Chealsea Owner Allegedly Lost £333k Yacht in Poker

May 5th, 2009 | 11:48 pm

Off the wall: Russian and Italian press claim Chelsea owner Abramovich lost his luxury yacht in poker. Didn't get saved by the river, did he?

The second richest man in Russia, billionaire Roman Abramovich, is surrounded by rumors in Europe and Russia that state he may have lost one of his yachts at a poker table in Barcelona. Allegedly he was playing poker after the Champions League match between Barcelona and his team Chelsea. Abramovich's PR-people understandably denied this.

"The story is absolutely, completely, entirely false," Abramovich spokesman John Mann told AFP after three Russian daily newspapers published versions of the story that originated in the Italian press.

No name was given for the yacht he lost, although daily Moskovsky Komsomelets said it was worth £333,000 ($500,000). Abramovich owns several yachts anyway, actually having his armada called The Roman Navy in UK. His properties are estimated to be around 14 billion dollars. Abramovich has also been in the press previously regarding his interest in poker, which has caused some disagreements between him and his girlfriend.

Is this news story a bluff by the press, or was Abramovich's yacht really sunk by the river? The man himself has this to say: "We have instructed our lawyers to examine legal action" over publication of the story.

We think that a poker rakeback deal could have been a life saver for his bankroll. With stakes that high he could have raked a nice lifeboat.