Gulf Coast Poker Podcast

After a GCP roundtable that delves into some Twitter drama, Ben goes solo this month for an interview with Joel Dias-Porter, one of the poker world's most fascinating figures. As he himself likes to say, Joel is self-unemployed but is rumored to gamble for a living. He's a man of stark contrasts: the homeless cardplayer who lives in four-star hotel rooms. The math whiz who writes poetry. The loner who has the rare ability to speak eloquently about seemingly anything—chess, literature, hip-hop, the World Cup, life in Atlantic City, you name it. This is a long interview that covers a lot of ground, so strap in and enjoy!

1:00: Intro

• Pearl River Poker Open, September 24th-October 4th
• https://www.poker.org/latest-news/the-internet-is-crucifying-me-whats-the-story-with-abby-merk-abTCv0R2acnu/

32:00: Interview

• https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69779/poet-at-the-poker-table
• https://www.threadmakesblanket.com/shop-1/p/ideas-of-improvisation

In this episode Chad Disante, the Horseshoe Bossier City's cardroom manager, joins the podcast to tell us how things are going at the Louisiana State Poker Championship. We also discuss the WSOP Main Event final table, an epidemic of hacked Twitter accounts, and how Chad got into poker.

1:00: Intro

• https://southernpoker.net/
• Lucas Jumalon wins the WSOP Main Event: https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/49554787/world-series-poker-2026-final-table
• hacked Twitter accounts: https://x.com/ToddWitteles/status/2091930999899009151?s=20

29:00: Interview

Gene, Ben, and Bill recap an action-packed summer in Las Vegas, including the big winners, a harrowing robbery, and the WSOP Main Event. We also chat with BJ Cockrell, one of the bigwigs at the Horseshoe Tunica's poker room and a veteran on both sides of the felt.

1:00: Intro

• The GCP Tour in Tunica—July 16-26
• Kristen Foxen and Adrian Mateos win 6th WSOP bracelets
• SoCal Pro allegedly hogtied and robbed of winnings: https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/socal-poker-pro-allegedly-hogtied-and-robbed-in-las-vegas/
• Lexy Gavin on the stone bubble: https://x.com/LexyGavinPoker/status/2077090153940861072
• Shot clocks implemented deep in the Main Event: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/07/wsop-main-event-shot-clock-debate-51856.htm
• Jonathan Tamayo reflects on the health of poker: https://x.com/Table1Vegas/status/2078869712382132575

1:20:00: Interview

On the eve of the 2026 WSOP, who better to offer a preview of the action than Chad Holloway? An industry veteran heading into his 18th straight summer in Las Vegas, Chad's also an accomplished player who won the 2013 Casino Employees Event and a WSOP bracelet. In this episode, Ben and Bill talk with Chad about dropping out of law school, the Harrah's New Orleans cardroom in the mid-aughts, life as Pokernews's PR and Media Manager, interviewing Maurice Hawkins, comic books, live reality games, the future of Texas poker, and more.

Hope you enjoy, and best of luck this summer!

1:00: Intro

• GCP Tour Mystery Ticket at MGM Grand—June 6–9
• GCP Tour Golden Event at Golden Nugget—June 17–20

4:00: Interview

• https://www.pokernews.com/podcast/pokernews-podcast/

In this episode, Gene, Ben, and Bill sat down with John Cressend, a Nola native and a regular on the Gulf Coast tournament scene for over twenty years. John told us about how he got into poker, balancing tourneys with his day job as a certified public accountant, the tax implications of the Big Beautiful Bill, and the next time we might see his alter ego—the Butler—immaculately dressed and stacking chips.

1:00: Interview

• for more on the tax implications of the BBB: https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2026/01/episode-492-russ-fox/

In this in-person interview, Ben and Bill sit down with the Beau Rivage's cardroom manager Adam Nash to discuss how the first weekend of the Heater went—as you might have guessed, the Gulf South's biggest tournament series got off to a blazing start—and what to expect heading into the second weekend.

1:00: Interview

• Adam's Tebow speech: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/175M9PwCcM/

Having covered major Los Angeles sports for over 30 years, Eric Geller brings a wealth of experience—and plenty of stories—to the poker world. He currently reports for Gulf Coast Poker and covers tournaments across the Southern U.S. In this episode, Bill, Ben, and Gene have a wide-ranging conversation about Eric's background in both poker and the wide world of sports.

1:00 interview

As the Poker/Sportsbook Manager at Horseshoe Tunica, Dan Higginbotham has over thirty years of experience in the casino industry, working in both commercial and tribal casinos across different jurisdictions. He's seen and done a lot, in other words, and in this episode Dan sits down with Gene, Ben, and Bill to discuss how running tournaments and cardrooms has changed over the years, and what to expect in the future.

1:00: Interview

With just over a week until the WSOP Main Event gets going, we invited Will "Monkey" Souther, the founder of the staking group Monkey's Minions, for a preview of his summer crew and how you can support them. John "Cakes" Auville, co-host of the longrunning radio show The Sports Junkies and a first-time Minion, also joined the conversation. Enjoy the episode, and best of luck to anyone heading out to Vegas!

1:00: Interview

• Monkey's first appearance on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/3-will-the-poker-monkey-souther/id1674014548?i=1000601300035
• The Sports Junkies: https://www.audacy.com/thefandc/authors/the-sports-junkies

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone with more intimate knowledge of the Gulf Coast poker scene than Darrell Guillory. A dealer for over thirty years—not to mention a tough tournament player in his own right—Darrell's currently wrapping up his career at Caesar's New Orleans, where he plans to retire at the end of this year. He's also working as a supervisor at this summer's World Series of Poker. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Darrell and our preview of the 56th WSOP.

1: 00: Roundtable

• GCP's revamped website: https://gulfcoastpoker.net/
• https://www.pokernews.com/news/2025/05/electronic-devices-dodging-the-blinds-and-more-6-wsop-rule-c-48524.htm

34:00: Interview