This week, the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker is pleased to welcome the youngest champion ever of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, newly-minted millionaire Joe jcada99 Cada (pictured at right), who took down the 2009 installment over Darvin Moon. Cada earned $8.5 million at the tender age of 21 and celebrated his 22nd birthday on November 18th. He resides in Michigan and has been the buzz of the poker world ever since his victory in the early morning hours of November 10th and even appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” earlier this week.

Many in the industry questioned what the role of the next WSOP Main Event champion would be. Would he continue to be active in the game of poker or would he ride off into the sunset forever? Cada told PocketFives.com what his presence in the poker community would be going forward: “Once I get a chance, I’ll be back grinding online. I still played my tournaments on Sunday and plan on playing most Sundays too.” On what part of being the WSOP Main Event champion he’s looking forward to the most besides the seven-figure payday, Cada remarked, “I want to see poker grow, so I want to see the field get a little bit bigger next year. I’m also looking forward to that banner being hung [in the Amazon Room].”
Cada had the rowdiest cheering section by far at the Rio’s Penn and Teller Theater throughout play in the Main Event; decibel level-wise, there was no comparison. The now-22 year-old told the PocketFives.com Podcast how the crowd influenced his play: “I can’t tell you how awesome that crowd was. I had tons of friends and family that all came out from school and work to support me. They were rooting me on the whole time, when I had no chips and when I had a lot of chips. They helped me hold my head up and get back into things.” Cada was down to less than five big blinds before storming back for the win over the nine-handed final table.

Cada crippled Frenchman Antoine Saout (pictured at left) with pocket deuces against pocket queens when the flop came 7-2-9, giving Cada a set. Four hands later, he’d send Saout to the rails in third place with A-K against Saout’s pocket eights when a king hit the river. Both hands pushed the limits of epic poker and Cada commented on his adversary’s play: “I thought Antoine played excellent at the final table. I thought he was one of the best there. It was unfortunate what happened to Antoine, but that’s poker. It would suck if I were in his shoes, so I know how it feels. I thought Antoine had a great game and it was tough having him on my left.” Saout earned $3.5 million for his efforts.

Post-mortem, Cada and his friends partied at the youngster’s suite at the Rio. Cada explained that Moon (pictured at right) showed up for the festivities: “When we were partying after the Main Event, one of my friends found him at the blackjack table and told him to come by the room. He came by the room and partied with all of my friends. We said congratulations and talked to each other about the heads-up match for a little bit. Darvin Moon was a great guy and a good sport.” Moon could be found battling against the house in Texas Hold’em Bonus at the Rio casino frequently throughout the Main Event.

Finally, Cada gave us his goals in live tournament play following his monumental win earlier this month: “I want to do well in live tournaments and I want to win another major live tournament. Winning one tournament doesn’t say anything about you. It’s a good start, but I want to win another tournament. I plan to play more high-stakes poker and bigger cash games. I want to succeed in those.”

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast featuring 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe jcada99 Cada.

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