In the 904th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are joined by Grosvenor Poker Pro Jamie Nixon at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to talk about the latest from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP). That includes the WSOP's controversial decision regarding the alleged Millionaire Maker chip dumping between Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll, which may or may not include lifetime bans. It's a lively debate that examines the situation from multiple angles, including the likely involvement of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
They then take a look at a controversial hand posted by Lexy Gavin-Mather where a dealer error that may have brought a much-needed seven out of the muck had the poker world talking. From there, the trio highlight the historic win by Shiina Okamoto, who successfully defended her Ladies Event title after finishing runner-up three years ago. She also had to put up with Phil Hellmuth Jr., for better or worse, as the crew debated. That wasn't the only historic win, as Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi won the prestigious $50,000 Poker Players Championship for an unbelievable fourth time. Toss in the first gold bracelet won by Darren Elias, and there were some big winners to be celebrated.
Jamie Nixon then talks about Grosvenor Poker and the upcoming Goliath in Coventry, how his buddy is running a daily bracket of funny poker names, and then Chad explains why there's a giant cutout of Espan Jorstad's head on the set (Hint: it came from the recent GTOWizard party).
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
On Day 37 of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Day 3 of Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship is down to the final 15 players from a 186-runner field including Phil Hellmuth (Team Money Mondays Podcast), Viktor Blom (Team Dinkers), Alex Livingston (Team Noori), Tomasz Gluszko (Team Handsome Horses), Christopher Claassen (Team Handsome Horse), and ODB Bonus player Jordan Siegel.
Among those returning for Day 2 of Event #78: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship are a pair of ODB Bonus players Qiang Xu and Darren Rabinowitz. There are no 25K Fantasy players remaining in this one.
Arthur Morris leads the $100K PLO Championship.
Day 2 of Event #79: $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller will see Arthur Morris (Team AJ’s Eagles) return as the chip leader while Daniel Negreanu (Team Negreanu) sits third in chips. Others still in contention include Eelis Parssinen (Team Jeremy’s), Sam Soverel (Team Lang), John Hennigan (Team Wass), Bryce Yockey (Team Jeremy’s), Alex Foxen (Team Money Mondays Podcast), Seth Davies (Team DPMD), Chris Brewer (Team NOVIG), Klemens Roiter (Team Liaison), Jason Koon (Team Splash Sports), Isaac Haxton (Team BTG), Jeremy Ausmus (Team DPMD), Nick Schulman (Team Splash Sports), and Ben Lamb (Team Money Mondays Podcast).
How to Follow the Action
Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with either a 25K Fantasy or ODB badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the 25K Fantasy or ODB badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by 25K Fantasy players.
On Day 36 of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Day 4 of Event #74: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship will see the final seven players from an 874-entry field return including chip leader Quan Zhou (Team Lady Gaga) and the short-stacked Alex Foxen (Team Lady Gaga); as well as, ODB Bonus player Michael Wang. All of them will earn fantasy points, but only one of them could potentially win the $1,394,579 first-place prize.
Event #76: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet is down to 11 players from a 458-entry field. Among those coming back for Day 3 are Aaron Kupin (Team Hoggers), Daniel Negreanu (Team Negreanu), and Marco Johnson (Team Survivor Sweat), who sit first through third in chips, respectively. Also returning are Jeff Madsen (Team Brown’s Bargain Bin) and Christopher Vitch (Team Phenom).
Daniel Negreanu has a big stack in the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet.
After Day 1 of Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, 78 players from a 160-runner field, including dozens of fantasy players. ODB Bonus player Walter Chambers leads the pack, followed by Shaun Deeb (Team Phenom), Scott Bohlman (Team Brown’s Bargain Bin), and Anthony Zinno (Team Negreanu), who round out the top four stacks.
How to Follow the Action
Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with either a 25K Fantasy or ODB badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the 25K Fantasy or ODB badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by 25K Fantasy players.
On Day 35 of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Day 3 of Event #67: $300 Gladiators of Poker will see the final 13 players from a massive 24,629 entries (the second-largest live tournament in poker history) return to action. Unfortunately, none of them are fantasy players.
For Day 3 of Event #74: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, 56 players from an 874-entry field return including Quan Zhou (Team Lady Gaga), Alex Foxen (Team Lady Gaga), Thomas Taylor (Team Liaison), Robert Mizrachi (Team Splashy Octopi), Alex Livingston (Team Noori), Stephen Chidwick (Team BTG), Ryan Riess (Team Money Mondays Podcast), Mike Gorodinsky (Team Splashy Octopi), Ben Lamb (Team Money Mondays Podcast), Scott Bohlman (Team Brown’s Bargain Bin), Erik Seidel (Team Splashy Octopi), and Ryan Hoenig (Team Lang); as well as, ODB Bonus players Isaac Kempton, John Holley, and Michael Wang.
Quan Zhou had a big stack in the $10K PLO Championship.
Event #76: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet is down to 101 players from a 458-entry field. Among those coming back for Day 2 are dozens of fantasy players including chip leader Christopher Vitch (Team Phenom), James Obst (Team Australia), Jon Turner (Team Negreanu), Jake Schwartz (Team Hoggers), and Jeff Madsen (Team Brown’s Bargain Bin); as well as, ODB Bonus players Jordan Siegel, Nitesh Rawtani, and Ray Fishman, just to name a few.
How to Follow the Action
Remember, PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with either a 25K Fantasy or ODB badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the 25K Fantasy or ODB badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by 25K Fantasy players.
In the 903rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway is joined by special fill-in cohosts Team PokerStars Pro Jennifer Shahade and Josh Abady of Play Live Melbourne to discuss the latest in the poker industry, including the latest on the alleged chip-dumping incident from the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Millionaire Maker event. Winner Jesse Yaginuma did get paid the $1,000,000 bonus, but he and runner-up James Carroll are still awaiting a decision by WSOP officials on the regular prize money.
Another big story was Golden Nugget cancelling their $1 million guaranteed tournament, much to the dismay of several players, including Kyna England. The hosts discuss the decision and examine the larger concept of guarantees within the poker world. You'll then get highlights from a pair of Meet-Up Games (MUGs), including the PokerNews one at Planet Hollywood and the PokerStars one at Resorts World, where the first $5,300 Main Event seat to November's NAPT was awarded. See who the lucky winner was!
Next, get a sneak peek at the new show Hellmuth's Home Game presented by Poker Night in America (PNIA), a discussion on the state of poker in Australia, and a look ahead to the 2025 WSOP Main Event, which will kick off this week!
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop twice a week during the 2025 WSOP every Thursday and Sunday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
