Poker Stories is a long-form audio podcast series that features casual interviews with some of the game’s best players and personalities. Each episode highlights a well-known member of the poker world and dives deep into their favorite tales both on and off the felt.
Garry Gates has worn many hats in the poker industry. After moving to Las Vegas from his native Titusville, Pennsylvania, Gates attempted to play professionally, with limited success. A chance encounter at the World Series of Poker, however, gave Gates an opening into the media side of the poker world. He then spent ten years working for PokerStars as a senior manager, dealing with player relations and community engagement.
Then last summer, Gates got to put his player hat back on for his annual shot at the WSOP main event. He had previously finished in the money three times, including semi-deep runs in 2011 and 2015. Gates surpassed all expectations, however, when he made the final table, ultimately finishing fourth for a $3 million payday. He has since taken a position with daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings as a New Business Executive.
Highlights from this interview include growing up with the Heisman and oil parties, getting the lead in Oliver!, learning about online poker from his dad, Elk’s Club games with Loopy and the Butcher, sitting behind Doyle and Puggy at Binion’s, how to lose $1,000 at $4-$8 limit, a long walk home from the Bellagio, why Tom Dwan needed six computer mouses, making Vanessa Rousso teach Barry Sanders how to play poker, being one of Jason Mercier’s most successful horses, why he wasn’t nervous at the final table, ignoring Mike Matusow criticisms, why Australia is his favorite poker trip, working in an underground mine, the resemblance between Justin Verlander and WWE wrestler Cesaro, and getting out of school to hunt deer in traffic.
You can check out the entirety of the interview in the audio player at the top of the page or download it directly to your device to play on the go from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
Catch up on past episodes featuring notables such as Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, Antonio Esfandiari, Nick Schulman, Barry Greenstein, Michael Mizrachi, Mike Sexton, Brian Rast, Jean-Robert Bellande, Jamie Gold, Chris Moneymaker, Maria Ho, and many more. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to get the latest episodes automatically when they are released.
Source: cardplayer.com
