And they even sent me a fancy copy of Super/System with a faux leather cover that I still own. Their stories convinced her that we were all out of our minds.ĭoyle’s Room changed hands soon after that and no deal was ever done, but I had met Doyle. And to his left was Chau Giang, who was known for playing the highest stakes games in the world at the time.

On her left was Archie Karas, a solid contender for the world’s biggest gambler. And even a serious gambler would have been impressed by the stories she heard given who she was sharing a couch with. She was a civilian, unaccustomed to our world. After hearing about my brief visit with Doyle, she commented that “The guys sitting by me on the couch are either full of bullshit, or they are absolutely crazy gamblers.” She stood up, drink in hand, and we walked out onto a balcony to see the city. Then someone else came over that he needed to talk to, and again not wanting to be “that guy”, I excused myself and headed over to find my date. He said that the site needed young blood, and back then I was still fairly young for a poker pro. The man shook my hand, told me to sit down, and we chatted for a few minutes, mostly about nothing. She grabbed a spot on a couch and I was off to meet Doyle on my own. My date had already grown tired of all the poker talk among those of us standing around with drinks in our hands. I mean, I was that guy, but I didn’t want to look like I was.Įventually I found the woman who had sent me the email and she offered to introduce me to Doyle. And everyone wanted to talk to Doyle, so he had two people chasing away anyone who bothered him for more than a minute. There were at least a hundred people there, in a huge hotel suite. She spotted him across the room right away and nudged me with a not-so-gentle elbow in her excitement. She was a casual fan of poker and knew very little about the game. And Doyle was the king, the legend among legends. They were otherworldly, the old timers who knew every trick, who had won and lost millions and had stories I could only imagine. I played with the pros on Full Tilt every day back then, but I’d never met any of them in person.

“I’ll put you on the list, you can meet Doyle, and we can talk some more about the deal.” “You should come to the party,” the email read. A deal with Doyle’s Room was exciting, but not nearly so exciting as a chance to meet the man himself. I was a fairly unknown pro at the time, still am to be honest. I was talking to some of his people about becoming a sponsored pro on his poker site, Doyle’s Room. The first time I met Doyle was at a party before the main event at the World Series Of Poker.

Posing for photos with fans after busting the seniors event in 2022.

Chasing Beautiful by Pamela Ann