Poker Pros Share Their Stories After Black Friday Shutdown

Justin Bonomo, a professional poker player, faced significant changes in his life after the Black Friday shutdown. He had to leave the country where he had lived all his life and separate from his beloved woman because he lost his job. Bonomo moved to Malta but faced issues with his bank, visa, and plumbing, and eventually decided to move to Toronto. Despite these challenges, he has a six-figure sum left on Full Tilt.

Jonathan Little, another prominent poker player, has adapted to the changes by increasing his cash game play during his tournament travels. He has also reduced the subscription cost of his educational site FloatTheTurn.com to $8 per month, attracting many new members. Little won $320,000 in a tournament and withdrew almost all of it, showing his resilience in the face of adversity.

Maria Ho, known for her dual focus on online and offline poker, had to deal with the loss of her sponsor support from Ultimate Bet. She moved to Vancouver and left Las Vegas and Los Angeles, finding the transition challenging but manageable. Ho believes that the poker community will recover and that new online poker platforms will be more reliable.