It’s been nearly two years since Justin Bonomo played a live poker tournament. A couple of days ago he returned by competing in a $50K, which he followed up by being one of 21 players to renter the $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl VI.
“It’s good to be back,” said Bonomo, who in the meantime hasn't slowed down winning online. “I was a little bit nervous that I wouldn’t really feel it, but you know, 20 years of doing this it’s like riding a bike. You get right back into the flow.”
The flow for Bonomo is pretty good, especially in SHRB events. Back in 2018, he topped a 75-entry field to win the Super High Roller Bowl China for HK$37,830,000 ($4,823,077) and then followed it up by navigating a 48-player field to win the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl IV for $5,000,000.
As if that wasn’t enough, Bonomo didn’t let the pandemic slow him down as he took his game online by beating a 50-entry field to win the $102,000 buy-in 2020 Super High Roller Bowl Online for $1,775,000.
Bonomo, who currently sits second on poker’s all-time money list with a staggering $53.2 million, has a chance to become a four-time SHRB champ, though even he admits it won’t be easy.
“It’s a tough tournament. These are long grueling days. You’re up against tough players who have very different styles of play. I’m just trying to stay focused and play my best game.”
Indeed, Bonomo is up against some tough competition, but fortunately for him, he has experience with them all.
“I’ve played with everyone here a ton,” he said. “There are some people I’ve only played with online, like Chris Brewer. I’ve only played with him online until now, but I know he’s a very tough player. I think I have a good feel for how everyone plays.”
While Bonomo is focused on the SHRB, PokerNews did ask about his plans for the upcoming World Series of Poker (WOSP).
“I won’t be there the whole time,” he revealed. “Right after this I’m flying to Greece for a wedding, but I’ll be back eventually. Probably mid or late October I’ll start playing some events, and then there are some really good high rollers that I’m definitely going to play, but I’m not going to be playing 50 events or anything like that.”
Finally, PokerNews couldn’t help but ask about Bonomo’s hairdo, which was no longer dyed bright pink.
“I feel like I made the statement that I wanted to with the pink,” he said. “It came to be this thing where I didn’t want to be known as the ‘pink hair guy,’ I didn’t want that to be my identity. I had some fun with it but I moved on.”
Bonomo was still in contention for the SHRB VI title with eight players remaining at the time of publication. PokerNews will offer a recap after the conclusion of Day 2 as well as a winner recap on Wednesday.
Previous Super High Roller Bowl Winners
| Year | Event | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Super High Roller Bowl I | $500,000 | 43 | Brian Rast | $7,525,000 |
| 2016 | Super High Roller Bowl II | $300,000 | 49 | Rainer Kempe | $5,000,000 |
| 2017 | Super High Roller Bowl III | $300,000 | 56 | Christoph Vogelsang | $6,000,000 |
| 2018 | Super High Roller Bowl China | HK$2,100,000 | 75 | Justin Bonomo | HK$37,830,000 |
| 2018 | Super High Roller Bowl IV | $300,000 | 48 | Justin Bonomo | $5,000,000 |
| 2018 | Super High Roller Bowl V | $300,000 | 36 | Isaac Haxton | $3,672,000 |
| 2019 | Super High Roller Bowl London | £252,500 | 12 | Cary Katz | £2,100,000 |
| 2019 | Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas | $250,000 | 51 | Daniel Dvoress | $4,080,000 |
| 2020 | Super High Roller Bowl Australia | A$250,000 | 16 | Timothy Adams | A$2,160,000 |
| 2020 | Super High Roller Bowl Russia | $250,000 | 40 | Timothy Adams | $3,600,000 |
| 2020 | Super High Roller Bowl Online | $102,000 | 50 | Justin Bonomo | $1,775,000 |
| 2021 | Super High Roller Bowl Europe | $250,000 | 41 | Wiktor Malinowski | $3,690,000 |
