One of the most entertaining players to grace the poker tables of Hustler Casino Live in recent years is Nick Palma. Known to many as ‘Nicky P’, Nick won his first-ever WSOP bracelet online this week, claiming $78,998 in the $2,000-entry Progressive Knockout tournament. Thrilled with his first bracelet, we caught up with Nick to find out how he did it and lift the lid on the drama behind the action on HCL.

Grabbing the Gold

“I stayed composed, won a couple of hands I needed to and overtook him.”

Winning a World Series of Poker bracelet often feels like a vindication of years of hard work to those few players who have won one. This is doubtless the case with Nick, who admits that he is ‘thrilled’ with the victory.

“It was a really tough tournament,” says Nick. “It was a 200-person, $2,000-entry online event. Not that many non-professionals are playing a $2k online. When we got down to two tables, there were many great players. Clemen Deng had a tonne of chips and a massive chip lead. He’s one of the best players in the world and was very difficult.”

The competition was tough, and Nick was all the happier to win that first WSOP title.

“It was tough, and it felt worthy of it,” he says. “I lost a big flip ace-king to jacks with 12 left, and I had nine big blinds [afterwards]. I was sat to the left of Clemen Deng, who had 160 big blinds. I stayed composed, won a couple of hands I needed to and overtook him. Next thing I knew we were heads-up for the bracelet. It felt great.”

In the final hand, a lot of the chips were on the line, giving Nick a huge sweat for his winning moment. With a lot of outs, Nick’s heads-up opponent Jim Collopy was only a 27% dog to the turn and river.

“I was sweating the moment pretty hard!” Nick smiles. “Truly, I knew [his outs] weren’t coming. I felt like it was my time and if you keep putting the work in, keep your head down and do things the right way, it’s going to come. Hopefully, it’s the first of many and I’m going to keep working hard to make sure that happens.”

Plaudits from Players

“I came from nothing. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it can happen to you.”

Nick’s final moment, which he shared on X, saw him win that crucial flip and celebrate. As he tells us, he has known his final opponent a long time.

“I’ve known Jim him for a long time, he’s a great player and a great guy… and tough competition. I went over to my buddy’s house in the Bronx to play it and made a video on X on my way over. I made a video coming back later that night as a bracelet winner.”

Receiving plaudits from other players is always nice but some greats of the game have complimented Nick on his result. This respect from his peers means more to Nick than the top prize.

“I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I’ve never cared about money,” Nick admits. “I’ve only cared about working hard and being dedicated. I’m showing people that if you put the work in, the right things can happen. I want to be an example. I came from nothing. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it can happen to you. You can experience adversity and setbacks but if you set your mind to it, anything is possible.”

After such an important win, Nick was struck by the moment’s gravity, especially when he received congratulations from some of his own poker heroes. “It felt great to get compliments from [Chris] Moorman, who I was battling with in that tournament and many other great players. I talk my smack, but I respect all the players, and they know that. I respect all the grinders who are trying to get to the top and make something of themselves. I just love poker – I think it’s the greatest game of all time. It felt amazing to get praise from people who I respect and admire.”

Bringing the Heat on Hustler Casino Live

“He was out of line, and I’ll let anyone know that.”

Nick is well known for his cash game action as part of the Hustler Casino Live show and has battled with players such as Mariano and Nik Airball for many years. He is a huge fan of the show and finds the players we’ve mentioned and many others fascinating.

“Mariano and Nik Airball play a loose, crazy style. There’s a lot of money in the middle and it’s No Limit. Anything can happen and it gets the juices going. I enjoy playing with all the guys. They seem to be successful and live the dream.”

Just the other day on stream, Nick clashed with Mariano after Nick took his time trying to induce a call on the river with the best hand. He puts a lot of that down to the stakes and situation, but Mariano accused him of slow play in the moment.

“I’m going to keep playing and I appreciate everyone watching and giving me support over the years,” says Nick “I went at it with Mariano but we were just battling. The people who are criticising don’t know how to play poker or are not professionals. The blinds are $25/$50 in the game, there’s $50k in the pot going to the river. The average American’s salary is $55,000 for a college graduate. I tanked for 60 seconds on the river before shoving for $26,000 effective, an amount the average American works four or five months for.”

Nick thought that Mariano’s outburst was ‘pretty outlandish’ and believing him to be joking at first. Despite that, Nick has no less affection for Mariano than before the cards were in the air.

“No words were held back and I said how I feel, how I always will. He was out of line, and I’ll let anyone know that, watching or in the comments. I’m unapologetically me; I’ll admit when I’m wrong but I wasn’t in this instance. I could have handled myself a tad better, but the point was the point.”

The Heart of the Bronx

Coming from the Bronx area of New York, Nick’s background often informs his personality. It’s part of what keeps him fighting for success at the poker felt.

“Being from the Bronx gives you a tough skin and it teaches you about life,” Nick says. “Poker is life. Every aspect of life is in poker. It teaches you how to be a man, how to lose, to win when things are or aren’t going well. In poker, you have to handle emotions. It teaches you about yourself, just like sports do, to face failure and yourself.”

Failure is part of poker and Nick has long learned that every lesson, no matter how painful, is worth taking.

“A lot of people have a problem with that. That’s when you’re going to see who you are. When you fall down, when it seems like its all over, you have to keep going. Sometimes where you’re from can help. It’s easy to give up and stop going. The real fighters, the true legends keep going no matter what. If you don’t, no-one else is going to keep going for you.”

As Nick describes, focus is everything in poker. From getting good rest to having a solid support system around, he knows that concentration is everything. If you’re at the felt, whether online or live, then you need to bring your ‘A Game’.

“I’m a different animal, with how dedicated I am and how hard I go,” Nick says. “If you’re heart’s not in poker, you’re not going to win. You can’t be thinking about real-life problems, your girlfriend, anything else going on. When you’re at the table, it’s you and the cards and your decision-making. Nothing else matters.”

As Nick Palam says, after winning his first WSOP bracelet, one of the most entertaining players in the game will continue to fight for more success at the felt.