Joan Rivers Tells Doyle Brunson to "Die Under a Deck of Cards"

Joan Rivers has made a career out of not pulling her punches; a comedic tactic that has alienated countless members of her audience throughout her 50-year career. Earlier this year she took part in Celebrity Apprentice, alongside well known poker player Annie Duke. The pair locked horns early on and Annie was regularly on the receiving end of some vitriolic rants from the elder stateswoman of stand-up. At one point she controversially referred to the bracelet holder as “Hitler.” While vying for Donald Trump’s affections, she also criticized poker players as a whole, calling them “tax evaders,” who were, “worse than white trash.”

The Joan Rivers vs. Poker spat has reared its ugly head again, thanks to a (mis)fortunate scheduling coincidence on Sports Talk 790am’s Dan Le Batard Show. Doyle Brunson took personal offense to Joan’s Apprentice comments and demanded a formal apology at the time. When one was not forthcoming, he took advantage of his twitter feed to unleash some light-hearted jabs of his own. Both Joan and Doyle were scheduled to appear on the the same Dan Le Batard Show on Tuesday. The presenters of this unassuming sports show were unaware of the conflict until moments before they went on air and immediately confronted their first guest Joan about some of Doyle’s comments.

The interviewer led out by reciting one of Doyle’s jokes regarding Ms. River’s intelligence. She was clearly unaware who Doyle Brunson was, but this did not prevent her from launching into on of her trademark tirades, in which she lambasted the Godfather of Poker for deigning to criticize her. She made repeated references to her high IQ and told Doyle he should, “come back when you’re 76 and have had a career like mine.” Joan was no doubt unaware that Doyle is himself 76. After telling Doyle he should, “die under a deck of cards,” she hung up on the presenters.

Later in the show, Doyle was played a clip of River’s outburst. He commented that he would “rather die under a deck of cards than under a pile of manure like her,” but refrained from trading insults any further. He then revealed that Joan had been scheduled to fly to Las Vegas to issue a formal apology to the poker community, following her behavior on Celebrity Apprentice. Doyle was chosen as the person to accept that apology, but the meeting never took place. Texas Dolly wrapped the matter up by stating: “She had no call to berate the poker community the way she did. It showed she had no class. Joan Rivers don’t need us and we don’t need her.”

Elsewhere in the world of Doyle there were a pair of more pleasant events going on. During the WSOP Main Event final table, Doyle announced the latest addition to his ‘Brunson 10’. This decatet of up and coming players are being hand picked by Doyle, so that he can shape them into the next group of poker all-stars. The fifth player to receive this honor is Dani ‘Ansky’ Stern, regular high stakes cash wizard. Gaining some air-time on G4TV’s Two Months, Two Million seems to have done him some favors. “I’ve seen Ansky play on TV, I’ve seen him play online, and I’ve seen him talk poker like someone who’s been playing for decades,” said Brunson. He joins Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, Amit “amak316’ Makhija, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Zachary “Crazy Zachary” Clark as members of the ‘Brunson 10’.

Doyle is also unveiling his new book. 6 years in the making, The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story reveals some untold stories from the long and varied life of Poker’s most loved figure. Brunson revealed in a video interview with RawVegas.tv that those expecting a clean and comfortable ride might be in for a surprise. Back in the deep dark ages of poker, things could get a little murky. “People will have to understand that times change,” he said. The book is co-written by Mike Cochran and features numerous tails of outlandish prop-bets and Las Vegas gangsterism. The tome is scheduled for release on November 10th.