Good or Bad? Our Poker Predictions for 2026; Will the WSOP Raise the Main Event Buy-in?

In the 933rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow kick off Season 17 with some poker predictions for 2026. Will the Big Beautiful Bill's gambling tax situation be resolved or lead to big ramifications in the industry? Will Phil Hellmuth win his 18th gold bracelet? Would the World Series of Poker (WSOP) ever raise the buy-in for the Main Event?

The triumvirate also covers recent stories, including poker players Galen Hall and Jason Somerville winning big in the Circa Survivor content, arbitration ending between Maurice Hawkins and Denise Pratt, and Lex Veldhuis returning to the streaming streets, albeit not as a PokerStars Ambassador. Similarly, Caitlin Comeskey's ambassadorship with PokerStars US came to an end, and got the crew asking, "Is there still value in poker ambassadors?"

You'll also see a short interview of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel chatting with Rep. Dina Titus about the aforementioned tax bill, hear about Jeremy Becker and Matthew Wantman winning titles at the Venetian, and another book giveaway for a copy of Jonathan Little's The Complete Poker Workout.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Time Stamps *Time Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 01:40 | Poker players win big in Circa's Survivor contest 08:20 | Maurice Hawkins arbitration ends 21:56 | Lex Veldhuis is back! 26:07 | What are the value of "Poker Ambassadors" nowadays? 30:00 | Poker predictions for 2026 30:42 | Video: Erik Seidel chats w/ Rep. Dina Titus 38:29 | Trivia – Venezuela's all-time money list 40:03 | Is late reg and unlimited reentries a problem? 47:45 | Could WSOP Main Event be $15,000? 49:50 | Hellmuth will win bracelet No. 16 in 2026 50:30 | Recent Tournament Winners presented by 888poker 51:18 | Jeremy Becker claims title at Venetian 51:35 | Matthew Wantman kicks off New Year with win 51:46 | Preston Dean wins RoughRider Poker Tour title 52:10 | Jonathan Little book giveaway 54:13 | Disc golf with TJ Reid