth ₹6.33 Lakhs, including ₹1.94 Lakhs in cash, 16 mobile phones, playing cards, and three cars, were seized.

The case was handed over to the LCB team for investigation. Police Inspector Bhavesh Rathod said that all 10 accused had been let off on bail. All persons arrested from the site were from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, according to the police.

Gambling Dens Charged Under Epidemic Act For Using Unsanitized Cards

A few days following this incident, another bizarre case took place in Ahmedabad. The police raided two gambling dens in the Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar district and arrested 19 individuals. However, the arrested people were not just booked for gambling but also charged under the Epidemic Act for not using sanitized cards.

Additionally, the gamblers were also not wearing masks and had not sanitized their hands.

During the first raid, officials from the Santaj police station arrested 13 people for gambling at Nandoli village in Kalol taluka.

The second raid took place when cops patrolling for social distancing norms were informed that some persons had gathered at Saji village. When the police reached the location, they found that six persons were gambling and did not maintain any of the lockdown protocols.