Poker News Daily: Thank you for joining us. The Federated Sports and Gaming poker league, of which you’re the Commissioner, recently brought on Kat Kowal, Jo Priam, and Matt Savage. Can you talk about the three hires?
Annie Duke: I feel like at every turn, we’re getting who I think are the best in the business. Kat is tremendous and has so much television and events experience in the poker space, having starting her poker journey with the World Poker Tour (WPT). Joanne brings six years of experience in the poker industry mainly in player relations and PR. Everyone she’s worked with loves her and I couldn’t think of a better fit for Director of Pro Communications.
Matt Savage is at the forefront of tournament innovation and I couldn’t think of anyone better to be creating structures for us. He is, in my opinion, the tournament director in the industry who most listens to the players and puts them first. Matt is also Executive Tour Director for the WPT and we think it’s fantastic that he’s over there. WPT events are integral to our qualification criteria, so there is a lot of synergy there.
PND: When will the league membership be announced?
Annie Duke: We’re going to be announcing that next month. My brother and I and a few other players are going to be doing a USO tour in Kuwait in a couple of weeks. I wanted to make sure that when we announce the membership I am wholly available on U.S. soil. So, we decided to wait the Kuwait trip was done and I could be as responsive as possible with questions about the qualification process.
I’m truly excited about the qualifiers. One of the most encouraging aspects of the member list to me is how strong a presence the young players have and the strength of this group that has made the beautiful transition from online to live poker. I’m excited about that developing group. They’re instrumental to the future of poker.
We are looking forward to partnering with those players to help create the next generation of great poker brands. I’m a big believer in developing young talent in part because I got such a benefit from the TV opportunities that were available to me around 2003 and 2004. I am looking forward to this new generation getting the benefits of the kind of TV exposure that I got back then.
PND: Give us your thoughts about the field of National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Is it difficult for that event’s organizers to balance quality poker with television ratings?
Annie Duke: They’re partially interested in the ratings, but I do see a commitment to developing young talent. Some of the Players of the Year are automatically qualified and they tend to be younger players for sure. Eric Baldwin, for example, has played in that event. Vanessa Selbst was in there this year and so was Tom Marchese. Some of it is controversial and I’m glad I’m not in the position of having to choose that field.
PND: Will we be seeing you in the Full Tilt Poker Onyx Cup?
Annie Duke: 100% of my focus right now is on Federated Sports and Gaming, so I have to drastically cut back on any poker playing I might do. I am committed to developing this company into a strong and successful partner with the players. In order to do that, playing poker is on the backburner right now.
PND: We heard that you dropped “American Idol” from your television regiment. What happened?
Annie Duke: I took Simon Cowell leaving as an excuse. I only have so much time to watch TV. I already watch “Modern Family,” which is the funniest show ever. I watch “The Daily Show,” a few cooking shows like “Chopped,” and I have a couple of guilty pleasures like “Biggest Loser.” That show is good because you can fast-forward to the weigh in. It’s a two-hour show that you can knock off in 20 minutes. I’ve also been enjoying “Heavy” for the same reason.
American Idol is a big time commitment because you have to actually listen to all the singers. No fast forward allowed! That being said, I have been told this group is really good, so I may start joining in the fun. We’ll see.
PND: We didn’t know you had a love for cooking shows.
Annie Duke: Don’t forget that I won two cooking challenges on “Celebrity Apprentice.” We won the cupcake task and then I created the meal during the Schwan’s task. When I was in graduate school, I only got the major television channels and PBS had all cooking shows on the weekend. I spent my weekends watching cooking shows on PBS.
Plus, remember I’m a mom of four. I have to cook!
PND: There has been a lot of movement recently for intrastate online poker in states like Iowa, Nevada, and Florida. What are your thoughts on the intrastate model?
Annie Duke: I definitely think that poker at the Federal level is much better for players. Anything at the state level is going to make it so you can only play with people in your own state. Someone in California might not care about that, but someone in Rhode Island would because their state is much smaller.
The more opportunities you have to play with people, the bigger the economy becomes. It’s more choice. And we have some good models of regulation at the national level like in the U.K.
I’m hoping that what seems to be a clear movement at the state level will get the Federal Government to deal with the issue at a national level. There is no question that more choice is going to be better for players. If you had regulation at the national level, governed by the U.S., then people could play on William Hill, for example, if they wanted to. That would give a U.S. player the maximum choice about where they wanted to play, the maximum choice on who they were playing with, and that has to be best for them.
