John Cernuto – Cardplayer Lifestyle https://cardplayerlifestyle.com Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:57:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 Top 10 Highlights of Mixed Game Festival V https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/top-10-highlights-of-mixed-game-festival-v/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:42:16 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59823 It’s amazing to look back now, in August 2023, and think that Cardplayer Lifestyle has successfully put on five Mixed Game Festivals. Back in late 2019, the idea was just a twinkle in my eye! Our first one was supposed to have been announced in March 2020 — of course we had to put things on hold for 1.5 years until finally announcing it. Fast forward some, and less than two years after staging our first one, we’ve now got a handful under our belts.

With each new Mixed Game Festival, it’s important to me to try and improve, tweak, and ensure that we do better than the previous time. I obviously have my personal goals to fulfill, but above all, my three aims always are that the venue enjoy hosting our players, that sponsors feel glad to have supported the event, and that our players have a great time. Beyond that, of course, the uniqueness of our festivals — versus other “meet up games” — is that they are designed to help promote and grow mixed game poker.

I’d like to believe that we once again achieved all of our goals with Mixed Game Festival V, which wrapped up a few weeks ago at Resorts World Las Vegas. I can’t help but smile and think back to a number of highlights where I believe we truly succeeded. I’ve put together my top 10 and have listed them below, as well as why I specifically believe these are highlights worth reminiscing about.

three tables Mixed Game Festival V

Poker Trivia Competition

A festival — by definition — needs to be festive. Beyond just playing poker, we try to incorporate some elements to ensure that our participants 1) show up on time to begin the cash games each day, and 2) have the opportunity to win some cool merchandise and have a great time. Historically, these have included pizza parties and poker book signings.

My daughter Abby suggested that I utilize the Kahoot! portal to create a poker trivia competition. It obviously took some time to prepare, but it was certainly a worthwhile endeavor. Admittedly, one of the most enjoyable parts for me was coming up with incorrect answers for the multiple choice quiz. Special thanks goes to Chad McVean, our Social Media director, who assisted me in running the poker trivia competition. We had close to a dozen people show up to play, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Scavenger Hunt

Another new element we incorporated into Mixed Game Festival V was a scavenger hunt. I had put together a list of 20 items that participants needed to take pictures of and with. At first, only half a dozen people showed up for this one. However, once our cash games began, a wait list formed and rather than just sit and wait, another half dozen players mentioned they wanted to do the scavenger hunt, too, so we ran it back and did so.

It was pretty amusing to see the first hunt’s winner, Mike Patrick, hurtle himself down the final stretch towards the poker room after just 20 minutes, having successfully completed the entire list. It was great to see that every players took the hunt seriously, and put in just as much effort as they did at the felt to try and emerge victorious.

I was elated to see that all of the participants really enjoyed themselves even though of course there could only be a few winners.

Miami John’s unscheduled visit

Something else we try to do to enhance the player experience at our Mixed Game Festivals is arrange for some poker celebrity appearances. I’m grateful that we’ve had the support of many professionals in the poker community who have kindly come out to splash around with our players in the low-stakes dealers choice streets. With that said, I usually make arrangements for these appearances ahead of time, so when a poker celebrity shows up unannounced it’s certainly a welcome surprise.

Prior to Mixed Game Festival V, “Miami” John Cernuto had reached out to me asking if we would be staging any tournaments. I told him that this time it would be an exclusively cash game affair. He said “OK,” and we left it at that. So you could imagine my shocked expression to see him walk in on the second day of MGF V. As I stood up to greet him, John just said “I came to support what you’re doing,” and he proceeded to play $4/$8 limit mixed games with our players for the next hour while I enjoyed a lovely chat with his daughter Debi.

Miami John and daughter Debi

John Maley, “Mr. All-Nighter”

The grand prize for this festival was a PokerStars-sponsored EPT Cyprus Mixed Game Package valued at over $3,000. For every hour of cash game play, a player would earn one entry into the random drawing for the prize package. We’ve done this sort of giveaway before, so it’s no surprise that many players try to put in as many hours as possible. One player, however, took this to an entirely new level.

John Maley drove in from Southern California straight to the Resorts World poker room. He played throughout the day, continued playing throughout the night… and continued further throughout the following day. When he finally got up from the table, over 31 hours had passed and he still looked fresh as a daisy. Only then did John take his bags and check into his hotel room. Having a player that dedicated to playing low-stakes mixed games is just out of this world.

Eli Elezra comes to play my stack

I’m very fortunate to be able to say that over the past few years since I translated his biography, Pulling the Trigger, from Hebrew into English, Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra and I have grown to become very good friends. Eli has always been super kind to come and sign some books at our Mixed Game Festivals as well as splash around with our players. So, I knew he’d make an appearance this time around, but I didn’t know when.

While I was speaking with one of our players, he smiled and told me to turn around. What I saw is that Eli had suddenly appeared in the room and just sat down in my seat, where he proceeded to play my chip stack. I couldn’t help but laugh, but also head over to give him a hug and show my appreciation for his support. For those curious, after about 20 minutes, Eli had successfully added a couple dozen dollars to my chip stack.

Silent auction for two BBO Poker Table Tops

George Chao, CEO of BBO Poker Tables, has always been a supporter of our events. This time around, he contributed half a dozen portable table mats as giveaway items. On the last day of the festival, I still had two that I hadn’t yet distributed. So, I asked some players what would be a good way to give away the two remaining mats.

Someone suggested a silent auction, whereby it would cost a $1 chip to place a bid, and after all bids were submitted the highest one would win. That person’s winning bid plus all of the $1 chips collected would then be equally distributed among the dealers at our mixed game tables. We did this twice, and thus successfully distributed close to $150 in tips to our dealers!

Higher stakes mixed games with Norman, Jan, and Linda

Prior to Mixed Game Festival V, our dealers choice mixed games had exclusively been for stakes of $4/$8 and $8/$16. This time around, Norman Chad agreed to host a special Omaha 8/Stud 8 game for his regular $20/40 stakes on the final day of our festival.

I was happy to see that close to a dozen players signed up ahead of time on the wait list. Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson and Women in Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher got seats at the table, too. I’m glad to see that our festivals were able to attract crowds interested in mixed games at multiple price points, and I hope this is something we’ll be able to replicate at future events.

Norman Chad Linda Johnson Jan Fisher

Alek Gillies wins the EPT Cyprus Prize Package

To be fair, whomever would have won the grand prize package would have made this festival’s highlight reel. With that said, it gives me special pleasure that our grand prize winner is a 21-year-old who had never really played mixed games before.

I had the pleasure of playing with Alek for a couple hours, and while he readily admitted that he had no idea how to play mixed games, that nonetheless didn’t stop him from having a great, positive attitude and being willing to learn one new variant after another.

For poker to thrive, we always have to attract new audiences, which means “newly minted” 21-year-olds who can now play legally in poker rooms. Mixed game poker is no different, and it’s always good to lower the average age at the felt and see some 20-somethings enjoying themselves playing dealer’s choice.

Alek Gillies

Post-Festival Shawarma with Brian, Pat, and Matt

We don’t exactly have a “closing ceremony” for our festivals, so after the grand prize is given out, cash games just sort of continue until people get tired of playing and then go their separate ways. This time around, I wanted to celebrate with a nice dinner.

Rather than head to a kosher Las Vegas restaurant alone, it was a special pleasure to bring along some guys who’ve become close friends from one Mixed Game Festival to the next, Pat, Brian, and Matt. Sure, the food at Mother Falafel was great, but the company was what made the meal a memorable one.

shawarma

Charity donations fund a Monday night feeding of the homeless

Ever since our first Mixed Game Festival, there has always been a charity component to our events. I had advertised ahead of time that a portion of proceeds from the poker trivia competition and scavenger hunt would go towards the volunteer-powered Poker Gives charity. Altogether, we were able to collect a total of $300, and a couple button clicks later, the money had been donated.

It’s one thing to just say the money is being given to charity, but it’s entirely another to witness the charity itself being given, and the gratitude from the recipients. I’m grateful that we were able to use Mixed Game Festival V as a vehicle for doing good for some needy people in the Las Vegas community, as you can see in the video below.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 3 Recap: Scavenger Hunts, Miami John Cernuto and Norman Chad https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-3-recap-scavenger-hunts-miami-john-cernuto-norman-chad/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:20:30 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59502 Tuesday marked the midway point of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, and the day was nothing short of remarkable.

A waitlist of nearly 25 players was already on the board at 10:45am in the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Players began filing in around 11:00 for the day’s pre-poker event, the scavenger hunt.

Fast forward to 4 a.m., and we still had enough players for two tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice!

Mixed Game Festival Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt: So Nice We Ran It Twice!

Just short of a dozen players arrived early to chase their share of $100-value prizes. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and PokerNews live reporter Mike Patrick went two for two, finishing the competition in just 20 minutes to score another “free first rack of chips,” a.k.a., a nice rebate on his buy-ins.

A few minutes later, Patrick “Panda” Chen finished second and chose the “bucket o’ swag”, that included a library of poker books, a BBO Poker Tables portable table mat, and a Faded Spade deck set.

The third and final prize was the most fun to determine, as both Ruth Sun and Scott Sandoval arrived simultaneously, only to discover that they were both missing one final item on their lists! The two of them scrambled outside to grab a photo of the Encore Resort in a mad dash to complete their hunts.

In the end, Scott crossed the finish line mere seconds before Ruth was able to make it back to the poker room, thus claiming the $100 voucher to the PokerStars Store.

One by one, the remaining players filed in and learned they had missed the top three. Nonetheless, the competition brought smiles across the board and received immediate rave reviews for “bringing out my inner child”, and of course “every participant was a winner,” taking home a copy of Eli Elezra’s biography Pulling the Trigger or a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival T-Shirt.

Chuck Martin was another early arrival who, despite opting to pass on the scavenger hunt, won over everyone’s hearts by bringing some Independence Day-themed donuts for his fellow players to enjoy.

Cards went into the air at noon, and action immediately got underway at two tables. A few folks on the waiting list found themselves with some extra time on their hands, so our founder and event host, Robbie Strazynski, ran an impromptu second scavenger hunt. Among the handful of players, Giancarlo Santolin came out on top to earn his own “bucket ‘o swag.”

Additional giveaways continued throughout the day, with players engaging in blind hold’em flips, needing to be the first to make a nut (high or low) hand, and fulfill other unique at-the-felt requirements to claim some sweet swag.

Some of Poker’s Finest Join Us on Day 3

Within the next couple hours, several prominent poker professionals entered the room alongside two tables of $4/$8 dealer’s choice and its waitlist.

Some of our friends from PokerCoaching.com– Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods – stopped by to chat with players. It was a repeat visit for Saliba, who – while regularly running in the high roller No Limit Hold’em circuit these days – openly shared that he absolutely loves splashing around in the low-stakes mixed game streets.

Mixed Game Festival V Poker Coaching

Just before the clock struck 3:00pm, mixed game aficionado and all-time tournament in-the-money leader “Miami” John Cernuto stopped by to show his support for grassroots growth of mixed game poker.

A third table opened shortly thereafter with eight more players taking their seats, one of whom wasted no time putting the table into a frenzy of laughter and lightening up an already enjoyable atmosphere.

Of course, that player was Norman Chad, another longtime mixed game lover and MGF regular. If you missed him, he’ll be back on Day 5 (Thursday) to captain a special $20/40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 table.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Roxanne Johnson

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Roxanne Johnson

Roxanne Johnson, our Day 3 Player of the Day, hails from Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of around 150,000 four hours east of Vancouver, Canada. She’s a retired court liaison, formerly having worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has since kept herself busy with other gigs, like her current one as a PokerNews live reporter at the WSOP.

This is her first summer reporting at the Series, but her poker history dates back to pre-Black Friday (2011). She recalls getting into the game through 180-person turbo sit-n-go tournaments on PokerStars and playing regularly on Full Tilt Poker.

More recently in her career, she won a PokerStars Micro Millions event and decided to celebrate with a four-month trip to Europe last year. Her win also earned her an entry to a site-sponsored women’s poker boot camp, and she stayed up until 2 a.m. to participate, since the camp was on a North American schedule.

Roxanne Johnson

Image Credit: PokerNews

The time discrepancy was inconvenient, but the timing was perfect. Boot camp participants earned a seat into a winner-take-all tournament for a PokerStars Platinum Pass, good for a $25K buy-in at the PokerStars Players Championship and travel expenses. The event took place at EPT Prague while she was in Europe, and she bested the field to earn a trip to the Bahamas.

Her poker past notwithstanding, Johnson didn’t get into mixed games until this summer. Having played No-Limit Hold’em primarily, she said her favorite variant so far is Crazy Pineapple due to the similarities with the game she knows so well.

Before jumping back into the action, Johnson took a picture donning a Pokercoaching.com hat and shared the following: “I’m already a member of the site and I love it! They’ve helped my game so much.”

Day 4 is sure to be another fun one today, with more poker celebrities set to make appearances. We look forward to seeing you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 5 Recap: Watchman Wins H.O.R.S.E. Event and EPT Prague Prize Package https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-5-recap-watchman-wins-h-o-r-s-e-event-and-ept-prague-prize-package/ Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:21:08 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=58065 Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IV capped off another successful series at Resorts World Las Vegas yesterday with a $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament that drew appearances from some of the most familiar faces from throughout the poker community.

The fifth and final day of the festival marked the end of the fourth iteration of Robbie Strazynski’s gathering of mixed game fans and aficionados. Eighty-one players turned out to play for a total prize pool of $17,820 — along with the grand prize of a trip to EPT Prague to play in a mixed game event as a value added bonus for the winner.

The grand prize trip came courtesy of PokerStars, and it includes roundtrip airfare for one, four night’s accommodation, and a buy-in to a mixed game tournament up to €550 at this December’s PokerStars European Poker Tour stop in Prague.

The $260 finale kicked off at 2 p.m. and the field piled in quickly before registration closed at the end of the first break. Mixed game tournaments aren’t offered in Las Vegas as often as no-limit hold’em, so the chance to play H.O.R.S.E. for a free trip to Prague attracted some of the bigger names from the local poker scene.

The Players

PokerGO’s Jeff Platt took a break from the US Poker Open at the Aria to jump into the tournament. He busted out before things could get serious, but he got his H.O.R.S.E. fix before a long weekend at the PokerGO Studio. World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad also stopped by to say hello, along with Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher.

Jeff Platt

“Miami John” Cernuto was among the others in attendance, and he was joined by two-time bracelet winner Ari Engel. Cernuto took down the Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament earlier in the series, and Engel finished in second. Both players failed to qualify for the money in H.O.R.S.E., but they’ll likely be found together again soon at a final table in another mixed game tournament.

Ari Engel

The Final Table

The top 12 places paid a min-cash of $421 and the winner was slated to take home $5,517, along with the EPT Prague prize package worth over $3,000. Ryan Leonis had the bitter honor of busting out on the bubble, but his despair was short lived and he was refunded his $260 buy-in, courtesy of PokerCoaching.com’s bubble protection.

Tournament players battled for nearly 12 hours until Warren Coleman, Bill Watchman, and Denis Nesterenko were the only three players remaining just after 1 a.m. local time. Coleman hails from England and Watchman has several wins over the last decade in a number of poker variants. Interestingly enough, Nesterenko won a bracelet last year in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw event at the 2022 World Series of Poker.

The final three players agreed to bring the tournament to an end and flipped for the trip to EPT Prague. Watchman won the runout and he will be headed to the Czech Republic in December for the poker trip of a lifetime.

A Look Back at Mixed Game Festival IV

Day 1 kicked off the fourth Mixed Game Festival with three tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice and free pizza offered throughout the day. WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage was one of the poker personalities to check out the early action, and he was joined by a steady stream of poker players from near and far.

Day 2 gave way to the O8 tournament, won by the aforementioned Cernuto, who bested a field of 61 players to take the top prize of $4,375. Day 3 brought out book signings by Dylan Linde, Chris “Fox” Wallace, and Eli Elezra, with bomb pots and Mixed Game Festival merchandise flowing all week long, while Day 4 saw the Pokercoaching.com crew enter the fray, headed by Jonathan Little and Justin Saliba, along with popular poker vlogger Ethan “Rampage” Yau. The Day 5 finale was a fitting end to a week full of great mixed games and new friendships with poker players from around the world.

It was another successful festival in the books for Cardplayer Lifestyle, and players are already looking forward to the next one. Be sure to join the Cardplayer Lifestyle newsletter to be among the first to find out where and when the next Mixed Game Festival will be.

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 2 Recap: Miami John Cernuto Adds to His Legend https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-2-recap-miami-john-cernuto/ Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:50:55 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=57984 Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IV at Resorts World Las Vegas held its first of two tournaments yesterday. A full house of 61 players entered the $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament, including a cavalcade of mixed game poker legends and rising stars. A couple tables of $4/8 Dealer’s Choice cash games were also running simultaneously alongside the tournament. Seated amongst the recreational players were Matt Savage, Chip and Karina Jett, Jan Fisher, and Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, as well as Ari Engel and “Miami” John Cernuto. The latter two poker legends would end up playing heads up for the title, with Cernuto ultimately prevailing.

Robbie Strazynski, owner and founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle, is hosting the festival from March 19-23 at Resorts World. The Festival will include cash games and culminate with a $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament on Thursday March 23rd. In addition to the regular prize pool, the tournament will award EPT Prague prize to the winner, sponsored by PokerStars.

Chuck, Chip, Matt, and Linda

Chuck, Chip, Matt, and Linda

An exciting addition to the Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament was bubble protection in the form of free poker training memberships donated courtesy of Pokercoaching.com. Bubble protection will also be in place for Thursday’s H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

Pokercoaching.com’s Justin Saliba also stopped by yesterday with additional free merchandise to hand out to players in bomb pots throughout the festival. Justin is a professional poker player with two WSOP bracelets, and was taught by one of the best. He reached out to Jonathan Little while still in college, offering to intern at the company in exchange for poker coaching. He is now a part of Pokercoaching.com and feels strongly about growing poker and being able to learn to play at a $4/8 level.

Justin Saliba

Me, speaking with Justin Saliba

Justin “just loved coming and playing $4/8 and learning all these different games. And when the World Series comes around (and) there’s a $1,500 O8 tournament I can say I’ve played this before.” Justin shared that he learned poker along with his older brother, and played in a neighborhood game, watching Main Event reruns in the background.

“Book bomb pots” were also a fun addition to the tournament on Monday, with multiple players winning Eli Elezra’s autobiography Pulling the Trigger. Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra will be signing copies of his book Tuesday March 21st for a discounted price of $10. Additional book winners included James Basham from St. Louis, who attended Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival III that was held in Malta. He’d already planned a trip to Las Vegas with eight of his friends when he found out about the Festival. He then changed his plans and came to Las Vegas early.

Book Winner

Debi Cheek, Danny Anton, and Clyde Gaskins also won books, with Clyde also winning a sweatshirt courtesy of premium poker industry brands RunGoodGear and PokerGO.

Dylan Linde enjoyed Monday’s festivities and will also be attending the Festival on Tuesday, March 21st, to sign copies of his book Mastering Mixed Games, which will be available for purchase at a discounted price of $25. On Wednesday March 22nd, WSOP bracelet winner Chris Wallace will be signing copies of his book Getting Started With HORSE also at a discounted price of $25.

Jan Fisher

Jan Fisher

A portion of all proceeds derived from book sales will be donated to Poker Gives, a non-profit organization that distributes funds to assist military families, homeless veterans, and youth programs in Las Vegas. Originally founded by Linda Johnson, Lisa Tenner, Jan Fisher, and the late Mike Sexton, Poker Gives is a fully volunteer organization, with every dollar donated going to the cause. During a break in the tournament action, Johnson spoke for a couple minutes about the mission of Poker Gives to the assembled crowd, and about the beauty of being able to assist the homeless community in Las Vegas thanks to the generosity of poker players, who donate both money and time to volunteering for the cause.

The $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament was not the only action running on Monday. A couple of $4/8 Dealer’s Choice tables were running all day featuring players like Sean McCormack, Director of Poker Strategy at MGM Resorts International, and Ryan Kirk, Director of Poker Operations at the Aria. Cody Meyer from Nebraska was back at the table, along with Ruth Sun from San Jose after enjoying the first day of the festival.

Resorts World has been a huge part of this festival, providing an atmosphere that you can relax in yet feel Leon Wheeler’s superb professionalism as the venue’s Director of Poker Operations.

Leon Wheeler

Leon Wheeler

Miami John Cernuto Wins Another One

After 13 grueling hours weaving and winding his way through the Allen Kessler “Chainsaw approved” tournament structure, “Miami” John Cernuto took down top prize of the day’s tournament at approximately 2:45 am local time.

Some notables making the final table alongside Cernuto were Chip Jett, Women in Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher, World Poker Tour Executive Tour Director Matt Savage, and WSOP bracelet winner Ari Engel.

“Old school” defeated the “new school” as Cernuto offered a hearty handshake to Engel when winning the final Stud 8 hand.

Cash games will continue running Tuesday and Wednesday and the grand prize will be handed to the winner of Thursday’s $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. The prize will include an EPT Prague prize package for the winner, sponsored by PokerStars. The package, with an estimated total value of over $3,000, will consist of:

  • Mixed Game tournament buy-in up to €550
  • Roundtrip airfare for one
  • Four nights’ accommodation
]]> The Bernard Lee Poker Show (3/10/20): Maria Ho, Hostess of 2nd Annual Global Poker Awards https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-bernard-lee-poker-show-3-10-20-maria-ho-hostess-of-2nd-annual-global-poker-awards/ https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-bernard-lee-poker-show-3-10-20-maria-ho-hostess-of-2nd-annual-global-poker-awards/#respond Fri, 13 Mar 2020 09:57:17 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=34767

Maria Ho

In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Podcast Family, Bernard Lee interviews professional poker player Maria Ho, who hosted the 2nd Annual Global Poker Awards at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.  Maria discusses her role as hostess and gives us a behind the scenes look at the event. Finally, Maria discusses her potential schedule from now through the 2020 WSOP.

0:00 Welcome to The Bernard Lee Poker Show as this week’s guest will be professional poker player, Maria Ho.
0:53 Bernard reviews the winners of the 2nd Annual Global Poker Awards.
4:24 Cody Stanford won the RunGood Poker Series Main Event at the Horseshoe Tunica. He beat a field of 523 entries and took home the RGPS ring and $41,724.
5:22 Zach Mullennix captured the WSOP Ameristar St Charles Main Event in the St. Louis area.  He beat a field of 281 entries, earning the WSOP ring and $92,886.
8:18 RunGood Gear Ad
9:00 Bernard welcomes Maria Ho to the show.
10:18 Maria joins the show.
10:40 Discussing her role as hostess, Maria talks about the behind the scenes of the event including the production meeting and last-minute changes of the 2nd Annual Global Poker Awards that was held in the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
18:35 Maria talks about how some of the winners who couldn’t attend were asked to make an acceptance video without fully knowing if they had won.
19:02 Maria expresses happiness that Rob Campbell won Breakout Player of the Year, especially as he is primarily a mixed game specialist.
22:20 Maria explains her comment to three-time winner Kristen Bicknell. She also discusses the Award of Merit (Live Tournament Reporters), Poker Icon Award (Johnny Chan) and Hendon Mob Award (“Miami” John Cernuto).
29:44 Share My Pair Ad
30:16 Bernard continues his interview with professional poker player, Maria Ho.
31:53 Maria discusses her reaction to some of the repeat winners including photographer Drew Amato and RunGood Poker Series President Tana Karn.
35:16 Maria remembers Hand of the Year and the video from the winner Ryan Riess, who had made an all-in call with a 10-high.
38:18 Maria discusses some of the winners including Twitter Personality of the Year (Jamie Kerstetter, Tournament Director of the Year (Matt Savage), Charitable Initiative of the Year (Scott Wellenbach) and Journalist of the Year (Joey Ingram).
47:29 Maria reminisces about the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in the Bahamas.
49:30 Maria talks about plans of the rest of the Spring and the WSOP.

 

Maria Ho

Maria Ho

]]> https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-bernard-lee-poker-show-3-10-20-maria-ho-hostess-of-2nd-annual-global-poker-awards/feed/ 0