According to reports coming from Canadian authorities and newspapers, 2010 World Series of Poker Championship Event winner Jonathan Duhamel was allegedly the target of a home invasion and assault on Wednesday morning.
Many of the major Canadian newspapers, including the Montreal Gazette, the Toronto Globe and Mail and the National Post, reported that a residence in Boucherville that allegedly is Duhamel’s was the target of an “armed assault” and one person was attacked. Authorities in the area, however, have not stated that Jonathan was the victim of an attack or whether there was anything actually stolen from the residence. Jonathan’s agent, however, has told several outlets that he was injured in the alleged incident.
Duhamel’s agent stated that Jonathan was “severely” assaulted but that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries from the attack. “Let’s say that getting out of bed will be particularly hard tomorrow and that his Christmas photos won’t be the prettiest,” Phillipe Jette, the agent for Duhamel, told the Montreal Gazette yesterday. “But Jonathan got out without serious injuries.”
According to reports from the Longueuil authorities, two men allegedly went to a home in Boucherville at 9:15 Wednesday morning and simply rang the doorbell. Upon gaining entry, the two men allegedly assaulted what police are identifying only as “a person” before leaving the home. The incident is being considered an armed assault, although there is no knowledge if any weapons were used by the attackers, and it is also not reported if anything was stolen from the residence during or after the attack.
Police stated that the two attackers were both white males, with one being reported at 5’ 8” and weighing in at around 180 pounds. No details are known on the alleged second attacker and police will have more details later today.
Duhamel has been noticeably absent from his social media feeds as of late. On Twitter, Jonathan has been discussing hockey as of late with fellow Canadian and Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu and Bernard Lee, but there hasn’t been any updates to his Twitter feed since Monday.
It is natural to believe that Jonathan might be the subject of a robbery attempt, but it is outlandish to think that it would occur in his hometown and in Canada overall. After he won $8.9 million in last year’s WSOP Main Event, Jonathan has toured the world to promote the game. Since winning the World Championship, Jonathan has gone on to take down almost $600,000 more in tournaments around the world.
Canada is not a hotbed of violent crime, either. According to Statistics Canada, the incidences of police reported crime and violent crime has been on the decline over the past decade. A 2010 report on this issue by Statistics Canada showed that police reported crime declined 4% in comparison to 2008 and by 22% in comparison to a decade earlier. Violent crime also dropped in that same time period by 4%, according to Statistics Canada.
Quebec, the province where Boucherville is located, also has low numbers for police reported and violent crime, below what Statistics Canada considers the national average. Using a “severity index,” Statistics Canada shows that Quebec and Montreal, the major city in the province, are well under the average in Canada, especially when it comes to violent crime.
This wouldn’t be the first time that a former World Champion has been the victim of an attempted robbery or assault. 2004 champion Greg Raymer once famously fought off an attempted robbery at the Bellagio and two time champion Doyle Brunson has told the story in his autobiography about a home invasion and assault. Other players have been attacked in Las Vegas and around the world for what they carry with them on the road.
