Often billed as the world’s best poker player, Phil Ivey has kept a low profile throughout most of his career. But over the last year or so, Ivey has been opening up more and doing some interviews. This is definitely a good thing for the poker world, which is always interested in hearing more about the legends and rumors surrounding the 9-time WSOP champion.

Recently, Bluff Magazine’s Thomas Keeling got a quick interview with Ivey. And this brief chat included a number of intriguing tidbits, such as how he got started, his supposed craps habit, and what he thinks about Dan Bilzerian saying he’s broke.

In the first part of the interview, Ivey discusses his early poker days, including when he used a fake I.D. to play at Atlantic City casinos as a 20-year-old. When asked about the stories of him sleeping under the Boardwalk, he said, “What happened was, I lived in North Jersey, so you take the bus down. And if you missed the last bus coming back, and you didn’t have any money…what can you do? So I ended up sleeping under the Boardwalk a couple of times.”

In regard to his love of craps, Ivey said that he doesn’t play as much as he used to. The 38-year-old added that he likes “to take chances sometimes” and doesn’t believe that playing casino games is a problem if its within your bankroll and won’t affect your livelihood.

Ivey also covered the rumor that Dan Bilzerian has been spreading about him being broke. He practically dismissed the rumor by saying, “I don’t even think I’ve played a hand of poker with him.” Ivey added, “People can say what they want to say. I don’t really feed into that. I really don’t know the guy, so his opinion is his opinion. He doesn’t really know my financial status. So it’s okay, it doesn’t really bother me that much.”

There’s plenty more from this interview below. So if you’ve got a few moments, it’s definitely worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUEzLvzxZlg#t=171