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 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

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 NBA
- Michael Mizrachi Historic WSOP


Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast!
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*
01:12 | Cheating Technology Fears Rise
05:26 | Trump's Tax Bill Detrimental to Poker Industry
10:40 | Benny Glaser's Summer for the Ages 
12:50 | Twelve Months That Might Change Women's Poker Forever  
15:16 | Attorney Tom Goldstein Indicted Over Million-Dollar Poker Games 
16:56 | Ossi Ketola's Record-Shattering Heads-Up Poker Matches
18:37 | Return of Poker Villains
22:26 | Millionaire Maker Controversy at 2025 WSOP
27:10 | Poker Game Arrests Involving Basketball Stars Rock the NBA
29:26 | Michael Mizrachi Historic WSOP

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 Aaron Johnson winning WPT Prime, Darren Elias taking down the $25K High Roller, and Kharlin Sued emerging victorious in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star.
You'll also hear about Joao Simao besting Jason Koon in the Super High Roller Bowl X and Paul Tedeschi winning the €1,100 PokerStars Open Cannes.
Finally, Jonathan Little is coming out with a new book, so we thought it'd be a good time for another giveaway. It's your chance to win a copy of Jonathan Little's new book, which you can also order by visiting dandbpoker.com.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast!
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
01:09 | EWass slowrolls Glaser
01:52 | Video of the slowroll
06:55 | TJ Reid makes a deep run
09:33 | Bernhard Binder wins WSOP Paradise
10:50 | Video: Final hand + winner interview
13:11 | Ren Lin no longer banned
15:38 | Schuyler Thornton wins 2025 WPT World Championship
18:39 | Video: Schuyler Thornton winner interview
19:54 | Super High Roller Bowl X
22:16 | Imari Love victorious in The Closer Turbo Bounty
23:24 | Johan Guilbert claims first WSOP bracelet 
24:56 | Aaron Johnson wins WPT Prime Championship
27:03 | Darren Elias wins $25k High Roller at Wynn 
27:33 | Kharlin Sued wins WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star
28:44 | Video: Kharlin Sued winner interview
31:05 | Paul Tedeschi wins €1,100 PokerStars Open Cannes
31:63 | Jonathan Little book giveaway