PokerNews Cup, Hellmuth Wins, & Bekavac Talks Midway Poker Payout Debacle

PokerNews Cup, Hellmuth Wins, & Bekavac Talks Midway Poker Payout Debacle

In the latest edition of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway and Jesse Fullen discuss Phil Hellmuth's victory over Scott Seiver in Round 4 of High Stakes Duel III, announce the upcoming PokerNews Cup June 24-28 at Golden Nugget Las Vegas, and preview the WPT Choctaw final table, which includes Chance Kornuth. Speaking of Kornuth, he pledged 1% of his winnings to Randy Gordon, a poker dealer battling cancer, and he is also selling Las Vegas mansion for $3.5 million, two stories also discussed in this episode. Chad and Jesse then talk about Jaret Villarreal winning a WSOP Main Event seat on ClubGG for the second year in a row, remember noted poker author and columnist Bob Ciaffone, and preview this weekend's CSOP St. Jude “Against All Odds” charity event.  Finally, Chad sits down with Midway Poker Tour co-founder Dan Bekavac, who 19 months after a controversial payout debacle made affected players whole. Bekavac, a controversial figure himself who recently captured a record fourth MSPT title, talks openly about the situation for the first time.  Listen to those stories and more on the latest PokerNews Podcast! Time Stamps *Time|Topic* 00:30 | Welcome to the show 00:45 | Two guys talking about poker 01:28 | Teasing guest Dan Bekavac – here’s the plan 06:30 | PokerNews Cup coming to Golden Nugget June 24-28 10:56 | Phil Hellmuth defeats Scott Seiver in High Stakes Duel III Round 4 15:00 | Sponsor: 888poker 16:13 | Midway Poker Tour players made whole 19:33 | Dan Bekavac joins the show 21:00 | Genesis of the Midway Poker Tour 23:20 | What was the payout situation? 24:40 | Marked-up silver 25:44 | Was it a scam from the get go? 27:20 | Operating during the pandemic 29:05 | Where was Bekavac when things went south? 31:00 | The charity – 4 KIDS Sake, Inc. 32:35 | Who is Jason Trezak? 34:07 | Have you had any contact with the charity? 35:40 | Were the hotels and dealers paid? 36:48 | We’re you going to pay back players from PokerBros proceeds? 38:06 | Showing up to play – what were you thinking? 48:23 | Not being on-site was not a good look 40:54 | What would you do differently? 41:44 | Where did the tournament fees go? 42:45 | Changing your social media to distance yourself from Midway Poker Tour 43:40 | Issuing a statement after the debacle 44:44 | Are you a degenerate?  45:30 | Dealing with the stigma 46:39 | Repayment timeline 47:58 | Repayment details 50:02 | Winning a 4th MSPT title 51:45 | Is MSPT Player of the Year on your mind? 52:25 | How do you want the poker world to regard you? 54:05 | Did the state or any authority look into the Midway Poker Tour debacle? 56:36 | Previewing the WPT Choctaw final table 58:43 | Beloved dealer Randy Gordon wins free seat before impending cancer battle 1:00:27 | Chance Kornuth selling Las Vegas mansion for $3.5 million 1:02:43 | Jaret Villarreal wins WSOP Main Event seat on ClubGG for 2nd year in a row 1:05:30 | Sponsor: GGPoker 1:06:10 | Noted poker author & columnist Bob Ciaffone passes away 1:07:05 | Chad & Jesse headed to St. Jude “Against All Odds”