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Gambling911.com Senior Correspondent Jenny Woo has gotten a lot of flack over the past week mentioning four time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Daniel Negreanu, among her Most Influential Black Poker Players. It's not because people believe Negreanu is not influential. It's because many do not believe he is black.
"While he may try to be black when he's talking smack (but really joking), Daniel is so super white that he's actually Canadian," commented one Gambling911.com reader.
It's true, he's Canadian of Romanian ancestry, which does not qualify him as an African American.
"He is black!" Woo insisted.
Negreanu has a blog at Full Contact Poker where he posts his thoughts and feelings about different things in life, politics, the poker world and everything. Monday's header featured a photograph of Negreanu standing beside President-Elect Barack Obama where Obama appeared to have the lighter complexion.
Negreanu also utilizes terminology associated with African American culture. For example, he writes prior to playing in the World Series of Poker Europe event in September: "I've been chilling in my room and that's the plan until the WSOPE main event."
But it is in the sack (his bed) where Daniel's Black identity manifests itself, in more ways than one.
In a recent blog entry, Negreanu recounts a dream he had of white cats, white dogs and white women, but he is always left in the dark.
"It was about 7:00am and she said there was a great game going and I considered going down there. Now the lights in the bedroom were on. All of a sudden Jennifer (a female friend) was in the bedroom while I was still on the phone with her. She was biting the pad of my thumb really hard and looked zombie like, so I grabbed her head and was smashing it on the ground trying to shake her loose."
Woo interpreted the dream to us: "It is that most taboo form of interracial sex: white woman with black man."
"Then I woke up and it was dark still. I'd go to the hallway and look, see a cute white dog and try to figure out what he was doing in my house. I'd chase him down the steps and there I'd see him at the bottom hallway with a fat white cat. I'd go back to the room.. And loads of bread with hummus, Coke and Sprite cans lay on a tray for me on the bed. It was all just insane."
Daniel also recounted how the dream featured a rapper standing beside his bed wearing a yellow hat backwards, an orange shirt, shorts, and socks and sandals. Daniel then tried to flee the house.
"The black rapper represents his soul," Woo ejaculated.
While nursing dreams of a career in comedy, hopeful to become the next Eddie Murphy, the 15-year-old Negreanu learned how to play poker.
Ace King, Gambling911.com
