Things you might not know:
Johnny "World" Hennigan is known as a low key, self-deprecating likable poker player. He hasn't pursued the limelight preferring to play live cash games on the East Coast, and more recently in Nevada and California.- Hennigan first started hustling pool in Philadelphia before moving on the tougher pool halls of Atlantic City.
- Hennigan was a professional pool player before excelling in poker. He started to try out poker when he couldn't get a game of pool.
- Hennigan earned his first cash at the World Poker Finals at the Foxwoods Resort in the late 1990's.
- Hennigan is nicknamed "Johnny World" because he is willing to bet on anything in the world.
- Hennigan defeated a final table that included Phil Ivey and Men Nguyen to win his first WSOP bracelet.
- Hennigan defeated a final table that included David Chiu and T.J. Cloutier for win his second WSOP bracelet.
- Hennigan knocked out four of his five opponents when he won his WPT title.
- Hennigan was once named by Gavin Smith as the best player he ever faced.
- Hennigan played the role of Ralph Kaczynski in the movie Lucky You.
- Hennigan won the 2008 World Series of Poker charity event Ante Up for Africa and kindly donated his $100,000 winnings to the charity.
His penchant for betting on almost anything can be best summed up in this anecdote from Barry Greenstein:
A few years back, John laid me $19,000 to $5,000 against Tiger Woods in every tournament he played for the following two years. Tiger went on a tear, winning five of the next six tournaments he played in.
I was up almost $100,000 and John was calling me every week begging for a settlement. Each week, I turned him down. I was enjoying the bet, especially because it gave me a sweat every week Tiger played.
Finally, he pleaded that as a friend I had to settle because the bet had made him unable to play poker. He said, “I’m sitting here in Atlantic City playing $75-$150 trying to grind out $5,000 to $10,000 a week and every time I look up at the TV, I’m losing another $19,000."
We settled for a total of $200,000 and then Tiger cooled off. I might not have ended up winning anything.
I was up almost $100,000 and John was calling me every week begging for a settlement. Each week, I turned him down. I was enjoying the bet, especially because it gave me a sweat every week Tiger played.
Finally, he pleaded that as a friend I had to settle because the bet had made him unable to play poker. He said, “I’m sitting here in Atlantic City playing $75-$150 trying to grind out $5,000 to $10,000 a week and every time I look up at the TV, I’m losing another $19,000."
We settled for a total of $200,000 and then Tiger cooled off. I might not have ended up winning anything.
Hennigan videos of a couple of his WSOP final tables:
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