The May WGA Poker Group tournament was a delicious luau of high-stakes action, where 31 players don their finest Hawaiian shirts and paddled into poker paradise, but only one would ride the wave to victory.

This tournament was extra special because we were also celebrating the birthday of your tournament director, Aaron Ho (that’s me!). Thank you for the well wishes and helping us eat the ridiculously large Lilo & Stitch-themed birthday cake. Now you might wonder, did your birthday translate to some extra luck on the felt? Well, watch the video below to find out!

The most insane board EVER in WGA Poker Group history occurred between Dan Signer and Nick Stanton, when they both found themselves all-in preflop with K♥️️Q♠️️ and 8♦️️8♣️️, respectively.  The flop of K♦️️Q♣️️8♠️️ gave Nick a set and Dan top two-pair. Dan then hit the miracle K♣️️on the turn, making a larger full house of Kings full of eights compared to Nick’s eights full of kings. With just 2% equity, Nick would need to find the one remaining eight in the deck to survive. Like Babe Ruth calling his shot, the dealer yelled “eight” as he peeled the river and to our astonishment, the 8♥️️ hit the felt, completing a four-of-a-kind for Nick! What is this, a James Bond movie?! Dan was left shaken AND stirred as Nick collected the pot. Watch the recap below! 

After several hours of play and birthday cake was consumed, we finally arrived to our final table of nine. The first to sink beneath the tide was Roy “Boy Toy Roy” Chang when his 3♦️️3♥️️ was swept out to sea by Joyce “JLeee” Lee’s A♠️️7♠️️. After getting their chips all-in, the dealer served up the flop — 8♣️️7♥️️5♥️️. Joyce snagged middle pair and the lead, but Roy still had hope. Unfortunately, the K♣️️ and 2♦️️on the turn and river locked up the pot for Joyce, leaving Roy with a tsunami of disappointment as he finished in 9th place. Hey, for your first time playing with us, that’s not bad! 

Guy “River Rat” Yosub swam in next, but his K♦️️2♥️️ was no match for Grant “Gugliacci” Taylor’s pocket sevens. The flop — K♠️️T♥️️7♣️️. Guy made top pair, but Grant had flopped a set! The turn of 9♥️️ and river of J♥️️ were no help to Guy, officially wiping out in 8th place.

With blinds at 10k-20k, Lisa Dickey turned up the heat and sent Erika “Lucky Enough” Kaestle up in flames in back-to-back hands. Lisa’s A♠️️6♦️️ roasted Erika’s K♣️️2♦️️ when the flop landed Q♣️️9♥️️J♦️️. The turn — 5♦️️. The river — 9♠️️. Ace high would be enough to scoop, leaving Erika with just 2k in chips as she clung to her life raft. One hand later, Lisa smelled blood in the water and struck again, shoving all-in with her A♥️️9♠️️ versus Erika’s J♦️️2♠️️. The board of 3♥️️3♣️️7♦️️K♥️️ 5♣️️ was no help, leaving Erika to drown in shark-infested waters and a 7th place finish.

Producer and magician, Adam Cole, tried to conjure up some extra chips when he shoved all-in against Randi Barnes. Always the skeptic, Randi found a call. To our surprise, they revealed the same hand — A♥️️J♦️️ for Adam and A♠️️J♥️️ for Randi. Their hands should tie 97% of the time, but a flop of 7♠️️7♣️️3♠️️ gave Adam a sweat and Randi a freeroll as she held the valuable A♠️️ in her hand. The turn — 2♠️️. Could it be?  Runner-runner flush?  No one is THAT lucky.  The dealer slowly peeled the river… T♠️️! Shock and awe filled the room as Randi made the nut flush, leaving Adam with just 7k in chips. Though he managed a quadruple-up shortly after, the ocean currents pulled him under when he was forced all-in with 6♦️️3♦️️ against Grant’s A♦️️K♠️️. The board of Q♥️️6♥️️A♠️️5♣️️A♣️️ meant Grant’s trip aces would sink Adam like the Titanic in 6th place.

Short on chips, Lisa made one last stand, but her Q♣️️7♣️️ got immediately buried in the sand by Randi’s pocket aces (A♣️️A♦️️). The board of T♠️️5♣️️9♠️️9♦️️3♠️️ was no help, with Lisa getting officially lei’d off in 5th place. They say in marriage, “What’s mine is yours.” This is proof that it’s actually true! 

Joyce tried to surf up some chips with A♦️️8♣️️, but Jay “Moose” Moriarty’s Q♥️️T♥️️ carved out two pair on a flop of J♥️️T♦️️Q♦️️. The turn of A♥️️ gave Joyce some more outs to win or tie, but the river of 5♠️️ was not one of them. Joyce may have wiped out in 4^th place here, but I have no doubt she’ll be splashing at a final table again in no time.

Next up, Jay shoved all-in from the small blind with A♠️️9♥️️ and received a call from Grant in the big blind with the K♠️️T♥️️. The board ran out Q♥️️A♣️️A♥️️3♣️️9♣️️, giving Jay a boat and a tidal wave of chips pushing toward him.  Grant was left with only 2k behind, eventually getting forced all-in with J♠️️4♣️️ racing against Randi’s pocket twos. The flop — K♦️️5♥️️6♠️️. The turn — K♠️️. The river — K♣️️. Pocket deuces never loses!  Randi stacked up the chips as Grant was left shipwrecked in 3rd place.

The final storm raged between Jay and Randi in a dramatic, all-in showdown. On the flop of 9♠️️6♠️️4♦️️, Randi shoved with A♣️️6♥️️ for second pair. Jay called with J♠️️8♠️️, sitting on a flush draw, backdoor straight draw, and hopes of a higher pair.  It was a virtual coinflip, with Jay having a slight equity advantage due to his abundant number of outs despite only having Jack high. The dealer reached for the turn… 9♣️️. No help, but Jay still had a 34% chance to improve. Everything hinged on the river… 3♥️️! Miss! Randi’s pair held, sending the Beach Boy back to the mainland while earning herself the title of big kahuna! Congratulations Randi on becoming a 2x WGA Poker Group Champion!

Here is a summary of the tournament results. Congrats to all our finalists! 

1^st – Randi Barnes
2^nd – Jay “Moose “Moriarty
3^rd – Grant “Gugliacci” Taylor
4^th – Joyce “JLeee” Lee
5^th – Lisa Dickey
6^th – Adam Cole
7^th – Erika “Lucky Enough” Kaestle
8^th – Guy “River Rat” Yosub
9^th – Roy “Boy Toy Roy” Cheng

Special thanks to my wife, Nichole, for helping run the tournament as well as to Jay Moriarty and the Burbank Moose Lodge. I’d also like to thank our amazing dedicated dealers — Jeff Meyers, Adam Cole, Jason Cho, and Grant Taylor. 

Our next tournament is planned for July. Please stay tuned for updates via facebook or the e-newsletter. Also, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The tiki torches have burned out, but the legend of this tropical showdown will live forever. Be sure to check out photos from the tournament below and Lilo & Stitch in theaters now! Mahalo and Aloha! 🌺🍍🏝️🍹🏄‍♂️

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I’d like to invite you all to attend the “13th Annual Ed Asner & Friends Celebrity Poker Night” on June 14th in Studio City!

Funds raised will go the The Ed Asner Family Center, a non-profit that assists families with special needs. In their words…

“Join us for an unforgettable evening of poker, celebrities, and community as we celebrate the life and legacy of Ed Asner. Guests will enjoy exciting tournament play, a live silent auction, catering by Ma’s Italian Kitchen, cocktails, entertainment, and opportunities to mingle with celebrity players—all while supporting The Ed Asner Family Center, benefiting families with special needs.”

I’ve attended this event before with other writers and had an absolute blast!  I should be there again this year unless I make an insane run at the WSOP in Vegas (which wouldn’t be a bad excuse…). For more info and to buy tickets, head to the link below

On Saturday, May 31st, Chrysalis will be holding its annual “All In For Changing Lives” fundraising poker tournament in Santa Monica.  All proceeds will benefit Chrysalis programs (that means non-cash prizes awarded to top finishers).

Chrysalis’ mission is to serve people navigating barriers to the workforce by offering a job-readiness program, individualized supportive services, and paid transitional employment. More information can be found on their website.

In addition to the poker tournament, the event will include:

♣️️ Sponsored Bar
♦️️ Entertainment
♠️️ Tasty Bites & Buffet
♥️️ Games (this event has more than a poker tournament!)
🏆 Silent Auction & Prizes
🌴 Relaxation Stations

I happen to know that the WGA Poker Group’s very own, Guy Yosub, has frequented this event and made an impressive final table showing in the past. Way to represent! 

If you’d like to donate or buy tickets to attend the event as a player or non-player, they can be purchased using the links below.

Aloha! On Friday, May 16th, we won’t only be holding our next WGA Poker Group Tournament, but we’ll also be celebrating my birthday! As the birthday boy/middle-aged man, I’d like to shine a light on the live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch,” paddling into theaters a week later. No, I’m not being paid to say this, I’m just a really big fan of the original! So with that in mind, throw on your favorite Hawaiian shirt and sip on a Mai Tai as your poker chips brace for a Hawaiian roller coaster ride! 🎢 Will you be the first to wipe out or surf all the way to victory? 🌊🏄‍♂️

For full details and access to the RSVP link, please join our facebook group or subscribe to our e-newsletter.

Dear WGA Poker Group family,

This past March, the WGA Poker Group officially celebrated its one-year anniversary. That’s right — one year of ridiculous bluffs, hero calls, and unforgettable stories around the felt. I just want to take a moment to thank you all for your unwavering support, kindness, and participation. It’s been a life-changing experience and I’m truly thankful to have made so many friends along the way. During these challenging times, the WGA Poker Group has been a much-needed distraction and the perfect way to build community and camaraderie among our fellow scribes. I look forward to many more years of laughter, bad beats, and splashing chips at the table. And who knows, maybe I’ll even win one of these days! Probably not. 

Royally flushed,

Aaron Ho

In this new video, tournament crusher and WGA writer, Matt Salsberg (Weeds, Kidding), shares his insights on how Hollywood prepared him for high stakes poker and the similarities between the two crafts.

When you think about it, the writers’ room is just one big poker game.  It’s all about reading personalities and picking your spots. Just don’t go on tilt and when in doubt, raise the stakes!   

March is here, which means Saint Patrick is bringing us all the luck of the Irish just in time for our next WGA Poker Group Tournament!  Come join us on Friday, March 28th to see if you’ll be bringing home the green and the championship mug – perfect for enjoying a tall pint of Guinness!  

But wait, there’s more!  We’re also bringing back the bonus bounty!  At the start of the tourney, two players from each table will be designated “leprechauns” and receive a bounty button.  The lad or lassie who knocks them out of the tournament will receive an extra bonus from me pot of gold!  

For full details and access to the RSVP link, please join our facebook group or subscribe to our e-newsletter.

Do you like poker, meeting celebrities, and supporting a good cause?  Then we’ve got just the event for you!  

On Sunday, March 23rd, the WeSPARK Cancer Support Center will be holding Jason Alexander’s 23rd Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Skirball Cultural Center.  For just $160, you will enjoy a buffet lunch followed by a chance to rub elbows and poker chips with Hollywood’s biggest stars while vying for amazing prizes!

Co-chaired by the WGA Poker Group’s very own Jay “Moose” Moriarty, this tournament is loads of fun and best of all, you can sleep soundly knowing all proceeds benefit the WeSPARK Cancer Support Center.  Last year, the tournament raised over $150,000!  For over 20 years, WeSPARK has worked tirelessly to enhance the quality of life for cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones.  To learn more, check out https://wespark.org.

For more info and to register for their tournament, head to https://one.bidpal.net/jasonalexander2025.

Congratulations to Mike Carreon for his acceptance into the 2025 Disney Entertainment Writing Program!  Not only is he one of the fiercest players in the WGA Poker Group, but Mike brings positive vibes everywhere he goes!  Also, I hear if you rub his lush beard – it brings good luck.  Try it!  Actually, don’t.