Garry Gates has worn many hats in the poker industry. After moving to Las Vegas from his native Titusville, Pennsylvania, Gates attempted to play professionally, with limited success. A chance encounter at the World Series of Poker, however, gave Gates an opening into the media side of the poker world. He then spent ten years working for PokerStars as a senior manager, dealing with player relations and community engagement.  

Then last summer, Gates got to put his player hat back on for his annual shot at the WSOP main event. He had previously finished in-the-money three times, including semi-deep runs in 2011 and 2015. Gates surpassed all expectations, however, when he made the final table, ultimately finishing fourth for a $3 million payday. He has since taken a position with daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings as a New Business Executive.  

Highlights from this interview include growing up with the Heisman and oil parties, getting the lead in Oliver!, learning about online poker from his dad, Elk's Club games with Loopy and the Butcher, sitting behind Doyle and Puggy at Binion's, how to lose $1,000 at $4-$8 limit, a long walk home from the Bellagio, why Tom Dwan needed six computer mouses, making Vanessa Rousso teach Barry Sanders how to play poker, being one of Jason Mercier's most successful horses, why he wasn't nervous at the final table, ignoring Mike Matusow criticisms, why Australia is his favorite poker trip, working in an underground mine, the resemblance between Justin Verlander and WWE wrestler Cesaro, and getting out of school to hunt deer in traffic.

That's a wrap on the richest poker tournament in history. Sarah Herring and Jeff Platt recap the Triton Million on this episode of the PokerNews Podcast. They discuss Aaron Zang's win, Bryn Kenney's incredible run, and what that means for the all-time money list.

Plus, Jeff has a seat on Poker After Dark for "Open Seat Week". The two chat about how Jeff is feeling prior to his PAD debut.

Then, Sarah sits down for an in-depth, wide-ranging conversation with 2019 WSOP Main Event fourth-place finisher Garry Gates!

This week on Cracking Aces we start off by talking about our trip to AC and Jake folding KK preflop. We talk about the difference between playing wild amateurs and extremely good pros. We then talk about Randall Emmett and his antics at the table...not a fan. And then we discuss the "Dick Bandit" who got thrown out of the Main Event and how he might be on crack. Finally, the 4th place finisher in the Main Event and all around great guy Garry Gates joined us to talk about his legendary run. He was a delight. Thanks for listening and enjoy!