PokerNews Podcast 505: John Cynn, Justin Bonomo, Ali Nejad
It's the mega World Series of Poker wrap-up episode of the PokerNews Podcast. Sarah Herring and [Removed:139] recap the WSOP Main Event and the Big One For One Drop, and they take a look at the Player of the Year race.
You'll hear from World Series of Poker Main Event champion John Cynn, and runner-up Tony Miles.
Plus, Jeff caught up with play-by-play announcer/break desk host Ali Nejad to recap the entire summer, and to examine what makes his on-air partnership with Nick Schulman work so well.
And, it's Justin Bonomo capping off the summer with a win in the Big One for One Drop, for a cool $10 million. Hear from the man who has already had the best year in poker tournament history.
This week's sponsor: Global Poker.
Show Time Stamps
| 0:10 | Intro: The WSOP is over, jam-packed recap episode is ahead |
| 1:10 | Sponsor: globalpoker.com |
| 2:10 | John Cynn Wins the 2018 WSOP Main Event |
| 4:40 | How much of a role did fatigue play at the final table? |
| 7:55 | Tony Miles on fatigue: "We played on little to no sleep. The nerves and the angst you feel at night, it's almost impossible to get a good night's rest." |
| 8:25 | On the coaching element: "My team had been working on our game, we'd been visualizing this scenario beforehand...the dynamic of heads-up play is a more aggressive style anyways." |
| 9:05 | The last hand of the tournament: "It was really unfortunate, the last hand, I thought I saw the ten of hearts flash in his hand..if I didn't think I saw that card, maybe if I wasn't so mentally fatigued, I wouldn't have gone for that bluff." |
| 9:30 | Taking home the $5 million second-place prize: "After the disappointment of losing subsides...I'm sure I'll be very happy, I'll be able to help my family...I'm very grateful." |
| 10:10 | The support he had throughout: "It's indescribable, you can't put it into words, these are the moments that you live for." |
| 11:00 | On being an ambassador: "I welcome the opportunity. I think it's a great game. There's just so many similarities between poker and life." |
| 11:40 | John Cynn on winning the Main Event: "It feels insane. Insane is probably the perfect word because I don't know how to describe it. It's overwhelming." |
| 12:20 | What the support meant to him: "I couldn't be more grateful for everyone that's here. It's really special that my family's here." |
| 13:45 | His thoughts when he knew he'd just won it all: "Holy f---, what just happened, how did this happen, where am I?" |
| 14:10 | His thought process during the final hand: "I felt really bad, it was actually really weird because he said he might've seen one of my cards, but I still had a hand I wanted to defend against him. It was a weird spot for so many different reasons." |
| 17:50 | Relationships he built with other players: "Throughout the whole entire Main Event, a lot of my tables were social, they were fun...I made good friends that I expect to talk to in the future...it was a great group of guys." |
| 20:00 | Tony Miles Apologizes for Slow-Roll Accusation |
| 25:20 | Phil Hellmuth's polarizing commentary throughout the Main Event and the Big One for One Drop |
| 30:10 | Jeff catches up with Ali Nejad |
| 30:30 | Justin Bonomo's incredible run: "Just a whirlwind of force, and now the Big One on the heels of a bracelet in the $10k Heads-Up during the summer, how does one even question what the biggest moment, for me at least, this summer was?" |
| 31:50 | Bonomo's top-level play: "There's only so much of his result that you can attribute to rungood...this is clearly a product of his hard work." |
| 33:30 | What kind of ambassador John Cynn will be for poker: "John Cynn, in particular, appeared so incredibly gracious at every single stage of that event, and humble, and wildly thankful for the opportunity." |
| 35:30 | What makes his on-air relationship with Nick Schulman work: "He's a fun-loving dude, but he's also really hard-working and cares a tremendous amount not only about the game of poker but delivering information to the masses that allows them to sort of expand upon what they know about the game." |
| 37:10 | Addressing those who think Ali and Nick should be broadcasting the Main Event: "I want to say that Lon (McEachern) and Norman (Chad)...brought poker into the spotlight, and they ushered it into where it is today. And as far as I'm concerned, the throne is absolutely theirs to keep." |
| 39:30 | Sarah and Jeff discuss the commentary throughout the Main Event and the Big One for One Drop |
| 43:55 | Justin Bonomo Wins $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop |
| 45:30 | Bonomo on how he feels after another win: "Just disbelief, happiness all over the place. The adrenaline has been going through me like crazy." |
| 45:55 | The opportunity to play in this tournament: "Everyone kept asking me 'are you excited to play One Drop?', and my answer to everyone was 'no.' Yes it's a great privilege, but I see it as a great responsibility. It's more money than I've ever played for in my life." |
| 46:30 | Comparing his recent wins: "This one I had so many friends and family come out, and that really changes the feeling of it." |
| 47:10 | Watching the three-way all-in between Holz, Kaverman, Salomon: "The main thing I was hoping was that Fedor lost the pot because he's a very good player, and I didn't want to play three-handed with him." |
| 47:30 | Being a part of a tournament that donates so much money to One Drop: "It's an honor to be a part of the money that's donated to One Drop...I almost feel guilty for knocking David Einhorn out because he gives 100% of his winnings to charity." |
| 48:20 | What's next for him: "I'm very much looking forward to time off; it has been a very grueling two months. Obviously, it's been fantastic and I'm not complaining in any way." |
| 48:50 | On past success opening the door to take bigger pieces: "This was a $1 million buyin, so I was not able to put up anywhere even close to even half of the money myself, which honestly made this feel even more special. I get to share this win with literally hundreds of people." |
| 49:20 | Being first on the all-time money list: "Being number-one on the all-time money list is sweet, it's awesome, it feels good....but that is not the measure of who a great player is. At the end of the day, I feel like throughout this last year I've played absolutely fantastic player...I'm not going to say I'm the best player in the world, but I'm very confident that I'm up there and I'm very proud of what I've done." |
| 50:10 | Looking ahead to the future: "I'll never be complacent with my poker game, I understand that the game is so complex and I have a burning curiosity for it." |
| 51:00 | On the tournament coming down to him and Fedor Holz: "It definitely felt like a storybook ending, getting to play heads-up with Fedor and him starting with the chip lead." |
| 52:30 | Getting away from the game from time to time: "A big part of poker is just hiding your emotions and being competitive. And I don't think humans were meant to endure that as a full-time job for 17 years straight." |
| 52:40 | Giving his bracelet to his dad: "My dad loves me and supports me just as much as my mom. It feels really nice to give him an extra-special bracelet so he has something to keep of his own." |
| 53:40 | The wild, three-way all-in between Byron Kaverman, Fedor Holz, and Rick Salomon |
| 56:40 | Joe Cada Wins The Closer |
| 58:40 | Shaun Deeb takes commanding lead in Player of the Year race going into WSOP-Europe |
| 59:00 | Ben Yu has an excellent WSOP, as well |
| 1:05:50 | Sponsor: globalpoker.com |
| 1:06:20 | Next week: we'll chat with poker author and player Eileen Sutton |
Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show - tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Sarah and Jeff on Twitter.
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