Pig Racing and Poker at the California State Fair; Interview with the Winner of the PokerNews Cup

In the 994th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway comes to you from the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Passport Season Finale at California's Thunder Valley Casino. That is where a special $400 buy-in, $250K GTD PokerNews Cup was held over the weekend. Not only did Chad play, but he also interviewed several of the players there, including one fresh off making a deep run in the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and another who won the first-ever major reentry tournament back in 2010. Chad then sat down with Thunder Valley Director of Poker Operations Ben Erwin to talk about the stop, followed by a chat with PokerNews Cup champ Peter Thao, who put on an impressive performance on his way to victory. Chad then headed with the PokerNews and RGPS crews to the California State Fair in Sacramento, where they had a little off-the-felt fun. That included betting on pig races, where Chad made it all the way to the finals and had his hopes riding on a little piggie named "Ace."  A new PokerNews Podcast drops four times a week in July! You can expect a new episode every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday 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 00:45 | Share Your Story 02:30 | Winner of first-ever re-entry tournament 04:04 | Chad's bustout 04:47 | California State Fair 05:25 | Day 2 of PokerNews Cup 06:20 | Interview w/ Thunder Valley's Ben Erwin 10:10 | RGPS Expedition Season 10:38 | Interview w/ PokerNews Cup champ Peter Thao