In the 980th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow are joined by Hayden "Big Red" Hetland at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas.

The quartet discusses the latest stories from the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), starting with the controversial "dead hand" ruling made against Patrick "Pads" Leonard. Not only will you see videos of what happened, but Chad also caught up with Pads for an exclusive interview to discuss the aftermath.

From there, it's a discussion about an X-rated card protector, the eight Poker Hall of Fame nominees, and big bracelet wins by Josh Reichard and Eelis Parssinen. Speaking of big wins, Benny Glaser got the job done in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship (PPC), giving him his ninth bracelet in 11 years! It also came just a year after he shipped an incredible three bracelets. See PokerNews' winner interview with Glaser, who was clearly emotional after the victory.

Finally, the crew thanks sponsor Think Jerky, which you can order here.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops three times a week during the 2026 WSOP! You can expect a new episode every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 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 00:55 | Big Red joins the show 02:00 | Dead hand ruling at 2026 WSOP 02:24 | Videos of hand 06:35 | Interview w/ Patrick Leonard 12:40 | X-rated card protector 16:17 | Benny Glaser wins $50K PPC 20:34 | Winner interview w/ Benny Glaser 25:25 | Poker Hall of Fame nominees 32:16 | Josh Reichard claims first bracelet 35:35 | Eelis Parssinen wins second bracelet of summer 37:17 | Think Jerky