It has been a dramatic few weeks for All-Time Money List leader Bryn Kenney after he was publicly accused of cheating and running a ghosting clan on GGPoker by Martin Zamani via several news outlets.
With Kenney appearing on Series Nine of PokerGO’s hugely popular show High Stakes Poker, there was always a chance that one of the biggest cash game pots of the program would involve him. So it transpired, as he and Krish Menon shared a dramatic showdown worth a staggering $934,500.
High Stakes Late Show Thrills Viewers
“I think that built a lot of character and allowed to me to respect the dollar.”
The PokerGO show broadcast on Monday was the 12th of a 14-0episode series which has largely met with positivity from the poker-watching public. A slow start is long in the rear-view mirror and over the past few weeks, there have been some massive showdowns with millions on the table.
Kenney, of course, is the money list’s leader for his own performances in tournament poker’s live events over the course of poker history, so deserves a lot of respect for his achievements in the game, however people his recent activity. He proved once again his abilities at the felt as he ran up a big stack with which to take on Menon.
In the episode, players such as Door Dash owner Stanley Tang and Eric Persson clashes, with Tang coming out on top this time as Persson finally ran his aggressive style at a wall that wouldn’t budge. With Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and Tom Dwan all at the felt, Gareett Adelstein once again proved that he has the play to hang with the best of opponents. Adelstein opened up about what keeps him humble in one of the entertaining ‘vox pop’ moments that have punctuated the action this season.
“I had so many bad jobs growing up,” he confided. “I think that built a lot of character and allowed to me to respect the dollar, which is one of the reasons I’ve been able to hold onto a few bucks over the years.”
How the Hand Went Down
There have been many great hands in the archives of PokerGO’s show, and one that springs to mind after watching this latest episode involved Gus Hansen and Daniel Negreanu. The latter lost a heap of cash as his full house lost to Hansen’s quads. There were no quads this time, but two fives and sixes were on the board and the money was raised up high by the turn.
Kenney bet $80,000 and saw Menon raise to $200,000. Kenney’s hand was nine-six and he had flopped trips and turned the full house. Menon made the raise with pocket sevens and got a call from Kenney as the latter slow-played to make the most value.
The river was, of course, a seven, and Menon played it well, pausing only slightly before moving all-in. Hoping that Kenney would call believing the seven hadn’t changed at all, the businessman got the call he was after and Kenney turned over his hand only to discover the bad news and that he was down close to half a million.
“Bryn is usually non-plussed,” quipped Gabe Kaplan. “But this time, he’s a little plussed.”
That was an understatement as the table full of wide eyes saw Menon drag the vast pile of cash towards him.
Is High Stakes Poker as Popular as Ever?
The latest season of High Stakes Poker has been incredible entertainment and seems sure to be renewed for another season with just two episodes left to be broadcast this year. Timed for a run right up to the start of the World Series of Poker, which starts streaming on June 2nd, HSP has featured some great names and after a start where everyone was dipping their toes in the water, the action has really heated up.
While the poker world will move on from HSP very soon, we hope that it gets a deal more credit than it probably will. The World Series brings with it a circus that creates interest around the design of the WSOP bracelets themselves as well as the incredible battles that will emerge for the jewelry across the early summer months of June and July. But the legacy of HSP should be that it will return for another great series of 2023.
The cast of HSP characters at the tables, helped so much by entertaining newcomers Menon, Tang, and Persson as well as just importantly by female stars of the game such as Xuan Liu and Jennifer Tilly, has been great fun.
We’ll treasure two more weeks of action like this at the poker table.
