John Bonetti: 1928-2008
On June 28, three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner John Bonetti died at 80 years old.
His colorful personality and playing ability made him many friends and even a few enemies on the professional circuit, but his two closest friends may have been Al Barbieri and Phil Hellmuth – both of whom considered Bonetti a mentor.
“Like most poker players, (Bonetti) had a big heart. His fi re at the table in poker tournaments was legendary! He wanted to win more than you did, period,” Hellmuth wrote on his blog the day Bonetti died. “I must have had at least 150 private dinners with Bono over the years, and he was truly one of my best friends… I will miss my great friend John Bonetti.”
Bonetti earned his fi rst bracelet in 1990 in the $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball event. His second came in 1993 in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event. Then, in 1995, he again took home the title in the $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball event. Bracelets are always signifi - cant but he also had over $4 million in earnings over his career.
Bonetti was known as much for his achievements at the table as he was for table behavior. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928 Bonetti was every bit the proud Italian, complete with his staple “fuggedaboutit”. He was also known to use blue language at the table and, as legend has it, is the only player to ever incur the F-bomb penalty while away from the table during a break.
“From the outside eyes he was a very misunderstood guy. He had no problem telling his feelings or sharing his thoughts,” said Al Barbieri, who Bonetti took under his tutelage in 1998 following a chance encounter at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. “Sometimes he’d be out of line, with the F-word and stuff, but when he got away from the table, this was a man who was very generous. He had a heart as big as this room. He was like a real teddy bear.”
“I can’t tell you how many times people would come to a tournament, and if he had a pocket full of money, and you were a gentleman and a fellow poker player who was broke, if you asked him to put you in a satellite, he’d put you in a satellite,” said Barbieri. “He was that way with me. He helped me all my ten years I’ve been winning. He was a great poker player and made me a great poker player. I owe all my success to him.”
In 1993, Bonetti fi nished third in the Main Event, only to be diagnosed months later with both spinal and prostate cancer. While the diagnosis hit him hard, it didn’t slow him down at all. Between November 1993 and February 1994 Bonetti cashed fi ve times – all wins. Two wins at the LA Poker Open at the Normandie Casino in Omaha Hi-Lo and Limit Hold’em were followed up by a win at the $10,000 Main Event at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and then two wins at the Queens Poker Classic in 7-card Stud and 7-card Stud Hi-Lo.
He repeated his third-place fi nish at the WSOP Main Event in 1996. All told, he had 32 cashes at the WSOP. He also fi nished on the TV fi nal table bubble of the World Poker Tour’s World Poker Open in 2004. Bonetti is survived by his wife Jean and four children.
