The interview with Poker Player UK, written by Alun Bowden and entitled “What’s Wrong With You?” for its January issue, covered a wide range of subjects including the current state of the poker world, improving his online game and the ongoing Full Tilt Poker debacle. True to his nature, Negreanu didn’t pull any punches as, in the first few paragraphs, Bowden states that Negreanu believes that the game of poker is in “big trouble.”

In discussing the current state of the game, Negreanu is quoted as saying, “I think we’re heading in the wrong direction. The WSOP was much more serious and boring this year. It was much more fun with guys in chicken suits being jerks.”

“When poker became popular you had people like Devilfish, Sammy Farha, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey,” Negreanu continues. “Today the story is: ‘I dropped out of college and I grinded 20 tables to build my bankroll.’ The story isn’t sexy…they don’t want to hear, ‘Well, he’s raising UTG+1 and polarizing his range with a 31BB effective stack.’”

Daniel allegedly addresses how to fix the current state of the game during the interview, stating, “Televised poker needs to address it. If you want to create the best show you need to create poker personalities. Audiences like Phil Laak and Antonio (Esfandiari)? Then okay you invite them. Daniel Cates? Okay you’re a great player, but nobody gives a s**t. You may be a better player, but who cares?”

Poker Player UK also touches on the subject of Full Tilt Poker, where Negreanu unleashed a few more barbs. Bowden asks the Team PokerStars Pro member his impressions of the ongoing saga and Negreanu doesn’t hold back, stating, “They were running the company like buffoons.” When asked if he had been in touch with any of the former Full Tilt pros, including his good friend Phil Ivey, Negreanu allegedly responds, “I’ve spoken to all of them. They are embarrassed and have disdain for their leaders. They trusted Howard (Lederer)…I didn’t. I don’t trust that family. It’s a family of scoundrels.”

When pressed by Bowdon as to his impressions of Lederer, Negreanu is quoted as saying, “I don’t think he’s evil, but he’s arrogant. He talks to people like they are stupid. I don’t think he set out to defraud people, it’s just negligence, arrogance and incompetence.”

Finally, Negreanu discusses the improvements in his online game, giving credit to his improvement through his usage of poker software and strategy discussions with other players. Perhaps most interesting during this discussion, however, was when Bowden asked Negreanu about his deal with PokerStars.

“If I hadn’t signed with PokerStars I would be a much better player today,” Negreanu reportedly said. “I would be infinitely better. It sounds really bad, and I really enjoy working for PokerStars, but look at the paths me and Ivey took. We were on a similar level and he just played poker non-stop and I started doing a lot more media work. It’s no coincidence that he became the best player in the world and I fell off the map a little. I still think I am one of the best, but I need to work a lot harder on my game.”

Naturally, Negreanu’s alleged statements during the interview were like chum in the water for sharks when it comes to the message boards. Negreanu seemed to have started it himself when he Tweeted on Wednesday, “Just read my article in Poker Player mag and it set a new record for the number of misquotes. Pretty impressive! They twisted everything.”

On the Two Plus Two message boards, the discussion escalated between not only the posters on the site but also Negreanu and Bowden. “Let’s nip this one in the bud,” poster ‘InsidePoker’ (apparently Bowden) wrote yesterday. “There is nothing in that article that is misquoted. It’s all on an audio file if he has any specific points he would like to address.” In the thread, Bowden also apparently releases the audio file after several requests by posters.

Negreanu and Bowden discuss their issues through the 2+2 thread and reach a form of détente, with Negreanu contributing an article to the online arm of PPUK where he clarifies the interview, while the discussion continues to rage on the message board.