2009 WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Cada Appears on Late Show with David Letterman

On Tuesday night, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada appeared in an abbreviated segment of the “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS. Also taking to the stage were actress Penelope Cruz and musical guests The Script.

Cada appeared after Cruz as Letterman’s second guest around 12:25am ET for a four-minute stint. The 2009 WSOP Main Event winner came out to a rendition of Lady Gaga’s hit song “Poker Face” donning a black collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans. No PokerStars logo was visible and Cada wore his bracelet on his left hand. Letterman asked the 21 year-old to show it to the camera and called it a “watch.”

Letterman began the informal interview by noting that he remembered the WSOP being at Binion’s, where it was housed until 2005, when the festivities picked up and moved across town to the Rio. Cada plugged PokerStars, where he is a sponsored pro, when Letterman asked how he got started in the game and the “Late Show” host then candidly asked what the largest sum of money that Cada had lost in a day was. His response was $100,000, which made Letterman cringe “Oh my God.”

Letterman called Cada a “professional gambler” multiple times, but Cada responded, “It’s not like I’m in over my head. It sucks losing that money, but you don’t want to play anything really big.” Letterman then joked that Cada should “get a real job” and the $8.5 million winner retorted, “That sounds like my mother.” Cada lamented that several players fell ill during the 2009 WSOP and that play at the Rio was exhausting.

The CBS talk show host recalled how poker players used to be treated: “In my mind, the winner of a big pot, they found dead in a rental car.” Cada, however, explained that poker exploded after Chris Moneymaker took down the 2003 WSOP Main Event: “It’s a fun thing to do socially. I grew up playing with my friends at the table.” Letterman inquired about the camaraderie at the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio for the final table of this year’s feature tournament. On the mood at the marathon final table, Cada noted, “It was very friendly.”

Curiously, Letterman brought up Cada’s backing arrangement, asking if other professional players bought him into the $10,000 tournament. With a smile across his face, Cada explained, “Something along those lines.” He did not mention Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy or Eric “sheets” Haber by name, but Letterman asked, “So you have to split [the $8.5 million prize] up with those guys?” Cada responded, “Yeah.” Letterman then quipped, “Or that’s where the rental car comes in.” It appeared to be a fairly uncomfortable exchange given that the interview only lasted four minutes overall.

On Cada’s motivation to repeat as champion when the 2010 WSOP Main Event plays out, Letterman explained, “It’s like an Academy Award. Once you’ve won it, what do you care? You’re the World Champion of Poker.”

Some in the online poker community speculated that Cada would plug the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the 1.2 million member strong lobbying organization that he is a proponent of, but that failed to materialize. In addition, none of the other eight November Nine members was mentioned by name and a short clip of the moment Cada won aired prior to his appearance.

The “Late Show with David Letterman” airs Monday through Friday at 11:35pm ET.