Robert Croak recently announced that he’s joining DeepStacks Live as a partner. Croak has gained huge acclaim as the creator and CEO of SillyBandz. He brings his expertise as a master marketer and brand manager to take the DeepStacks brand to the next level.
In this exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, Croak explains first how he got involved with DeepStacks and how the relationship first developed.
“Well I think it all comes back to a hand in poker I had against Mike Matusow about three years ago. We were playing against each other in a cash game at the Bellagio. He was trying to bully the table and I don’t get bullied very well. He raised pretty big pre-flop, I called in the dark, the story goes he bet on the flop and I then looked to see I flopped the boat. I just shipped it all in and he called, and got runner runner for a royal flush. It was a sick, sick hand that nobody believed and some guys from Full Tilt where there too and took some pictures. From that, a gentleman that works with Mike that’s a good friend of mine … he introduced Chris (Torina) and I and the rest is history. I have a long history in business development, marketing and brand building and poker so I thought it was a good marriage.”
When asked to comment about leveraging some of the big name pros that are associated with the DeepStacks brands, such as Michael Mizrachi, Adam “Roothless” Levy and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Croak explained, “They are definitely paramount to the growth of this thing … but what we’re going to be able to do is create a better product … and try to pick up on key markets throughout the country that are looking for more of a marquee tournament.”
Croak also discusses in the interview what his role will be and confirms that he will have day-to-day responsibilities as part of his new role with DeepStacks Live and their other entities. His final comments talk about how the 2011 schedule is shaping up.