Ryan Feldman, co-owner of Hustler Casino Live, revealed on PokerNews’ Life Outside Poker podcast that he was kicked out of the 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event over a conflict of interest stemming from his employment at ESPN.
In the 16th episode of the podcast, host Connor Richards speaks with the producer/founder of the most popular livestream in poker history about why he was booted from poker’s biggest tournament, along with numerous other topics such as sports journalism, interviewing star athletes, leaving ESPN to start a poker stream, founding HCL and putting together some of the most entertaining lineups in poker history.
Feldman went into detail on the podcast about why he was booted from the Main Event, and it’s a story he’s never shared publicly, but one worth the listen.
“You either have to withdraw from the tournament or you might lose your job,” Feldman was told on Day 3 of the $10,000 buy-in world championship event.
Hear what Feldman had to say in detail about the “brutal start” to his poker career post-ESPN following the Main Event disqualification on the newest edition of the Life Outside Poker podcast below:
This interview was filmed in July at the 2024 WSOP inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Ryan Feldman by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
Be sure to follow Ryan Feldman and Connor Richards on X.
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Time Stamps
| TIME | TOPIC |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Intro |
| 0:45 | Sports journalism |
| 5:57 | Starting NBA website |
| 8:28 | Interviewing NBA players |
| 17:15 | Working for ESPN |
| 23:46 | Moving to LA & getting into poker |
| 29:00 | Leaving ESPN for poker |
| 31:34 | Kicked out on Day 3 of 2016 WSOP Main Event |
| 40:17 | Poker production & lineup building |
| 43:51 | Live at the Bike |
| 45:32 | Starting Hustler Casino Live |
| 46:22 | Million Dollar Game |
| 47:32 | Mr. Beast game |
| 51:01 | Can poker streams continue growing? |
| 53:51 | Dream HCL guests |
| 55:59 | J4, Garrett & Robbi |
| 1:04:28 | Alan Keating & Cody Daniels story |
| 1:10:53 | Advice for younger self |
| 1:13:46 | Life lesson from poker |
Editor & Live Reporter U.S.