MMORPGs and poker don’t really have much to do with each other. But for poker star Justin Bonomo, things are different; he owes his career to a certain extent to the MMORPG Everquest.
Who is it about? Poker millionaire Justin Bonomo has earned the equivalent of around 58 million euros playing poker in his career. As a teenager, however, he was an avid player of the MMORPG Everquest.
The poker millionaire began to have success at various tournaments in the trading card game “Magic: The Gathering” at an early age. He also won his first prize money there. At one of the tournaments, friends told him about the then new Everquest.
He loved the game and spent his two hours of online time every day playing Everquest. He wasn’t allowed to stay longer because the internet and telephone were still technically on the same line and Everquest prevented other people in the household from making phone calls.
In an interview with PCGamer he said: “I loved the game, I was obsessed with it.”
If you now feel like playing poker, you might be happy with Balatro:
Trailer for the roguelike poker game Balatro by LocalThunk
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From Everquest to poker star
How did his story continue? Everquest completely captivated the then teenager.
“It was the first time I’d played a game that was so immersive. You were in this world, exploring it and doing so many crazy things. I remember explaining to people that one area was the size of a whole kilometer and you could travel around the world for hours without seeing the same place twice. It was a very unusual thing at the time.”
After his early days, he also joined one of the top guilds on his and started completing the most difficult challenges in the game.
Little by little, however, his friends switched from Magic: The Gathering to poker. This was a trend among professional players at the time. The young Justin Bonomo also started playing poker.
What does Everquest have to do with poker? Justin seemed to play Everquest less and less and devoted himself more to his other hobbies. One day he decided to sell his Everquest account.
“I don’t even remember how I met the guy, but it was through AOL Instant Messenger, and he offered me $500 if I sold my character.” Bonomo did just that, and parked the $500 in his Paypal account.
Once he had the foundations of poker, he started playing poker for money. To finance this, he used the $500 he still had on Paypal and invested it in his poker account.
Thanks to the money he received from selling his Everquest account, he was able to start playing poker for real money.
Today, Justin Bonomo is the player who has made the second most winnings in the world in his life. If you’re now in the mood for poker, but the classic version is too boring, you’ll probably find your luck at Balatro. The game mixes the classic elements with those of a roulette-like: The new indie hit is like poker, but much better – costs only €14