July 10, 2010 (Las Vegas, Nevada) – Peter Northug is known for his aggressive competition style and powerful finishing kick. He demonstrated both of these traits in spades at the World Series of Poker day 2 at the Rio Hotel and Casino. He started the day with around $33,000 in chips, but bold bluffing and some clever tactics saw him more than quadruple his stack, finishing the day at over $130,000 reports Vi Menn.

For rival Marcus Hellner, things didn’t go so well on Saturday. He began the day roughly at par with Northug, but his stack dwindled through out the day until he was finally forced to go ‘all-in’ on a weak hand and lost.

With Saturday’s WSOP bout in the record books, the final tally of the Northug vs Hellner Vegas Showdown is Hellner 1 – having won the first round, a private head-to-head poker match up – and Northug 2, winning both the rollerski sprint at the Palms and now the WSOP ski racer title as well. So Hellner will be heading home defeated but his spirits remain high. “It’s a lifetime memory,” he told Vi Menn Magazine.

Northug, the graceful champion, said, “I thank Marcus for the duel, and wish him a good trip home tomorrow.”

Northug takes a poker break on Sunday and will use the opportunity to get in some quality training before coming back to the tables on Monday. When asked whether he was concerned about staying longer in Vegas, he replied, “No problem, I have good training conditions for rollerskiing out at Red Rocks, a weight room, and plenty opportunities to run.”

As impressive to ski fans as Northug is, poker fans and pros alike seem equally enthralled by his skills. “Petter’s games today were incredibly strong,” fellow Norwegian Sigurd Eskeland, a former World Cup winner and long-time poker professional told Vi Menn. “All the pros are impressed with how he plays. He puts a lot of pressure on opponents through many hands before the showdown. It’s classy playing.”

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