Justin Bonomo, a professional poker player, was born on 30th September, 1985, and he hails from Las Vegas, Nevada. At the age of 9, he started playing the card game called Magic: The Gathering. When he was 12, he took up the sport seriously and participated in the top Magic tournaments around the world, which gave him an opportunity to interact and compete with the experts in the game. When Justin Bonomo was touring San Diego, California, for a tournament, he got an opportunity to watch the World Poker Tour on TV, which inspired him to take up the game. Later on the flight back home, he spent his time reading books on poker, which gave him sufficient knowledge to try his hand at online poker. With the help of his friends and through intensive poker training sessions, Justin Bonomo improved his skills and was soon playing high stake games online. He acknowledges his successful poker career to his parents, who have been constantly supporting him.
In 2005, Justin Bonomo entered the international poker arena, when he participated in the No-Limit Hold'em event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure – World Poker Tour (WPT) Event Season 3 and cashed $15,600. In the same year, he finished impressively at fourth place in the No-Limit Hold'em event at the French Open – European Poker Tour (EPT)/Pokerstars Season 1 and bagged $41,285 in prize money. Justin Bonomo began 2006 on a promising note by finishing fourth in Event #7 - No Limit Hold'em at the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic/WPT Event Season 5 and added $42,565 to his bank payroll. In the same tournament, he also played in two more No-Limit Hold'em events and collectively made $70,091. After a few days, he also tried his hand in the No-Limit Hold'em Championship Doyle Brunson North American Classic event at the same tournament and walked away with whopping $152,230 in prize money.
Justin Bonomo started the year 2007 with $77,702 cash prize by participating in the No-Limit Hold'em event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure/ WPT Event - Season 5 in the No-Limit Hold'em event. In February 2007, Justin Bonomo carried on this good momentum by securing eighth place in Event #19 – No-Limit Hold'em at the LA Poker Classic/WPT Event Season 5 and took home $11,400. At the WPT World Championship/WPT Event Season 5, he played in two events that included Super Satellite – No-Limit Hold'em and No-Limit Hold'em Championship, where he made a total of $103,050 in prize money. He carried on the good form and finished runner-up in Event #7 - Circuit No Limit H.O.R.S.E at the Caesars Las Vegas Poker Tournament - Circuit Event held on 28th April, 2007 and pocketed $40,973 in prize money.
In the same year, Justin Bonomo made his first appearance at the 38th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Event #10 – No-Limit Hold'em, where he finished impressively at fourth place and walked away with $156,040 in prize money. He also took part in two more events at the same tournament that included Event #45 – No-Limit Hold'em Short Handed and Event #52 – No-Limit Hold'em and made a total of $16,279 as cash prize. On October 24, 2007, Justin Bonomo finished fifth with $163,693 in cash in Event #13 - Poker Pages Ranking No-Limit Hold'em Championship Caesars Palace Classic at the Inaugural Caesars Palace Classic. Justin Bonomo participated in Event #13 – No-Limit Hold'em at the Borgata Winter Open/WPT Event Season 6 and added $135,423 to his bank payroll.
Justin Bonomo began the 2008 season with an impressive fifth-place finish in Event #13 - Circuit No Limit Hold'em Championship at the Caesars Las Vegas Poker Tournament - Circuit Event and pocketed $96,594. The 39th World Series of Poker 2008 was a major turning point in his career, as Justin Bonomo finished second in Event #4 - Mixed Hold'em Limit/No-Limit and walked away with whopping $230,159 in prize money.
Apart from playing poker, Justin Bonomo likes to listen to bands such as Muse and Our Lady Peace and all forms of rock as well. His free-time activities include watching movies, dining in restaurants, and hanging out with his friends. He has plans to play poker full time for the next few years, and wants to gradually get into a poker related business in the future.
