It was with great sadness that I learned of John Bonetti's passing after a long and courageous battle with prostate cancer. John's sometimes gruff demeanor turned into one of extreme kindness and generosity after he knew you for awhile.
He was an excellent tournament player who won numerous titles. A very aggressive player, he once won a $5,000 buy-in no limit hold 'em tourney at the Four Queen's fall classic. He knocked out Doyle Brunson, who called an all-in bet by Bonetti, who was holding pocket aces. Brunson had a pair of tens and said he thought John was bluffing. Bonetti went on to knock out the remaining players by himself.
Later I asked Bono if he could pinpoint one play that helped him win the tournament. He smiled and said that he had been betting a lot all-in using a certain hand motion when he was bluffing against opponents that he had out-chipped. He was sure that Texas Dolly had picked up on this. Bono waited until he had aces to use this gesture to draw Brunson into the pot. In the pot of the tourney, Bono's aces held up and he never looked back.
John was also a man who treated his friends generously and told the rounders, railbirds and borrowers to "fuggetaboudit." John "Bono" Bonetti is a player and man that his friends and opponents will not soon forget about. Bono will be missed.
Denver Man Hits a One-In-10,000 Drawing and Turns It into a Big Main Event Payday
Jamal Sawaqdeh wanted to play in the WSOP Main Event for years. He got his first chance by winning a drawing at the Gilpin Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado. Recently I got a chance to interview the extremely amiable and well-liked player.
ME. Tell me a little about your poker background.
JS. I started playing 10-12 years ago. For a while I was a $10 an hour prop player. First the Lodge, and then the Gilpin hired me to help with tournaments, and after a couple of years I managed the poker room for a short while. Then, I started playing professionally.
ME. What was your strategy at the WSOP event?
JS. Each time I arrived at a new table, I played very conservatively. The first couple of hours I studied the other players at my table. My goal was just to keep my chip position at the end of each day at least at the average level without jeopardizing my entire stack.
ME. What well-known players did you play against?
JS. Greg Raymer was at my table most of the first day. I also played some with Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Eric Seidel, Phil Gordon, and David Chiu.
ME. What are a couple of interesting hands that you were involved in?
JS. One hand occurred near the end of Day Five. I was the big blind. A very tight player in the first position raised about 5 times the big blind. I looked down at two queens. I called, giving him at least A-K. If an ace or king flopped and he bet, I planned to fold. The flop was queen, six, deuce-all diamonds. I bet half the pot and he called. The turn was a black four. I went all-in and he called and turned over 2 red kings. A black ten hit the river and I doubled up.
Twice I went all-in with pocket aces and was called by bigger stacks both times. I won both confrontations. Finally, running low on chips, I called with pocket fives. Two players called and the flop was a rainbow four, six, and seven-my dream flop. But I failed to improve and one of my opponents was slow-playing aces. I went out the sixth day in seventy-fourth place and made $77,200.
ME. Thanks and congratulations.
Mike Eikenberry got his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia, where he played varsity tennis and basketball. Founder of one of the leading national tennis camps, Mike is an avid amateur who has played both tournaments and live games for over 25 years. He can be reached at theeiks@comcast.net
