Denver, CO
I sat down (digitally speaking) for a long-form interview with an old friend, Brad Willis, from the poker world. Poker.Org has a new series, Inside the Boom, covering the glorious online poker boom of the early 2000s from different angles and perspectives. I offered a unique lens as the mastermind behind Tao of Poker blog while covering the WSOP in Las Vegas and the international poker circuit.
I "retired" from poker in 2012 and pivoted to sports betting, but the legend an legacy lives on. Those gravy days in Las Vegas -- which I detailed in LOST VEGAS -- feel like eight lifetimes ago. I had not thought the poker boom in 15-plus years, so Brad and I took a fun and nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Check out the interview titled: Inside the Boom: The Gonzo Deadhead Blogger Who Showed Us What ESPN Didn't.
Don't worry, this is a long-form written interview and not a podcast or video if you're truly an old-school blogger or blog reader. I got to plug my two most recent novels, which was cool.
Some of the topics we touch on:
• Behind-the-scenes vibes at the WSOP
• Covering the most prestigious poker tournament in the world
• Making up my coverage style as I went along
• Finding stories on the fringes that ESPN never covered
• Unfiltered Gonzo poker blogging
• Fond memories and hjinks
• Shady mofos on the edges of the WSOP
• Why modern poker is missing wild characters from boom era
• Shifting vibes in the WSOP after the UIGEA and Black Friday
• Living in Vegas, working in gambling industry to inspire my fiction
• How the poker boom influenced PARANOID ANDROID
• My "disappearance" from poker explained
• Tao of Poker is a time capsule for post-9/11 America and before the rise of social media and smartphones
Thanks to Brad and Poker.Org for a fun interview and a walk along memory lane underneath the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
Interview Link: The Gonzo Deadhead Blogger Who Showed Us What ESPN Didn't.
