WSOP 2025 Scandal: Should This Poker Player Get A Million-Dollar Bonus?
Release Date: 06/29/2025
Defiant Player Set Up in $2,400,000 Hand of Poker But Can He Get Lucky?
PokerNews Podcast
In the 936th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are all in Las Vegas at Level 9 Studio to talk about the viral $2.4 million poker hand played between Antonio Esfandiari and Alan Keating. The hand, part of Super High Roller Cash Game on PokerGO, blew up fast and had the whole poker world talking. From there, the crew talks about the Daniel “Jungleman” Cates vs. sports bettor "Elf" boxing match, looks at a controversial hand from High Stakes Poker involving Sam "Señor Tilt" Kiki, and a winner interview with Andrew "Lucky Chewy" Lichtenberger after he...
info_outline
88-Year-Old Grandma Spanks Poker Players for $10,000!
PokerNews Podcast
In the 935th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow talk about Linda “Granny” Hammons, an 88-year-old who discovered her favorite slot machines had been removed, so she decided to play her first-ever poker tournament. It took place at the Beau Rivage Million Dollar Heater down in Mississippi, and she did quite well while capturing the hearts of the poker community. Bill Phillips from the Gulf Coast Poker event caught up with her in a set-down interview he shared with PokerNews. From there, the trio looks at the straight flush misclick by Sebastian...
info_outline
Poker Players Agree “Winner Take All” for Five Figures in Prize Money!
PokerNews Podcast
In the 934th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow talk about the two players who made it all the way to heads-up play and then agreed to play winner take all for the prize money. It was a wild story that saw one player walk away with a five-figure payday and the other leave empty-handed. The trio then discusses WPT Global's controversial signing of Ren Lin as an ambassador, which led to a discussion about ClubWPT Gold's social media strategy and how those two brands are related to the main World Poker Tour (WPT) brand. In between, former WPT Global...
info_outline
Good or Bad? Our Poker Predictions for 2026; Will the WSOP Raise the Main Event Buy-in?
PokerNews Podcast
In the 933rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow kick off Season 17 with some poker predictions for 2026. Will the Big Beautiful Bill's gambling tax situation be resolved or lead to big ramifications in the industry? Will Phil Hellmuth win his 18th gold bracelet? Would the World Series of Poker (WSOP) ever raise the buy-in for the Main Event? The triumvirate also covers recent stories, including poker players Galen Hall and Jason Somerville winning big in the Circa Survivor content, arbitration ending between Maurice Hawkins and Denise Pratt, and Lex...
info_outline
Cheaters, Arrests and Poker Villains Among Top Stories of 2025
PokerNews Podcast
In the 932nd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz recap the top 10 stories of 2025 according to PokerNews. They include: - Cheating Technology Fears Rise - Trump's Tax Bill Detrimental to Poker Industry - Benny Glaser's Summer for the Ages - Twelve Months That Might Change Women’s Poker Forever - Attorney Tom Goldstein Indicted Over Million-Dollar Poker Games - Ossi Ketola’s Record-Shattering Heads-Up Poker Matches - Return of Poker Villains - Millionaire Maker Controversy at 2025 WSOP - Poker Game Arrests Involving Basketball Stars Rock the...
info_outline
Was This Poker Player an A$$---e for Slowrolling with Pocket Aces?
PokerNews Podcast
In the 931st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz bring Christmas cheer to the poker world! The duo discusses the brutal slowroll from Eric Wasserson against Benny Glaser deep in the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise Super Main Event, bracelet winners from the Bahamas, and their thoughts on Ren Lin being allowed back to play without even missing a single stop during his "indefinite" suspension. From there, it's over to Las Vegas to recap the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship, including an interview with winner Schuyler Thornton, and other events like...
info_outline
Who F***ed Up in This Poker Hand Everyone is Talking About
PokerNews Podcast
In the 930th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined by 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) World Champion Scott Stewart at Level 9 Studios in Las Vegas. The trio offers an update regarding the home game fight between Maurice Hawkins and aggressor Eugene Castaneda, namely a warrant out for the latter. They then dissect the controversial hand played by Ryan Depaulo, Andre Moreira, and James Caputo in the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise $25K Super Main Event. Who was in the right? Who was in the wrong? Speaking of that tournament, Jesse Lonis made...
info_outline
Why Did This Poker Player Pull a Gun on His Opponent? Interview w/ Squid Game's Steven Jones
PokerNews Podcast
In the 929th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined by Hayley Hanna and Steven Jones, the latter having recently finished third place in Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. He talks about that experience and what it's been like to become a reality TV show star. The crew then discusses recent developments in the home game fight between Maurice Hawkins and the aggressor Eugene Castaneda. That includes surveillance footage that shows both men going to their respective cars, where Eugene admitted that he retrieved a firearm. From there, it's a recap of Hustler...
info_outline
SWAT Team Cracks Down on €100 Poker Tournament + Maurice Hawkins Fight
PokerNews Podcast
In the 928th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow at Level 9 Studios to talk about the SWAT team raid of a low-stakes poker game in Sweden. Find out what caused armed authorities, supported by drones and even a helicopter, to raise the $100 buy-in poker tournament. The trio then discusses the physical altercation between Maurice Hawkins and a player known as "Eugene" in a Florida home game. Was Maurice running his mouth? Was it an unprovoked attack? Not only do you get to hear about what happened, but you can see some video clips of the...
info_outline
Is AI Killing Poker Content? And How Did PokerNews Piss Off Shaun Deeb?
PokerNews Podcast
In the 927th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Connor Richards at Level 9 Studios to talk about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) when it comes to poker content. The discussion stems from the recent controversy involving the World Series of Poker (WSOP) documentary No Limit, in which showrunner Dustin Iannotti admittedly used AI in edits involving Alan Keating's quotes. The show was pulled from YouTube by the WSOP as a result, and opened up a whole can of worms. PokerNews also pissed off Shaun Deeb with an AI oopsie of our own, while ClubWPT Gold’s tweet...
info_outlineIn the 903rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by special fill-in cohosts Team PokerStars Pro Jennifer Shahade and Josh Abady of Play Live Melbourne to discuss the latest in the poker industry, including the latest on the alleged chip-dumping incident from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Millionaire Maker event. Winner Jesse Yaginuma did get paid the $1,000,000 bonus, but he and runner-up James Carroll are still awaiting a decision by WSOP officials on the regular prize money.
Another big story was Golden Nugget cancelling their $1 million guaranteed tournament, much to the dismay of several players, including Kyna England. The hosts discuss the decision and examine the larger concept of guarantees within the poker world. You'll then get highlights from a pair of Meet-Up Games (MUGs), including the PokerNews one at Planet Hollywood and the PokerStars one at Resorts World, where the first $5,300 Main Event seat to November's NAPT was awarded. See who the lucky winner was!
Next, get a sneak peek at the new show Hellmuth's Home Game presented by Poker Night in America (PNIA), a discussion on the state of poker in Australia, and a look ahead to the 2025 WSOP Main Event, which will kick off this week!
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
Time Stamps
*Time | Topic*
00:00 | Welcome to the show
01:05 | Cohosts Jennifer Shahade & Josh Abady
02:30 | What did you think of the alleged chip-dumping incident?
07:41 | Jesse Yaginuma paid $1,000,000 bonus
16:20 | Golden Nugget’s cancelled guarantee controversy
19:30 | Are there incentives aside from guarantees?
23:00 | Highlights from the PokerNews & PokerStars Meet-Up Games
27:12 | Sponsor – WSOP Free-to-Play App
27:51 | Aaron Cummings goes back-to-back in $1,500 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw
29:15 | Travis Erdman’s PokerNews hat
30:29 | Craig Savage takes down $500 NLH Freezeout for $229K
32:47 | Poker Night in America debuts Hellmuth’s Home Game
35:34 | Preview of Hellmuth’s Home Game
36:23 | Play Live Melbourne & the state of Australian poker
41:00 | Jennifer Shahade’s women's initiatives
45:20 | A look ahead to the 2025 NAPT Las Vegas
47:25 | 2025 WSOP Main Event about to get underway!