THIS WEEK: WITH RYAN FELDMAN
Anticipation, Excitement – and Stress – Are Ever-Increasing as The Million Dollar Game Approaches
The month of May on Hustler Casino Live has been filled with action-packed poker and bombastic personalities. The anticipation and excitement for next week’s Million Dollar Game has been increasing more and more as the iconic HCL event approaches. As a result, there seems to have been even more magic on the HCL stage. We’ve seen a ton of new players, iconic HCL OG’s, and a host of show regulars jump in the mix over the last few weeks. From the second installment of the Bounty Game to a surprise appearance from Ryan Garcia, from the return of Britney and Sashimi to the debuts of Trick Time, Jasper, Linna, and others, catch up on all the action on HCL’s YouTube channel. All episodes are available there for free thanks to the commitment from co-owners Ryan Feldman and Nick Vertucci along with their incredible staff and crew.
HCL News had a chance to sit down with Ryan Feldman this week to talk about all latest from the show along with the buildup of excitement surrounding next week’s Million Dollar Game. On this installment of THIS WEEK: WITH RYAN FELDMAN, the co-owner and director of the show took time out of his very busy schedule to share his thoughts on the players we’ve seen this month and what we can expect next week.
We had the Bounty Game, the return of Britney and Hoodie Allen, along with a surprise appearance from Ryan Garcia a couple of weeks ago. Plus, we saw some huge binks, “bleffs,” and battles recently – even some record-breaking pots. Before we talk about what’s coming up this week and around the corner on HCL, let’s talk about some of your favorite moments from the last few weeks.
Just having Britney in the mix in the last week was a lot of fun – it’s always great to have Britney. She’s actually going to be on the show every day this week. We’ve also had Sashimi a bunch over the last couple of weeks. We got George back on Friday – he hadn’t played in over two years. JBoogs took off a couple of weeks and he’s back today. In terms of moments, for me, it was cool to have some of these people back in the mix that haven’t played in a while or don’t play that often.
Karate Combat presented HCL’s first-ever sit-and-go tournament event – featuring Phil Hellmuth and Jeff Gross alongside some very big names from the hand-to-hand combat world, the President of Karate Combat, and two brothers who are very influential in the Cryto world. Tell us about putting together that show, seeing it all come together last night and when you think we will see the next Karate Combat tournament event on HCL?
It was a very fun event. Phil Hellmuth and Jeff Gross approached me with the idea. I was all for it right away! It’s always great to have people on the show who are from “worlds” outside of poker – athletes, influencers, people like that. We had a mix of two MMA fighters, some social media people – like Bryce and the Alt Coin Daily guys, and Mike Majlak. I really enjoyed that show. I thought it was a lot of fun – it was different. It was the first time we ever did a sit and go structure on Hustler Casino Live and I think it’s something we’ll do again in the future at some point.
Several of them – if not all of the guys, except for Jeff and Phil – really didn’t know a lot about poker or even tournament structure – just like I don’t know a whole lot about the hand-to-hand combat world. There’s a lot of interchangeability of audiences there which is great for both industries.
It was really cool to see people like Uriah and Luke Rockhold playing poker after having so much success in UFC.
Yea, those guys kind of had a verbal tussle, didn’t they?
Yeah! And I think it was kinda real. I think it was funny. Before the game when we were organizing everything in the group chat, they were feuding there. So, I kinda knew that it was maybe a little real, a little playful. It was interesting to see that play out on our show.
“President Awesome” was definitely looking forward to scheduling their fight on Karate Combat. What else can the ChatPros expect next week as the anticipation builds for the MDG?
This week should be fun! We have a lot of people playing this week. Tonight, we have this guy Slick Ric – a poker influencer on Instagram, a young guy making a lot of content. Nikos is here for three days, Action Dan is back tomorrow and Friday. We have TrikTime playing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. He used to play on those TCH streams down in Texas, he’s played on the Lodge and Champions Club a few times. Then, we got Britney back, Sashimi’s here on Thursday and Friday. A lot of cool people are playing this week before we get into the Million Dollar Game.
The Million Dollar Game is right around the corner! You all must have your hands full in preparation for this iconic event while also running the show every weekday – all at the same time. The energy around there has to be at max hype right now! Tell us about what that’s like for you and your AMAZING team.
It’s a bit stressful because we’re getting close. There’s still a lot of things that need to be buttoned up. I’m getting a little nervous and stressed out – but that’s just how it works. We’re hoping to firm everything up in the next few days – the lineups and the all the organization around it. But once everyone’s there it’s going to be exciting.
What kind of changes will we see to the game? (specifically blinds and any other mechanical stuff like that)
As of now, we plan on doing $500/$1000 plus $2000 big blind ante. It’s a bigger big blind ante than last year to start. Last year the big blind ante got bigger throughout; so we’ll stick with that and let the players dictate anything else that happens after that.
Since last year’s Million Dollar Game, The Stand-Up Game has quickly become a staple on the HCL stage. Will we see that variation implemented during this year’s Million Dollar Game? If so, how much will the bounty be? Or, is it just too soon to tell?
Last year we did it where we built it in and we said $6k – but they only did it a few times. I think this year, I’m just going to let the players dictate. If they want to do it, then they can pick the price and decide for themselves.
About two weeks ago, you and Nick Vertucci were interviewed on The Doug Polk Podcast where you gave a rundown of the lineup as it existed at that time. Have there been many changes since? All the ChatPros want to know: Who’s playing?
I’m still trying to confirm everybody, but as of now the first day we have Peter, Santhoth, Keating, Texas Mike, Brandon Steven, Charlie, Hook. Not sure yet about Santhosh’s friend – if he’s not in then I’ll have to figure out who the last spot is because we’re going to go seven-handed. The players for the other days are looking like they’re the same. We’re in decent shape – just need to confirm a lot of people.
Recently the Monthly Meet Up Game moved to the last Friday of the Month. Will there be a Million Dollar Game Watch Party and Meet Up Game on May 31st?
The Meet Up Game will be every day of the Million Dollar Game for anyone that wants to watch. Come up to Larry Flynt’s Bar and Grill, hang out and watch the game – it should be fun!
Before you jet off to put yet another show together, are there any other surprises you can give the ChatPros today?
That’s about it! Just working on these games – getting everyone together and trying to see if we can get any last minute special guests. We’ll have some pre-game shows as well each day – tune in for that! The game starts each day at 3pm PST; the pre-game show will be 1pm on Tuesday and 1:30pm on all the other days.
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