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Part Time Poker Interviews Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton is a poker visionary who is considered one of the premiere ambassadors of poker. He is well respected in the poker world as both a player and an industry leader. Sexton is currently the Host of PartyPoker.com (the world’s largest poker room) and a commentator for the World Poker Tour (WPT). He has been a feature columnist for Card Player magazine since 1996 and currently has a best selling book out (on the NY Times Best Seller List) called “WPT – Shuffle Up and Deal”.

Mike took some time from that packed schedule to sit down via email and talk to us at PTP. The result, below, is an interview that covers the current growth and future potential for poker, both online and off
Mike Sexton

PTP: First off, I have to ask – with all you’re involved in, such as hosting at Party and working with the WPT, how much time do you spend actually playing poker these days?

MS: Honestly, I’m so busy that I don’t get to play much poker any more. I’m not allowed to play in the WPT events, but I am playing in the Super Stars of Poker (seen on Fox Sports Net every Sunday) and the National Heads-Up Championship (on NBC every Saturday in May). I also went to Australia this past January to play in the Australiam poker championships and did quite well there (winning the $20,000 buy-in “Australian Speed Poker Invitational Championship”).

PTP: I recently picked up season two of WPT on DVD, and it was really interesting to watch the tournament grow phenomenally just over the course of that year. Were you surprised at all by the rapid growth and do you think the WPT is anywhere near a stopping point growth-wise?

MS: The growth of the World Poker Tour has been phenominal, not only here in the U.S., but all over the world. (The WPT airs in 57 countries around the world.) And you’re right about the growth of the events. In season one, the total prize pool for the WPT was under $12 million: in season two, the total prize pool for WPT events was $35 million; and in season three, the prize pool total was over $70 million! (It took the PGA Tour over 30 years to pass $100 million in total prize money and the WPT did it in less than 3 years.) And I don’t see this trend in growth on the WPT slowing down.

PTP: On the commentary for one of the season 2 episodes, I think it was Dan N who remarked that you had seen the potential for televised poker far before it hit the mainstream, but that you had problems getting other people on board. Was that a pretty frustrating time for you, and how did the pieces finally come together?

MS: I do think I’ve had more vision for the potential of poker than most. I believe I was the first player to have any kind of sponsorship deal (La Mode clothing company back in 1990). I felt poker should have a prestigious event and I founded the Tournament of Champions of poker (the original, not the one you see on ESPN) and held the first TOC event in 1999. I still believe it was the classiest event in the history of poker. Unfortunately, it was ahead of its time, didn’t make money, and was only held three years. That event, however, was respected by players and industry leaders alike and lead to my position with PartyPoker.com and the World Poker Tour.

PTP: As a commentator for WPT, how hard is it to hold back your criticisms of certain plays or players? Do you make a conscious attempt to soften the blow a bit, or are you just naturally uninterested in handing out verbal lashings?

MS: I try not to blast a player for a play he/she might make that I feel was horrible/not good. I might publicly disagree with their play or say something like, “Here’s another way he might have played this hand……..” I’m very aware that for many, making it to a final table of a WPT event will be the highlight of their poker life and that all their family and friends are watching. I don’t want to embarrass anybody.

PTP: What have been your 2 favorite WPT locales to date? How about your top two final tables in terms of entertainment value?:

MS: I’m always partial to Foxwoods and the WPT event in Paris as I’ve had good personal success at both of those venues. I believe the first show we did (at Bellagio) was phenominal as it had six bonafide super stars at that table and Gus Hansen (the winner of that event and most successful victor on the WPT) became a legend in the poker world. And when you see the championship event in season three in June, you will be wowed (as it contains a number of drawouts at the river).

PTP: You get to see a lot of up and coming players working with the WPT. Who among the young crowd has impressed you the most?

MS: I’ve been quite impressed with Michael ‘the Grinder’ Mizrachi, the 24 year old from FL. He finished 5th at the World Poker Open in Tunica (losing at the river to a one-outer by Daniel Negreanu) and then came right back and won the next WPT event in LA (and $1.8 million). And of course, you can’t help but be impressed with the achievements of Daniel Negreanu these past two years. (I compare his 2004 to the success Tiger Woods had in 2000.) And keep an eye on Michael Gracz, the 24 year old from Raleigh, NC. He won the PartyPoker Million and I think we’re going to see him a lot more in the future.

PTP: A lot of our readers probably know you as the host for Party Poker. I’m sure you’ve told this story many times, but how did you get involved with Party in the first place? Also, I’m sure other sites had come to you with offers – what made Party the most appealing choice?

MS: The owner of PartyPoker.com were looking for a “poker domain” expert in December 2000. They interviewed me, hired me, and I was in India two weeks later working with the software development team. (They knew nothing about poker and I didn’t know anything about programming. It was a match made in heaven. They said, “If you tell us what to do, we can do it.” I did – and they did.) We launched PartyPoker.com in August 2001 with Party Poker Million qualifying tournaments. (I created the PPM specifically for the purpose of bringing players to our site. For $22, a player could win a luxurious cruise for two and play in a tournament where we guaranteed $1,000,000 to the winner.) That promotion lost over $600,000, but accomplished the goal of bringing a lot of players to our site. The rest is history. Our big break came with the launch of the World Poker Tour. I was invited to be the commentator on that program and PartyPoker.com had the foresight to take out advertising on every show during that first season and on the re-runs. (Remember, no one knew that the show would even work at that time, let alone become such a success, but PartyPoker took out a full season of ads and paid for them in cash up front.) That marketing ploy was what sent PartyPoker.com to the top of the leaderboard for online poker. Within a few months, we multiplied our business tenfold. PartyPoker.com has truly been one of the most successful business stories in history.

PTP: Party had a fairly late start in online poker, and Paradise was a pretty solid market leader when Party first arrived. What do you think the key factors were that propelled Party to the top of the heap?

MS: See above. Two things were critical. Guaranteeing one million dollars as a first place prize before having one customer on the site (and not knowing whether it would even work or not) by creating the PartyPoker Million was critical as well as being the first online site to ever advertise on television. And partnering with Card Player Cruises to host our PPM brought us instant credibility with players. No one ever questioned whether they would be paid.

PTP: Since your site is contributing to the phenomenon, I’m curious how you feel about the projected numbers for the WSOP this year. How do you feel about the size of the tournament as a player?

MS: I think they’ll get 6000 players for sure in the main event of the WSOP. I say that because online sites will qualify 3000 for them, another 800 will qualify at the venue in Super Satellites, and then you’ll have a lot that will buy in for $10k. I think the event has passed the ’skill level’ for players. Most now consider it a lottery rather than a poker tournament. However, they’ll all play – including me!

PTP: As someone working within the online poker industry, what’s your outlook regarding possible legislation from the US Federal Government? Obviously, we’d all prefer clear legalization, but is that really a legitimate possibility in the near future?

MS: Well, I’m not a lawyer or an expert in govermental procedures. Naturally, like most, I believe the government is making a big mistake in not regulating the online gaming industry. They are missing out on a lot of money, for both states and the federal government. Countries like England and Australia are legalizing it and will reap the benefits. The internet is bigger than the U.S. and I don’t see players stopping. How can you tell someone who works all day that they cannot go home at night and play a $20 buy-in online poker tournament in the privacy of their own home if that’s what they want to do?

PTP: Any last words of advice or encouragement for the newer players entering the game?

MS: Yes. Read my best selling book (on the NY Time Best Seller List) called, “WPT – Shuffle Up and Deal” if you want to improve your chances at becoming a winning player. And watch the World Poker Tour.

PTP: Thanks again for your time Mike, and good luck with all you’re involved in this year.

MS: You’re welcome. All the best.

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