Dave Ulliot is one of the most renowned professional poker players alive today – with ‘alive’ being the operative word. Over the weekend, a throng of mostly-false social media posts were flung about, claiming that Dave Ulliot had been hospitalized on Saturday and was in ‘critical condition’. Stories ranged from Ulliot being in the late stages of colon cancer, to a tweet from fellow poker pro Mike Sexton, who said Dave had actually passed away.
It didn’t take long for sources close to the family to shed some genuine light on the subject, mostly because they were tired of hearing the escalating false rumors. First of all, Dave Ulliot is 100% alive. Yes, the legendary “Devilfish” is fighting a battle with cancer, but he is doing so from the comfort of his home in Hull, England, and is said to be in high spirits – not in an infirmary with hospice on standby.
An unnamed person close to Dave Ulliot spoke with PokerNews, saying that the British poker pro still has lot of plans for the future. PokerNews reported that, “despite his difficult health conditions, he is planning to hold a party for his birthday on April 4, and he is also working on the relaunch of his online poker room Devilfish Poker.”
A request from the Ulliot family was also released. They are asking Dave’s fans, the poker community and all media outlets to respect their privacy and please refrain from spreading incorrect information about his condition, such as the false story that he was hospitalized in critical condition over the weekend.
The best news of all came from Simon Trumper, Tournament Director of the Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) poker club in Nottingham. A close friend of Dave Ulliot, Trumper wrote a message on his Facebook page this morning.
“I have been literally inundated with messages about my pal David Ulliott,” wrote Trumper. “I am still in Thailand but Rob [Yong, owner of DTD] has been to catch up with him at his home in Hull and whilst it’s important to completely respect Dave’s privacy I got this message and photo from Rob who said it was fine for me to share.”
The message from Rob Yong, via Simon, read:
So I get the Devil’s house and he is having a nap, waited a few hours and decided not to wake him up and I get half way back to Notts and his wife mails me that he has woke up and said ‘tell that xxxx to turn the xxxx round and get back here’, so I went back to Hull and The Fish entertained me and Numpty till 5am on the piano and guitar. He’s spending some quality time with his family and is really touched by all of the wishes of support from everyone. |
About British Poker Pro Dave Ulliot
Dave Ulliot has been playing poker since he was a child, having learned the game from his parent. As an adult, he spent a few years hosting his own poker games before cashing in his first live tournament in 1993. He’s continued to land in the money multiple times every year since, including a WSOP Bracelet win at a 1997 Pot Limit Hold’em event worth $180,310.
Ulliot also claimed a WPT Title in 2003 at the Jack Binion World Poker Open, earning $589,175 after defeating Phil Ivey in the final heads-up battle. Dave has over$6 million in recorded live tournament cashes to his name.
Ulliot is often credited with inspiring a new generation of poker players for his appearance in the first edition of the televised series, Late Night Poker, in 1999. With 1.5 million viewers looking on, Ulliot went on to outlast the field of 40 contestants that appeared on the show.