Does Phil Ivey Have A Gambling Problem?

Although it's hard to confirm anything but rumor has it that Phil Ivey has two $2 million bets out.  The first is whether or not he'll take a bracelet home this WSOP for $2 million and the other is $2 million on whether or not the Lakers basketball team wins the championships.  I can understand the fact that Phil Ivey has a bankroll I can't even dream of but the more and more you hear about stuff like this you wonder how similar he is to poker savants like Stu Unger. 

I've been fortunate enough to chat with some of the people who know Phil the best like Howard Lederer and other top name pros and they can do nothing more than sing his praises.  I get a sense that people don't give his poker game the cred it deserves because it would be disrespectful to people like Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese and ultimately guys like Stu Unger.  Not that they disrespect his game.  Most pros will readily admit he's the best player in the world but you have to bow down to the idols and Phil Ivey hasn't crossed that legend threshold just yet. 

Phil was rumoured to have a major leak at the craps tables and his props bets are legendary.  One has to wonder that when you live life so close to that edge between winner and loser if it doesn't make you take the worst of it in some sort of bizarre psychological need to try to beat every game.  Unger was famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) for winning big at the poker tables and then getting himself stuck on sports betting.  Is Phil suffering a similar sort of disease? 

Of course, some pros are quick to point out the Phil's bankroll is bigger than some tip name pro's entire net worth but his willingness to take on -EV challenges like craps points in the direction that at his heat Phil is a gambler.  Some of his most amazing calls or bluffs take on a whole new light when you think that he would rather dump $10,000 on an entry fee than pass up a good gambling opportunity. 

Let's just hope he keeps his hear on straight and becomes a model for all current and future poker players.