PokerNews Podcast Marks 1,000th Episode With WSOP Finalists
Jeremy Ausmus joined the live show at PokerGO Studio as Greg Mueller and Michael Gagliano headed into the 2026 Main Event final table.
PokerNews marked its 1,000th podcast episode with a live show at PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, in front of a studio audience. The milestone episode was sponsored by FanDuel Poker and brought together hosts Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow.
According to PokerNews, the show also featured Jeremy Ausmus, who talked about life as a high-stakes pro, his Poker Hall of Fame picks, and why he started vlogging. The episode welcomed Greg "FBT" Mueller and Michael "Gags" Gagliano as well, with the pair introduced as 2026 WSOP Main Event finalists who would be playing for a $10 million top prize.
The final nine were officially set, Lucas Jumalon held the chip lead, and every remaining player had locked up at least $1 million.
Jumalon went into Day 8 with 40.8 million chips. He cracked Malcolm Trayner’s pocket queens with jack-jack to make a river full house, climbed to 155 million by dinner, and ended the day with 194 million after sending Trayner out in 10th.
Rami Hammoud sat second with 79 million and Jamie Shaevel was third with 56 million. Mueller and Gagliano both trailed Jumalon by more than 140 million chips heading into the final table.
Mueller arrived there as the most decorated player left, a Canadian ex-hockey player with three WSOP bracelets. His first title came in 2009 in the World Championship of Limit Hold’em, and less than two weeks later he won the $1,500 Shootout to double his bracelet count.
Mueller entered this year’s Main Event on Day 1d and nearly doubled his stack inside three levels after flopping an early set and eliminating an opponent who turned two pair. He bagged 41st in chips on Day 3 with 1,389 players still remaining, and by Day 6 he was comfortably inside the top half after pocket kings and a timely fold with pocket jacks. On Day 7, he eliminated Ori Elul by cracking kings with ace-jack after flopping an ace, then took out Romain Lewis in a classic aces-versus-kings setup. A double with jacks through the pocket nines of Rami Hammoud moved him out of the danger zone, and he later won a massive flip against Michael Gagliano when his queens held against Gagliano’s ace-king.
Gagliano’s path was more of a grind. The BetMGM Ambassador first recorded a live cash in 2008, and his Hendon Mob profile now shows 155 in-the-money finishes, $3.3 million in cashes, and four WSOP bracelets.
He had already cashed the Main Event twice before, finishing 842nd in 2016 and 148th in 2025. This summer he also built the Summer Poker Calendar app, which tracks Las Vegas tournament structures, and he said the app will return next summer.
Gagliano’s Main Event run finally clicked this year. He bagged 46.5 million chips for fifth place at the restart, called the long grind "Groundhog Day," and said he was happy only when there were nine left.
On Day 8, he doubled through Shaun Deeb with tens against ace-jack, moved past 100 million after sending Antonio Galiana to the payout desk, and later lost 26.5 million in a flip against Mueller when queens held against ace-king. When play stopped after Malcolm Trayner busted in 10th, Gagliano had 46.5 million chips, and the winner was still set to collect $10 million.
