According to a post on the PokerStars Blog, 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel (pictured), who was the first Canadian WSOP Main Event winner ever, said that the robbers who entered his homeon Wednesday “tied me up and beat me, hitting me in the face and all over my body before leaving my house.” The items stolen included his WSOP Main Event bracelet and a Rolex watch that PokerStars gave him to commemorate the event. Several 500-Euro bills were also taken in the heist, which occurred at 9:15am local time.

Duhamel added that the robbers, who rang his doorbell and then forced their way in when the champ answered the door, threatened to kill him and ultimately sent him to the hospital. He rehashed in his blog, “I spent yesterday at the hospital and I’m black and blue all over, but no broken bones, no blood clots, nothing to worry about. Today, I am exhausted, both physically and mentally, but I’m happy to be alive.”

Duhamel has received an outpouring of support from the poker industry and thanked his fans for their thoughts and well wishes: “I want to sincerely thank my family, friends, and the numerous medias. Everyone gave me an incredible support since yesterday morning. This helps me tremendously and warms my heart in this difficult period.”

At the time of writing, Duhamel’s watch and bracelet are still missing in action after being stolen just a few days before Christmas. The PokerStars pro added, “I won’t hide the fact that these two items have a much larger value for me than their commercial value, and I really hope we will be able to retrieve them in the near future.”

2010 marked the 41st running of the WSOP in Las Vegas. You’ll recall that Peter Eastgate‘s 2008 WSOP Main Event bracelet fetched $150,000 in an eBay auction for charity.

Duhamel asked anyone with any information about the robbery to call police at 450-463-7211. Now, he’ll try to get some much deserved rest during the holiday season, telling his supporters, “I will now try to step back during the holidays and spend time with my family and close friends. I hope to get back to the tables soon and keep representing poker, my sponsors, and Quebec well on the international scene and bring back another bracelet home soon.”

According to the Globe and Mail, Duhamel has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of his bracelet and watch: “He is offering $10,000 for arrests and recovery of the items, $5,000 for either arrests or the recovery of the mementos, and $2,500 for recovery of one of the two items.” The same paper added that Longueuil police would handle any rewards given out.

Duhamel banked $8.9 million for winning the Main Event in 2010 after defeating Floridian John $JMONEY$ Racener heads-up. He edged out a field of over 7,300 players and heads-up play lasted around 40 hands. Duhamel has since become a highly recognized player and remains one of the front men for PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room.

A sticking point for the robbers could be the 500-Euro bills. A separate Globe and Mail article explained that the notes are extremely rare. Therefore, anyone who uses them could immediately come under suspicion. A police spokesperson told the paper, “Those (big Euro notes) are particularly rare, so we’re asking anyone that comes into contact with them to call police.”

You’ll recall that the Biker Bandit, Anthony Carleo, who robbed a craps table at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, faced a similar dilemma after lifting rare chips worth $25,000 (pictured). Carleo later tried to sell the chips on TwoPlusTwo.

Duhamel’s home is located in Boucherville and he called 9-1-1 after the burglars left. It’s still not entirely clear whether Duhamel was targeted in the attack or whether the robbery was random. Either way, he was in high spirits one day following the incident, Tweeting, “Joyeux Noel a tous, Merry Christmas to everyone! I do believe in karma, what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger. I’ll be back soon.”

Once again, anyone with any information is encouraged to call police at 450-463-7211.