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Articles by Sasha Salinger
Jeopardy! Star James Holzhauer Goes All In at the WSOP, Patches with partypoker
June 24, 2019 Sasha SalingerAleeyah Jadavji Up until June 3, the poker world had been watching intently as Jeopardy! star and professional sports gambler James Holzhauer inched closer to breaking the show's all-time money record. That amazing streak snapped after 32 games, bringing his earnings to $2,462,216, just $58,484 shy of the record held by Ken Jennings. Today, Holzhauer looks to compete in a different arena, taking a seat on poker's biggest stage at the 50th annual World Series of Poker.
Jeopardy! Contestant James Holzhauer Goes All In at the WSOP, Patches with partypoker
June 24, 2019 Sasha SalingerAleeyah Jadavji Up until June 3, the poker world had been watching intently as Jeopardy! star and professional sports gambler James Holzhauer inched closer to breaking the show's all-time money record. That amazing streak snapped after 32 games, bringing his earnings to $2,462,216, just $58,484 shy of the record held by Ken Jennings. Today, Holzhauer looks to compete in a different arena, taking a seat on poker's biggest stage at the 50th annual World Series of Poker.
TBT: Why Phil Hellmuth Missed Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Semi-Finals
June 13, 2019 Sasha Salinger The Golden State Warriors are looking to make a comeback tonight. The team is currently trailing the Toronto Raptors 2-3 in the NBA Finals. Tonight, they play Game 6 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a familiar poker face in the crowd. Phil Hellmuth is not quiet when it comes to anything, but he's particularly vocal about his love for the Golden State Warriors.
Two-Time MLB World Series Champ Jose Canseco Fires the BIG Fofty at the WSOP
June 03, 2019 Valerie CrossSasha Salinger The World Series of Poker's BIG 50 event brought out players from far and wide, including a former baseball star who is trying his hand in another type of World Series. Most baseball fans know the legend that is Jose Canseco, the Cuban-American former outfielder and designated hitter who was part of two World Series-winning squads, the Oakland A's in 1989 and New York Yankees in 2000.
Throwback Thursday: Maria Ho Versus Melanie Wesiner
May 16, 2019 Sasha Salinger This week, PokerNews released an article making predictions for this year's World Series of Poker. One question was "how many women will get heads up for a bracelet?" Answers by the PokerNews staff varied, but one name came up several times: Maria Ho. In this Throwback Thursday video from 2014, Ho squares off against another female bracelet hopeful: Melanie Weisner.
Throwback Thursday: TMI with Joe Stapleton
May 02, 2019 Sasha Salinger Day 3 of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Main Event gets underway today. All the live coverage featuring James Hartigan and the always entertaining Joe Stapleton began yesterday. We decided to dig into the PokerNews video vault and pulled out this gem from the 2009 World Series of Poker. Tell your kids to wear ear muffs and cover their eyes! This week's Throwback Thursday video features a very orange/brown Joe Stapleton answering rapid fire questions.
Patrik Antonius: Changing the Game
May 01, 2019 Valerie CrossSasha Salinger Finnish poker pro Patrik Antonius loves when the EPT comes through his neck of the woods to the beautiful city of Monte Carlo on the French Riviera. He said as much today when talking with PokerNews presenter Sasha Salinger during Day 1b of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT €5,300 Main Event. "I wish we could always have the event here — my favorite place for EPT," says Antonius.
Throwback Thursday: Could You Beat Poker Jeopardy?
April 25, 2019 Sasha Salinger James Holzhauer is making headlines for his current historic run on Jeopardy. The professional sports gambler annihilated the record for most money won on a single day for a staggering $110,914. Holzhauer isn't the first gambler to succeed on the long-running American game show. In 2015, former poker player Alex Jacob won over $150,000 over the course of five episodes. As of yesterday, Holzhauer has accumulated $1,135,175 over the course of 15 episodes.
Throwback Thursday: Did Jake Cody Miss Chris Moorman's Stag Party?
April 10, 2019 Sasha Salinger Back in 2015, Jake Cody tried to answer the ultimate poker question: Is he skilled enough to pull a multi-barrel bluff off of the poker table? Last week, Chris Moorman won the Legacy Award at the 2019 Global Poker Awards. Back in May 2015, he was on his way to his stag party in Lisbon. Jake Cody was one of the invited guests, but the seasoned flier made a rare travel mistake. Why wasn't Cody on the same flight as the rest of the guests?
Throwback Thursday: Doug Polk Feuds with Jason Mercier
April 03, 2019 Sasha Salinger In the past year, Jason Mercier and Doug Polk have both cut back their hours on the poker table. Mercier, a former PokerStars pro, semi-retired last year just after the birth of his first son. With his recent announcement of baby boy #2, it doesn't look like Mercier will be back to a full-time poker schedule any time soon. Polk too has made his presence scarce at the poker table. The popular YouTuber also announced his semi-retirement last year.
Throwback Thursday: Mickey Craft Having Fun and Drinking Tequila
March 20, 2019 Sasha Salinger The poker world lost another fun-loving, gregarious player last week. Mikey Craft burst on to the poker scene during his deep run in the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event. He quickly became a fan favorite for playing a wide range of hands, not taking himself too seriously, and buying rounds of drinks for his tablemates. This week's Throwback Thursday highlights Craft during the height of his 2017 WSOP Main Event run.
Throwback Thursday: Jason Koon on the Rail
March 13, 2019 Sasha Salinger Jason Koon is usually playing at final tables, not watching from the rail. Last week alone, Jason Koon won BOTH the 2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju $1M Short-Deck Ante-Only event for $2,840,945 AND the Triton Refresh HKD 1,000,000 No Limit Hold'em event for $1,128,685 after a heads-up deal with Stephen Chidwick. Koon is currently the world’s all-time short-deck money winner with more than $6.3 million in earnings.
Throwback Thursday: Patrik Antonius Chooses Ivey or Dwan
February 28, 2019 Sasha Salinger Patrik Antonius is having his own poker challenge poker tournament series in Tallinn, Estonia the beginning of April. The infamous former tennis professional turned professional poker player has been on the poker scene for years now. After a brief hiatus playing high stakes cash games, Antonius has returned to tournament poker.
Throwback Thursday: Phil Ivey Opens his Namesake Poker Room at Aria
February 20, 2019 Sasha Salinger Yesterday marked the end of an era. Back in May 2010, Aria opened The Ivey Room, a high stakes cash game area named after Phil Ivey. Since then, professional poker players, tech billionaires, and other elites sat in The Ivey Room playing some of the highest stakes poker in the world. Well, as of yesterday, February 20th, "The Ivey Room" is no more.
Throwback Thursday: How Well Does Jeff Gross Know His Wife?
February 14, 2019 Sasha Salinger On this special "Valentine's Day Edition" of Throwback Thursday, we are highlighting a poker couple that has been in the news recently. No, not Daniel Negreanu and Amanda Leatherman. This week, Jeff Gross announced he would no longer be a PokerStars ambassador. He explained that this did not mean he is retiring from poker or scaling back on Twitch. Ow, and Jeff and his wife Emilia are expecting their first child.
Throwback Thursday: Farah Galfond Explains Her Twitter Feed
February 07, 2019 Sasha Salinger 2019 has already been a busy year for Phil and Farah Galfond. The couple welcomed their first child, Spencer, on December 31st. Yesterday, Phil Galfond and the Run It Once team launched a public beta mode of their online poker platform. This week's Throwback Thursday features a video from 2017.
TBT: Toby Lewis Becomes One of the Youngest EPT Main Winners Ever
January 30, 2019 Sasha Salinger Call him Mr. Aussie Millions. Last year, Toby Lewis won the Aussie Million Main Event for A$ 1,458,198 ($1,178,513). This week, Lewis chopped the Aussie Millions $25K heads up for A$786,214 ($558,660). Just two days later, Lewis chopped and won the Aussie Millions $50K for A$818,054 ($587,936).
TBT: Chino Rheem vs. The Grinder
January 24, 2019 Sasha Salinger Last week, David "Chino" Rheem took home $1,567,100 after winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. Cheering him on was good friend Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. This week's Throwback Thursday features Rheem and Mizrachi being put to the test about their long-time friendship. In this video from 2012, both players admit they each have some degenerate gambling tendencies.
TBT: Gavin Smith, Huck Seed & Sarah Herring Sandwich
January 17, 2019 Sasha Salinger This week, the poker community lost one of its most beloved players. Gavin Smith passed away Monday night at the age of 50. Once the news broke, there was an outpouring of tributes and stories about Gavin on Twitter. Everyone from poker legend Doyle Brunson to actress Jennifer Tilly shared their condolences to Smith and his family.
TBT: Daniel Negreanu and Liv Boeree's MOM????
January 02, 2019 Sasha Salinger Nope. The article is not click bait. Daniel Negreanu surprised his girlfriend (and his fans) yesterday by announcing his engagement. Negreanu proposed to girlfriend Amanda Leatherman on New Year's Eve. The two dated back in 2010 and recently rekindled their romance. However, this week's Throwback Thursday features Negreanu kissing a woman who is NOT his recent fiancee. That woman is Liv Boeree's MOM.
TBT: John Juanda's Christmas Prop Bets
December 26, 2018 Sasha Salinger Christmastime or, as was once sung by Andy Williams, "the most wonderful time of the year." This time of year often brings up memories of toasting marshmallows by the fireplace, young children writing letters to Santa, and getting drunk and making fitness prop bets. Well, the latter may only be true for John Juanda. In this week's TBT, we celebrate Christmas.
Throwback Thursday: What Does Tonkaaaap Mean?
Throwback Thursday: What Does Tonkaaaap Mean? December 20, 2018 Sasha Salinger Well-loved poker player Parker Talbot just got his biggest live cash ever for just over $200,000. Best known as "tonkaaaap" on Twitch, Talbot just final tabled the Pokerstars European Poker Tour Prague Main Event. It was Paul Michaelis who took home first place for $953,646.
TBT: Tony G Bets he can Outrun an Athlete
TBT: Tony G Bets he can Outrun an Athlete December 13, 2018 Sasha Salinger Today, the poker world is abuzz after details came out about the buyout terms of a $100K solitary confinement prop bet. Prop bets are not uncommon in the poker world, so for this week's Throwback Thursday, we decided to feature an oldie, but a goodie. Back in 2009, PokerNews held its own poker tournament. The PokerNews Cup Alpine took place at a five star luxury ski resort atop the Austrian Alps in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
Throwback Thursday: Brian Hastings MIA
Throwback Thursday: Brian Hastings MIA November 28, 2018 Sasha Salinger Congratulations are in order for poker player Brian Hastings! He is getting married this Saturday to long time girlfriend Sonya Bubulka. We chose a video featuring Hastings from the 2017 World Series of Poker. As you may recall, Hastings took a break from poker to pursue other interests. Watch to find out what brought Hastings back to poker, as well as why Bubulka and he traveled to Bahrain.
Throwback Thursday: Faraz Jaka Goes Quiet
Throwback Thursday: Faraz Jaka Goes Quiet November 21, 2018 Sasha Salinger Faraz Jaka has many aliases including "The Toilet," "Homeless Millionaire," and, after last weekend, he can add "husband." Yes, Faraz Jaka got married last weekend. Does this mean he will settle down and give up his vagabond lifestyle? Only time will tell. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we travel back to 2013. Jaka tells Sarah Herring about what he learned from the 10 day silent retreat he attended in Thailand.
Throwback Thursday: Why Tony Dunst Was Banned from Australia
Yes. That's not click bait. Poker player and World Poker Tour commentator Tony Dunst was banned from Australia for THREE YEARS. He tells Sarah Herring back at Aussie Millions 2016 what it was that got him banned from the continent. In this week's Throwback Thursday video, he also explains how he lost a $5K chip at the casino. Frustrated at losing that much money, Dunst decided not to play the Main Event.
Throwback Thurdsdy: Nickelback or Bieber?
Sitting atop this year's Ladies GPI Player of the Year rankings is none other than Kristen Bicknell. Bicknell, who was 2017's Ladies GPI Player of the Year, has had an impressive year thus far with over $1 million in live earnings since January. It seems fitting that in the midst of thee consistent cashes and increased earnings that Bicknell entered her first $100K tournament. She played the WSOPE $100K Super High Roller last week at King's Casino.
Throwback Thursday: Liv Boeree Shows Off Another Skill
With $3,795,956 in live career earnings, Liv Boeree is easily considered one of the best female poker players in the world. However, Boeree is also known for her off the felt accomplishments. Boeree, an astrophysics major, remains active with the astronomical community, often sharing or writing articles on new discoveries. Adding to her long list of achievements is her recent Ted Talk entitled “3 Lessons on Decision-Making from a Poker Champion.” But, perhaps Boeree's most shocking quality is...
Throwback Thursday: Sarah Herring vs. Kristy Arnett and Lynn Gilmartin
For over seven years, you've seen Sarah Herring interview poker players. See what happens when the table are turned! During the WSOP 2015, we gave poker player Maria Mayrinck the microphone and she put Herring to the test! Mayrinck doesn't hold back and gets Herring to open up about her former co-workers Lynn Gilmartin and Kristy Arnett. Who was the best interviewer? Did they ever have slumber parties? Who had the best relationship with Phil Ivey?
Throwback Thursday: Steve O'Dwyer Was in MAKEUP?!
Steve O'Dwyer won another Super High Roller tournament this week. It netted him $592,448, beating Fabrizio Cataldi. Over the past few years, O'Dwyer has been a staple at High Roller Events all over the world. However, O'Dwyer couldn't always afford five or six-figure buy-ins. In this week's Throwback Thursday video, O'Dwyer explains what it was like to have to give all of his winnings from an 8th place finish to his backer. Yes, THE Steve O'Dwyer was in deep makeup.
Throwback Thursday: Shaun Deeb Gets a $20K Bottle of Champagne
Shaun Deeb is notorious in the poker world for both his mischievous personality and knowledge of mixed games. Whether it's winning two WSOP bracelets this summer and finishing on top of the 2018 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Leaderboard at summer's end, dressing up as a woman to play the World Series of Poker Ladies' Event, or tweeting news about a cheating scandal involving a prominent poker player; Deeb seems to be at the center of conversation more often than not.
Throwback Thursday: Who Did Daniel Negreanu Drunk Dial?
Every now and then the PokerNews video team gets to ask the world's most famous poker players some fun non-poker related questions. Back in 2013, Sarah (Grant) Herring got very personal with Daniel Negreanu with a game called "The Last Time I..." In the game, no question is off limits.
Throwback Thursday: Former NFL Star Richard Seymour Gets Grilled
The 2018 National Football League season starts today. Last year's Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, take on the 2016 Super Bowl losers, the Atlanta Falcons, in tonight's season opener. However, the team to watch is the team that played in both the 2016 and 2017 Super Bowls: the New England Patriots. That is why, in this week's Throwback Thursday, we highlight former Patriot, now poker player, Richard Seymour.
Throwback Thursday: Tony Dunst Snogging Sofia Lovgren?
It's hard to stump poker players when it comes to questions about game theory and strategy. However, the same cannot be said about romance. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we travel back to 2015. Poker players Tony Dunst, James Akenhead, James Dempsey, Sin Melin and Steve Watts were all asked which poker players they would "Snog, Marry, or Avoid." While some players become shy when asked the previous question, certain players like Dunst are surprisingly candid.
Throwback Thursday: Bad Breath & Pakistani Joe Stapleton
EPT Barcelona began yesterday. The sandy beaches, world-renowned cuisine, and late night nightclubs are just some of the reasons Barcelona remains a favorite destination for many poker payers. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we travel back to 2012 where then (and current) EPT presenter Joe Stapleton takes over the PokerNews microphone. Stapleton gathers the female on-camera talent and gets them to reveal their biggest interviewing pet peeves.
Throwback Thursday: Men "The Master" Nguyen Asks Out Gloria Balding
The only certainty when interacting with Men "The Master" Nguyen on or off the felt, is that ANYTHING can happen. During last month's WPT Main event at the Gardens Casino, Nguyen received a one-round penalty for his incorrect raise amounts, had his alcoholic drinking privileges revoked, fell asleep at the table, and took home $270,430 for his 3rd place finish.
Throwback Thursday: Doug Polk Challenges Daniel Negreanu
The 2017 Big One for One Drop Winner and popular vlogger Doug Polk has had his share of feuds with poker players. Early last year, Polk and Luke Schwartz publicly criticized each other. Recently, Fernando “JNandez” Habegger posted a video on social media to express his negative opinions about Doug Polk and Upswing Poker, and Doug responded. For this Throwback Thursday, we examine a challenge Doug Polk put forth to Daniel Negreanu.
Throwback Thursday: The "No Shower" Challenge
How much would you need to get paid to not shower for a YEAR? That's the question Sarah Grant posed to some of the world's most recognizable poker players. Back at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2014, Stephen Chidwick, Maria Ho, Jason Koon, and others struggled to give Grant their answers. Today, Chidwick remains #1 on the GPI rankings for the 16th week straight.
Throwback Thursday: Nick Schulman Cashes his First $100k
Yesterday, Nick Schulman reminded the poker world that he is an even better poker player than he is a poker commentator. Schulman won the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series HK$ 100,000 Short Deck Ante-Only Poker tournament for $271,975.
Throwback Thursday: Antonio Esfandiari is the Richest Man in Poker
This week, poker history was made when Justin Bonomo took over the number one spot on poker's all-time money list. After Bonomo won the Big One for One Drop for $10 million, his lifetime earnings rocketed to $42,979,591 moving him to first place over Daniel Negreanu and his $39,656,197 in lifetime earnings. The $1 Million Big One for One Drop is regarded as one of the most prestigious events of the year due to its large buy in.
Throwback Thursday: Max Steinberg Losing his Mind
Max Steinberg busted the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event Day 1b in devastating fashion. He got his pocket aces all in pre-flop on the first hand of the day and lost to pocket kings. While busting the WSOP Main Event in the first hand is a nightmare for any poker player, we look back to when Steinberg had a little more luck on his side. For this week's Throwback Thursday, we go back to the World Series of Poker 2015 hours before Steinberg made the now-defunct November Nine.
Throwback Thursday: Shaun Deeb & Controversy in the $50K
Last Thursday, Shaun Deeb won his third World Series of Poker bracelet. He won the $25K Pot Limit Omaha tournament for $1,402,683, his biggest tournament cash to date. It has been a very successful summer for Deeb, who is now leading the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year race with 10 cashes in this year's WSOP. For this week's Throwback Thursday, PokerNews takes a look at a controversial PLO hand from 2012 involving Deeb. The hand took place in the $50K Poker Players Championship.
Throwback Thursday: Michael Mizrachi Wins his First $50K Poker Players Championship
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi won the World Series of Poker $50k Poker Players Championship event for a record-breaking third time. He defeated John Hennigan, who won a bracelet in the WSOP $10K H.O.R.S.E. last week, heads up to take down the $1,239,126 first place prize. For this week's TBT, we go back to 2010 when Mizrachi first won the Poker Players Championship for the first time. He knocked out his brother Robert Mizrachi, along with everyone else at the nine-handed final table.
Throwback Thursday: How Chris Ferguson Turned $0 into Tens of Thousands
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson has risen! Well, sort of. After a seven-year media silence, Chris Ferguson finally spoke publicly. He released a short apology video referencing Black Friday and his involvement with Full Tilt Poker. This came as a bit of a surprise as Ferguson had made a successful return to the 2017 World Series of Poker and actually won the WSOP Player of the Year without making a peep of the debacle.
Throwback Thursday: Partying with Phil Ivey in Monte Carlo
Phil Ivey is back on the poker tournament tour! He won the Triton Poker HKD$250,000 Short Deck Event in Montenegro for $604,977 last weekend. For the past few years, Phil Ivey has been spotted playing high stakes cash games in Macau, but not much else. He has been especially absent from the World Series of Poker Main Event. However, after his recent win, he did tell PokerNews' Laura Cornelius he is planning on playing this year's World Series of Poker.
Throwback Thursday: Which Poker Player Would Jason Alexander Fight?
Jason Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza on Seinfeld, loves playing poker. During a break from the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, Melissa Castello asks him some outrageous rapid-fire questions. Who would Jason Alexander fight in poker? What is Jason Alexander's favorite curse word? Does he wash his hands after going to the bathroom?
Throwback Thursday: Maria Ho Gets Punk'd
It was announced this week that both Maria Ho and Lupe Soto will be inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame on Tuesday, June 26th. For our Throwback Thursday, we chose a Hall of Fame prank. Tiffany Michelle set up her best friend Maria Ho to get "poker punk'd" at the World Series of Poker back in 2009. Of course, Maria Ho is now a seasoned commentator and presenter, but back in 2009 she was just starting out as an interviewer for PokerNews and Bluff Magazine (RIP).
Throwback Thursday: Annie Duke On How Good Joe Reitman is In Bed??
This week's Throwback Thursday focuses on a controversial poker figure: Annie Duke. Her latest book "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts" has gotten praise from Liv Boeree and criticism from others. Will Duke's brother Howard Lederer be soon to follow with his own book? We can only hope. This video from 2008 comes before the Ultimate Bet and EPIC Poker scandals that plagued Duke's career.
Throwback Thursday: Vanessa Selbst Starting her Pro Poker Career
On the heels of her announcement that she will no longer be playing poker professionally, Vanessa Selbst announced on twitter this week that her and her wife Miranda Foster are expecting a baby. 2018 has certainly been a year of changes for Selbst! For this week's Throwback Thursday, we take a look at an interview from 2012 months after Selbst's graduation from law school.
Throwback Thursday: Alec Torelli Prop Betting Antonio Esfandiari
Alec Torelli has been setting Twitter and poker forums a buzz with his appearances on Live at the Bike and the Joey Ingram podcast. This week's Throwback Thursday is a video interview Torelli did with Tiffany Michelle almost a DECADE ago! She catches Torelli on break of the $1k Re-buy WSOP 2008 event. If you can make it through the punk-rock early aughts graphics of the intro, you will learn how Torelli won a huge all-in but lost a prop bet against Antonio Esfandiari.
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