Poker's Daniel Negreanu Barred from Club for Being Too Old

Article By Daniel Smyth

Last Updated: Mar 14^th, 2024

This week’s Twittertainment might shock you because it’s not about Garrett Adelstein and Robbi Jade Lew. Yes, the J-4 saga is still the talk of Twitter, but we’re focusing on something a little less contentious this week: Daniel Negreanu.

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Specifically, we learned, thanks to Mr Negreanu, that being too old for a nightclub is a real thing in Korea. The GGPoker ambassador is currently taking a break after winning the Super High Roller Bowl VII in Las Vegas for $3.3 million.

We’re pretty sure Negreanu celebrated the win in his hometown of Vegas. We’re not sure how he celebrated but, if he wanted to pop bottles in a Vegas nightclub, he could have. He wasn’t able to do that in Korea though. In fact, he couldn’t even get a drink from one particular bar.

Access Denied: Daniel Negreanu Can’t Get into Korean Bar

Kid Poker was in Korea with World Series of Poker winner Josh Arieh and poker commentator, Ali Nejad. As detailed in his Tweet, the trio, along with another friend, wanted a few drinks in a bar called Waikiki Beach Club. Unfortunately for them, the bouncers had other ideas. 

Negreanu et al were asked for their ID. Not a problem, they’re all over 21. Except it was a problem. The bouncers said anyone born before 1985 wasn’t allowed in. Negreanu was born in 1974, as was Arieh. Nejad is younger by four years, but even he was too old. 

The tweet caught the attention of western poker players who are more used to proving they are old enough to enter a club. 

At the time of writing, more than 2,000 people had liked Negreanu’s video (see above), including Fedor Holz. The German poker pro said he was inside and would have appreciated some older people to talk to. 

Nejad followed up by saying he almost offered the bouncers a bribe to get in but thought better of it. As expected, the natural response from most people was a mixture of shock, amusement, and some advice for Negreanu about his nickname. 

From Kid Poker to Old Man Poker

That’s right, someone went there. To be precise, a few people went there. With everyone joking about the situation, including Negreanu, David Ottosen suggested it might be time to retire the moniker, Kid Poker. 

“This may be the universe telling you it's time to retire the Kid Poker nickname :D,” Ottosen tweeted. 

That tweet prompted other people to chime in and offer Negreanu a new nickname. Real Uncle Poker was Chuck Han’s suggestion, while Charlie212111 thought Old Kid Poker would be more appropriate. Other suggestions included No Longer Kid Poker, Real Too Old Poker, and Real Old Man Poker. 

To call Negreanu by any other nickname would almost be a sin. However, given what went down in Korea, it might be necessary. What’s worth remembering though is that age is just a number and, as the saying goes, “there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle.”

Negreanu might be too old for certain bars in Korea, but he’s young enough to win at the highest level in poker. Even approaching 50, he’s still at the top of the game and beating players 20 years younger. So, even though Negreanu took an L on this occasion, he’s still winning at life. What’s more, he can go back home to Las Vegas where they respect his raises and his age.

Updated by

Daniel Smyth

Last Updated:   Mar 14^th, 2024

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