One of the most treasured and accomplished players in the game, Maria Ho, has been glaringly absent from this year's WSOP festivities, both on and off the felt.
This time last year, Maria was running deep in a few events, including a final table appearance and a sixth-place finish in the $10,000 HORSE event.
Maria also joined iconic commentators Norman Chad and Lon McEachern last year in the booth as fans followed the WSOP Main Event to its conclusion.
So, where in the world is Maria Ho?
'I miss being at the World Series'
Everyone is curious why you’re not at this year’s World Series of Poker.
I’m not at the WSOP this summer because I have other, more important priorities at the moment.
When I was younger, I never scheduled anything during the summer because the WSOP was the most important time for me. Now that I'm older, I realize that certain life events take precedence over going to Vegas to play poker.
We're sure you miss seeing everyone.
I miss being at the World Series. I miss seeing everybody, but I just have different priorities this year.
I can only assume you miss Norman Chad the most.
The thing is, even when I'm not with Norm or I don't see Norm, I can hear Norm in my head (laughs). So, yes, I love working with Norm.
Have you been playing poker?
I haven't been playing that much in the last couple of months. I've actually been studying a lot, because my time doesn't currently allow me to play as much. I want to stay sharp.
I'm studying on my own, with a coach, and just making sure I'm keeping up with the game.
We miss you doing commentary at the series as well.
That is another way that I keep up with the game: doing commentary. I have been able to continue doing commentary remotely; that's been nice. I still feel like I'm part of the poker world, even though I'm not physically there.
I've done commentary for some of the PokerStars streams because they can take remote commentators. Obviously, I would love to commentate for PokerGO, but you have to be in person to do those streams.
'There were definitely times I was really burned out'
PokerOrg has followed and written about some of your closest friends at the series this year, such as Vanessa Selbst and Liv Boeree. It’s wonderful to see them competing again.
I love Vanessa and Liv, and I admire them so much. They are two women who have made their mark on the game. They've also been able to step away from the game and find other passions outside of poker.
Both of them have had a whole career now and are very successful outside of poker. I think that's just indicative of what multifaceted, talented women they are.
I hope that's going to be me one day, too, because we all love poker at the core. It would be nice to have the best of both worlds.
Hopefully, we will see you play or commentate again very soon.
I've been a fixture at the World Series of Poker for 16 years straight. This is the first time in 16 years that I have not been in Vegas at the start of the summer.
There were definitely times when I was really burned out, as I pushed myself to grind extremely hard.
Do you have any regrets about not being here at the WSOP?
Not really. I thought that I would miss it so much more, this being my first year away.
But what I realized is, yes, I miss playing and competing, but I didn't miss that feeling of forcing myself to play even when I didn't feel like it.
Many times, that resulted in me not playing my best. I don't miss that feeling. And I don't miss the pressure that I put on myself every single day to get out there and to be in the mix.
I know that when I do get back in the mix, I'll be refreshed and ready to go.
We look forward to seeing you back in the commentary booth or at the tables soon.
Thanks! I wish everyone the best this summer.
You can follow Maria on X
Check out the new poker game co-created by Maria, called Pokerriculum, designed to supercharge home games and enhance your poker skills.
