Poker on TV was at its heights between 2003-2006 for a few reasons, two in particular: poker on the internet (when faster-than-dial-up connections became prevalent,) and ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker after they began showing hole-cards via the hole-card camera. The 1998 movie Rounders with Matt Damon and Edward Norton Jr. was a cult classic for many in that target demographic, and when Chris Moneymaker turned an $86 dollar online poker bet into a $2.5 million championship payout live on ESPN, poker went prime time. Many other channels had poker TV shows, but when the US Justice department began enforcing laws concerning online poker, many lost interest. Some US states now legally permit online poker for real money, and some people still regularly watch hours of poker TV programming.   

In 2005, when attending business school in San Francisco, I had an idea for an online poker site where people played among their friends or personal network, similar to fantasy sports, as opposed to anonymous strangers online that may be a cheat bot, or a group of hustlers in the same house sharing hand info to gain advantage over those who weren’t in on the scheme. If you’re playing in a social network game online with two or more roommates or relatives who do live together, at least you know they may be teamed up, and you’re certain they aren’t cheat-bots, unless they're also hackers. Ensuring online game security would be paramount, but the opponent transparency and familiarity would be more enticing for casual players.  

Sound legal advice was to not offer real money games online because even though many were getting away with it in the wild west days of the early internet, many of the sites operated offshore, and were technically in violation - to where key operators were at risk of imprisonment if they stepped on US soil. So I scrapped the idea, but knew there was future opportunity if the Feds changed their mind about the legality of online gambling, and still I liked the business potential of poker.

Live poker was played in homes all across the land, and as long as there’s no house rake, it was, and still is, legal. When playing with others who weren’t as familiar with the game, it became clear from a logistics viewpoint that game improvement was possible by implementing technology into the equation. Of course the idea crossed my mind to put online poker at a live table, without actual chips or cards, which most people prefer using, yet the notion that someone could hack the system would always be a concern, though a dealer stacking the deck is still a possibility, and why casinos have dedicated dealers who don’t play a hand, to ensure “fairness.”

But why not have screens to supplement the game, and assist the dealer? It makes it easier for beginners to play along by keeping track of the action on screen, there’s less stress on the dealer to call the game accurately, and it could record play for online data analysis. Real cards, real chips, screen supplements, and a plethora of other applications that could be overlayed such as food and beverage ordering, sports betting and watching, video poker for the down times after folding hands, etc. The idea seemed like a home run. 

I hired a patent lawyer, and filed a patent application with the USPTO in 2005, worked with some graduate computer science students outside of my coursework to develop an early version of the software user interface (that qualified for their class project,) hired a freelance software engineer (found on craigslist) to initiate building the back-end software, and began taking meetings about hardware. Keep in mind that in those days, the iPhones had yet to come out, but tablets were already available from several manufacturers, and grocery stores had similar sized screens in checkout lines. Phones were still primarily T9 text messaging, and Myspace.com was just taking off, then sold for $500 million which was a dawning of how much online platforms could be worth, at least on paper. 

In 2006 at age 24, I had an MBA, a company with a big idea, lots of hope, enthusiasm, and direction, yet dwindled funds. A classmate friend had a connection to a Venture Capital firm, and set up a meeting. My pitch was far from perfect, but so was my poker game, and maybe I was hoping to rely a bit too much upon luck, but the VC decision maker said the idea was fund-able, but he wasn’t going to invest in me. Perhaps the other VC investors I emailed thought the gaming industry was too risky, though hardly any of my emails were returned. 

There was a lot of positive feedback about the idea from those who knew about poker, most figured it was a slam dunk, and it seemed someone was going to do it. A company (Pokertek) did put electronic poker at a live table without a dealer or real cards/chips, but as suspected, the demand wasn’t there, though it works well on cruise ship casinos and other small card rooms, and it did validate the market. I figured, if Silicon Valley wasn’t interested in putting technology onto poker tables the way I envisioned, surely someone in Vegas would be interested. 

I also began working on a tie-in concept to offer a sports and gaming themed social network, called GameOn. This being a time when Facebook was web 2.0 and just before they got their big valuation from Microsoft. I had no computer skills to make it myself, and found a personal connection to develop it, though it turned out to be too big of a task without investment capital to pay people to work, and thus make it real. 

I relocated to Las Vegas, NV just before the new year of 2007, and a personal connection from my hometown introduced me to someone our age who had worked on some poker TV shows. He had his foot in the door with the production company, but was primarily in Vegas to play poker, as so many young males were at that time. I pitched him the idea, and we stayed in touch. He got brought onto Poker PROductions full time, and was able to get me some gig work such as appearing on ESPN poker-tip commercials, which aired in other countries as ESPN network branded quick tips intended to help players improve their game. I was also a card logger on 1-2 week long video production shoots - Fox Sports Net’s Poker Stars, and The Gameshow Network’s High Stakes Poker - which was neat to log cards for the big name pros such as Doyale Brunson, Chris Fergeson, Phil Hellmuth, and the like. 

My contact finally agreed to show his boss the business plan I printed out, though he said Mori Eskandani gets all sorts of business offers that he usually rejects or ignores. So "no promises," but Kevin Klunder didn’t want me to contact Mori directly, and made a fuss when I was networking among the others on the show who may be interested in my vision and plans. 

The word finally came back from “KaBlunder” that Mori was passing on the opportunity to invest in the poker table screen concept, and when I asked why, it was explained to the effect of, “Professional poker players have relationships with local dealers in the big casino games, and sometimes a call goes their way that wouldn’t if the game was monitored more closely with the GameTech System.” In other words, maybe a player bets 50 chips, and someone calls with 45 chips while splashing the pot before the dealer has a chance to count it, but the dealer shuffles the game along as if nothing is wrong. Maybe someone folds a hand when they could’ve just checked. Maybe someone didn’t see they caught a flush or a straight, and claimed two-pair thinking they lost to someone else's three of a kind. These things can happen in a fast-paced environment, especially when people are drunk or maybe high, on vacation, and expecting to blow fast money. The local pros eat that up, and the dealer gets tipped well for going along. 

My attitude was, “What a shame. A decision maker was too busy looking at the ground for spare change that he can’t see billion-dollar bills growing from the trees, and the screens didn’t have to be installed on every table.” This was also a poker professional who, as the story goes, rejected the idea for the hole-card cameras to make poker on TV easier to follow along with, and thus watchable by the masses. Mori Eskandani claimed that the pros wouldn’t go along with it because they’d be exposing their tells, and that could disadvantage their future. The inventor went on to make the special poker TV tables anyway, which obviously worked wonders for the industry, then Mori went on to make millions in revenue from the idea he rejected more than once. 

Also worth noting, when at the film studio preparing for the ESPN commercials, I had to sign paperwork to get the base rate payday of ~$160/day for 3 days of work. As I was reading the contract, Kevin-Klunder-the-blunder told me not to read it, but rather just sign it. From dealing with lawyers and contracts for my entrepreneurial endeavors, I knew that being told NOT to read a contract was a violation, and when offering someone a contract you're supposed to suggest that they should have a lawyer review the contract before signing. In the back of my mind, I just laughed, and figured if they didn't pay me what was agreed upon, then I'd have a claim to bring to court, if need be. Later on, I wondered how far the Poker PROductions company took liberties (in violation) on a voided contract. 

Another concerning experience when working with the same company for Fox Sports Net's Poker Stars TV show was when I was logging cards. Towards the end of one of the games, Chris Ferguson caught a big hand and made a sizable bet. His opponent Phil Hellmuth was in position to act, then Hellmuth's cell phone rang and he took the call. I couldn't believe that they were letting him talk on the phone and delay the game for as long as he did, then Hellmuth folded his hand, which he didn't seem to want to let go of, and thus saved him from losing any more chips, perhaps the game. Another card logger George Maxwell, who was a poker dealer at the Bellagio and later dealt cards on the Poker PROductions produced TV shows (and who became Mori Eskandani's son-in-law,) told me to not make a fuss about Hellmuth taking a call at the table during a big hand, as it was just a game for TV entertainment. Considering that the players were playing for chump change on the tables compared to how much they were side-action prop-betting during the commercial break down times (it wasn't live TV, but they did take breaks) I figured it was more like "professional" wrestling than pro sports, even though I'm pretty sure the Gaming Control Boards would consider real money games under their authority. I'll never know if the call Hellmuth took at the table was just an innocent conversation, or a tip-off to fold the hand. Now I wonder just how honest pro sports games are considering all the sports book action taking place in Vegas, and figure "what do you expect from Vegas gamblers, hustlers, and cheaters." 

Another concerning issue with the Poker PROductions company was how K.Klunder told me that when Mori was considering bringing him on full time, Mori wanted to know if Kevin was just a player, or a hustler? For a hustler, it's not enough to just win, but rather they try to make people hurt, and Mori was more interested in hustling than playing for good times, so he preferred to hire hustlers over players. That's a major red flag, some might say a character flaw, but Vegas (and Wall St.) has seemed to go along with that type of mentality, considering the current state of modern finance and banking. 

They say that in poker, "it's better to be lucky than good." They also say that "sometimes we don't know what worse luck our bad luck saves us from," so perhaps my experiences with Poker PROductions serves as a disheartening reminder of the pathetic types of folks infesting the gambling industry may not be worth working with. Considering the GameTech System is intended to prevent some types of cheating, it's still in my mind a worthy endeavor, especially if crowd sourced as described above. 

After the GameTech System was rejected by Poker PROductions, I figured, I’m close enough, someone’s going to see the utility and potential, so I emailed my pitch to most (if not all) gaming equipment companies and strip casinos, however none responded. I met with a Las Vegas lawyer who specialized in the gaming business who thought I was trying to take on the big boys in town, though I was trying to cooperate. He explained to me how much it costs to get a gaming license, and without serious investment or a partnership with an established firm who already has a gaming license, licensing would be difficult to obtain.

I applied to work for nearly all the strip casinos, for various roles, and after living in Vegas for 16 months, the Mirage hired me for an entry-level valet position, and was told when hired that after 6 months, all MGM Mirage employees are eligible for transfer withing the entire corporation. I figured, after six months I'd try to get the GameTech System implemented by applying and interviewing for a position in another department, but after five months the 2008 economic "great recession" hit which triggered a company-wide hiring freeze. The recession then put a hold on many peoples willingness to invest in anything new, especially when Vegas casinos experienced heavy strain on tourism and gambling. 

I left Vegas and the industry in 2009, however since then tourism and Vegas has had its share of ups and downs, naturally. Years later the notion dawned on me that another reason some pros and casinos may resist the GameTech System is because poker is a very simple way to launder money, to where a group of high-rollers can receive cash "under-the-table" then "lose most of it back" on the felt, so it's freshly clean and taxable. Yet still the system doesn't have to be included on all 22k+ worldwide poker tables, or all poker tables in each card room casino, though the screens and tournaments would likely attract enough players to be considered successful. 

17 years after filing a patent for the poker system, still no casino has actualized the massive potential. 17 years is how long I would’ve been able to hold claim if the USPTO had granted my company a patent, though it took them 4 years to simply acknowledge that they’ve began reviewing the application, and another 2 years to make an initial decision. My patent attorney claimed that, “after filing, there was a change in how the government awards patents, and if it can be assumed that an idea is an extension to an earlier application, there wouldn’t be an initial award.” The lawyer said “for an extra five grand, we can do some back and forth with the government, and probably get some of the claims awarded.” Considering I couldn’t afford dinner, five grand was way out of reach. 

In 2014, I wrote a screenplay about a fantastical experience had by a Vegas valet who plays poker on the GameTech branded system, with "poker Gods" inter-weaved within the fictional story, thinking that if a studio picks up the film script, that would pay for the app development and serve as a marketing effort. Maybe it was poorly written, but no interest from Hollywood has come of it - though the script is still available to read on my authorship website, and does serve as copyright protection. 

In 2018, Mori Eskandani got inducted into the poker hall of fame. His company PokerPROductions has been absorbed by PokerGo - who laid-off “Klunder-the-Blunder'', and promoted Mori to president. I’ve sent a few emails to PokerGo asking them to consider the GameTech ideas, and offering the company an opportunity to make a statement on this record of events, however no response. 

Perhaps my efforts are solely to blame, but it seems that when looking back, some supernatural obstacle, maybe fate or my own subconscious, wanted me humbled by failure, and not the next twenty-something tech millionaire who got rich from implementing computers into some aspect of the market in a new, yet seemingly inevitable way. 

My assumption at this point is that poker will be relevant long after the current decision makers are gone, and there’s likely someone out there who’s willing to be a benefactor and investor of a billion dollar idea. At age 41 in 2022, I no longer desire a career path focused on the gambling industry, although I’d still like to develop these concepts - intending to sell-out as soon as I cash-in, to then focus on other, more important ideas. Of course, releasing this plan and journal is intended to spur consumer demand and investor interest. 

To inquire further, send an email to:  JamesTinghitella@gmail.com