PokerGO, the subscription-based poker media platform, is now the sole owner of the rights to air WSOP coverage, including the Main Event. They offer a monthly ($14.99), quarterly ($29.99), and annual ($99.99) subscription rates, and discount codes are often available for their annual plan for up to 30% off. They broadcast coverage of the WSOP Main Event, plenty of other bracelet events, quite a bit of original programming like High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, some archived footage of older poker events, and coverage of the Poker Masters, U.S. Poker Open, and Super High Roller Bowl as well.

While the amount of content available is essentially unparalleled in the poker world, and the bang you get for your buck at the discounted annual rate is pretty impressive, some people are still nonetheless hesitant to pay for the privilege of top-quality WSOP Main Event coverage.

And yet, there’s plenty of stuff that most folks regularly pay more than $15 a month for without the slightest bit of hesitation. Below, we list seven such things in order to demonstrate just how “worth it” PokerGO coverage is considering what you get for your money, and especially considering it can work out to even less than $7/month with a discounted annual subscription.

1. One Movie Ticket

Movie tickets these days typically cost anywhere from $11-$15, so that’s just slightly less than or the same cost as a PokerGO subscription. Who doesn’t love going to the movies? You get to see a new film on the big screen, experience the great sound system and even see some trailers for new movies coming out. But that’s just 2-3 hours of entertainment. And that’s if you go alone. And if you only go once a month. And if you don’t buy snacks or drinks.

2. Buying Coffee

I am a serial coffee buyer. Despite having both a french press and conventional coffee maker, I find myself pulling up to the drive through on many occasions for a quick cup of coffee. This usually rings in around $4 so I could get three whole coffees a month and have it be cheaper than PokerGO. I’ll just have to fire up that french press after I’ve had three so as to not go over the $15 mark. I imagine there are quite a few folks like me out there.

3. Premium Channel Subscriptions

If you decided to cut the cable cord like myself, you might find yourself with a network of premium channel subscriptions to get all your favorite shows. A lot of them cost $6-$10 per month. I usually subscribe to one if there is a specific show I want to watch, so for less than a PokerGO subscription I can watch just one show. It would seem like paying for a monthly poker subscription with regularly produced new poker content I know that I’ll love might be a better bargain.

4. Casino ATM Fees

Sure, I could take the extra few minutes on my casino commute to go to the correct bank and take my money out, but for the low price of about $7 I can withdraw money right in the poker room! That’s before my bank assesses their ATM fees, but those don’t count. Think of all the minutes I’ve saved by heading right to the casino and giving them more of my money with the ATM rake! Totally worth it!

5. Fast Food

Who doesn’t love the convenience of getting a hot meal without leaving your car? At the low cost of your health and less than $15 you could be getting a mediocre burger and fries plus a calorie-packed soda. It won’t give me thousands of hours of content like PokerGO, but it will give me a stomachache… so there’s that.

6. Two Drinks at a Bar

A night out with friends can be a great source of entertainment. Maybe you’ll remember for years what a great time you had on just that one night… or, perhaps, you could consider that you’d get months and months worth of content on PokerGO.

So, for less than $15 I could get two, maybe even three drinks at a bar with friends! Or, just perhaps, its more worthwhile to buy a couple six-packs and lounge in your living room with those friends while watching some great poker.

7. Books

Most books, especially poker books, cost around $15, some a little less, some a little more depending on whether it’s a hardcover or softcover. So it’s fair to say you can find plenty of books for less than a PokerGO subscription. But you can only read a book for the first time once. Even if you re-read them a few times each you’re capping your enjoyment and the hours of entertainment you can get. So you get less entertainment from the book, but at least it’s less than a PokerGO subscription, well at least sometimes.

In Summary

As you can see, there are in fact plenty of things you can spend $15 or less on. I’m sure you’ve thought of more than the seven we’ve listed. At the end of the day however, the entertainment value may only be a few hours or minutes; i.e., far less than what a PokerGO subscription provides you with.

Of course, PokerGO does also host a lot of free streams on YouTube, so you don’t always HAVE to pay. But that’s besides the point. The fact of the matter is $15 per month — and, again, potentially under $7 with the right discount code for an annual subscription — for access to thousands of hours of poker content, years of WSOP coverage, and original shows and stress is pretty darn worthwhile in the grand scheme of things.

As I noted in a recent op-ed, a very talented, experienced team of professionals in the online poker space have collaborated to produce a first-rate online poker offering, and that – for some reason – doesn’t seem to be generating as much buzz as it ought to be.

For a closer look at the online poker site itself, I invite you to check out our 4Poker room review. But that’s not what this particular op-ed is about. I wanted to know more about the people who’ve “made the site happen” and their approach to running an online poker site.

4Poker: Making a Name for Itself

The challenge of any new online poker site, especially in a crowded field that includes numerous household names and legacy operators, is to distinguish themselves and stand out from that aforementioned crowd. Pointedly, over the last few months, the team at 4Poker has produced a dozen top-quality videos that demonstrate what the site is about, how it will operate, and the unique selling points (USPs) that make it different than the other online poker sites out there. I believe those videos are quite instructive as to the team’s overall approach, and they go a long way towards demonstrating the extent to which 4Poker is about far more than “just” Bryn Kenney.

A Model of Openness and Transparency

The first video in the “Inside 4Poker series” features an interview with the company’s CEO, Heath Cram, as well as a shorter secondary chat with their Director of Marketing Tom Lenihan. At almost nine minutes long, that’s about a third of the total length of the 12-part video series. It’s also the most must-see of the lot.

The video series began being released six months ago and on camera they’re talking about how the company started its journey two years prior. So, while they’re a just-launched online poker room, their team has been working on creating 4Poker for 2.5 years now. More than half a dozen of the company’s key employees, from CEO on down to the Directors of Marketing, Legal Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Customer Experience, Payment Processing, and others feature in the interviews, which were conducted by veteran poker broadcaster Matthew Broughton.

4Poker’s Founding: Going Retro but with a Modern Twist

To bring a good idea to life, it takes enough people who believe in it enough to put their money where their mouths are. Kenney recruited “30-40 professional poker players” as the site’s initial investors. The team of poker industry professionals they recruited has “a combined over 150 years of experience” among them.

4Poker is based out of the Isle of Man, and — perhaps fittingly — the outfit is staffed by a number of ex-PokerStars employees. These are primarily folks who used to work at PokerStars way back in the days when it was a private company owned by the Scheinbergs; i.e., what veterans of our industry call and fondly remember as “the good old days.” Many of those folks took breaks from working in poker, and it would seem that to a degree “they got the band back together” to launch 4Poker.

Much like the 4Poker site has a classic look and feel, so does the team behind it; and they’re working towards propelling the site into prominence with today’s technology. Unlike the early days of Wild West online poker, the industry is now a mature one and there are plenty of excellent sites out there. Thus, the 4Poker team are seeking to distinguish themselves at first primarily by being the most generous with rakeback and deposit bonuses.

4Poker’s Overarching Promise: Players First, Always

It’s no secret that when it comes to online gambling on the whole, the money to be made (by a company) from offering online poker pales in comparison to what they could make from other verticals such as online casino and sports betting. It’s “only natural” then that, as the years have ticked by, more and more online poker sites have become part of a greater online gambling megabrand. The purity of a “poker first” focus and mentality has steadily been eroded, and that’s something I dearly miss from “back in the good old days.”

4Poker, as a standalone online poker site, is by definition different. Its sole focus is poker, and everyone working for the company plays poker and is genuinely passionate about the game. How lovely it will be to not incessantly be cross-sold to other gambling verticals!

The 4Poker team has the luxury and opportunity to “do things right” and truly develop a site that’s “by players and for players.” And that’s precisely what they’re promising to do in a number of key ways that set them apart as an extremely player-friendly site, including:

• A commitment to never charging for making deposits or withdrawals, with ultra-quick transaction processing
• Players will have a voice via the 4Poker 4Forum; this establishes a two-way communication channel where the company can directly respond to and cater to what the players want
• They have a player advisory board acting as the unofficial ombudsman, ensuring that management will staying true to player values
• Enhanced responsible gaming features, including offering self-imposed deposit limits, format exclusion, and self-exclusion periods. Players can also track their spending as they’ll have access to their own profit/loss data.
• They’re launching their flagship 4Poker Series of tournaments with ambitious guarantees and full knowledge they’re likely to miss. The team realizes: if you build it, they will come — and in the meantime, “early adopters will have a sweat at some free money.”

Conclusion

Having watched the Inside 4Poker video series, I couldn’t help but be reminded of when PokerStars released their Inside PokerStars video series about eight years back. It represented the first time an online poker operator took us behind the scenes to give players a greater and fuller understanding of how they operate and their approach to poker.

Reviews of the Inside PokerStars video series were universally positive, and those videos served to win many hearts and minds among poker players. It’s a wonder that no other online poker operator ever produced a bespoke video series about their own brands.

Until now.

But perhaps most notably and admirably, 4Poker produced their Inside 4Poker series and shared it with the public before even launching! They’ve realized their main challenge that lies ahead, of trying to lure poker players in a mature market. They realize they need to stand out, be transparent, and be crystal clear about what their site will offer players, and the company’s modus operandi.

And the folks behind the scenes have clearly understood the recipe for success. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. There’s already a formula for what will work. Should they stick to this formula and stay true to their stated principles, I have no doubt that legions of online poker players will find themselves competing at the 4Poker virtual felts in the not too distant future.

We’ve opened our doors wider across the globe giving even more players the chance to join our rolling beta. Bag your favourite username, try the 4Poker software and give your feedback on the 4Forum as we build towards full launch.

Read the latest here: https://t.co/VyT9LF2Qce pic.twitter.com/uy9B6GDMMu

— 4Poker (@WeAre4Poker) March 23, 2023

It’s had very modest traffic, as would be expected for a quiet beta testing that was building towards a tournament launch. And that’s where they appear to be right now. Just a couple days ago, 4Poker hosted its first ever MTTs: two freerolls and a $11 buy-in $500 guaranteed event. Then more of the same on Friday with a slightly larger $55 buy-in with a $1k guarantee. Small events.

Tournament at ⁦@WeAre4Poker⁩ are now just days away. We will announce our first high roller event soon! Until then, I’m sure grateful for everyone who has come to the site already and to say thank you, we’re giving away cash every day in April at our 4pm ET happy hour. pic.twitter.com/VI7qYDgDcQ

— Bryn Kenney (@BrynKenney) April 3, 2023

True to their word, 4Poker then announces that today they’ll be running $1k and $5k buy-in tournaments with $75k and $200k guarantees. It’s quite a statement that they’re laying big buy-ins on their first weekend tourneys. By all accounts, it would seem like like Bryn and 4Poker are putting their money where their mouth is.

These big online buy-ins are taking place today, on Sunday starting at 1pm and 1:30pm Eastern Time. It’ll be interesting to see whether they’ll hit their guarantees or if, by contrast, there will be large overlays. A lot of people have been quietly waiting to see what 4Poker can do. Will they challenge the market leaders? How long it will take 4Poker to build up momentum? Will it live up to its public promises about low rake, high rewards and no deposit fees?

Beyond Bryn: A Roster of Experienced, Professional Talent

Time will tell on those questions, but if you look closely, you can see what folks at the company have been up to behind the scenes. They appear to have built a very experienced team, leaning heavily upon former PokerStars staff based in the Isle of Man, to create a poker site that has every chance of making an impact. The most notable PokerStars alumni are the well-respected duo of Heath Cram as COO and Serge Bourenkov as CTO, but there are also a number of key personnel installed across poker room management, payments, and marketing departments. At least, there seem to be if my LinkedIn searches are anything to go by.

Heath Cram leaves Flutter to join 4Poker as COO #4Poker#WeAre4Poker#GoodNews4Poker#4PokerCommunityhttps://t.co/QbIKTNkd0F

— 4Poker (@WeAre4Poker) August 1, 2022

Moreover, 4Poker’s YouTube Channel has proven quite instructive as to what players and the industry as a whole can expect from them. Over the past half year they’ve released a dozen excellent, well produced videos totaling about half an hour in length laying the groundwork for what the company is all about (modus operandi), how the 4Poker online poker site will relate to and protect player security and game integrity, and a number of other interesting topics.

As our longtime fans and followers know, we tend to stay far away from any sorts of controversies, scandals, and other gossip happening in the poker world; that’s not what Cardplayer Lifestyle is about. As such, up until now — in the wake of the accusations from Martin Zamani — we haven’t dedicated any space to saying much about 4Poker. Moreover, 4Poker still felt like a faraway concept. It was a train down the track that you could see but not really hear. That train is now a lot closer.

Wherever you stand on Bryn Kenney as far as his on-felt poker exploits, from a business side of things he seems to have set 4Poker up for success based on the management team he’s assembled and their combined years of professionalism, expertise, and execution in the online poker sphere. The 4Poker site is regulated in Malta and they’re working on getting approval from the Isle of Man as well; those are gaming operations licenses that are hard earned.

Bryn’s challenge is of course to try and win over the high stakes community — but even if he should manage to do so, that community alone cannot sustain an online poker site. For 4Poker to succeed, it needs to be much bigger and reach far further.

Will they succeed? Time will tell, of course. Let’s see what happens, and judge the 4Poker team by their actions over the weeks and months to come.

His victory sent the world of poker into a frenzy and triggered a global boom which has often been referred to as the “Moneymaker effect”. Many of my current and past peers started their journey during these years and the poker industry has gone through several stages of marketing efforts, ambitious projects, development, setbacks and regulations.

Although the current streak of record numbers in flagship tournaments all over the world feels like an reiteration of the initial poker boom, there are several circumstances that ought to be considered in the grand scheme of things. Even now in 2023, the poker industry remains a niche market with limited visibility across the mainstream media and tarnished by the negative effects of its gambling reputation.

This Era’s New Major Power Player: GGPoker

From my personal point of view, poker’s being a niche market hasn’t really changed in more than a decade. Rather, there were just temporary flashes of engagement with mainstream celebrities initiated by the likes of PokerStars, partypoker, Full Tilt and the latest challenger for the industry spotlight, GGPoker. With the latter, a new contender has somewhat revolutionized the online poker scene and made it by far more competitive while they also made strides on the live poker circuit with numerous partnerships.

Standing out the most is perhaps GGPoker’s close-knit cooperation with the WSOP over the last few years, replacing prior long-term partner 888poker at the helm of dedicated satellites. They have launched countless innovations and have essentially set the pace out of the blue, becoming the first brand to not only get close to, but then even overtake PokerStars in terms of online poker traffic and perhaps even global exposure.

Even the Triton Poker High Roller series has teamed up with GGPoker as title sponsor in 2023 and the high-stakes brand also welcomed Shamballa Jewels and SecretLab as further event sponsors. It isn’t the first time Shamballa has entered the fray in poker as they previously cooperated with the World Poker Tour (WPT). SecretLab is a company based in Singapore that specializes in gaming chairs, catering to yet another niche market that has become a rapidly growing global industry.

World Poker Tour Still Going Strong After 20 Years

On paper, the WPT is perhaps a prime example of a major poker entity to embrace main stream partnerships outside of the enclosed poker bubble. They have recently celebrated their 20th anniversary and during that spell, the WPT engaged with several global enterprises to expand their horizon. Standing out the most from that list are perhaps the luxury jewelry brands Hublot and Baccarat, but they also have ties within the poker industry to companies such as Zynga Poker and Faded Spade.

The recent success of the global online and live poker operator culminated in stunning numbers during the WPT World Championship in December 2022 at the Wynn Las Vegas. It’s flagship $10,400 Main Event came with the largest guarantee in history ($15 million) which was nearly doubled thanks to an incredible 2,960 entrants, creating the largest live poker event for the brand to bring on the fireworks.

Moreover, the WPT have moved their major final tables to Sin City as well with the showdowns taking place at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas since 2019. As part of the move, the broadcasts were recorded for the FOX Sports Networks, which was later followed by Bally Sports. WPT’s poker content was also distributed to the South American market via TV Azteca, which furthermore promoted the social poker gaming site WPTGO as part of the partnership.

Poker on TV… and PokerGO

Poker on TV was not necessarily an extraordinary occasion since the initial poker boom 20 years ago, especially as the WSOP gathered the most attention thanks to its shows on ESPN.  However, that cooperation concluded in 2021 when CBS Sports took over thanks to a new multi-year rights agreement.

Streaming platform PokerGO also joined the fray and took over many final tables during the annual summer camp in Las Vegas, which likely reduced the overall exposure of the card game to a wider audience in mainstream media channels. While poker enthusiasts wouldn’t worry about forking out a few dollars per month to watch new and exciting content because the card game has become their passion, the very same cannot be said about casual viewers who would otherwise have stumbled over a broadcast by chance.

Where Does the Poker Industry Go From Here?

Poker remains tightly connected to a gambling image that hasn’t been distinguished enough to the public despite numerous portals showcasing the multi-faceted aspects in regards to strategy, psychology, and risk-versus reward scheme. Poker operators themselves have launched their own schools to complement the available pool of poker training sites and learning communities.

They have also spent fortunes on advertising through various different verticals in the hopes of attracting new customers. One such method included the signing of well-known international figures such as sports or music stars, and even established marketing agencies to boost their exposure. In the grand scheme of things, that may very well have been a successful strategy in the past, much like sports bettors rely on NBA expert picks to make informed wagers. Then again, times are changing with social media influencers on Instagram and TikTok becoming a perhaps more considerate choice among the younger generation.

It still feels as if poker hasn’t been able to break out of its self-inflicted bubble and the most attention gathered in mainstream media is typically triggered by a select few moments or viral cheating scandals. The card game may have broken out of smoke-filled back rooms only to gather in the corner section of a casino instead. Even so, poker still has so many lessons to teach that can be used in all areas of life; alas, these things barely ever get any attention whatsoever.

As far as Chris Moneymaker himself is concerned, his name will forever be etched into the history books of the poker world. Now enshrined in the Poker Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry, he represented PokerStars for more than a decade before eventually switching to become an ambassador for another operator. His latest venture is (re)launching the Moneymaker Tour at live poker stops across the USA.

But coming off of the PokerStars Players Championship at Poker Caribbean Adventure 2023, it is clear that live tournaments are back in full force. While players have shown their readiness to come back to the tables, it seems that there are new factors at play shining a spotlight on the biggest events across the poker industry.

Over the last year, the industry has done more than introduce high-value extravagant events like the PSPC and WPT World Championship. The widespread marketing for these tournaments has returned to former heights, broadcasting these tournaments in full to the poker masses. With the new attention to detail and access to watch from the beginning, it seems that the industry has rekindled the recreational player’s drive to chase the dream in tournaments.

A history of televised poker tournaments

For as long as poker broadcasting has been available, the WSOP Main Event has been the crown jewel. From 1973 through the 90s, the WSOP Main Event was one of the few tournaments receiving any national broadcasting attention. But it did not receive the full beginning-to-end broadcast treatment until 2003, once WSOP partnered with ESPN and one year after televised specials had introduced hole card cams.

As fate would have it, online qualifier Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event the first year this innovation was brought to the masses on ESPN. As a satellite-winning recreational player, Moneymaker’s win unleashed the all-time poker boom showing the casual audience what was possible. The charged public interest created lucrative sponsorships for the players and broadcasts alike, and WSOP became a television mainstay throughout the 2000s.

For many years, the Moneymaker boom would inspire a variety of televised poker content from online poker operators like PokerStars while organizations like the World Poker Tour showcased their events on mainstream TV stations like the Travel Channel. But public interest in poker waned following ‘Black Friday’ on April 15, 2011, when most poker clients were infamously frozen in the United States. This left many American casual players without a credible place to play online, leading to a decline in sponsorship money and a paucity in televised tournament play.

Later as poker became a niche interest and audiences consumed television in new ways, PokerGO led the way. After launching in 2017, PokerGO became the streaming home of fan favorite poker shows and tournament broadcasts from years past along with all-new live coverage. In addition to becoming the new home for full WSOP Main Event coverage, PokerGO became the place to watch Aria’s premium invite-only tournament event, the Super High Roller Bowl. Once a year, this $300k buy-in tournament attracts the wealthiest and well-studied players to compete for multimillion dollar payouts. And once again, fans were able to watch coverage from Level 1, following the action as players built their starting stacks toward the Final Table.

In 2019, Triton Poker followed in PokerGO’s footsteps, bringing a premium feel to an ultra high stakes tournament. The Triton Million: Helping Hand for Charity boasted a £1 million buy-in, with £50k “rake” toward charity. The event featured business men and women playing on one side of the field, each of whom were able to invite one professional player for the pro side of the field. The event broke a record for the largest payout for first at £30,670,000 (which was chopped between the top two finishers), broadcasting from beginning to end online. The event set a new standard for production value with the elaborate tournament room of tables and player interviews providing context for the action.

By the 2020s, broadcasts had become common through PokerGO and live streaming, but cameras were typically reserved for final tables. At that point, the full broadcast illustrating the hope and excitement right at the beginning of the industry’s most exciting events was reserved for the WSOP Main Event.

A return to peak poker

As players have become eager to return to live tournaments, the standard for tournament broadcasting has set new heights over the last year. The WSOP debuted to universal fanfare at its new home on the Las Vegas Strip, with an all-new, expanded broadcast setup. Later in the summer, the World Poker Tour announced their $15 million guarantee for a surefire December spectacle: the WPT World Championship. Then after four long years, PokerStars Players Championship returned to the Bahamas in its glory after an Olympics-length sabbatical.

Throughout 2022, the WPT and PokerStars innovated to bring the common player to these high stakes arenas and feel the thrill of playing in the largest prize pools in poker history. WPT Global unleashed loads of giveaway packages through a variety of Twitter challenges while PokerStars distributed loads of $30k Platinum Passes prize packages in innovative ways, including partnering with Poker.org to send players on a detective quest to find a disguised player in the wild.

READ MORE: Poker’s Plus One Platinum Pass PSPC Experience

But in addition to running incredible series that attracted poker regulars from around the world, WPT and PokerStars went above and beyond during their events. They broadcasted these spectacles throughout to all their fans online to recapture their imagination. Both the WPT World Championship and PokerStars wasted no time bringing in top media personalities to commentate, social media personalities to promote on the sideline, and podcasts to recap the day-to-day madness. Whether you prefer Jamie Kerstetter’s commentary, Joey Ingram’s comedy, or the OnlyFriends podcast’s banter, these events worked overtime to ensure they show you they were the center of the poker world.

And once they hooked you in, these events showed you the field right from the get-go. Seeing these rooms full of hundreds of entries, green players with starting stacks and a twinkle in their eyes, showed a fresh perspective to casual players across the world.

It has been a welcome sight, as only watching a Final Table can feel like having a bucket of cold water being dropped on you in comparison. Normally, final tables are full of stoic professionals. And believe me, I love intense ICM decisions and advanced play. And I am a fan of learning from so many of these players, as a serious recreational player myself. But I don’t think that is what the average player is looking for.

In fact, it may be the worst stage of the tournament to show off what’s great about the game. Only seeing this point of play suggests to audiences that reaching the Final Table requires them to be something they aren’t interested in. Showing players from the beginning gives us the opportunity to meet the common fan. Audiences are captivated by the dream that’s alive early in a tournament and the stories along the way. It’s great if they manage to hang on until late into tournament coverage, but it is rarely the later stages of coverage that will spark curiosity.

Building on tournament hype

After this recent stretch, the poker world now has two major events to look forward to aside from the WSOP, hopefully on an annual basis. Their early results have been so promising that one can’t help but imagine how the industry can continue building the hype and generating new interest.

While the WPT World Championship and PSPC set a high standard for showing what a major tournament can look like, we are still talking about $10k and $25k buy-ins. Even with all of the giveaways and satellites available to reach these heights, these are price points that are going to escape all but the most successful poker personalities in the community.

However, there is a “fab foursome” of mid-stakes tournaments ripe to capture the imagination of weekend warriors across the United States and the rest of the world. The Mid-States Poker Tour, WPT Prime, Run Good Poker Tour, and World Series of Poker Circuit have solidified themselves as the go-to options for tournament players chasing glory in tournaments with buy-ins of $200-2,000. And while they are well-known by those paying attention, finding a way to simplify broadcasts of their Main Events to the masses could be an excellent way to show all those curious about poker what is actually within their reach.

4th Global Poker Awards Nominees – Best Mid-Major Circuit/Tour
RUNGOOD Poker Series (@RGPokerSeries)
Mid-States Poker Tour (@msptpoker)
World Series of Poker Circuit (@WSOPC)
WPT Prime (@WPT)
https://t.co/PXQl0EXvBn pic.twitter.com/yQEcpqxyLz

— Global Poker Index (@gpi) February 14, 2023

Broadcasting a tournament from beginning to end with professional commentary and production value is no simple task, of course. Asking these organizations to do so from the ground up would be a tall order. However, if the details could be worked out, imagine if these organizations were able to schedule stops at locations with established streaming setups.

For example, the WSOPC Main Event in Los Angeles streamed its Final Table from Live at the Bike. But imagine if the series had been promoted and hyped with the promise of full coverage for months ahead. Pairing with destinations like Live at the Bike, Hustler Casino, The Lodge, and Texas Card House, which are equipped to handle the burden of this coverage, could be a win-win for the organizations and locations alike.

I can admit, this may be a pipedream for the time being. But only because these organizations haven’t been given a roadmap to follow to make the vision happen. With PokerGO already providing Final Table coverage of many WSOP events and full coverage of the Main Event, just imagine if they were able to pair the full coverage approach with one other small event.

In 2023, the WSOP is introducing its latest large field budget event: Gladiators of Poker. This $300 tournament is the cheapest numbered event on the schedule and boasts a $3 million guarantee, all within the first week of the WSOP schedule. What better event to showcase from beginning to end? At this price point, you are sure to find the passion, wild play, and drama from recreational players that creates TV gold.

Glen Craigen is living every poker player’s dream!

Craigen has turned a pure freeroll into over $35,000 pic.twitter.com/jNbRCDEo69

— Poker.org (@pokerorg) February 1, 2023

Think of the new names you actually remember from recent years. Aaron Zhang. Nicholas “Dirty Diaper” Rigby. Glen Craigen, in disbelief turning a freeroll into over $40k. These aren’t the pros we are familiar with. They are the most creative, passionate players in the fields that we couldn’t ignore. They remind us why we fell in love with the game in the first place. If the poker industry takes anything away from the last year of success, I hope that it’s realizing they are only scratching the surface of how they can bring these players’ stories to the masses.

But then I got to thinking… perhaps there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Maybe the news is an indication that much like the World Poker Tour has upped its overall game over the last year, charitable fundraising could really be taken to the next level as part of this partnership, too.

The likelihood of this was confirmed when I reached out for comment from WPT CEO Adam Pliska, who said “We think when all is said and done, the poker community will be very excited by what this partnership leads to and ultimately that will lead to even more funds being raised for One Drop’s mission of ensuring access to safe water for people across the globe.”

The wheels in my head have been spinning for a little while and I’ve come up with a list of a few things that would really be great for the poker world to see result from this new partnership.

1. Return of the Big One for One Drop

This is a no brainer. Getting players to pony up $1 million apiece for a seat in a poker tournament is just as amazing a feat in 2023 as it was when the Big One for One Drop first debuted in 2012. The event has been staged eight times, with four of those featuring a $1 million buy-in and the other four featuring a $111,111 buy-in. It would stand to reason that the World Poker Tour would aim to bring back this special event at the higher $1 million price point.

As for what else would make this event’s return super special, the potential entry of all-time poker greats such as WPT ambassadors Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey, coupled with the reemergence of One Drop Foundation founder Guy Laliberte to the poker world alone makes such an event that much more headline-grabbing.

Top it all off with the WPT’s state-of-the-art production and storytelling flair, and you’ll have an event that won’t just be excellently staged in real time, but that will live on as a visual on-screen spectacle for ages.

2. Return of the Little One for One Drop

Another no brainer, staging a $1,111 event allows folks with more modest bankrolls to also partake in the charitable poker giving. To further enhance the event’s prestige, perhaps the WPT could consider producing a final table broadcast for this one, too.

Beyond the inherent added value of having $111 of each buy-in donated to a very worthy cause, the players could also receive some added value if all those players who’d make the (televised or live streamed) final table would also be rewarded with seats to…

3. All-New $11,111 High Roller for One Drop

Here’s an idea for the WPT and One Drop Foundation to chew on. A 5-figure buy-in level has thus far been absent as a special event in the One Drop repertoire.

Plenty of folks from poker’s high roller circuit would likely jump into this one without having the stress of risking (or putting together a staking package for) a 6-figure sum.

Collecting $1,111 for charity from each entrant naturally would add far more than just another drop in the proverbial bucket to the joint WPT-One Drop Foundation fundraising efforts.

While we’re shining the spotlighting on this partnership, let’s also be sure that the final table of this event gets TV/broadcast treatment, too.

And if it’s possible for there to be a seat added for the event’s winner to the Big One for One Drop, well then that would just be brilliant.

4. One Drop in the MUG

Much ado was rightfully made of the incredible, one-of-a-kind WPT Premier Meet Up Game (MUG) that kicked off last year’s WPT World Championship festivities.

Surely reproducing it would be awesome, but how do you top it? Maybe by adding a charity component.

I would love to see the Wynn get on board with this initiative by agreeing, just during the WPT Premier MUG, to (the admittedly tongue-in-cheek) “No Drop for the House” and having the cash game rake donated to the One Drop Foundation. This would be a beautiful gesture that’s by definition a win for all parties involved, including the players.

And for the value adds? What could be more appropriate than awarding to participants randomly drawn special prizes of a 1% piece of a WPT ambassador’s action to any One Drop tournaments they compete in?

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that pretty much anything done in the poker world that would help increase charitable fundraising is by definition a good thing. The World Poker Tour has proven time and again that when it puts its full organizational weight and effort into an idea, amazing things can happen.

Further per Pliska, “The WPT Foundation has been a tremendous success for WPT charitable initiatives and by partnering with the One Drop Foundation, we think we have demonstrated a commitment to working with them to continue their great work and elevate charity poker.”

Whether it’s via any of the ideas I came up with, or something else unexpected out of left field, it will be great to see the WPT propel charitable fundraising for the One Drop Foundation to the next level in the coming years.

In real life, there’s no such thing as turning to the solver to know what the “correct” decision is. Sometimes there’s more than one correct answer. After all, two players can play a hand differently and still be fully justified in the lines they take. But all players would agree that the worst spot to be in at the poker table is in the blender, not knowing what to do. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

The Backstory of How Eddie’s Article Came to Be

The article I just published, written by my longtime friend Eddie Harari, is something he, I, and our mutual longtime friend Hank Nussbacher have been working on for the last month.

Eddie approached me with the information, demonstrated the GGNetwork security flaw to me, told me that Hank had corroborated his findings, and said he wanted to write an article about it for Cardplayer Lifestyle. Just as he and I have collaborated half a dozen times before over the last decade, I said I was happy to assist him with the process.

It was obvious to the three of us that we needed to make a responsible disclosure, notifying the GGNetwork of the software flaw so that they could fix it. I facilitated all such correspondence, keeping Eddie and Hank in the loop throughout. Obviously, we would be including GGNetwork’s official response in the article, which they ended up sending us two weeks after we sent them Eddie’s article for comment.

I take tremendous pride in the role I’ve played, and that Eddie, Hank, and I have conducted ourselves honorably and to the highest standard in communicating with the GGNetwork representative.

The flip side of that is that I take no pleasure whatsoever in the article’s publication.

An Unavoidable Stain

For my entire professional career in the poker industry, I’ve worked to shine a positive light on our game and the people in it. Everyone who knows me knows just how deeply and absolutely I abhor and detest scandal, which only serves to paint us all in a negative light.

But sometimes the distinction between darkness and light isn’t so clear cut. Sometimes you’re in the blender.

If I publish Eddie’s article, I “air poker’s dirty laundry” to the public for all to see and bear partial responsibility for the fallout. Then again, I also have a responsibility to that poker playing public to let them know what happened.

By contrast if I don’t publish Eddie’s article, I save a lot of people from public embarrassment. I prevent any sort of unfounded hysteria of the masses – that online poker is not safe – from ever happening because nobody would ever know. After all, GGNetwork DID fix the issue! It’s now a non-issue. Why make much ado about “a nothingburger”? But doesn’t not publishing then make me accountable, perhaps even an accomplice of sorts?

What happens if I don’t publish… and then, eventually, someday, people find out? They somehow discover there had been an issue, that GGNetwork knew about said issue, and that Robbie Strazynski knew about the issue… and did nothing?

What if I pull the plug at the last moment and tell Eddie I can’t agree to publish his article, and he then decides to go ahead and publish it on his own on a different platform? That would be his right. All of my handwringing and eventual “no” decision would have accomplished nothing, for the eventual result and fallout would be the same. Except for the fact that I’d have to live with the fact that I knew and did nothing.

Published is Binding

I’ve consulted on this dilemma privately and independently with my “inner circle”; the people with whom I am closest and know I can trust. Some have advised me to publish while others have advised against. I respect all these people deeply, and they are all individuals of the highest integrity, vast professional experience, and who command and have earned the utmost respect in their respective fields. And yet, to my dismay, there was no universal agreement among them.

I’m not oblivious to the fact that there will be consequences to publishing. After all, to every action there is a reaction. My family is justifiably worried about me in that regard, too. But I cannot allow those consequences to influence my decision-making process. That must be pure; right vs. wrong, regardless of how I might be affected.

When passing judgement on my action, I just feel it’s only right to first ask yourself what you would do if faced with a similar decision. Join me in the blender.

At this point, I’ve used all my time banks and I still don’t know for sure, with absolute 100% certainty that I’ve made the right decision. But I think I know with 99.9% certainty, and that’s going to have to be good enough.

As the saying goes: “To escape criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”

I’ve chosen to do something. My belief is that while the industry may unfortunately suffer in the short term, what’s best for the players and for the industry as a whole over the long term is knowing that they can trust independent poker media as good actors.

And in poker, we have to play the long game.

Let the chips fall where they may.

Something akin to a universal sense of optimism pervades the atmosphere. However bad last year was, next year will be better. If last year was good, or even great, next year will be better still. For a precious few days we openly celebrate life, rejoice in merrymaking, and determinedly envision that the best is yet to come.

The World Poker Tour Sets a Powerful Example

That last phrase – the best is yet to come – is essentially the modus operandi of the World Poker Tour. As I look back on 2022, I can’t help but be swept away reminiscing about the incredible festival I attended just a few short weeks ago, the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.

Every single word of my latest @PokerLifeMedia op-ed has been very hard earned and well deserved by the @WPT.

To every member of the WPT team and family: take a bow and pat yourselves on the back for a job superbly well done.

Bravo, and thank you! https://t.co/OhA8mz4ROn

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) December 19, 2022

Indeed, we’ve all been blessed with a new staple on the annual poker calendar – a three-week-long “show of shows” highlighting the best and brightest players at the felt and personalities in the industry. We now have the pleasure of looking forward to a yearly winter retreat to complement our treasured summer camp experiences in the Nevada desert.

But I wasn’t the only one who witnessed the phenomenon that was the 2022 WPT World Championship. Wandering the hallways and ballrooms of the Wynn over my week-and-a-half there, I noticed numerous executives representing other Las Vegas poker rooms as well as officers of multiple other prominent companies and brands in the industry on hand.

My wish for 2023 is quite simple: I hope that rather than feel “challenged by a competitor”, that all those officers and executives felt genuinely inspired.

When you pour your heart and soul – and yes, a lot of money and other resources – into creating the best type of poker festival you are capable of creating, the result is absolutely sublime. That’s a recipe for success that practically begs for duplication. That’s how you win the hearts and minds of the players – recreational and professional alike – as well as attract a brand new cadre of players to the game who can’t possibly turn away from such a fantastic spectacle.

You won’t be worrying about hitting guarantees; you’ll be basking in the glory of seeing them nearly doubled.

Poker By Addition, Not Subtraction

That the inaugural WPT World Championship swept the industry off its feet was purely a result not of the WPT family looking to best any sort of competition, but rather their trying to squeeze the best out of themselves. Proof positive of this was going out of their way to recognize Isai Scheinberg with their preeminent WPT Honors distinction.

Further proof that might’ve perhaps flown under the radar was demonstrated during the unveiling of the WPT’s new-look website, as Lance Bradley openly stated:

“Over the coming days, weeks, months, you’re going to find yourself coming to this website regularly to find stories from the poker world that are second to none. And I do mean the entire poker world, not just the World Poker Tour. We will bring our readers elevated content from the World Series of Poker, Triton Poker, PokerGO Tour, European Poker Tour, online poker, the live-streamed cash game scene, backrooms and underground clubs. Wherever poker has a presence…”

Your own candle will continue to burn just as brightly even if you light the flames of others once in a while.

Let’s Get the Best Out of Ourselves, Too!

If you’re a poker player, don’t sweat “not being as good as other players”. Just make sure you’re always putting in your best effort, making the most of the resources available to you, and playing up to your own potential.

I take this message personally, too. I’ve never aimed for Cardplayer Lifestyle to try and “be better than” other poker media outlets; rather to just have this site perform as well as I can coax it to.

So, as we in the poker community resolve to have a great 2023, let’s envision how incredible it would be for our game and for each other if we stopped thinking about one-upping the competition and instead work towards one-upping ourselves.

Happy New Year!

1. Welcome Party

After flying 7,500 miles halfway around the world for 22 hours, the thought of attending a party a few hours later might seem a little much; but this one was not to be missed. The World Poker Tour went all out with a fantastic welcome party at Area 15. From an open bar and full dinner buffet spread to virtual reality (VR) experiences, fire dancers, rides, WPT Passport giveaways, and more, hundreds of poker players got to experience the finest in Vegas-style entertainment.

Dad and I had a really great time at the @WPT Players Party at @AREA15official tonight.

After 20+ hours of travel and a day full of errands, seeing and reconnecting with so many familiar faces was an awesome way to end the day.

Props to the organizers for a phenomenal party! pic.twitter.com/C4lhlRXttq

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) December 12, 2022

2. Isai Scheinberg and Vince Van Patten Recognized with WPT Honors

While it’s a no-brainer that the World Poker Tour would use its grandest showcase to inaugurate new members into the WPT Honors club, and that highly deserving 20-year WPT veteran commentator was tapped as one of the latest honorees, the other honoree was a shocker – and in the most positive possible way.

Image courtesy: World Poker Tour

PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg was long-overdue major official poker industry recognition for his incredible, one-of-a-kind contributions to the game. it was heartwarming to finally see him get his just dues and a massive round of applause and appreciation from a packed ballroom of poker players, as well as industry and media professionals.

On a personal note, it was exceptionally cool to wish him “mazel tov” and say a few words to him, his wife Dora, and his son Robert in our common language of Hebrew.

3. My Dad’s Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

I’ve waxed poetic about my father, Dr. Josef Strazynski’s journey as he prepared to play in the WPT World Championship Main Event and take his seat as a WPT Global prize package winner. Throughout his week here, I documented the continuation of that poker journey every step of the way: from tournament registration to his 10.5 hours of playing in the tournament itself to the fact that he wanted to squeeze one last 3-hour cash game session in before heading home.

“We have 3 hours after Shabbat ends until I have to take you to the airport, Dad. Anything specific you’d like to do?”

Look what you’ve created, Vegas?!

He says he wishes he could stay another month or two and that this entire experience has been out of this world. pic.twitter.com/scVp51OvE3

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) December 18, 2022

Beyond my own coverage, Dad’s WPT World Championship experience also got chronicled by other poker media outlets including by my new friend Landon Blackhall here and this deeply touching feature by my longtime friend Poker.org Editor in Chief Brad Willis here.

Being at Dad’s side throughout was just plain awesome, and I want to publicly express my thanks to the Good Lord Above for having handed me a golden opportunity to fulfil the Torah’s Fifth Commandment in the most special of ways.

4. The Poker Media Dinner

It’s no secret that I love what I do and that I’m also a huge fan of other poker media outlets and the many wonderful people who work alongside me in this great industry. Opportunities for us to socialize and gather together without needing to simultaneously be working are relatively few and far between – and that much rarer when you live thousands of miles away from everyone else.

The World Poker Tour kindly treated assembled media to a first-class dinner that I thoroughly enjoyed. As an extra added bonus, I was delighted to discover that the Wynn’s SW Steakhouse had a kosher meal option (massive shout out to Head Waiter, Corey!), but the evening’s main course was undoubtedly our opportunity to engage in camaraderie.

This

My inner poker fanboy still doesn’t believe I get to be part of this #WPTWCWynn festival.

Nor that I got to sit next to 2 people I consider industry legends.

I’m having an absolute blast. Thank you, @WPT!

Before I left , Miriam said: “go live your best life!”

https://t.co/ESwX84oICD

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) December 16, 2022

5. The Awesome “Halftime Show” Performances

The World Poker Tour is known for not just hosting poker tournaments and events around the world, but rather for quite literally putting on a show. This was no truer than the outstanding halftime show performances staged on no less than three separate occasions throughout the WPT world championship festival.

Image courtesy: World Poker Tour

From inspired musical performances to jaw dropping physical feats, the “halftime shows” helped add to an already “major event” type of feel in the Encore Ballroom; even WPT CEO Adam Pliska got in on the act!

Image courtesy: World Poker Tour

6. Molly Bloom

I’ve had the opportunity to interview Molly Bloom in the past. Her 2018 appearance at a Unibet Open poker event in Romania was her first at a major poker event. She hasn’t really been seen in poker circles since then, so it was surprising and delightful to see her make a big public poker appearance here in Las Vegas.

The World Poker Tour had already fully decked out the VIP Lounge for ClubWPT and WPT Global Package Winners, as well as WPT champions. From copious amounts of food and drink to pinball machines and air hockey tables, an A+ player experience was already guaranteed. To have added in a special “fireside chat” with Molly Bloom just took the proceedings to the next level for all in attendance to enjoy.

7. Ladies MUG + Championship Event

One of the pillars of our approach to poker media coverage here at Cardplayer Lifestyle has always been the proactive advocacy for increased women’s participation in poker and the spotlighting of successful players and initiatives in that realm. So, it was fabulous to see that the World Poker Tour really took things to the next level here.

The Ladies Championship was not relegated to being a sideshow but rather it took center stage with a televised final table (won by Lina Niu). Already prior to the ceremonial “shuffle up and deal” – delivered with great gusto and visible emotion by Poker Hall of Famer and the first WPT Honors recipient Linda Johnson ­– the event had exceeded its $200,000 guarantee and with 578 players it stood tall as the second-largest Ladies event of the calendar year.

Image courtesy: World Poker Tour

Moreover, the Ladies MUG, hosted by Jamie Kerstetter, was an unabashed success. Numerous current (and future!) Women in Poker Hall of Famers showed up to play low-stakes Hold’em and H.O.R.S.E. alongside many successful female pros and recreational players. That – and seemingly endless mimosas and candy-filled gift bags – resulted in a fun-filled raucous atmosphere that brought smiles to the faces of every dealer and staff member in the Wynn Poker room. The only question on everyone’s lips was “why don’t we have these things more often?!”

Image credit: Christina Bradfield for PokerNews

8. A $29 Million Main Event Prize Pool

Back in summertime, when the World Poker Tour first announced that it would be staging a $15 million Guaranteed World Championship Main Event at Wynn Las Vegas, there was some quite obvious concern about hitting that number, as such an ambitious goal had never been set before in the poker industry. Moreover, far lower guarantees had unfortunately been missed quite badly by other venues at other festivals in years prior.

The Final Numbers @WPT @WynnLasVegas
2,960 Entries
$29,008,000 Prize Pool
Televised Final Table Payouts
1st $4,136,000 + $10,400 Seat to 2023 WC
2nd $2,830,000
3rd $2,095,000
4th $1,608,000
5th $1,301,000
6th $1,001,050

370 Players In The Money
370th $17,400#WPTWCWynn pic.twitter.com/ZgePI86dXd

— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker) December 15, 2022

Wynn and the WPT didn’t just hit the $15 million guarantee (by Day 1B!); they absolutely obliterated it and blew it out of the water, creating a $29 million prize pool – nearly double the stated goal! That’s got to rank up there as one of the most prominent and impressive achievements our industry has ever seen.

9. Final Table Set/Production

Every magnum opus has a grand finale, and the World Poker Tour certainly knew how to showcase the conclusion of this incredible World Championship festival.

The move from the Encore Ballroom to the Latour Ballroom at Wynn marked the transition of the events “from stadium to center stage”, and what a hell of a stage they constructed!

With poker’s most ardent fans railing the action and rooting on their heroes at the felt, they’ve constructed the perfect conduit for the atmosphere at the three televised final tables to be nothing short of electric. I can only imagine how it’s going to look and play out on the broadcast in the coming months.

Our @WPT Televised Final Tables are open to the public and located in Latour Ballroom #6!#WPTLadiesChampionship FT – Dec. 18th 4pm#WPTPrimeChampionship FT – Dec. 19th 4pm#WPTWorldChampionship FT – Dec. 20th 4pm

We highly recommend arriving early to secure a seat! pic.twitter.com/NixpK2i2PU

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 17, 2022

10. A Winter Poker Reunion

There’s perhaps no better sign that poker is finally booming once again than the emergence of a brand new, must-attend festival on the yearly calendar. As the WPT World Championships draw to a close, there comes with it a slight feeling of sadness that over the holidays we’ll all really be missing the buzz that’s accompanied these incredible past couple of weeks at Wynn Las Vegas.

Much as everyone in the poker world always looks forward to our annual summer reunion, I’m beyond ecstatic that we also now have an annual winter retreat to eagerly anticipate. That the WPT-Wynn partnership is a multi-year affair is perhaps the best news our industry could have gotten in 2022.

Especially post pandemic, we’ve all come to value just how important and special real-life engagement and interaction is and how that enriches our lives. As great and critical as “Poker Twitter” and other social media platforms are to the building and maintenance of our wonderful community, there’s simply no substitute for winning moments at the felt, hugs and smiles away from the felt, and life’s in-person beauty through poker’s prism to be felt.

After 20 years, we are so grateful to @WynnLasVegas for hosting our 20th Anniversary celebration!

We’d like to officially welcome all of our players and partners from all over the world to the #WPTWorldChampionship #WPTWCWynn!

Here’s to another 20 years! #TheBestIsYetToCome pic.twitter.com/GzP8PJW4S9

— World Poker Tour (@WPT) December 8, 2022

It was never my aim to produce a “hit piece” on Joey. I’d have hoped it was abundantly clear throughout my writing just how much it pained me to be penning such biting criticism of a friend. Perhaps that’s what ended up striking a chord and prompting a response; that the criticism came from a friend.

In our telephone conversation prior to my publishing of the article, Joey said he’d soon be responding in full on his channel. He did so yesterday, and I’m glad I stayed up to watch the first half hour of it, despite the stream only beginning at 3am here in Israel. While I was writing this article, he added this pinned note to the top of his latest video‘s comments section.

On multiple instances during the stream, Joey shared the message of that second paragraph, and as of this publication, the video has been viewed by almost 12,000 people. I clipped out the primary excerpt where he addressed the situation:

I went to sleep last night relieved and glad to have watched Joey’s public apology, urging his followers not to choose the path of violence; that he doesn’t condone it under any circumstances. That’s the right type of message that influencers of the (poker) masses ought to be sending via their platforms.

Norman’s Missing Tweets… Don’t Change Anything

A number of responses to the article, including Joey’s, were of the opinion that it was biased specifically for not having included Norman’s (missing) Tweets, which would have better presented “Joey’s side.” I maintain that there was no way for me to have realistically found them while Norman’s account remained deactivated.

After the article was published, Norman emailed me and shared with me the text of the six Tweets he had made over the course of a few days, which ended up leading to Joey’s reaction. As I had suspected, seeing them didn’t change my feelings on this matter nor would I have altered what I wrote by even one word.

Norman also wrote to me that “I just believe he was misreading the intent and context of almost all I was writing (which is partly my fault, for not writing them better; also partly the fault of Twitter, which is not the best space for nuance, irony or sarcasm).”

But to focus on the missing Tweets would be to miss the forest for the trees. The “point” of my op-ed was clear:

24 hours have passed.

Almost 15,000 people have read the article, which I didn’t “promote” save for the one Tweet upon publication.

My only goals were to support a friend, provoke discussion, and inspire some introspection.

Let’s learn, improve, and move on. #Thanksgiving

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 23, 2022

Where Do We Go From Here?

I do genuinely hope that at some point in the not-too-distant future, once rightfully-flared tempers have settled, that Norman and Joey will be able to talk it out, reach some sort of mutual understanding, and move forward.

I know that my involvement in this brought into focus just how careful I need to be with the words I choose.

I hope that’s a takeaway for everyone who has read the piece — especially those with influence, audiences, and followings — even if said words may have been meant harmlessly in jest.

Joey echoed the sentiments of many in his apology yesterday when he said that “we want Norman back”. His absence in the community is felt, and his reemergence on Twitter would be warmly received.

People Should See This, Too

Almost 18,000 people have read my op-ed from Tuesday, speedily having made it one of the most viewed articles I’ve ever written. Unlike almost everything else I publish, however, I did absolutely nothing to promote it beyond the initial Tweet, and yet it spread like wildfire. Poker forums, Reddit, and word of mouth are very powerful.

That’s perhaps an indicator of algorithms and media consumption in the 2022 landscape. People rush to see carnage.

I truly hate that “that’s the way the world just is.”

But you know when “the world is better”? On a day like today, Thanksgiving.

I’d like to believe that if not for my op-ed, Joey wouldn’t have acted as quickly to issue his apology. But he chose to act quickly and responsibly, and ought to be commended for it. A genuine attempt to redeem oneself ought to be recognized and appreciated.

And for that, today, I am thankful.