PokerNews Podcast
In the 942nd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Jeff Platt at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas. The quartet talks about Platt's new role with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and what all that entails. Find out what all you can expect from the 2026 WSOP as the former cohost of the PokerNews Podcast talks about being a face of the brand, live viewer experience, storytelling, the Poker Hall ...
In the 941st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by James Hartigan at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas. The quartet previews upcoming PokerStars live events, including the European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris, where the Spin & Go Championship will take place. There's also the PokerStars Open Philadelphia and the 2026 Irish Poker Open, which, according to Hartigan, is more than just a poker tournament; it's a whole experience. Find out information ...
In the 940th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are back to break down the video of a poker dealer caught cheating in a Texas card room. See surveillance footage of what happened and how he was caught! The trio then discusses Michael Mizrachi & Chino Rheem's $100K No Smoking/Drinking prop bet, Alex Foxen making his Hustler Casino Live (HCL) debut, and results from the PokerGO Tour (PGT) Mixed Games Series, which included big ...
In the 939th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are back for a special episode to discuss the release of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule! Running from May 26 through July 15, the 2026 WSOP consists of 100 gold bracelet events and, for the first time ever, will be immediately followed by a WSOP Circuit stop. Find out what's new on the schedule, what is missing, and what changes are in ...
In the 938th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Connor Richards at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to talk about poker pro Jared Bleznick revealing that he's buried by a bad investment into a massive amount of Labubu! Connor then shares details on covering the federal trial of Tom Goldstein in person in Maryland and what it was like to win the recent Charity Series of Poker (CSOP) event. Speaking ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
In the 926th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by Mike Holtz and Connor Richards at Level 9 Studios to talk the latest stories in the poker world. That includes former WSOP Main Event runner-up Steven Jones making the top five in the finale of Netflix's popular Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. Find out if the poker pro was able to win the $4.56 million top prize. They also dive into the debate fueled by Daniel ...
In the 925th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is once again joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow at Level 9 Studios to talk the latest stories in the poker world. That includes the massive $1.3 million pot from a special episode of High Stakes Poker, one that saw Alan Keating try and execute a huge bluff. Was it a valiant effort or an ill-timed move? The trio also offers their thoughts on the topic of "Should poker ...
In the 924th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is once again joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow at Level 9 Studios to talk about the latest stories in the poker world. That includes a double murder that took place at a home game in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and poker pro Steven Jones, who finished runner-up to Daniel Wienman in the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, being a contestant on Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2. ...
In the 923rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is once again joined by Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow at Level 9 Studios to discuss the latest stories from the poker world. That includes the wild, mainstream poker cheating story involving NBA players and coach Chauncey Billups, the mafia, and more. As if that wasn't controversial enough, well-known poker pro Ren Lin was disqualified from a live poker tournament for helping a friend in an online one. As a ...