It is hard not to see the poker room at bestbet Jacksonville as a welcome place for women, especially with a woman in charge. As the Vice President of Poker Operations, Deb Giardina (pictured) makes sure that her poker space embraces all players who enter.
With an atmosphere that makes customers feel comfortable and an actively-enforced zero-tolerance policy for abuse, Giardina has created and maintained a poker room that garners praise from players and others in the industry alike.
As International Women’s Month is in progress, it only makes sense to highlight Giardina and her accomplishments, and her initiatives that put a special spotlight on women.
Going to the Top
As a young adult, Giardina focused on a career in real estate, marriage, and eventually four children. A longtime dream of dealing cards in a casino had been put to the side but came into view in the early 1990s when gambling was legalized near her home in Colorado. She took the opportunity only to realize that she, well, wasn’t a very good dealer.
Based on experience, however, she knew that management was a better fit. So, Giardina pushed for other positions, first as a list attendant and then a floorperson, all the way up to poker room manager. She was working in Biloxi at that point, and her strong personality paved the way to advance up the management ranks.
“I hadn’t been in the industry more than about a year and a half, but I told a colleague to teach me everything he knew. I was going to the top of the industry. He kind of laughed but did what I asked,” Giardina recalled. “Five years ago, I hired that same guy as a dealer at bestbet.”
Was there any pushback from men in the male-dominated casino industry whom she surpassed as she climbed the ladder on her way to VP of Poker Operations at bestbet Jacksonville? She responded. “If there was, it certainly never stopped me.”
Zero Tolerance
Giardina has noted in multiple interviews that her mentor in the industry was Linda Johnson, one of the original members of the partnership that launched the World Poker Tour and a longtime, well-respected member of the poker community.
Not only did Johnson give Giardina opportunities and introduce her to influential people in the industry, but the two also shared a goal of reducing abuse in poker rooms. Giardina recalled that poker rooms were “free-for-alls” 20 years ago.
“Players could do or say whatever they wanted and were often abusive to dealers.”
That led Giardina and Johnson to begin implementing zero-tolerance policies at poker rooms at which they exerted any type of influence. And it caught on. Players realized that limits were in place and began to treat dealers with more respect, and it seeped into their contact with other players as well.
When Giardina was asked to become lead the team that set up the bestbet Jacksonville poker room, there were numerous priorities, such as space between the tables and numerous televisions on the walls. But the zero-tolerance policy was also a requirement.
“We simply don’t allow abuse,” Giardina said. “If there is a player being abusive, whether dropping the F-bomb or making inappropriate comments, we stop it. No male-to-male abuse, no male-to-female abuse. We’re not in kindergarten. Everyone is an adult and here to have fun, so we put the onus on them to act properly. It’s simple.”
In those terms, it is rather simple. And when looking to welcome new players, especially women, the policy in and of itself is conducive to making everyone comfortable. Problems are addressed immediately, and friendly poker games can quickly resume.
Making a Positive Difference
Efforts have increased in the past decade to attract more women to the game of poker, both to cash games in poker rooms or to tournament series. If that requires hosting poker seminars or women-only tournaments to encourage more female participation, most poker room managers are doing it. And though it is a long road to encourage women to play a game that has long been dominated by men, there has been some growth.
“It’s an upward climb,” Giardina admitted. But presenting such a challenge to Giardina only leads her to step up and meet it. She thinks outside of the traditional box.
Tournament series at bestbet Jacksonville often include a women-only event, and partnerships with LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) and PLON (Poker League of Nations) bring more opportunities to the casino. But to go beyond the usual, Giardina has worked closely with bestbet Jacksonville Tournament Director and bestbet LIVE Producer Johnny Pham, both having been inspired by the inaugural WPT Women’s Poker Summit in Los Angeles last summer. After that summit, Pham filled nearly half of its bounty list at the WPT Bounty Scramble $5,000 Main Event in October 2018 with women. That list included Esther Taylor, Jessica Dawley, Loni Harwood, Kelly Minkin, Jamie Kerstetter, Kitty Kuo, Allison Hollander, and Lexi Gavin.
During that World Poker Tour stop, Pham also produced the livestream of a women-only $10/$25 cash game on October 18. The players were Dawley, Taylor, Gavin, Kerstetter, and Kuo, along with Jo Kim, Lena Evans, Kym Lim, and Stephanie Hubbard. Hours of archived cash game action can be seen here and here.
Women Featured in March
The WPTDeepStacks tour is at bestbet Jacksonville for its festival of tournaments from March 1 to March 11. That means more opportunities to encourage women to join in the action.
The WPTDeepStacks tour is at bestbet Jacksonville for its festival of tournaments from March 1 to March 11. That means more opportunities to encourage women to join in the action.
To do that, Giardina and Pham offered a poker educational workshop on March 6. For one hour, players learned from WPT Champions Club member Paul Petraglia to improve their game before the $240 NLHE Ladies-Only tournament. PLON is a partner and has been promoting the events via social media.
The next day, a group of women played $5/$10 cash game, again streamed by bestbet LIVE.
Advice for Women
Giardina is always happy to see new players in her poker room. And she is ready to inspire women to learn the game, play more often, and even explore opportunities on the business side of poker.
“Be hungry and put your time in,” she advised. “Do more than what’s expected of you. And learn every facet of the game if you want to play or learn all about the business, if you want to do that. Work hard, keep a positive mental attitude, and do not compromise your values.”
Sound advice from a person who practices what she preaches. For other women who want to see how it’s done, following Giardina’s example is a solid place to start.
