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 a pair of big hands from the Super High Roller Cash Game on PokerGO. One saw Sameh Elamawy lay down the second nuts to Justin Gavri, and the other was Andrew Robl five-bet bluffing smack into the pocket aces of Eric Wasserson, which led to a discussion on Robl and his chances of the Poker Hall of Fame.
From there, the crew heads out to the desert for some fun with Las Vegas ATV Tours, Mike 'Timex' McDonald winning a national Chess Championship, and Jean-Robert Bellande taking down the Onyx High Roller for $1.5 Million. Finally, hear about how 23-year-old Harvey Castro claimed the WPT Player of the Year and why the 'Jungleman' boxing match result against Elf was overturned.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday 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
01:45 | Super High Roller Cash Game
02:45 | Huge Fold – Sameh vs. Gavri
06:30 | Robl Five-Bet Bluff Disaster
14:40 | Andrew Robl for Poker Hall of Fame?
19:40 | Las Vegas ATV Tour Adventure
22:06 | Mike 'Timex' McDonald Wins National Chess Championship
25:11 | JRB Takes Down Onyx High Roller for $1.5 Million
26:53 | Harvey Castro Wins WPT Player of the Year
29:45 | 'Jungleman' Boxing Match Result Overturned

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 notched a win at the PGT Kickoff Series.
Other stories bantered about are Jeff Platt now being exclusive with the WSOP, how Arden Cho will probably be at the Oscars, the new PokerNews PowerStack Leaderboard for the 2026 RGPS Passport Season, and sharing which poker room on the Las Vegas Strip is unfortunately closing at the end of the month.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday 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
01:31 Esfandiari vs. Keating in $2.4M Pot
07:08 Dan "Jungleman" Cates boxing match results
11:25 Controversial hand on High Stakes Poker
17:17 Winner interview w/ Andrew "Lucky Chewy" Lichtenberger
22:06 Jeff Platt now with the WSOP
24:07 Arden Cho & the Oscars
26:12 PokerNews PowerStack Leaderboard for 2026 RGPS Passport Season
28:44 Planet Hollywood closing poker room

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 Huber, Martin Zamani's video of a poker bot farm that had the community up in arms, and a pair of poker cheats caught down at The Lodge in Austin, Texas. Speaking of which, the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) is headed to the cardroom, and Andrew Neeme is happy to tell you about it. 
From there, it's welcoming 8131 Media as the official photography partner of PokerNews, and a preview of this weekend's Daniel "Jungleman" Cates vs. sports bettor "Elf", where PokerNews will be on-site to report all the action.
Finally, learned who won our giveaway for a limited edition deck of cards tied to Lost in the Shuffle, a documentary that explores the history of playing cards through the lens of magic.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday 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
00:56 | 'Granny' enters first poker tournament 
04:57 | Interview w/ Linda "Granny" Hammons
07:52 | Is this the worst misclick ever?
11:13 | Poker Bots controversy
19:10 | Poker cheats caught in Texas
23:07 | RGPS heading to The Lodge
25:00 | Andrew Neeme on RGPS
26:52 | 8131 Media becomes official photo team
28:47 | Daniel "Jungleman" Cates fight night
33:11 | 'Lost in the Shuffle' winner

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 Ambassador Xuan Liu called out the site for continuing to use her image in the Asia market.
Chad then shares highlights from his adventure with Phil Hellmuth and his son Phillip Hellmuth III playing in a Wisconsin home game, Alex Foxen winning PokerGO Tour (PGT) Player of the Year, and winners from the PokerGO Tour Last Chance Series. Then there was Daniel Negreanu at the final table of the PGT Championship, which was won by Chad Eveslage.
Other stories include GPI Player of the Year results, Maine becoming the ninth state to legalize online poker, and a look at Lost in the Shuffle, a documentary that explores the history of playing cards through the lens of magic. See the trailer and enter for your chance to win a limited edition deck of cards.
Speaking of giveaways, learn who won a copy of Jonathan Little's new book The Complete Poker Workout.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday 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
01:25 | Two players agree to "Winner Take All"
03:26 | WPT Global signs Ren Lin
08:15 | Is WPT Global different than WPT & ClubWPT Gold?
10:40 | Former Ambassador Xuan Liu calls out WPT Global
12:40 | Chad's adventure with Phil Hellmuth
20:02 | Alex Foxen wins PGT Player of the Year
22:29 | PokerGO Tour Last Chance Series winners
24:30 | Daniel Negreanu final tables PGT Championship
26:20 | Chad Eveslage wins PGT Championship
27:31 | GPI Player of the Year results
31:40 | Maine becomes 9th state to legalize online poker
36:55 | Lost in the Shuffle documentary
40:34 | PN Pod giveaways

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 Veldhuis returning to the streaming streets, albeit not as a PokerStars Ambassador. Similarly, Caitlin Comeskey's ambassadorship with PokerStars US came to an end, and got the crew asking, "Is there still value in poker ambassadors?"
You'll also see a short interview of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel chatting with Rep. Dina Titus about the aforementioned tax bill, hear about Jeremy Becker and Matthew Wantman winning titles at the Venetian, and another book giveaway for a copy of Jonathan Little's The Complete Poker Workout.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday 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
01:40 | Poker players win big in Circa's Survivor contest
08:20 | Maurice Hawkins arbitration ends
21:56 | Lex Veldhuis is back!
26:07 | What are the value of "Poker Ambassadors" nowadays?
30:00 | Poker predictions for 2026
30:42 | Video: Erik Seidel chats w/ Rep. Dina Titus
38:29 | Trivia – Venezuela's all-time money list
40:03 | Is late reg and unlimited reentries a problem?
47:45 | Could WSOP Main Event be $15,000?
49:50 | Hellmuth will win bracelet No. 16 in 2026
50:30 | Recent Tournament Winners presented by 888poker
51:18 | Jeremy Becker claims title at Venetian
51:35 | Matthew Wantman kicks off New Year with win
51:46 | Preston Dean wins RoughRider Poker Tour title
52:10 | Jonathan Little book giveaway
54:13 | Disc golf with TJ Reid