Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, Welcome to a new episode of the Poker
Speaker 1: Go Podcast Special Edition podcast. Because I have Jeff Platt
Speaker 1: here with me today, I have to ask you, though
Speaker 1: I have no idea what your actual title is, so
Speaker 1: please tell me.
Speaker 2: Oh, I would love to tell you, Donnie, I would
Speaker 2: love to tell you it is Global Broadcast Talent.
Speaker 3: I've heard that face of the experience.
Speaker 1: I've heard that when you're on stage just today MC,
Speaker 1: so I've kind of heard it all, okay, but I
Speaker 1: like your official ones so global we can get the
Speaker 1: actual people to tell you that.
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, say that let's go. Let's go.
Speaker 2: You can refer to me as that really just guy
Speaker 2: with a microphone, though it works. I appreciate you having
Speaker 2: me on. By the way, I pretty much demand it
Speaker 2: to be on. When I heard Donnie with his first podcast,
Speaker 2: he did actually text me, please please let me on.
Speaker 2: Let me jump on with you at least once a Monthther's.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think you know.
Speaker 1: I won't normally release episodes by themselves, but I think
Speaker 1: this one is warranted. And it's funny because I wanted
Speaker 1: to have you on to talk about the exact things
Speaker 1: that we're gonna talk about. I just I'm worried about
Speaker 1: abusing the relationship. Oh come on, but you ask all
Speaker 1: these people all the time, and it's like, really at
Speaker 1: some point, like you know, the worst is when people
Speaker 1: are running deep in the main event and you talk
Speaker 1: to them on day five, then you talk to him
Speaker 1: on day six and I'm like, can I talk to
Speaker 1: you once again one more time? I mean, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: but you're kind of doing well, like you know, what
Speaker 1: are we gonna do? But for me, I love it,
Speaker 1: like I love jumping on and talking with you, and
Speaker 1: it doesn't, of course have to be about stuff that
Speaker 1: I promote. I feel like we both share this passion
Speaker 1: for poker, so this is a cool space for me
Speaker 1: to be involved in. So always happy to jump on
Speaker 1: with you. Yeah, I mean, as you alluded to there,
Speaker 1: we've both been around poker for for quite a long time,
Speaker 1: as you much longer man, Okay, I mean, but you
Speaker 1: were playing, Yeah, I mean, so you've been around it.
Speaker 1: You know, even if you weren't exactly working in the industry, you.
Speaker 2: Were around it absolutely.
Speaker 1: As it relates to the doubsip though, quick timeline for
Speaker 1: those out there who need a little bit of a
Speaker 1: refresher but it goes from the Rio to the Horseshoe
Speaker 1: slash Paris in from twenty twenty one to twenty twenty two.
Speaker 3: Right, yeah, you.
Speaker 1: Got more than ten thousand entries in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1: You know, I think. I mean, I heard Norman on
Speaker 1: your show yesterday saying like, if if the whole online
Speaker 1: poker thing didn't happen, that would have happened years ago,
Speaker 1: which is likely the case. And then after the online
Speaker 1: poker thing did happen, it was kind of a question
Speaker 1: of is it ever gonna happen? And then it finally
Speaker 1: did happen. So that's great. You got GG Poker acquiring
Speaker 1: the brand. In twenty twenty four, you got the WSIP
Speaker 1: live app. It was WASIP plus. Now it's the WASP
Speaker 1: Live app launching last year, which I know that might
Speaker 1: sound like a small thing on this timeline, but I'm
Speaker 1: telling you, guys.
Speaker 3: Is a huge thing.
Speaker 1: Okay, it's a huge thing, and now this year, I
Speaker 1: mean the big thing is that the venues are flipped. Right,
Speaker 1: this is what Horseshoe was, and it's bigger. Over here
Speaker 1: we are on the main set right now. Does it
Speaker 1: feel surreal to you going from player to working in
Speaker 1: the industry a bit now being escalated to the position
Speaker 1: that you're in. To see all those changes in a
Speaker 1: relatively quick period of time for the w would.
Speaker 2: Be Yeah, it's a great question. It shows you how
Speaker 2: we really just skyrocketed over the last couple of years.
Speaker 2: You mentioned the change in locations, it's because the set
Speaker 2: just couldn't fit in Horseshoe. It could not fit. So
Speaker 2: for the World Series of Poker under the new ownership
Speaker 2: you mentioned to be willing to make that kind of
Speaker 2: investment along with investing in the app. I mean, I
Speaker 2: think it shows you what the future could become, and
Speaker 2: that's something that WSP is really looking out for. That's
Speaker 2: really why I wanted to align myself with this brand
Speaker 2: moving forward.
Speaker 1: When you first got into the industry, obviously you have
Speaker 1: a media background before getting into poker on the working
Speaker 1: side and the industry side of things.
Speaker 3: Was that a goal of yours?
Speaker 1: Were you like, I want to get into that industry
Speaker 1: and I want to do the media stuff and I
Speaker 1: want to eventually work my way up whatever that may be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's dream job. You and I have talked about
Speaker 2: the main event being the greatest poker tournament in the world.
Speaker 2: It is over these I don't care what anyone says,
Speaker 2: it just is. It's just at another level. So the
Speaker 2: super Bowl, so to speak, for me and for a
Speaker 2: lot of us in poker, is the World Series of
Speaker 2: Poker main event. With what I do specifically in hosting
Speaker 2: or sideline reporting or global broadcasts talenting, it just makes
Speaker 2: sense that that would be my dream job, right to
Speaker 2: be involved in that World Series of Poker main event,
Speaker 2: to be able to tell the story of the greatest
Speaker 2: poker tournament in the world to a wider audience to
Speaker 2: people who cannot make it live. And it took a
Speaker 2: crazy fortunate balance here and there with timing, and then
Speaker 2: it was twenty twenty and then Kara couldn't do it,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure a lot of people couldn't do it.
Speaker 2: So Dan Gotti eventually got to me on his list,
Speaker 2: and since then, I just I just got in at
Speaker 2: the right time, and I'm so thrilled, proud, honor to
Speaker 2: be here. I realized some like that could sound maybe
Speaker 2: corny in a sense, but like it's really genuine for me.
Speaker 2: It's something that I think about a lot, that this
Speaker 2: is true dream job status for me to be involved.
Speaker 1: You're you're really closely connected to the player experience, the
Speaker 1: fan experience. You know, a lot of the stuff that
Speaker 1: you wanted to make happen here. You're like, we got
Speaker 1: to make the viewing experience better. You've always said that's
Speaker 1: what's the most fun part of that side of the gig.
Speaker 2: I think it's just that everybody's open to listening to
Speaker 2: everybody else, not just me. But I can get time
Speaker 2: with Ty Stewart, our CEO, or Spunky, our head of production,
Speaker 2: and we'll have a great back and forth. And they
Speaker 2: are always looking for what I have to say, what
Speaker 2: other people have to say. They're good at gathering opinions.
Speaker 2: Nobody has to be right one hundred percent of the time.
Speaker 2: So just to really have a seat at the table,
Speaker 2: just to be in the room during these discussions, just
Speaker 2: to throw out some opinions, it helps you set it.
Speaker 2: Because I'm not I don't consider myself just a broadcaster,
Speaker 2: but a player a little bit on the side. So
Speaker 2: I want to look out for player experience, and that
Speaker 2: includes parking dealers, the app et cetera. I consider myself
Speaker 2: a fan, right so when we're out here at this stage,
Speaker 2: I want it to be the best setup possible, so
Speaker 2: you show up and you know what's going on, your
Speaker 2: view is not blocked. And then speaking of views, I'm
Speaker 2: a viewer also, so I know, like I think, I
Speaker 2: know what I would like, what you would probably like,
Speaker 2: what most people would would probably like, and it's nice
Speaker 2: to be able to have a say in every single
Speaker 2: one of those areas.
Speaker 1: Speaking of views, you know you've been getting bombarded with
Speaker 1: questions on the schedule, what are you guys streaming?
Speaker 3: What's going on?
Speaker 1: My sense of it is that I think you guys
Speaker 1: are base just we're turning the cameras on at let's
Speaker 1: say two o'clock every day, the stream's going to start
Speaker 1: it let's say five o'clock every day or whatever that
Speaker 1: time is, and it's just go time basically in a way,
Speaker 1: twenty four to seven. Once the cameras got turned on
Speaker 1: yesterday and now it's just every day throughout the duration
Speaker 1: of the series. But for the people out there, can
Speaker 1: you help describe, you know, what the schedule is, because
Speaker 1: you are getting questions, what's streaming today, what's going on?
Speaker 1: Where's the schedule that the schedules schedule right?
Speaker 2: That is kind of the way I see it that
Speaker 2: this is new, innovative, comprehensive live stream coverage. Now we
Speaker 2: will focus on certain events a bit more than others.
Speaker 2: For example, the twenty five kads Up Championship, we will
Speaker 2: have them up on stage at our future tables. We
Speaker 2: will have the five K no limit final table on
Speaker 2: one of our side features, or the five KPLO Final
Speaker 2: table on one of our side features. So the plan
Speaker 2: is to have one main tournament that we're honing in
Speaker 2: on that we're going to show you a ton of
Speaker 2: coverage from. That is going to be twenty five K
Speaker 2: Heads Up Championship, twenty five K hi Roller, ten KGG Millions,
Speaker 2: two hundred fifty K Super Highroller, but also Millionaire Maker,
Speaker 2: Monster Stack Colossus, to try to captivate the audience no
Speaker 2: matter what form of poker they may be interested in,
Speaker 2: whether it's high bids with the Superstars, lower bi ins
Speaker 2: with the weekend Warriors of the world. But at the
Speaker 2: same time that we're showcasing all of this featured table coverage,
Speaker 2: we are keeping track of what's going on at the
Speaker 2: outer tables, so we're just taking you. The goal is
Speaker 2: to take you in to the World Series of Poker
Speaker 2: and give you a sense of everything that is going on.
Speaker 2: Seventy seventy five eighty percent of our coverage will be
Speaker 2: honed in on one event and the rest of it
Speaker 2: will just be out and about and see what pops
Speaker 2: up and see what storylines developed. So I don't really
Speaker 2: think there's a need to put out a specific schedule.
Speaker 2: I understand that people want it. We have something like
Speaker 2: a schedule on YouTube. It's always subject to change, and
Speaker 2: I think you put it perfectly. A certain time is
Speaker 2: gonna hit and we're gonna turn the cameras on. That's
Speaker 2: future table coverage, and we have a ton of camera
Speaker 2: crews outside to treat every day if the World Series
Speaker 2: of Poker like it's the main event.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned the outer table coverage. Where Jeff and
Speaker 1: I are sitting right now are the outer tables.
Speaker 3: This is what's the cluster. It's called the cluster.
Speaker 1: There's twelve tables here, there's these behind us, there's five
Speaker 1: feature tables in.
Speaker 3: A horseshoe shape.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then they're gonna be bouncing around from everything
Speaker 1: and then you guys can't see it. But off camera
Speaker 1: is a new pregame show set, morning show set, whatever
Speaker 1: it's being called what's the motivation behind that this year?
Speaker 3: Well, first, are running the show.
Speaker 2: It is called WSP Countdown. Yes, we did have a rebranding.
Speaker 2: We were talking about developing a morning show and it
Speaker 2: just kind of turned into that pregame show that you mentioned.
Speaker 2: So it is me, David Williams, Joe Stapleton, Norman Chatta,
Speaker 2: some of a rotating cast of characters. You know, I'm
Speaker 2: hoping our friend Maria Hope and join us a few
Speaker 2: times here and there, things like that. The goal of
Speaker 2: this show, it's kind of like the goal of the
Speaker 2: live stream coverage. It's to take you inside the World
Speaker 2: Series of Poker to give you a sense of what
Speaker 2: happened last night and what to expect coming up on
Speaker 2: our live stream coverage. That is going to include diving
Speaker 2: into some hot topics. You know this the drama is
Speaker 2: going to pop up at some point in the World
Speaker 2: Series and we'll be there to cover it, and we
Speaker 2: want to cover it. We don't want to ignore it.
Speaker 2: So that's the overall game plan. It will include interviews
Speaker 2: with big name players, it will include bracelet ceremony recaps,
Speaker 2: it will include live looks at whatever Daniel Lgrantini or
Speaker 2: feel Helmut or feel iv Er up to on that day.
Speaker 2: So it's just a little bit of everything, and I
Speaker 2: think that's why I'm excited about it. It's very easy
Speaker 2: to say that you want to model yourself after a
Speaker 2: college game day ornt inside the NBA, right, But that
Speaker 2: is the goal, and I hope we can take steps
Speaker 2: in the right direction to reach that goal.
Speaker 1: Did you guys come into this whole summer plan with
Speaker 1: everything you know, new stage, the way that you're planning
Speaker 1: the coverage, the countdown show ahead of time, with the
Speaker 1: idea of like, listen, we want to push poker coverage.
Speaker 3: To new heights. We want to set a new standard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, That's been Spunky's goal this whole time, recognizing the
Speaker 2: poker boom of the Moneymaker era and trying to develop
Speaker 2: one that doesn't necessarily rely on any specific superstar. And
Speaker 2: I think that's important. You know this. I feel like,
Speaker 2: especially in our Poker go years, how bad did we
Speaker 2: run as far as getting you know, big names to
Speaker 2: a final table or something like that. Of course, it
Speaker 2: feels like it. It felt like it always fell apart, right, And.
Speaker 1: I'll be honest, listen, Poker gro had its own budgetary
Speaker 1: restrictions and whatnot.
Speaker 2: Of course.
Speaker 1: I mean listen, for lack of a better term, GG
Speaker 1: Poker's unloading the clip and it's fucking great. Okay, it's awesome,
Speaker 1: you know, so that, but you know, we are still partnered.
Speaker 1: We are still working with you guys on everything. I
Speaker 1: mean the Blueprint fifty two team, which is the arm
Speaker 1: of poker Goo that does these builds. They're the ones
Speaker 1: that built this set, you know. So obviously the vision
Speaker 1: came from the WSP side of things, but then you
Speaker 1: had to have the handyman in the room to make
Speaker 1: it out.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, And I think it's It's also an important note,
Speaker 2: not just because I am on the Poker podcast or
Speaker 2: talking with you, or because I've worked with poker Go
Speaker 2: or because they're still partner. I think poker Go did
Speaker 2: a tremendous job over the last few years in live streaming.
Speaker 2: You know, we hear a lot about today like oh
Speaker 2: well now it's not behind a paywall, but so much
Speaker 2: of the coverage last year was open and available on YouTube.
Speaker 2: Poker Go set up a distribution this year. Get right,
Speaker 2: they forget, They forget very quickly. Poker Go's distribution deal
Speaker 2: not only included the main event being televised by other
Speaker 2: preliminary Bracelet events being televised. I think they were great,
Speaker 2: But to your point, I mean, Ensis, the parent company
Speaker 2: of both GG and WSP, they're going to fire off.
Speaker 2: They are going to invest in the future, invest in
Speaker 2: our coverage. We want you to see this setup, whether
Speaker 2: it's because of an Instagram post or because you're watching
Speaker 2: our coverage on WSP's YouTube channel, or because you're watching
Speaker 2: the main event on ESPN and you see it and
Speaker 2: you want to be here, right, And so that's that's
Speaker 2: kind of the boom that we're hoping to develop, that
Speaker 2: that Spunky is hoping to develop. Change the game. As
Speaker 2: far as production is concerned. Just go bigger, Just go
Speaker 2: so much bigger. I don't want to say, don't worry
Speaker 2: about cost, but it's close to that. I mean, I'm
Speaker 2: looking now, you're not the one right in the check
Speaker 2: so you know that helps a little bit. I'm looking
Speaker 2: now at our countdown show set that we were just
Speaker 2: talking about. I see now we have like a teleprompter
Speaker 2: and a huge monitor for the prompter. It's just like
Speaker 2: these little things.
Speaker 1: It's just like, yeah, I gotta put you on the
Speaker 1: spot who needs the teleprompter? Well, you think, Donnie, if
Speaker 1: it's pointing at Norman's seat, I know it's not you.
Speaker 3: It's one of the other three.
Speaker 1: I can't quite see the angle from here, but it's
Speaker 1: definitely fair states.
Speaker 2: They do have a couple of monologues they want to
Speaker 2: go off, and so I think a.
Speaker 3: Prompter is a question now is can they read? I mean, yeah,
Speaker 3: we're gonna find out.
Speaker 2: We're gonna find out soon enough.
Speaker 1: So you saw this thing at the at the warehouse,
Speaker 1: the poker warehouse, like I think it was like a
Speaker 1: third built right now, take me back, like what was
Speaker 1: when you walked into you guys, your team got a
Speaker 1: view of like, okay, this is like basically half of
Speaker 1: it or a third of it. This is an idea
Speaker 1: of what it's gonna look like. What were your thoughts then,
Speaker 1: because it's it's one thing to see it on some
Speaker 1: renderings or in some photos, you know, but then to
Speaker 1: see it in real life.
Speaker 2: Well, I not only saw the renderings, but I heard
Speaker 2: from Spunky and Ty that you know, this new set
Speaker 2: we're gonna build is three times bigger than the one
Speaker 2: in the Bahamas, which the WCP Paradise set was pretty
Speaker 2: pretty massive. I thought that was the biggest poker stage
Speaker 2: setup that I had ever seen. So I heard that,
Speaker 2: I think, okay, okay, And then I walked into the
Speaker 2: warehouse at Poker Ghost Campus and then I saw it.
Speaker 2: I was like, wow, this this is big. And then
Speaker 2: more it comes over and says, you know, this is
Speaker 2: only like a third of it.
Speaker 4: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: So it's still like it still could not I could
Speaker 2: not process it. It could not get through my mind.
Speaker 2: And that's what I told everybody and the lead up
Speaker 2: to this, it's like I still can't get it through
Speaker 2: my head what it's going to look like. Even walking
Speaker 2: in here a week ago and seeing some of the
Speaker 2: set up with you, Oh wow, this is nice. This
Speaker 2: is really cool. But it's just ten times better than
Speaker 2: it was in the development process, Like this is this
Speaker 2: is an I know we're still searching for an ame.
Speaker 2: And you mentioned the arena, and I like the arena,
Speaker 2: and maybe it would be Grand Arena. Grand Arena is
Speaker 2: really good. Maybe we go back to Thunder, I don't know,
Speaker 2: whatever we figure out, maybe whatever pops up organically, but
Speaker 2: like this, this is the future of poker. This is
Speaker 2: the new home of the World Series. I can't emphasize
Speaker 2: enough just how it sounds simple, but just how cool
Speaker 2: it is.
Speaker 1: What do you think, you know, fans, whether they're or
Speaker 1: players too, you know, but but players are ultimately fans
Speaker 1: of the year. I think when they you know, when
Speaker 1: they walk in here and they see this thing, now
Speaker 1: there's no more curtain when they tune into a live
Speaker 1: stream when they see it, what do you guys want
Speaker 1: them to feel.
Speaker 2: I want them to be shocked, to be stunned that
Speaker 2: this is the investment that the World Series is putting
Speaker 2: into its home, is putting into its production. And I
Speaker 2: think we achieved that goal. You know, this is to
Speaker 2: go back to what we were saying earlier, the greatest
Speaker 2: poker series in the world. This is Poker's premiere event,
Speaker 2: and now we have a stage that really aligns with
Speaker 2: that description.
Speaker 3: What's something that people don't see?
Speaker 2: Oh, good question. People are going to see this massive
Speaker 2: arena and be impressed. You've probably walked through back there.
Speaker 2: But like the production area is wild and there are
Speaker 2: rows upon rows upon rows of monitors. You know, our
Speaker 2: countdown show is their own row. You know, we have
Speaker 2: a full on production crew for what four of the
Speaker 2: feature tables. So like our usual control room which had
Speaker 2: I don't know, fifteen or twenty people in it for
Speaker 2: a final table, like you have three or four versions
Speaker 2: of those. People don't see a massive production crew running
Speaker 2: around what feels like twenty four to seven and all
Speaker 2: the behind the scenes work that goes into this. I
Speaker 2: think that's what people may miss out on. But that
Speaker 2: shows you just how how big the effort is.
Speaker 1: How do you approach the idea that it's impossible to
Speaker 1: make everyone happen? You know, we talked a little bit
Speaker 1: earlier how people are blowing you up on social media
Speaker 1: as so for this, that and the other thing. You know,
Speaker 1: even here there's people are like, you got to fix
Speaker 1: the parking, Jeff, you gotta fix this. You gotta fix that.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: I will say, by the way, he is actually parking
Speaker 1: where the people park. And I told him that. I said,
Speaker 1: why don't you just park them back? He said, no, no,
Speaker 1: I'm not doing I said, well, okay, people are crazy.
Speaker 1: You guys park in the back.
Speaker 2: Park peacepot in the production line.
Speaker 1: But how do you like, are you do you just
Speaker 1: come into it and you say, listen, we're not going
Speaker 1: to make everyone happy.
Speaker 3: Or are you actually going to try and make everyone
Speaker 3: else well. I feel like.
Speaker 2: Part of the role that I'm in is like is
Speaker 2: listening to feedback, and sometimes the feedback is going to
Speaker 2: be something that we agree with, and sometimes it's not.
Speaker 2: You know, when it comes to player experience, of course,
Speaker 2: like we want to make the parking situation just great
Speaker 2: for everybody, and so I want to genuinely like, if
Speaker 2: you guys feel the pain from it, I want to
Speaker 2: That's something we're easily going to be aligned on.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: Then it comes to things that are a bit more subjective,
Speaker 2: I would say, where some people may tweet at us, hey, like,
Speaker 2: why aren't you showing this fifteen hundred dollars seven cards
Speaker 2: stud final table? And I appreciate the question, I don't
Speaker 2: personally think and I don't think our team thinks that
Speaker 2: that would be a great use of our resources.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I know, we go ham and add this massive production crew,
Speaker 2: but we're still only going to be on a certain
Speaker 2: amount of the time, and when we're on, we're probably
Speaker 2: going to lean towards showing you the Helme Use, the Negrano's,
Speaker 2: the Miss Rockies, the Heads Up Championship. Highlights of the
Speaker 2: world while leaving a side some moments here and there
Speaker 2: to touch on the fifteen hundred dollars seven card stud
Speaker 2: I like to say that we're covering every tournament. In
Speaker 2: a sense, some tournaments will not receive the same level
Speaker 2: of coverage that others do, so I do genuinely appreciate
Speaker 2: the feedback. I look for constructive criticism. I try to
Speaker 2: get back to most people on social media because we
Speaker 2: want to be really open about our thought process. I
Speaker 2: understand the later start times and how that's going to
Speaker 2: impact some people. This is all a huge work in progress,
Speaker 2: and we'll take everything under consideration.
Speaker 1: I mean it's kind of like, you know, not sometimes
Speaker 1: things just hit the cutting room floor. I mean, like,
Speaker 1: for example, when we produce episodes, you can't cram every
Speaker 1: single hand into a forty four minute episode, and somebody
Speaker 1: might be like, well, you didn't show that hand.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean you can't. You can't always. You can't always.
Speaker 2: If we could turn every single camera on in this
Speaker 2: building and put up three hundred YouTube streams all at once,
Speaker 2: and maybe.
Speaker 1: That that is, I don't know if there's enough with
Speaker 1: an electricity to actually.
Speaker 2: Do that right, I don't know, but you know, we
Speaker 2: will develop, we will get better and better, and who
Speaker 2: knows what the future holds for us, but for now
Speaker 2: we feel at least somewhat comfortable with our game plan.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I'm a big you know, rising tide lift lifts all boats.
Speaker 1: So if the World Series a poker, which is the
Speaker 1: biggest boat in the sea, if that can can you know,
Speaker 1: do its job, or the World Series Poker really is
Speaker 1: the rising tide to be honest, you know, if it
Speaker 1: can make poker bigger, everyone, you know, even competitors of
Speaker 1: the World Series will benefit. And I do think that,
Speaker 1: you know, yes, maybe you don't make every single person happy,
Speaker 1: you know, the person clamoring for the seven card start
Speaker 1: or whatever it is. Like I get it, I was
Speaker 1: in your shoes, you know, previous years. But the jump
Speaker 1: that you've already made, and if that's like a sign
Speaker 1: of things to come, like, Okay, this is what we
Speaker 1: did in year one of this whole new thing. Next year,
Speaker 1: let's go what's what's the next step, And then the
Speaker 1: next year, what's the next step. And then eventually, yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe if you are streaming, instead of five tables, it's
Speaker 1: seven tables or whatever it is. So there's there's a
Speaker 1: build in process. You also have to I mean, you
Speaker 1: can't bite off more than you can choose, right, Like
Speaker 1: if you came out here and said, okay, we're streaming
Speaker 1: twenty tables, like and then it just breaks, then you're screwed.
Speaker 1: Yeah right, So I get it. It's hard, it's not
Speaker 1: easy being in your shoes. But I also understand the
Speaker 1: lengths that you've gone already. I'm glad you mentioned that
Speaker 1: Spunky ahead of our production. He's really big on process
Speaker 1: and efficiency. So people come to and there, what if we,
Speaker 1: you know, do this and we have a special feature
Speaker 1: table that's in the corner. He's like, let's just get
Speaker 1: the process down right, Let's just keep it. Let's turn
Speaker 1: the cameras on the first space.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah right, let's just get off the ground and
Speaker 2: let's showcase this to our viewers. And once we're comfortable
Speaker 2: with this process, then we can fine tune in, we
Speaker 2: can tweak it, we can add in one thing at
Speaker 2: a time, but we won't go super crazy because that
Speaker 2: could lead to flaws at the core of the system.
Speaker 2: We want the core to be strong before we totally
Speaker 2: branch out.
Speaker 1: You're around Poker, I mean more than anyone I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, you and I talk pretty much every single day.
Speaker 1: I know how much you're around this game, both playing
Speaker 1: on the industry side of things as well. You know
Speaker 1: what still fascinates you about poker?
Speaker 2: For me, I can find storylines, not just from a
Speaker 2: coverage standpoint. Just like if I'm walking around in every
Speaker 2: single event, it doesn't need I love it. Of course,
Speaker 2: if it's Daniel Nigranu and Phil Hellmuth and Kristen Foxen Amriell,
Speaker 2: that's great, that's easy. But I can walk by still
Speaker 2: a two hundred dollars daily deep stack and see that
Speaker 2: there are seven players left, and see that a couple
Speaker 2: players are treating it like it's the final table of
Speaker 2: their World Series of Poker main event. That still stands
Speaker 2: out to me, the passion for poker, or that's still
Speaker 2: that still hits me, because I think it still hits others.
Speaker 2: It's it's funny. I'm walking Bill. I'm watching Bill Klein
Speaker 2: walk into this room right now and twenty five kids
Speaker 2: up Championship sure like it's a high by in for poker,
Speaker 2: right doesn't doesn't really move the needle for Bill Klein.
Speaker 2: And if he won the whole thing, not going to
Speaker 2: move the needle for Bill Klin, but he's here. He's
Speaker 2: here because he wants to compete. And I love how
Speaker 2: that competition is just drawn out of everybody, from the
Speaker 2: Jesse Lonises of the world to the Bill Kleines, to
Speaker 2: the to the Colby Covingtons of the world. You know,
Speaker 2: you see our athletes come in and like they're so
Speaker 2: enthused by poker and they're just it just brings the
Speaker 2: competitive spirit out of everybody. And that's just something that
Speaker 2: I love about this game and we'll always love.
Speaker 1: A question that I've been trying to ask every single
Speaker 1: person that I have on the podcast is that you know,
Speaker 1: what does a successful summer look like for you personally?
Speaker 1: Now I know that maybe you don't take the same
Speaker 1: angle as as a player might respond to that question,
Speaker 1: but what.
Speaker 3: Does the successful summer look like for Jeff play?
Speaker 2: It's nice I don't have to set any like bracelet
Speaker 2: goals or tournament results.
Speaker 3: I'm going to win three.
Speaker 2: That kind of takes the pressure off. I think successful
Speaker 2: summer for me, it's going to sound simple, but it's
Speaker 2: perhaps more complicated than it sounds. I want to end
Speaker 2: the summer in a better position than we started off.
Speaker 2: Just want to get better, just want to improve. I
Speaker 2: know we're not going to be at one hundred percent capacity,
Speaker 2: so to speak, and perfect on day one or two,
Speaker 2: and we probably won't be perfect throughout six weeks, and
Speaker 2: I don't expect to be. But I just want to
Speaker 2: get better and better. I want to improve our process
Speaker 2: because you know this as a poker player. If you
Speaker 2: improve the process, the results are going to come eventually.
Speaker 2: They might not come right off the bat. I just
Speaker 2: want to improve the process. I just want to get
Speaker 2: a little better. I know it's cliche, but it is
Speaker 2: going to help us in the long run if we
Speaker 2: do get a little better each and every day.
Speaker 1: When it all settles down, you know, the dust settles.
Speaker 1: Let's say it's September. You know what do you want
Speaker 1: people to talk about when they look back on the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six WSP Is it the set? Is it
Speaker 1: something that's possibly to come?
Speaker 3: You know, what is that in your mind?
Speaker 2: I want them to talk about this, this set, this arena.
Speaker 2: I want them to talk about our new and improved
Speaker 2: comprehensive livestream coverage where we're just all over the map,
Speaker 2: where we're taking you inside the world Series of Poker,
Speaker 2: and I want them to look back on a record
Speaker 2: setting World Series of Poker Main Event that is back
Speaker 2: on ESPN, that did really well with our three week
Speaker 2: delay in between reaching the final table and actually showcasing
Speaker 2: the Final table live the storylines that we were able
Speaker 2: to develop. I want people to see the investment that
Speaker 2: the World Series is putting into this and think, you
Speaker 2: know what that all of this pretty cool, pretty good summer,
Speaker 2: pretty memorable summer.
Speaker 3: All the main Event.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm bullish, I think, Sam, you know, I
Speaker 1: think it's going to get back up over ten thousand.
Speaker 1: Now does that mean record setter? I don't know, but
Speaker 1: hearing you say it, is that a motivation of the company.
Speaker 1: Is that why you're saying that, because it's in the room,
Speaker 1: in the back room, you guys are saying we want
Speaker 1: a record setter.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it's always the motivation of the company.
Speaker 2: Everybody looks at the World Series of Poker Main Event. Now,
Speaker 2: does that mean if we got nine, nine hundred and
Speaker 2: ninety two players, Even if you.
Speaker 1: Guys got eight thousand, it's still eight k in a
Speaker 1: ten k free zee.
Speaker 2: It's it's still just mind boggling to think about right
Speaker 2: when you compare it to all the other attendance numbers.
Speaker 2: But sure, we'd like to set a record. Listen, Gigi
Speaker 2: Poker sends more and more people to the main event
Speaker 2: every single year. Poker is is growing. I mean, we're
Speaker 2: seeing more and more people become interested in poker. Whether
Speaker 2: that results in more main event entries, I don't know.
Speaker 2: But we are back on ESPN. That is going to
Speaker 2: have some kind of a lure to some people. The set,
Speaker 2: the stage that's gonna have, the grand arena, excuse me,
Speaker 2: that's gonna have some kind of a lure to some people.
Speaker 2: And I think when you combine everything that you are
Speaker 2: just going to be in for a record setting main event.
Speaker 2: What I appreciate about the World Series is like we
Speaker 2: always what I just said, we just always try to
Speaker 2: get better.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: It's like I think Nicks. I think it was Nick
Speaker 2: Saban after he wins a national championship. He has one
Speaker 2: glass of champagne on the plane, but that plane is
Speaker 2: on a recruiting trip, and you know he's just thinking
Speaker 2: about the next year. And that's kind of our model,
Speaker 2: Like just Okay, this was awesome, let's celebrate it, just
Speaker 2: for a little bit though, and then let's get back
Speaker 2: to work and how do we make the next one better?
Speaker 2: I was going to say, how could there be a
Speaker 2: huge cheer here in this room at noon?
Speaker 1: Because it's the World Series of Poker and it's Arsenal
Speaker 1: versus PSG, which it looks like PSG.
Speaker 3: Just won the Champions League.
Speaker 2: Our COO, Greg SHOs shown is French. His PSG is
Speaker 2: the French one.
Speaker 1: Right, Yes, I mean there's obviously many French teams, right No,
Speaker 1: I think he might hate PSG specific. So I think
Speaker 1: that's all I got for you. But did I miss anything?
Speaker 1: Is there anything you want to say talk about?
Speaker 2: I really don't think so. I think you know, an
Speaker 2: important note that I would want to get out there
Speaker 2: is that we're going for this every day. So everyday
Speaker 2: World Tires of Poker Countdown is going to be on
Speaker 2: and it's going to lead into our livestream coverage it
Speaker 2: if you get sick, I think we're stuck with STAPs
Speaker 2: in the hosting chair or something like that. So the
Speaker 2: show goes on whether I'm here or not. It does
Speaker 2: not rely on any one person, and we're just we're
Speaker 2: just really excited to see how it all plays out,
Speaker 2: and like I told you earlier, you know, I want
Speaker 2: the feedback, the constructive criticism, not just from you, but
Speaker 2: but from all of your listeners, all of your viewers.
Speaker 2: Just hit me up on social media and we're accepting everything.
Speaker 2: If you just say, Jeff, you suck, that doesn't help
Speaker 2: us that much.
Speaker 3: We would, we would, it should be you suck. Here's why.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, exactly, that is exactly what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2: So that's what I want to get out and I
Speaker 2: always appreciate it and enjoy the time with you.
Speaker 1: All right, man, Well he's Jeff Platt on Twitter, so
Speaker 1: that's where you guys can can hit him up there.
Speaker 1: He is responding to I think.
Speaker 2: Every single try gets a little Sometimes I even look
Speaker 2: at it and I'm like, ah, why'd you even respond
Speaker 2: to that one? At the point, can I give you
Speaker 2: a little tease, Yeah, just because I see Seande walking up,
Speaker 2: I have a surprise for him week one of the
Speaker 2: World Series that could like Joker viral.
Speaker 4: No no, no, I'm not gonna hij I just got to
Speaker 4: come say hi, hello, my friend, love the set, thank you,
Speaker 4: The morning show going.
Speaker 2: It's it's called WSP Countdown. Let's show some respect, going, well,
Speaker 2: it's not the countdown, it's just WSOP countdown, Mark somewhere else,
Speaker 2: probably probably, So.
Speaker 1: I'm just making sure my producer, producer Rich, shout out
Speaker 1: producer Rich.
Speaker 3: He'll yell at me if I didn't do this.
Speaker 2: So, yeah, thank you for asking, Sean. It's fantastic. I
Speaker 2: was just telling Donnie that I have a surprise coming
Speaker 2: your way at some point in I think week one
Speaker 2: of the WSP, maybe early week two, and it could.
Speaker 2: It has the potential to go I wouldn't say viral,
Speaker 2: but like a poker viral, like maybe we get twenty
Speaker 2: two reposts in three hundred likes on it.
Speaker 4: I think I'll have three hundred and thirty three likes.
Speaker 4: It's just what I think.
Speaker 3: It is.
Speaker 2: Oh, interesting, interesting working. I had no comment at this time.
Speaker 2: I don't want to review.
Speaker 3: Any no comment at this time. I like it.
Speaker 2: Though. It's better than whatever Tim Duckworth has planned. You know,
Speaker 2: it's got to be at least that.
Speaker 4: I give him a lot of credit. Man, he's really
Speaker 4: growing up in his role. Over the years, has.
Speaker 3: He highly questionable? Sean? Highly questionable?
Speaker 4: Remember how low the bar was to start?
Speaker 3: That's true.
Speaker 2: That's a great point.
Speaker 3: I mean pants yesterday. Yeah, I never seen him wear
Speaker 3: it is.
Speaker 1: It's it's much colder on this side of things than
Speaker 1: it is on the horseshoes side of things.
Speaker 4: At the Showdown, you know, I'm going to stay called
Speaker 4: the Showdown.
Speaker 2: The Countdown, w SP countdown. Maybe moving back to the
Speaker 2: morning they got they got a logo and everything. I mean,
Speaker 2: give it a night show that could be the showdown
Speaker 2: on the showdown. Yeah, you should have been in our
Speaker 2: earlier conversation.
Speaker 4: I know I should be in these production meetings actually
Speaker 4: show you guys how to do things.
Speaker 2: But we're gonna up here. He's got to get it.
Speaker 1: The pleasure Sean Deep as always, it's a pleasure pleasures
Speaker 1: on flat. My mic is all screwed up now, as
Speaker 1: if it wasn't already. But all right, this has been
Speaker 1: the Poker Girl Podcast, a little special edition here with
Speaker 1: Jeff Platmin name is Dona Pears and we will catch
Speaker 1: you guys next time.
Speaker 2: Express