Player of the Week: Justin Bonomo

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Jun 12, 2018 3 min read Last updated Apr 21, 2020

Global Poker presents the Player of the Week. Every week during the WSOP, we pick the player that has shined the brightest on the biggest stage in poker. This week, it's Elio Fox kicking things off for the series.

The run Justin Bonomo has been on just may be unprecedented. The wins just keep coming with his latest being the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship on June 8 for his second bracelet and $185,965. His efforts have earned him the Player of the Week honor with two weeks in the books at the World Series of Poker.

"I think I’m dreaming," Bonomo told PokerNews after his win. "I think that this is not real life and I think that’s the secret. Just win in your dreams because there you can actually win every tournament."

But that win was just the tip of the iceberg – and actually one of his smaller recent cashes. His newest bracelet came only a few days after winning the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl on May 30 for $5 million. Bonomo’s tournament run in 2018 is a bit mind boggling, but shows the arsenal that this talented player brings to the table. Here’s a look at his wins this year alone:

• January – $25,500 No Limit Hold'em High Roller, Lucky Hearts Poker Open ($556,873)
• February – HK$ 2,100,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller Bowl Macau ($4,823,077)
• May – €25,000 No Limit Hold'em EPT Monte Carlo ($457,356)
• May – €25,000 No Limit Hold'em - Single Re-Entry EPT Monte Carlo (€ 259,700)
• May – $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl Aria Las Vegas ($5,000,000)
• May – $26,000 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Aria Las Vegas ($350,000)
• June – $26,000 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Aria Las Vegas ($318,000)
• June – $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship WSOP ($185,965)

That’s certainly an impressive list, but doesn’t include six other finishes of fifth place or higher including a runner-up finish in January at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller for $1.1 million. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the same event in the $25,000 High Roller for $310,150. Bonomo has become like an ATM machine, cashing constantly at these high roller events – with $14.6 million this year alone in tournaments with buy-ins of $25,000 or more.

With his win in the $10,000 Heads-up events, Bonomo was himself seemed a bit shocked about his record in events recently.

His win last week at the WSOP also showed he can mix it up at “lower” buy-in events as well. He added his second WSOP cash on Friday in the $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event for $12,331. He now has more than $33 million in live tournament winnings, which includes 42 chases and $4.2 million at the WSOP. He sits second to Erik Seidel ($34.5 million) for the all-time money winnings list.

Consistency may be his calling card, and Bonomo had an amazing year in 2017 as well with $4.5 million in winnings and $4.2 million in 2016, which included two runner-up finishes at the WSOP for almost $1 million. Since, 2011, Bonomo has amassed more than $1 million every year except one – certainly peaking this year.

As the WSOP works its way into June, many have taken notice at how he has been destroying the fields in tournaments he enters.

With his efforts, Bonomo adds a Player of the Week honor to his poker resumé – only this win doesn’t come with seven figures.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.

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