Top Stories of 2024 – GG Buys WSOP; Ivey & Negreanu Win Bracelets

01/02/25 • 56 min

In the 872nd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which kicks off the New Year and Season 16, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are all at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to recap some of the biggest stories from the poker world in 2024.

That includes GGPoker purchasing the World Series of Poker (WSOP), both Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey capturing WSOP gold bracelets, poker bots, and Kristen Foxen's remarkable year, which included a deep run in the WSOP Main Event and being inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. Other stories they touch upon include Nick Vertucci's departure from Hustler Casino Live (HCL), the summer of Scott Seiver, and Triton Poker hitting it out of the park.

Chad then shares a special one-on-one interview he did with 1983 WSOP Main Event champ and Poker Hall of Famer Tom McEvoy to talk about his autobiography Poker Pioneer. McEvoy talks about the biggest moments of his storied career, shows off his extensive poker collection, and shares stories of some of the biggest names in poker including Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Phil Ivey, just to name a few. When it comes to poker history, few have as much experience as McEvoy, and this is your chance to hear from someone who actually lived it.

The podcast is sponsored by the #1 free-to-play WSOP app. Remember to use bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday 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* 00:08 | Welcome Kyna England & Mike Holtz 01:03 | Top Story #1 – GGPoker buys WSOP 04:46 | Top Story #2 – Negreanu & Ivey win bracelets 04:28 | Phil Ivey winner interview 07:50 | Top Story #3 – Bots, RTA & Laptopgate 14:03 | Top Story #4 – Kristen Foxen’s WSOP Main Event run & Women in Poker Hall of Fame 15:40 | A look at Kristen Foxen’s Women in Poker Hall of Fame trophy 16:38 | Top Story #5 – Debut of ClubWPT Gold & $5,000,000 Freeroll 18:15 | Nick Vertucci no longer with Hustler Casino Live 19:00 | Hand of the Year? Neymar vs. Alan Keating on HCL 20:20 | Scott Seiver wins three bracelets & POY at 2024 WSOP 21:57 | The return of PokerStars The Big Game 24:48 | Big year for Triton Poker 31:19 | Sponsor – WSOP Free-to-Play App 31:50 | Chad chats w/ Poker Hall of Famer Tom McEvoy 32:23 | New poker biography ‘Poker Pioneer’ w/ Brad Smith 34:00 | Playing with fans in Ohio 40:36 | Being impressed by Phil Ivey & Erik Seidel 43:45 | Record for the longest heads-up match 47:07 | Having one of the largest and most impressive poker collections 51:04 | Poker Hall of Fame and the Smoking Petition 52:06 | The one time McEvoy almost got a penalty

The podcast is sponsored by the #1 free-to-play WSOP app. Remember to use bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Previous Episode

Bonomo Threatened w/ Disqualification; Negreanu’s Rule Changes

In the 871st episode of the PokerNews Podcast, sponsored by the free-to-play WSOP App, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz are all back at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas to talk about the big stories and winners from both the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise and World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship.

That includes Daniel Negreanu calling for some rule changes, such as no more face coverings nor sunglasses at the poker table, and the controversy in the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event when Justin Bonomo was threatened with disqualification if he didn't remove his keffiyeh. Find out what happened and why it's caused an uproar within the poker community.

You'll also hear about Bonomo, Liv Boeree, Michael Addamo, and Mustapha Kanit all making the final table, but losing out to 24-year-old Yinan Zhou, who won the title and $6 million first-place prize. See the final hand and hear from the winner himself. In other WSOP Paradise news, Nick Schulman claimed his sixth gold bracelet, while Johannes Straver and Pablo Silva each won their first.

Speaking of winners, Scott Stewart was victorious in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas for $2.5 million, while Chris Moorman finished in fourth place for the second year in a row! Other winners from the festival included Travis Egbert, Adam Hendrix, Ren Lin, and Brad Owen.

Oh, did we mention you can now mark your calendar for the 2025 World Series of Poker, which will take place from May 27 through July 16. Finally, get a sneak preview of the latest Life Outside Poker episode where Connor Richards interviews Jonathan Little, and how you can potentially win a signed copy of one of Little's books.

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday 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* 00:12 | Welcome Kyna England & Mike Holtz 00:25 | Negreanu suggests “poker rule changes” to “protect the game” 04:10 | No card protectors at the table? 07:35 | WSOP threatens Justin Bonomo with DQ over keffiyeh 10:28 | WSOP issues statement 11:50 | What about Loren Klein? 13:29 | What does the rulebook say? 17:44 | Controversial charity event 22:51 | Recapping the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event 27:04 | Winner interview w/ Yinan Zhou 28:55 | Nick Schulman captures 6th gold bracelet 30:55 | Winner interview w/ Nick Schulman 31:54 | Johannes Straver wins GGMillion$ Championship Title 32:17 | Brazil’s Pablo Silva victorious in Super Saver $1M Invitational 33:05 | Sponsor – WSOP Free-to-Play App 34:00 | Recapping the WPT World Championship 35:17 | Scott Stewart wins WPT World Championship for $2.5M 37:10 | Chris Mooman finishes in 4th place for second year in a row 38:26 | Travis Egbert wins WPT Alpha 8 Victory for $684,684 38:56 | Winner interview w/ Travis Egbert 40:38 | Adam Hendrix wis $3K NLH 41:32 | Two days after finishing 2nd in WSOPP Event Ren Lin wins WPT side event 42:51 | Brad Owen wins $2,200 HORSE Event 44:44 | Mark your calendar for 2025 WSOP 46:10 | Connor’s Life Outside Poker w/ Jonathan Little

Next Episode

Golden Globes Rumor – Does this Famous Hollywood Actor Play Poker?

In the 873rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is the second episode of Season 16, Chad Holloway, Kyna England, and Mike Holtz talk about the surprise PokerStars shoutout by actress Elle Fanning on the red carpet of the Golden Globes, where she also revealed that one of the hottest actors in Hollywood is a good poker player.

Kyna then shares her story about recently meeting a celebrity of her own in rapper Nelly and Mike offers up a Jose Canseco tale, plus an opportunity to win your way to Las Vegas as part of the "Vegas Vacation Sweepstakes" being held by the WSOP Free-to-Play App.

You'll also hear about various Player of the Year race results including GPI POY trophies for David Coleman, Cherish Andrews, and Han Feng. Likewise, Yunkyu Song claimed the WPT Season 22 POY while Umut Ozturk won the MSPT POY in back-to-back years. Oh, and did we mention Nick Schulman won another poker tournament, this time at the PokerGo Tour (PGT) Last Chance Series, as did Shannon Shorr and Brandon Wilson.

Two other stories they touch upon are Liv Boeree donating $560K from her record score at the WSOP Paradise to fight against pig factory farming and a look at wild back-to-back hands played by Peter on Hustler Casino Live (HCL).

Finally, get a sneak peek at a new, high-end luxury coffee-table book that will blow your socks off -- The Las Vegas Book by Joris Dekker.

The podcast is sponsored by the #1 free-to-play WSOP app. Remember to use bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday 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* 00:12 | Welcome Mike Holtz & Kyna England 00:32 | Did you watch the Golden Globes? 01:03 | PokerStars gets a red carpet shoutout at Golden Globes 02:10 | Elle Fanning & Timothée Chalamet both play poker 03:37 | Kyna England has a run in with a celebrity 04:15 | Kyna meets Nelly 05:21 | Mike’s Jose Canseco time 06:43 | Sponsor – WSOP Free-to-Play App 07:29 | WSOP Vegas Vacation Sweepstakes 08:14 | David Coleman, Cherish Andrews & Han Feng Win 2024 GPI Player of the Year races 11:46 | GPI winners from various countries 13:50 | Nick Shulman wins the first event of the PGT Last Chance series 14:35 | Nick Schulman’s failed bluff 18:53 | Shannon Shorr & Brandon Wilson claim titles 20:08 | Liv Boeree donates $560K of historic WSOPP score to fight factory farming 22:40 | Back-to-back action-packed hands for Peter on Hustler Casino Live (HCL) 25:50 | Yunkyu Song wins WPT Season 22 POY 26:47 | Umut Ozturk wins back-to-back years to become MSPT’s first two-time POY winner 32:38 | The Las Vegas Book