Pittsburgh’s Frank “Franco” Bonacci first caught the poker tournament bug in 2002 when he made a deep run in a $10 tournament. Two decades later, Bonacci continues to crush and recently won his third and fourth World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rings on WSOP Pennsylvania.
During the Super Series in December 2023, Bonacci first took down Event #10 – $215 NLH 6-Max before later winning Event #11 – $1,000 NLH High Roller 8-Max.
PokerNews caught up with Bonacci, who last summer finished 44th in the WSOP Main Event for a career-best $229,000, to talk about his recent tear on WSOP PA, what motivates him and how he became a professional poker player.
Learn More About Online Poker in PA!
Dropping Out & Moving to Atlantic City
Thirty-seven-year-old Bonacci grew up in Pittsburg and the Richmond, Virginia area and got his first taste of tournament success at age 16 when he drove his inebriated uncle to a home game tournament.
“His dad, my grandfather, wouldn’t let him drive so he got me to drive him and told me he’d buy me in,” Bonacci told PokerNews. “Got second and was hooked. Took the idea back to high school with me and we started playing every week, sometimes multiple times a week.”
Bonacci eventually discovered online poker and won a few satellites before making a live final table that made him think “I could make this work full time.”
With $12,000 to his name, 21-year-old Bonacci dropped out of Virginia Tech, quit his bartending job and moved to Atlantic City.
“(I) found a GREAT opportunity on Craig’s List to sublease a room off a go-go dancer who was in a drawn out custody battle for her child, and off I went,” he said. “Ahh, simpler times.”
“From there I was really fortunate to have some great people in my corner, who offered their time, knowledge and in some cases money, to help me succeed in playing for a living. Definitely would not be able to do this full time today if it wasn’t for them.”
Winning Two Rings On WSOP PA
These days, Bonacci mainly finds himself playing mid and high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) cash games in the Pittsburgh area.
“Nothing more fun than being at a FT and getting to put 5 guys in ICM hell all at once.”
“$5/$5/$10 once or twice a week and $10/$25/$50 once or twice a week,” Bonacci said. “Online most days when any decent game runs. We get $2/$5 most days, $5/$10 pretty frequently, then $10/$20 and $25/$50 kinda run at random when people who like to gamble are online.”
Still an online grinder at heart, Bonacci played the December 2023 series on WSOP PA and ran hot to win his third and fourth rings. After that, he finished sixth in the Super Series Main Event as he “was looking for the hat trick.”
And in a fitting tribute to fellow Pittsburgh grinder and WSOP star Nicholas Rigby, Bonacci won the High Roller event while holding the “Dirty Diaper.”
“Nothing more fun than being at a FT and getting to put 5 guys in ICM hell all at once,” he reflected. “Ran hot. Got to push the all in button a ton.”
The family man with a wife, kids and two dogs told PokerNews he is “not overly excited about the rings, as they have to be one of the most diluted trophies in poker,” but added that the “family gets excited to see a tangible item I won, and a seat to the Tournament of Champions during the (2024 WSOP) is nice.”
“My goal in poker was always a pretty simple one,” he said. “I want every. f***ing dollar. If they come with trophies or rings or bracelets, great. If they come with a rubber band and in a Crown Royal bag, even better. But I honestly just enjoy battling both live and online, win or lose — nothing like that sleep after you’ve been at war for 30+ hours straight every now and then.”
For more on Frank “Franco” Bonacci, follow him on X at @FrancoBonacci.
