Lee Davy sits down with Justin Bonomo to talk about his defeat to Tuan Le in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw event, his musical experiences, his homeless status and much more.
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills, one man gathers what another man spills – The Grateful Dead
Justin Bonomo was just four-years of age when, standing atop his father’s shoulders, he bobbed up and down as the Grateful Dead rocked the stage in front of him.
He won’t remember those lyrics, but today they seem so apt, as Mike Sowers spills a 4:1 chip lead into the grateful hands of ZeeJustin, allowing him to win his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet after failing to convert the last three times he had reached this stage of action.
If anybody doubted Bonomo’s credentials then they are a fool. His start to the 45th Annual WSOP has been nothing short of breathtaking. The heartbreak of his defeat, at the hands of Tuan Le, in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, just six days ago, had now been replaced with the rapture of victory gained in the $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event.
Surely now, Bonomo must reach out to the poker community to seek backing for the BIG ONE for ONE DROP, because he is like fire on the mountain, alongside so many other red hot players such as Vanessa Selbst, Scott Seiver and Philipp Gruissem.
“I haven’t even tried selling action yet,” Bonomo told me during a break in the Six Max action, “The last three events have been quite a big confidence boost but a million dollars is a lot to raise.
“I don’t care as much as some people about the prestige and the bracelet. It’s nice, but it’s not worth the 50+ hours it’s going to take to chase every one down to get the money. If I had one, two or maybe five backers who put up all the money, I would be ecstatic to play it, but it’s not worth killing myself over it. Then I would have to miss other events, I could take a bigger piece of myself in, and the tax issue is a kind of a nightmare.”
All words softly spoken before he dismantled Mike Sowers on his way to his first taste of WSOP glory. Whether or not the feel of the cold gold has a magical spell on him remains to be seen, but on form, he would be one of the favorite’s to take it down.
I love the fact that Bonomo told me that he is ‘at a high point in my life right now,’ because that was yesterday. Today, he joins the ranks of superstars who own a WSOP gold bracelet. One wonders if that high point has just shifted a few notches?
Quite where that bracelet will end up remains a mystery. Bonomo is homeless and has been for quite sometime. One doubts that the $8m man is living in a cardboard box, but it is something that he needs to think about once the WSOP is over.
“I am homeless, traveling the world, learning new things as I go. I don’t have any plans for next year necessarily, but I do have to work out where I am going to live. I have been thinking of Vancouver or Toronto, or perhaps I will end up deciding I don’t want a home. I am going to spend more time in Asia. I loved Hong Kong and haven’t visited Japan yet, so I want to make that happen soon.”
I think it’s high time you treated yourself Mr. Bonomo.
Sayonara.
