Kevin Boudreau Hospitalized After Emergency Brain Surgery
One of the most prominent high-takes cash game players of our time, Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau, has been hospitalized with a blood clot in his brain. According to close friends, doctors were forced to induce a coma which is expected to leave Boudreau in ICU for at least a few weeks. His condition is considered serious.
The news of Kevin’s hospitalization came by way of his closest friends around the poker felt. On Saturday night, Matt Stout, live tournament aficionado with over $1 million in profits, posted the following message via his Twitter account, @MattStoutPoker. “Plz keep @KevinPhwap in ur thoughts/prayers. He had bleeding on his brain, had blood transfusion, is in an induced coma. Get well soon bro.”
Peter Jetten, who’s managed to accumulate over $2 million in live tournament cashes, despite never having finished 1st in any prestigious event, is also a good friend of Kevin Boudreau. Jetten has kept the public informed as to his fellow poker pro’s condition. On Saturday night, shortly after Stout’s post, Jetten tweeted a little more information.
“One of my best friends and fellow poker player @KevinPhwap is in the hospital recovering from emerg. brain surgery, everyone send good vibes”, read Jetten’s post. Later that night, Jetten offered another update on his friend’s status. While the message was a good one overall, it carried ominous tones for the future of Boudreau’s health. “An update on @KevinPhwap he had a very large blood clot in his brain. Will likely be in ICU for weeks, dr’s say its not looking good.”
A throng of get-well messages came in almost immediately from pro poker players who have come to love and respect the card playing efficiency of Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau.
WSOP bracelet winner Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond said: “All my good vibes to @KevinPhwap. Get well, man.”
Canadian poker pro and winner of the 2008 Crown Aussie Millions Championship, Mike McDonald, tweeted: “My thoughts are with @KevinPhwap . You can get through this”.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jason Mercier said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with fellow poker pro @KevinPhwap”.
Other well-wishers included poker pros Dan Smith, Justin Bonomo and Christian Harder, just to name a few. Jetten followed up his last update with a reminder to all who wanted to have messages delivered to Kevin, stating they were welcome to send those words directly to Boudreau’s parents via his father’s FaceBook page: http://facebook.com/jim.boudreau.edwardjones
Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau is most famous for his cash game skillsets, but has seen notable success in live poker tournaments as well. The biggest live cash of his career came at the 2010 World Series of Poker when he finished 2nd in Event #50, Pot Limit Omaha, for $313,792. Boudreau has never achieved an outright victory in a major live poker tournament, but his 13 in-the-money finishes have netted him a total of $468,173 in profits.
Boudreau was taking part in the 2013 WSOP shortly before it was revealed that he had been hospitalized. On June 8, Kevin landed in the 22nd spot in Event #17, No Limit Holdem, earning him $15,317. On June 8, he was eliminated from Event #22, Pot Limit Omaha, in 117th for a small reward of $2,618.
We wish all the best for Kevin Boudreau and his family, and hope for a swift, complete recovery.
The thrilling game mechanics catch my attention, but repetitive language raises questions about long-term appeal.