Last week, the Big One for One Drop played out at the World Series of Poker. Its winner, Dan Colman, exited stage right shortly after his $15 million win and refused media interviews despite the fact that ESPN is devoting three weeks of coverage to the event.

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On TwoPlusTwo after the fact, Colman called poker a “very dark game” and added, “I don’t owe poker a single thing. I’ve been fortunate enough to benefit financially from this game, but I have played it long enough to see the ugly side of this world. It is not a game where the pros are always happy and living a fulfilling life.”

Contrastingly, his heads-up opponent, Daniel Negreanu (pictured), who became poker’s all-time money leader after an $8 million haul, was affable following the tournament and then took to his own blog on FullContactPoker to talk about his sentiments. Again, this is after Negreanu lost a heads-up match for $7 million in real money.

Negreanu agreed with Colman in part, writing, “Truth is, most of you reading this will be lifetime losers at poker. You are unlikely to become successful professional poker players. It is available to all of you, and some of you will find success at the tables, but the truth is clear: most of you will fail. Sucks huh? It’s the truth and he is right about that.”

Negreanu reminded readers that the One Drop event, which donated $111,111 of each player’s buy-in to charity, raised over $4 million. He added, “Colman is a successful player and makes millions because he is an exceptional talent, an accomplishment I would hope he is proud of when he looks back on his life and the opportunities poker has now given him to be financially free and make a difference in the world however he chooses to.”

To contrast Colman’s less-than-rosy picture of poker, Negreanu emphasized the game’s strong suits, including “playing games and using your mind on a regular basis is excellent exercise for the elderly” and “people with gambling addictions are drawn to more instant gratification games like slot machines rather than a game of wits like poker.”

“[Be]thankful that you found a game you both love to play and are also good enough so that you can make a life for yourself,” Negreanu, 39 years of age, advised Colman (pictured), 15 years his younger. “You don’t owe poker anything, sure, but poker has given you a lot.”

Negreanu closed by suggesting that Colman, if he truly believes poker is a “dark game,” should perhaps consider a career change: “If you are genuinely having an issue with the morality of playing poker for a living, make a choice. Don’t compromise your own moral code for money. If you truly believe in your heart that what you are doing hurts people, and you don’t want to hurt people, you need to make a choice.”

We’ve heard that most of the ESPN coverage of the One Drop will be focused on Negreanu, who became poker’s all-time money leader in the event and is one of the most visible and gracious ambassadors poker has to offer. The event will begin airing on July 29 on ESPN.

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