Poker Pro John Bonetti Dies at Age 80

Filed in archive Poker News on July 3, 2008

Well known poker pro John Bonetti recently passed away at the age of 80. Its tough to come up with nice things to say about a person who was anything but to his fellow players, but even worst towards dealers. Away from the lights, Bonetti was known to the dealers as one of the worse abusers of the men and women who manned the sliver trays. As a recent article from Poker-pro.net (and many others) spell out how his crassness spread also to other players:

While Bonetti is truly a of poker legend unfortunately he was not well liked by players who knew him only at the tables, where he was infamous for dealer abuse, brash table antics and an otherwise miserable persona. Those who knew him outside poker will describe him differently. In a CardPlayer.com article released today his good friend Phil Hellmuth mention Bonetti as having a Heart of Gold, and regarding his actions at the table Hellmuth says "He wanted to win more than you did, period".

With three bracelets and more then a handful of WSOP cashes, Bonetti's stats will show a poker star dimming light, but it is difficult to shine a light on a person who actually received cheers upon his death by the very people who toss those winning cards to him.