Key Milestones of Justin Bonomo Poker Career
Popularly referred to as ZeeJustin at the online poker community, Justin Bonomo made history at the 2018 World Series of Poker in the Big One for One Drop event. He made it to the first place at this event, winning the cash prize of $10 million. He is currently the number one on the All Time Money List, surpassing Daniel Negreanu by a long measure. He stepped into the world of poker 14 years ago and over these years, he has made a huge impact in the industry. He made his first six figures earning in 2006 during the $15,000 + 400 No Limit Hold’em at the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic, 5th Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. He placed 7th at the event and made a winning of $152,230 USD. Of course, he had cashed at some previous events, which have all contributed to Justin Bonomo net worth.
He joined the million-dollar earners in the industry when he won his first million at the 2012 European Poker Tour. He participated in the €100,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller 8-Max at the EPT 8 Grand Final in Monte Carlo. He placed first at this event and walked away with the first prize of €1,640,000, which translates to $2,165,217. His biggest single winning came on the 15th of July, 2018 when he won the $1 million No Limit Hold’em – The Big One for One Drop event at the 49th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He placed first at the event and took home the cash prize of $10 million USD.
Justin Bonomo Background
Bonomo was born on 30 September, 1985. He grew up in Virginia. He is popularly referred to as ZeeJustin at the online platform. Justin is an American professional poker player who has made a name for himself in the industry. He formerly competed at the Magic the Gathering, and in the February of 2005, he became the youngest player that got featured in a televised final table. He placed 4th at the inaugural year of the European Poker Tour during the French Open in France. Justin Bonomo was only 19 years old at that time. He earned his first WSOP bracelet at the 2014 World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em Six Handed Event #11. He placed first and made a winning of $449,980. He made it to the second place at a previous event, where he played at Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Event #5. This would be his 3rd runner-up finish up until that period. As at 2018, he has made earnings from his live tournaments in excess of $42.9 million USD. Bonomo has also cashed 47 times at the WSOP (World Series of Poker), which accounts for more than $13.8 million USD of his earnings.
He has won three bracelets at the World Series of Poker so far and has made 16 final tables. He won the first one in the year 2014 at the No Limit Hold’em Six Handed Event #11. During the 2018 World Series of Poker, he won at the $10,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em Championship Event, and proceeded to win the $1,000,000 One Drop, which earned him his biggest single cash winning.
Justin Bonomo is popular for his ability to diligently study the hands of his opponents, with the intention of learning their playing styles. He is highly analytical, which has significantly helped him at tables. He goes the extra mile to learn about the gaming histories of his opponents, so he could devise the perfect strategy for playing against them at tables.
Early Poker Career of Justin Bonomo
Justin has been involved in games right from a young age. For instance, he began to play Magic the Gathering from an early age of nine. He kept playing the game and gained competence in the strategies involved. By the time he was 12 years old, he has begun to compete with other players at different Magic tournaments in the world. His earnings in the game of Magic the Gathering were in the range of $250,000. With time, he developed interest in the game of poker and began to explore the online platform. He began to take online poker seriously when he discovered that some of his co-players at the Magic game were making some good money from online poker. He registered an online account and began to play at online poker room.
However, he soon realized that poker is different from Magic game. He needed more grit and resilience, and he needed to build his bankroll. This became an issue for him as he couldn’t get around to building a solid bankroll at the early stage of his poker career. To grow his skills and earning potentials in poker, he decided to study professional poker players in the industry. During one of the Magic Tournaments he attended, he decided to take out time to watch some World Poker Tour events. He saw some of the best hands in poker in action and he decided to give poker a strong consideration and focus. To start out in his quest, he went out of his way to buy some poker books and read them while traveling back to Virginia.
After going through the books, he decided to dedicate more of time into playing poker. By the time he turned 16, Justin has started playing frequently at online poker. He got serious about the game and began to take note of all that is happening in the industry. At some point in his early poker career, he sold an MMORPG character, Everquest, for $500 in order to build his bankroll. He deposited the money with Paradise Poker, where he began to play. He also registered at Party Poker and steadily built his bankroll and earnings. Not long, he built his bankroll to about $10K and continued to play at the online poker room. His earnings began to grow and so did Justin Bonomo net worth.
He kept playing at the online platform and in the January of 2005, Justin made it to the World Poker Tour Main Event tournament. He played at the No Limit Hold’em event. He finished in the 30th place and made a winning of $15,600. This began the steady growth of his earnings and Justin Bonomo net worth. This seemed to have woken the sleeping poker giant in Justin as he went ahead to participate in the European Poker Tour the following month. He played at the €2,000 No Limit Hold’em at the EPT 1 in Deauville. He placed 4th and earned $40,815. The year 2005 became the official year that Justin Bonomo launched his poker career fully and from that time on, he has continued to cash at various tournament events.
Highlights of Justin Bonomo World Series of Poker Tournaments
Justin made his first big earning at the World Series of Poker at the 38th edition in 2007. He participated in the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event and finished in the 4th place. He made a winning of $156,040 at the event. About a year after, he signed up for another edition of the World Series of Poker. He played at the $5,150 No Limit Hold’em – Championship Event at the WSOP Circuit. He placed 5th and won $96,594. Few weeks later, he sat at $5,000 Limit/No Limit Hold’em event at the same 2008 World Series of Poker event. He finished in the runner up place and walked away with $230,159 for the second-place prize. These earnings all contributed to Justin Bonomo net worth.
He also participated at the 2009 World Series of Poker and had buy-ins in two different events. He placed 1st at the $5,150 No Limit Hold’em – Championship Event and made a winning of $227,692. The following month, he played in the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em – 40th Anniversary event and placed 5th. He earned $413,165 at the event.
In 2011, he also played in the $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw event at the 42nd World Series of Poker tournament. He placed 2nd and made a winning of $117,305. Two years later, he was at the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – Heads-Up Event #16, during the 44th World Series of Poker tournament. He placed 4th at this event and made a winning of $110,485.
In 2014, he placed 2nd during the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Event #5 at the 45th World Series of Poker tournament. He left the event with a winning of $219,565. The following month, he finished in the first place at the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em – Six Handed Event #11 at the same WSOP event. He won the first cash prize of $449,980.
In 2015, Justin participated in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship Event #50 at the 46th WSOP. He placed 3rd and won $130,480.
In 2016, Bonomo bought into 4 different events at the 47th World Series of Poker tournament. He played in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Event #18 and finished in the 2nd place. He earned $131,412 at the table. He also bought into the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed Championship Event #39 and finished in the 3rd place. He made a winning of $271,856 at the event. He also played in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better Championship Event #43 and took home the 3rd place prize of $148,601. He went ahead to place 2nd in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship Six Handed Event #55 and won $801,048.
In 2018, Justin Bonomo made his biggest cash winning ever at the $1,000,000 No Limit Hold’em – The Big One for One Drop Event #78 at the 49th World Series of Poker tournament. He finished in the 1st place and made a winning of $10,000,000. All these winnings have all added to what Justin Bonomo net worth is today.
Justin Bonomo World Series of Poker Bracelets Highlights
| Event | Year | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed | 2014 | $449,980 |
| $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship | 2018 | $185,965 |
| $1 Million No Limit Hold’em – The Big One for One Drop | 2018 | $10,000,000 |
Justin Bonomo has won three WSOP bracelets so far in his career. It is important to point out that he won two bracelets at the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Key Highlights of Justin Bonomo World Poker Tour (WPT)
Justin Bonomo has participated in a couple of World Poker Tour events and has made some earnings from the tournaments. However, he is yet to win any WPT title up to the time of this writing. He made his first big win in WPT when he participated in the $15,400 World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic – No Limit Hold’em. This was the 5th Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic event in Las Vegas. Justin finished in the 7th place and earned a total of $152,230.
He didn’t make any appearance at the World Poker Tour tournament again until 2016, about ten years later. At the 2016 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Bonomo placed 5th in the $10,400 No Limit Hold’em #17 Five Diamond Main Event and made a winning of $345,272. This earning was the biggest single winning he had so far in World Poker Tour.
In the December of 2017, he earned a total of $450,500 from two events at the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. He participated in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – Bellagio High Roller #14 and placed first. He earned $310,500 at the event. A little above a week later, he played in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – $25K High Roller Event #25. He finished in the first place also and made a winning of $140,000.
Highlights of Justin Bonomo Winnings at other Tournaments
In addition to WSOP and WPT, Justin Bonomo net worth has also been made possible by series of other events that he participated in. He has played in a number of European Poker Tour and PokerStar Caribbean Adventure events and all these have significantly impacted on his earnings and net worth. Let us look at these in detail.
In 2007, Justin played in the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship Event at Caesars Palace Classic event and placed 5th. He made a winning of $163,693 at the event. May of the following year, he participated in the 9th Annual Five Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas and played in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event. He placed 5th and won $224,160 for his effort.
In April of 2012, he made a big winning when he placed 1st in the €100,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller 8 Max event at the European Poker Tour 8 Grand Final in Monte Carlo. He walked away with the first prize of $2,165,217. Few days later, he played in the €25,500 No Limit Hold’em – 8-Max High Roller event at the same tournament. He finished in the 4th place and made a winning of $351,187.
In 2013, he participated in the PokerStar Caribbean Adventure and played in the $5,300 No Limit Hold’em Event #18. He finished in the 2nd place and earned $218,710. In August of the same year, he placed 2nd again in the $5,300 No Limit Hold’em – Championship Event at Seminole Hard Rock 2013 Poker Open in Hollywood. He won $1,163,500 at this event.
January of 2015, Justin Bonomo net worth increased by additional $632,111 when he placed 4th in the A$100,000 No Limit Hold’em Challenge at 2015 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne. He also placed 3rd at the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Aria High Roller 9 event in Las Vegas. He made a winning of $176,400 at the event. Justin participated in the €2,200 No Limit Hold’em EPT 12 Event and finished in the 1st place. He won $106,370 at the end of the event. He also won the first place prize of $383,400 at the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – High Roller B Aria High Roller 25. He placed 2nd in the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em Aria Super High Roller 8 event in Las Vegas. He earned $558,782 at the event.
In 2016, he placed 2nd at two different events. He participated in the HK$500,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller and made a winning of HK$5,595,000, which translates into $721,392. His second runner up place game was in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at Aria Super High Roller 14 in Las Vegas. He won $639,000 at the event.
He placed 2nd in the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller at the Aria Super High Roller 15 of 2017 and made a winning of $420,000. He went ahead to win another $237,680 when he finished in the 3rd place at the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em – PokerStars Championship Super High Roller event. The same year, he placed 2nd in the $25,500 No Limit Hold’em High Roller at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown and made a winning of $556,800. Few weeks later, he finished in the first place and won $779,520 when he played in the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller at the Aria Super High Roller 18. Suffice to mention that he placed 1st in a previous game of $10,500 No Limit Hold’em at the Aria $11,000 in Las Vegas. In May of the same 2017, Justin earned $600,000 when he placed 7th in the $300,000 No Limit Hold’em at Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas. He also placed 5th in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em – Event #5 at the 2017 Poker Masters event. He made a winning of $216,000 at the event.
In January of 2018, Justin Bonomo net worth significantly increased as he earned a whopping $1,077,800 when he placed 2nd in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller event #1 at PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in Paradise Island. Few days later, he earned another $310,150 in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Event #1 – High Roller at the same tournament where he placed 2nd. Five days later, he placed 3rd at the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller Event #12 and earned $197,200.
In the month of March, Justin Bonomo participated in the HK$ 2 million + 100K No Limit Hold’em – Super High Roller Bowl and finished in the 1st place, winning HK$ 37,830,000. When converted, this amounts to $4,823,077 USD. This winning definitely impact remarkably on Justin Bonomo net worth. It is essential to mention that in the January of the same 2018, Justin placed 1st at the $25,500 No Limit Hold’em High Roller Event #20 during the 2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open. He earned $556,873 at this event. He also placed 1st in the month of May where he won $311,268 at the €25,000 No Limit Hold’em Single Re-Entry Event #40 during the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo. He also participated at the €25,000 No Limit Hold’em Event #24 at the same tournament. He finished in the 1st place and won $457,356.
Between April and June of 2018, Bonomo won an additional $6,335,418 from different tournaments. The biggest of the winnings was at the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl, where he played in the $300,000 No Limit Hold’em and finished in the first place and won $5,000,000.
In January of 2019, he played in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Event #30 at PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He placed first at the event and made a winning of $383,650. He also placed 1st in the HK$250,000 No Limit Hold’em – Short Deck Ante Only Event #1. This event was at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju. Justin made a winning of HK$ 4,600,000 at this event. At conversion, this amounts to the sum of $586,114 USD. He also placed 2nd in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – Aria High Roller 24, which took place on 2 July, 2019. He made a winning of $182,000 at the event.
Justin has made a lot of winnings from various tables since he stepped into the world of poker. The figures highlighted in this blog article are just some of his winnings. In addition to live poker tournaments, Justin also participated in a number of online poker games and all these have contributed to Justin Bonomo net worth.
Justin Bonomo Scandals
In the year 2006, Justin got into the headlines for the wrong reasons, when he was accused of cheating. This accusation was made by Party Poker. The online poker revealed that Bonomo has been taking advantage of a bug on the software of Party Poker, which allows him to open more than one account at the same time on the platform. When this was discovered, Justin Bonomo account was closed and a total of $100,000 USD was sized from his account. It is important to mention that this amount was his earnings at the Party Poker Big Sunday $640 tournament. It was later discovered that his winnings from the Big Sunday tournament was won legally and he got his $137,000.
Justin got involved in another scandal in 2011 when he was accused of sharing the same account with a friend, Isaac Haxton. This accusation was raised by Prahlad Friedman. Friedman reported that both Bonomo and Haxton shared the same account at an online poker platform, where both were playing the same game. The duo denied the accusation and stated that the account was opened to enable Haxton teach Bonomo some poker strategies, and that the whole thing was a misunderstanding on the part of Prahlad Friedman.
Justin Bonomo Net Worth
According to thehendonmon.com, Justin Bonomo net worth from his total live earnings amounts to $45,004,318 USD. His best live cash is $10 million and he won this during his WSOP participation in 2018. He ranks first on the All Time Money List, All Time Money List Best Rank, United States All Time Money List, Virginia, USA All Time Money List, All Time Money List Current Rank. He also occupies the 8th position on the Popularity Ranking and 54th on the Global Poker Index Ranking.
Justin Bonomo Private Life
Justin Bonomo has revealed his preference for Polyamory, as far as relationships are concern. He enjoys being in consensual multi partner non-monogamous relationship. He is an American from Fairfax, VA, United States. He lived in Las Vegas for a long time but it seems he has moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. According to Justin, he has visited about 12 out of the 18 Michelin-rated restaurants in Las Vegas and has eaten from them. When he is not visiting restaurants or playing poker, he enjoys playing video games, Heartstone and Street Fighter especially. He also loves meditating and listening to music. Justin Bonomo is no doubt a special breed in the world of poker.