Recently, Bodog Poker pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo took down the Championship Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop at Caesars Palace, banking $227,000 for his efforts. He spoke with Poker News Daily about his six-figure payday.
Poker News Daily: Tell us how it felt to take home your first WSOP Circuit Event gold ring.
Bonomo: It felt great. There were a couple of points during the heads-up match where I felt like I was so short-stacked that I wouldn’t win. I came close to closing it out a couple of times, but had it slip away from me, so it was a huge relief when it was finally over and I had won. I was almost more afraid of losing than I was looking forward to winning.
PND: Among those in the top five at the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Event Championship were Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Matt “mattg1983” Graham. Talk about who gave you the most trouble.
Bonomo: Men Nguyen gave me a bit of trouble, not because he played particularly well, but because he sucked out on me four separate times in this tournament. Other than that, no one really gave me much trouble until it got to heads-up play, when Michael Mizrachi gave me a ton of trouble. It was a really tough match.
PND: Can you critique The Grinder’s play for us?
Bonomo: He had a lot of success early on in his career and I think he made the mistake of being over-confident. He started playing really weird and playing every hand, but lately I think he’s been humbled a bit and played well as a result. He didn’t do anything crazy in this tournament, but was good and aggressive in the right spots. You have to be tight enough that people can give you credit for a hand if you want to bluff and I think he did that just right. It’s a common thing where tournament players have a ton of success and play worse because of it, but Mike is over that period and is playing great again.
PND: It must be really challenging to humble yourself in a skill competition like poker after getting off to a hot start.
Bonomo: It is. I had an insane streak where I made the final 11 players in six out of seven consecutive tournaments, two of them being World Poker Tour Main Events. The next tournament stop for me was Tunica, where people didn’t have a fold button, but I kept playing fancy anyway. That was a good humbling month for me and I tightened my game back up a lot after that trip.
PND: You finished as the runner up in a Mixed Hold’em tournament during last year’s WSOP. Is a bracelet your goal for 2009?
Bonomo: I’ve wanted a bracelet since I was 19 years old, so it’s still a huge goal of mine. It’s not that I think it’s super prestigious or anything. It’s almost the opposite: Everyone and their mother has a bracelet these days, so it sucks being one of the few good players without one.
PND: You’ve made four major final tables at Caesars Palace in the past two years. Is there something about the casino that makes you feel so comfortable there?
Bonomo: No. It’s just random variance, I think. I don’t have any huge scores at the Commerce Casino, for example. It’s not because I play badly there and well at Caesars. It’s just the random luck of the draw.
PND: What makes Bodog a site you’re proud to endorse?
Bonomo: I love the fact that Bodog only has a few select pros. Instead of having 50 no-names running around with a patch, it’s more of a close-knit family. We all represent the Bodog lifestyle, so we fit in really well.