Times are tough these days, apparently even for champion professional poker players.

Poker pro T.J. Cloutier, who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) championship gold bracelets and more than $9 million playing offline tournament poker in his career, is selling one of those bracelets on online auction site eBay (www.ebay.com).

According to the listed description of the item, the bracelet in question was won by Cloutier at the 2005 WSOP in a $5,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament.

The starting bid for the bracelet is listed at $2,999.

Bids must be received by Sunday, January 24, 2010, to be eligible to earn the right to buy the item.

Richardson, 71, originally from Richardson, Texas, USA, and now a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is one of the most successful poker pros in the world.

He’s won millions playing poker, so why is he peddling a cherished WSOP bracelet for a mere three grand?

According to sources, as good a poker player as he is, he’s lousy at other forms of gambling, particularly craps and sports betting.

What he wins at poker he blows at other gambling, an affliction that also affects poker champs such as Phil “Poison” Ivey, Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu and Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson.

If Cloutier has earned over $9 million but now is so desperate for $3,000 that he has to hock his jewelry, it’s a sad development in the career of an iconic poker legend.

Ironically, the 3 G’s wouldn’t even cover the cost of the buy-in for the event for which the bracelet was earned.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)