Reel Lives: PokerGO’s Donnie Peters On Covering Poker, Online Expansion, Roulette, And ‘Rounders’
The poker media veteran talks online expansion expectations, women in poker, and why he still loves playing after all these years.
5 min
Every gambler has a story to tell. And so does every person who chooses to make a living in this unique industry.
In our “Reel Lives” series, Casino Reports shines a spotlight on people working in the gaming business, from executives, to analysts, to media members and communications pros, and all points in between.
The subject in this interview: Donnie Peters, director of brand marketing and communications for streaming network PokerGO and a veteran of more than 15 years in the gambling (mostly poker) media.
Casino Reports (CR): What was your first job in the gambling industry, and how did it come about?
Donnie Peters (DP): Fresh out of college, I went to work for PokerNews at the 2008 WSOP. That was my first job in the gambling industry. I was playing too much poker while at Elon University and, at the time, poker blogs were a fairly popular thing in the community. I started one and would often tell people about it when I played. One day, I was chatting on Full Tilt Poker with a regular opponent and brought up my blog. Steph Noh was his name, and he was also a writer. He knew John Caldwell and connected me. John was running PokerNews at the time, took a look at my blog, and I landed an interview for the upcoming summer. From there, I secured the gig.
At college, I remember there was a week off between the end of classes and exams, called “study week.” Instead of studying, I hopped on a plane to head to New Orleans for a WSOP Circuit event that was being held there. My trip to New Orleans would be my training with PokerNews to get me as up-to-speed as possible for the summer. I flew down, worked the event, flew back to North Carolina to take my exams, graduated, drove home to New Hampshire with my family, and didn’t unpack my suitcase because I was on a plane to Las Vegas the next day. That summer I worked as a live tournament blogger for PokerNews, and it was my first job in the industry.
CR: If you told the 18-year-old version of yourself what you’re doing now professionally, how surprised/unsurprised would that younger version be?
DP: Poker wasn’t even remotely on my radar until I was 20 or 21, so I would guess that I’d be pretty surprised to hear that this is the industry I’d land myself in. That said, I’m not sure I knew what I wanted to do even in my early 20s, so anything could have seemed like fair game when I was 18.
CR: What do you view as your signature achievement in this industry? Or put another way, what professional accomplishment or project are you most proud of?
DP: Being honored with the 2015 Media Person of the Year award at the American Poker Awards is an accolade I’ll always be grateful for because it represents all of the hard work and progression in my career. At the time, I was running PokerNews.com. The team we had built and the strides we had made in the industry were simply incredible. Yes, I was the one who went up on stage to accept the award and ultimately take it home, but this was very much a team honor that represented what we built at PokerNews. Much of that team has gone on to do incredible things, which is no surprise because of how intelligent and talented the team was. Even though I’ve since moved on from PokerNews, my time there is something I’m extremely proud of, and winning the award represents that.
CR: Do people overstate the impact of a woman making the WSOP Main Event final table, or would that indeed be the most massive possible game-changer that the whole industry should be rooting for every July?
DP: I think we’re going to continue to see women rise in poker. Kristen Foxen is a great example of how strong women in poker are right now, and I don’t think she needed to make the final table in order to have a positive impact on any who were on the fence about taking the leap and playing live poker. Kristen finished higher than 10,099 entrants from a field of 10,112. That’s remarkable and should not be overlooked or forgotten just because she didn’t make the final nine. She won $600,000, was without a doubt one of the best players in the field, and showcased her ability on poker’s biggest stage. It can and should still be celebrated.
CR: How do you like to spend free time away from work? Any interesting hobbies or secret talents?
DP: Nowadays, most of my time outside of work is spent alongside my wife raising our two young kids. We have a 3-year-old and an 11-month-old. It’s tremendously fulfilling to watch your kids grow and be along for that ride, but, as I’m sure all parents of young children can relate to, it’s quite a handful. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, and it just means I have a bit less free time of my own. Thankfully, I hit the jackpot with who I married. When I’m able to, I enjoy playing poker. That’s probably not that interesting given the industry I work in, but I truly love the game and everything about it — the competition, the community, everything.
CR: How frustrating has it been watching online sports betting legalization go nuts the last six years while online poker legalization crawls along so slowly, and how optimistic or pessimistic are you about the future of online poker in the U.S.?
DP: At this stage, I’d suggest that you’re only setting yourself up for a letdown if you think regulated online poker is going to move forward at a faster rate than it currently is. I’m optimistic that regulated online poker will continue to grow — both with more states launching legalized online poker and states joining interstate player pools — but it’s going to take time. I can’t necessarily blame operators for choosing sports betting over poker because the former has a higher revenue ceiling and greater margin. If every two years we can get one more state on board or one more state to join a multi-state player pool, such as the one involving Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan as it relates to WSOP.com, then I think it’s a win and a realistic target.
Reel fast!
What’s the longest consecutive stretch of hours you’ve ever been awake either playing poker or covering a poker tournament?
About 40 hours, for both.
Favorite non-poker game to play in a casino?
Roulette.
Favorite podcast, whether related to your work or totally unrelated?
Group Chat with Chris “Drama” Pfaff, Dee Murthy, and Anand Murthy, or The Bill Simmons Podcast.
The best thing about living in Vegas that you wouldn’t realize if you’ve never lived in Vegas is …
The food.
All-time favorite gambling movie, and all-time favorite non-gambling movie?
Rounders and, well, Rounders.
If UIGEA had never happened, the record for the number of entries in the WSOP Main Event would be …
Somewhere in the range of 20,000-25,000.
You can find Donnie on LinkedIn or on X, or perhaps just sitting around somewhere dreaming of what he’d do if he found himself heads-up with Johnny Chan.
Previous installments of Reel Lives:
Sharp Alpha Advisors’ Jordan Pascasio On Venture Capital, Innovation, And The Nova Knicks
Sporttrade’s Arpita McGrath On AML, Exchange Wagering, And The Luxury Of Power Windows
