While 2010 World Champion Jonathan Duhamel may have had a rough end to 2011, he seems to have recovered nicely through the first few weeks of 2012.
According to reports in the Canadian press, the Longueuil Police Department has recovered roughly half of the money that was stolen from Duhamel during a brazen robbery just before Christmas. For those of you who may have forgotten, Duhamel was the victim of a home invasion on December 21 in which the thieves beat the 2010 World Series of Poker Championship Event winner in order to get him to open his home safe. Once the robbers were able to gain access to that safe, they walked off with approximately $115,000, Duhamel’s WSOP bracelet and a Rolex Submariner that his sponsor site, PokerStars, had gifted him with to commemorate his World Championship victory.
The Longueuil authorities, acting on an anonymous tip, were able to recover the money in a rather strange location. That tip led the Canadian police to a mail box in Longueuil and, after opening the box, found approximately half of the money stolen simply sitting in an envelope. The police were able to identify the money because much of what was stolen was in large denomination Euros, a currency not seen much in North America (as of now, the WSOP bracelet is the only thing that hasn’t been recovered; the Rolex was being worn by one of those alleged to have stolen it when they were arrested).
This latest good news for Duhamel in 2012 comes after the alleged conspirators in the crime – Anthony Bourque, John Clark, Andre-Robert Perron and Duhamel’s ex-girlfriend Bianca Rojas-Latraverse – have all faced preliminary hearings in the case. Arrested within a week of the robbery, the foursome has been charged with various crimes, including assault, kidnapping, breaking and entering and conspiracy. In January, two of the alleged thieves were denied bail during their preliminary hearing on the charges.
During those preliminary hearings, Clark and Rojas-Latraverse presented themselves in less than appealing ways, at least if they were trying to get the judge to set bail for them. Rojas-Latraverse stated that her profession was “professional poker player” and that she had no known home residence for the court. Although her father stepped up during the hearings to state that he would provide a residence for Rojas-Latraverse, he also admitted that he had not been in contact with his daughter for several years.
Clark, for his part, seemed to use the hearing as a tryout for the Chuckle Shack. When asked by the judge directly if he could refrain from alcohol use while awaiting trial (Clark had prior alcohol convictions on his record), he stated that he “wouldn’t like to” but would do it “if he had to.” He had much the same answer when asked if he would abide by court monitored supervision until the trial date.
With this evidence presented, the judge in the case denied bail for Clark and Rojas-Latraverse, remanding them to jail until their February 21 court date. Bourque and Perron are also awaiting their trial dates, with Bourque out on bail and Perron released on his own recognizance.
While these hearings were ongoing, Duhamel went back to his job as a poker player, with outstanding results. During the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Duhamel was a terror on the felt, making four final tables in some of the highest buy in events on the schedule. He kicked off what would be a huge January for him by finishing in fourth place in the $100,000 Super High Roller tournament that started the festivities in the Bahamas on January 5.
Three days later, Duhamel would add some more cash to his bankroll. He finished fifth in a $5000 Turbo tournament on January 8, then turned around and won a $5000 NLHE Eight Max event the next day. Jonathan would wrap up his January by finishing in second place in the $25,000 High Roller event on January 12, making his total score for the month of January just north of $1.2 million.
Although 2011 might have ended on a down note, it seems to be obvious that Jonathan Duhamel has adjusted quite nicely in 2012, to be sure!
