Thursday marked the beginning of the first ever PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). Among the players hitting the felts for the 22 event tournament series was Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo, whose multi-accounting on PartyPoker led him to be banned from the site along with others such as PokerStars in 2006. Officially, he is a card-carrying member of Team Bodog. Let's take a look at some of the reaction from around PocketFives.com to the latest news.PocketFiver Nat N 82 50 24 Arem posted a poll in Poker Discussion asking, “Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo was one of the first and most publicized players banned by major poker sites for multi-accounting back in early 2006. After years of what PokerStars has deemed to be good behavior, they are giving him a second chance. Sound off, P5ers - Do you think this was a good move by Stars or not?” At the time of writing, two-thirds of respondents favored the decision by the world's largest online poker site to lift the three year ban. One-third felt that Bonomo should still be barred from playing in events like SCOOP.
Since the incident occurred back in 2006, Bonomo has laid relatively low and let his poker skills do the talking. Along with Jean-Robert Bellande, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams, he's a member of Team Bodog, representing the site in major tournaments around the world. Together with Bluff Magazine's Matt Parvis and Eric Morris, Bonomo was a part of the winning squad in the first ever Dream Team Poker tournament held late last year. He finished second in a $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event at the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP), besting all but Erick Lindgren in the tournament and banking $230,000. The final table saw him battle against some of the game's best, including Williams, Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer, November Nine member David “Chino” Rheem, and Roland de Wolfe.
Bonomo bubbled the final table of the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic during Season V of the World Poker Tour (WPT) and took eighth in the Borgata Poker Classic during Season VI. Those two six-figure scores helped push his career WPT earnings to $458,000. PocketFiver CardXFactor was among those who rallied behind Bonomo in Poker Discussion, saying, “ I think he is a good guy who has done more than enough to get his respect back.”
One PocketFiver did not agree with PokerStars' decision. Referring to Josh JJProdigy Field and Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu (pictured at right), he wrote, “Well, they better let Josh and everyone else who did this back on their site as well. Just because ZeeJustin is friends with KidPoker and had some decent results live doesn't take away from what he did. Stars definitely dropped the ball here.” Bonomo was banned from PartyPoker after logging in under six accounts and playing in the same multi-table tournament with more than one of them. His funds were seized and distributed to players who were affected. The incident took place two weeks removed from the JJProdigy scandal.PocketFives.com contributor Jennifear also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Bonomo's unbanning from PokerStars. She explained, “I'm 100% behind this move. Security is a priority at PokerStars and I believe that they would not allow this to happen if they had reason to believe that he was still a threat.” In a 2008 interview with ESPN, Bonomo regretted what happened: “I would give anything to go back in time three years ago and smack myself around. I'd tell myself how stupid I was. Those actions were a mistake and it was such a stupid thing I did. Since then, I've tried to portray myself as the nice, honest person that I am and I hope that people can see that's who I am.”
The SCOOP festivities kicked off today with a $530 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max with Rebuys tournament that Bonomo entered. Also taking place on Thursday is a $1,050 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha High-Low tournament. Both contests have low- and mid-stakes versions available. The Main Event takes place on April 12th and boasts a $5 million guaranteed prize pool at high-stakes, $3 million at mid-stakes, and $1 million at low-stakes. Visit PokerStars for more information.
PocketFives.com wants you to weigh in! Should Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo have been unbanned from PokerStars? Visit our thread in Poker Discussion and voice your choice.
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