Table 1 Podcast

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This week we're joined by Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler. Most poker stories have some common thread. For Allen, that thread is curiosity.
Whether that be the mechanics of a card game or a video poker machine, or even your basic slot machine, Allen's played — and beaten — them all.
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to woodworking
4:15 Who is Allen Kessler?
10:04 Weekend Warrior Mode
15:39 Selling Phone Numbers?!
31:44 Vegas Baby!
40:00 Chain(saw)ing Some Poker Tourneys Together
45:38 The Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker
51:32 The WSOP + Fantasy Poker
1:07:38 Binking a slot for $1,000,000+
1:18:05 Which Bracelet is Allen Gonna Win?
Allen's Links:
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCVwTQG94x6mgJAgaIANr5TQ
X:
https://x.com/AllenKessler
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chainsawpoker/

Mike Matusow was one of the best players in the world.
And he knew it.
But before the bracelets… before the TV cameras… before the meltdowns…
He was just a kid in Las Vegas:
Getting picked on
Selling candy at school
Building a race car to find his place
Then he discovered gambling.
And it hit fast.
Video poker turned into addiction.
Addiction turned into poker.
Poker turned into dominance.
Within months, he goes from never playing poker… to sitting with legends like Johnny Moss.
To being told by the reigning World Champion:
“You’re one of the only ones who knows what’s going on.”
That’s how fast it happened.
But the story everyone thinks they know? That’s only part of it.
Because behind the wins… there’s a different story:
Drugs
Jail
Millions lost
Mental battles
Starting over again and again
And somehow… still competing at the highest level.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most intense careers in poker:
♠️ Getting bullied growing up and finding confidence through cars
♥️ Becoming addicted to gambling before poker
♦️ Learning poker and becoming elite almost instantly
♣️ Playing with legends in the 90s poker scene
♠️ The Scotty Nguyen backing story and calling his shot
♥️ The 2005 WSOP Main Event run — and how it slipped away
♦️ Russ Hamilton stealing millions from him
♣️ Jail, depression, and rebuilding his life
♠️ Why modern poker is broken and what players get wrong
♥️ The mindset required to win at the highest level
This one is raw, unfiltered, and a look at poker from someone who lived through every era of it.
Come Play With Us
https://table1.vegas
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Follow Mike
Twitter: https://x.com/themouthmatusow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikematusow
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.

John Borenstein wasn’t supposed to make it in poker.
He got kicked out of three high schools.
Finished with a GED.
And spent his teenage years running around New Jersey doing things that definitely weren’t part of any career plan.
Then one night… he ended up in a stolen van.
And that’s not even the craziest part.
Before he ever played a real tournament, he satellited into a $22 online event…
Overslept…
Woke up late…
And won it for $27,000.
In his parents’ basement.
From there?
He didn’t go pro the normal way.
He opened an underground poker club.
At 18.
We’re talking:
Armed robberies
Methhead regulars
Partners stealing rent money
Getting held at gunpoint
…and somehow…
that turned into a six-figure tournament career.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, John joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell one of the wildest poker stories you’ll hear.
Getting expelled from multiple high schools
The stolen van story that got him kicked out
Winning $27K as a teenager by accident
Running underground poker games at 18
Getting robbed at gunpoint in a home game
Losing everything… then winning it back in 24 hours
The Colossus run with 22,000 players
Why he hates modern poker
This one is chaos, comedy, and somehow still a success story.
Show Notes
00:00 — Getting kicked out of school
Three high schools → GED with honors
3:44 — First poker games + early suspensions
Running games in empty classrooms
5:07 — The stolen van story
Car theft → crash → expulsion
12:52 — First big online score ($27K)
Satellite → overslept → wins anyway
16:46 — Starting an underground poker club
Turning winnings into a business at 18
22:29 — Armed robbery at the game
Held at gunpoint in a home game
27:29 — Quits poker → Amazon job
Trying to go “normal”
29:47 — Wins $40K → quits job immediately
Back to poker full-time
36:01 — PCA trip + early tournament success
First big live scores
42:24 — WSOP Colossus final table run
22,000-player field → first major result
47:30 — Why he hates modern poker
Solver era vs old-school instincts
52:59 — The Tinder story begins
Peggy Sue enters the chat…
1:09:17 — $50K blackjack punt → comeback
Loses everything… wins it back next day
Come Play With Us
https://table1.vegas
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Follow John
Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsmejonb
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.

Justin Saliba had $30,000.
Sitting on the couch.
Watching TV with his dad.
By the end of the day…
$0.
Not one hand.
Not one bad beat.
Just kept firing… until it was all gone.
“I had over 30K… and I hit zero.”
That moment could’ve been the end.
Instead… it was the start.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Justin Saliba joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most volatile, honest, and fascinating paths in poker.
From growing up in Ohio playing neighborhood games…
to chasing a professional soccer career…
to moving to Vegas with six months to “make millions”…
…and eventually becoming a $10M+ tournament crusher.
Along the way, we get into:
Losing his entire bankroll early in his career
Why he HATED his first Vegas grind
The coaching deal that saved his poker career
Being accused of cheating — and how he responded
Recording his entire session… then winning a bracelet
Going on a heater that changed everything
The mindset shift that took him to the highest stakes
This one is raw, honest, and a perfect look at what it actually takes to survive (and win) in high-stakes poker.
Show Notes
(AI generated from the transcript. Please excuse any AI slop.)
0:38 — Intro + motivation to chase events
Flying across the world when the “feeling” is there
6:12 — Growing up in Ohio + poker origin story
Learning poker from his older brother during the Moneymaker boom
10:03 — College life + soccer career path
Chasing pro soccer before poker becomes real
23:27 — Post-college limbo → poker focus
Living at home, trying to figure life out
25:20 — $30K → $0 bankroll collapse
The swing that changed everything
27:26 — Calling Jonathan Little
Internship → coaching → rebuilding from zero
32:28 — Moving to Vegas (with 6-month plan)
“I’ll make millions and come back”
37:47 — The Vegas reality check
Grinding Bellagio cash… and hating it
48:03 — COVID poker boom
Online games explode + first big tournament score
50:40 — Mexico grind with Rampage / high-stakes push
Trying to break into tournament world
57:45 — First major live FT + brutal lesson
Brock Wilson story on the bubble
1:07:14 — Cheating accusations
High-stakes pros questioning him
1:07:46 — Recording everything → winning bracelet
The ultimate “prove it” moment
1:13:15 — Heater + high-stakes breakthrough
Winning trip after trip
1:21:24 — Triton final table + validation
Proving he belongs at the highest level
1:27:15 — Life now + future goals
Balancing motivation, poker, and life
Justin's Links
PokerCoaching.com
X - @justin_saliba
Table 1 Links
Come play at Table 1
Play with the T1 community online

Matt Stout learned to count with five-card draw.
Not math class.
Not flash cards.
Poker.
His older sister taught him the game when he was four years old — which feels either wholesome or deeply irresponsible depending on how you look at it.
Either way, it stuck.
By high school he was selling weed, playing hockey, and doing just enough in school to stay on the team. By college he’d found poker, gotten busted with a quarter pound, quit hockey, and fallen headfirst into the game.
Then everything sped up.
A paperwork mistake knocked him out of school.
He took what he had left to Atlantic City.
Ran it from about $4K to $50K in a matter of months.
Got staked by Sheets & Backs.
And suddenly the kid from Bayonne was battling high-stakes tournaments against some of the biggest names in poker.
That alone would’ve been enough story for one episode.
But Matt’s story gets weirder.
Because somewhere along the way, the poker pro became one of the most important charity poker operators in the country.
What started as a $10 college fundraiser became the Charity Series of Poker — raising millions for nonprofits and working with organizations like St. Jude and the Vegas Golden Knights.
And yes… we also get into how he met Katie Morgan. Because of course we do.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Matt joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about:
Learning poker as a kid
Getting busted and finding poker at the right time
Turning $4K into $50K
Getting staked by Sheets & Backs
Building the Charity Series of Poker
Meeting Katie Morgan
This one is funny, chaotic, and a reminder that poker careers rarely go where you think they will.
Sometimes the dream job doesn’t exist yet.
You just build it yourself.
Play with us in Vegas:
table1.vegas
Play online with the Table 1 community:
Phenom Poker
Learn more about CSOP:
charityseriesofpoker.org
Show Notes
3:47 — Learns poker at age 4
13:58 — College bust leads to poker
27:24 — $4K to $50K heater
52:30 — Charity Series of Poker begins
58:27 — The Negreanu text that changed things
1:13:05 — Meeting Katie Morgan
Art: @artparmann |
Your Perfect Poker Assistant: AskCharlotte.ai/poker

Justin: @justinyoung07