2004 World Champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer Foils Robbery Attempt

I guess we should file this under “You can’t make this stuff up!”

Still flush (no pun intended) with money from his 2004 World Series of Poker championship, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer was the victim of an attempted robbery in Las Vegas late last month, according to the Las Vegas and Poker Blog.
<blockquote>“While he was in Las Vegas for the Bellagio’s Five Diamonds World Poker Classic he found himself alone on the twentieth floor outside his room with two gun toting bad guys wanting the one or two thousand cash in his pocket. They distracted him by pounded on the door to the room next to his and complaining about a misplaced key; when he opened his door to check out the problem they tried to force Greg back into his room….”

“…[Raymer] quickly decided he would take his best shot in the corridor. He shoved the larger of the two to the floor, then the smaller guy pulled out a gun and demanded the money. A surprised Raymer then watched the guy on the floor get up, then he and the second would-be robber with the gun decided to retreat, walking past two hotel security people responding to Greg’s shouting.”</blockquote>Impressive stuff. Of course, Greg’s a big guy… I wouldn’t want to cross him. :)

The sad result, though, is that Raymer is reportedly re-thinking his current level of approachability… in the past he’s never turned away a fan’s request for an autograph or photo, but that may not be the case any more.

Of course, Raymer should be glad he’s the champ in 2004… you sould hear some of Doyle Brunson’s hijacking stories from the early days of high-stakes poker.