Three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Bonetti dies of cancer
Monday 30th June 2008
In the words of Phil Hellmuth, John Bonetti would have been a huge star if the television cameras came five years earlier. The man who won his first of three bracelets back in 1990 was one of the most fiery characters in poker, and was as tough a player as he was a talker.
Bonetti won his bracelets at a time when there were no soft routes to picking up a title. His first came in a No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball event which had Johnny Moss on the table alongside Bonetti. Three years later he edged past Chau Giang to win the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event, and then completed his hat-trick by beating Chan and Brunson into second and third in another Deuce to Seven event. His career saw 20 final tables, all the more impressive as he didn’t start the game until he was 57.
While he was a talented poker player, John Bonetti will also be remembered as a relentless player, tough on players at all times and occasionally on the dealers too. He is perhaps the only player ever to be punished for dropping the F-bomb in the break of a tournament, as happened at an old Tournament of Champions event. Dealers used to try to bust him from tournaments, which seemed harder with him than many others. While the dealers might have a slightly quieter life with his passing, the poker community will not forget just how good a player Bonetti was.
