Table 1 Podcast

Chris Vitch (aka “Death Donkey”) has one of those poker origin stories that feels made up:
Tucson kid → board games, StarCraft clans, and a nickname that stuck for decades
One quarter of grad school at UCSD → then a 3-month heater worth $150K playing 30/60 limit online
Limit streets → 2-7 Triple Draw, Stud 8, mixed games… and eventually 3 WSOP bracelets (yes, including a PLO win)
We talk mixed-game learning, DeucesCracked + Black Friday, “cash game real poker” vs tournaments, Commerce degeneracy stories, and why mixed games are shifting toward cap big-bet (solvers + mental game included).
Behind-the-scenes mixed game universe—this is it.
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📰 Card Player stories
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Chapters
0:00 Intro
5:12 Phenom Poker
6:00 “Death Donkey” origin
11:20 “I don’t want a job”
14:45 $150K heater
34:15 DeucesCracked
43:05 Black Friday
49:35 Commerce story
1:04:40 Bracelet #1 (2-7 TD)
1:08:50 Bracelet #2 (10K Stud 8)
1:12:10 Bracelet #3 (PLO)
1:17:10 DonkeysOnly tools
1:28:45 Wrap
Chris: deathdonkey.com | x.com/DeathDonkey
Art: x.com/artparmann | Justin: x.com/justinyoung07
#poker #mixedgames #wsop #table1podcast

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First-time depositors can get up to a 200% bonus on $2,000 when you use our link:https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Mafia Poker Rooms, Molly’s Game Checks, and Building a Vegas Stream Game | Table 1 Podcast
Some poker stories start with a “buddy taught me Hold’em in college.”
Brian Okin’s starts with a craps addiction in Vienna, a nickname that luckily didn't stick (Dice), and an underground Manhattan room where you had to buzz in like Rounders… and somehow turns into: running a dot-com era e-commerce business, losing $100k+ in a three-day session (plus the cursed cashmere hoodie), playing Molly’s Game (and cashing what might’ve been her last check), and eventually building a high-stakes streamed cash game at the Venetian.
In this episode, Art and Justin sit down with Brian Okin for one of those conversations that zig-zags between poker, business, and the kind of New York stories you’re not supposed to say out loud.
What we talk about:
The most confusing legal name in poker: A. Peter Brian Okin
Growing up Long Island → Manhattan for 18 years
Board games, Uno scoring, and why Monopoly is “the true model of business”
First real gambling: Vegas as a kid → self-deal poker → then… an “underground casino” run out of a synagogue 😭
Studying abroad in Vienna + London and falling into craps (aka: “six months of addiction”)
The Rounders/Moneymaker-era lightbulb moment: first bluff ever in a 1/2 underground game
The “destiny” hand: river gets redealt… and the same river comes again
The bachelor party that turned into a Bellagio nightly cash + 5th-place finish
Brian Okin’s infamous marathon sessions (and why coffee is basically a performance-enhancing drug)
The $100k+ loss + the cashmere hoodie he had to throw away
Playing Molly’s Game 10–15 times… and the story of the $13k check
Leaving the family plumbing business → starting a dot-com home goods business → the website disaster that nearly killed it
New York home game scene: PLO, no-limit Stud 8, “trading action,” and why Vegas players were sharper
Moving to Vegas in 2015… by smuggling cats on a train (yes, really)
Pre-COVID Vegas vs private-game era: politics, access, and the fork in the road
Launching Okin’s Game at the Venetian + going live on stream
Heads-up PLO battles and why he thinks it’s the purest form of gambling
Brian’s links
https://okinsgame.com
https://x.com/brianokin
https://instagram.com/brianokin
https://youtube.com/brianokin
Table 1 Links
Card Player stories from our episodes:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Want a seat in our game at Aria?
Go to https://table1.vegas → click “Get a seat in the game” and fill out the form.
Minimum buy-in $5,000. Art or Justin will text you.
Phenom Poker — now running daily MTTs
First-time depositors can get up to a 200% bonus on $2,000 when you use our link:https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1

Lee Markholt: Bull Riding, Old-School Poker, and the Wild West Era of Vegas Games | Table 1 Podcast
Some poker careers start with solvers and staking deals.
Lee Markholt’s started with bulls, butcher shops, and a $10 “please just get on this thing” rodeo spot… and somehow turned into a decades-long poker run that included early WSOP final tables (hello, Daniel Negreanu), WPT cash-game glory, and a whole lot of “I never went broke” discipline.
In this episode, Art and Justin sit down with Lee for one of those conversations that feels like you’re getting a peek behind the curtain of two disappearing worlds: rodeo and pre-boom poker.
What we talk about
Growing up in Tacoma + a family story that sends him to the farm at 12
The bull riding dream (and the injuries that came with it)
Dropping out before high school… then out-working everyone anyway
The moment poker “clicked” during shoulder surgery
Early card rooms: dealer’s choice, stud games, wild stuff, and “IOU poker”
Tournaments in the early days (including the legendary Seymour Flop story)
Working as a floor / running rooms… and the twist that pushed him into full-time play
WSOP memories + the final table where Negreanu won his first bracelet (and the brutal hand)
The boom years, shot-taking, bankroll rules, and why Lee never borrowed to stay alive
Bellagio’s golden era, private-game politics, and why phones changed the feel of poker
Why Lee game-selects more than ever now (and what he’s chasing these days)
Quick shoutouts / links
Card Player stories from our episodes:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Want a seat in our game at Aria?
Go to https://table1.vegas → click “Get a seat in the game” and fill out the form. Minimum buy-in $5,000. Art or Justin will text you.
Sponsors
Phenom Poker — now running daily MTTs (10–12 tournaments a day).
First-time depositors can get up to a 200% bonus on $2k when you use our link:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
If you enjoyed this one, hit Subscribe and drop a comment with your favorite Lee story — we read them all.
Show Notes
00:00 Early Cowboy Life & Growing Up Fast
10:04 The Bull Riding Days
20:07 Lee’s Worst Injury & Biggest Rodeo Spots
24:01 Getting into Poker & Tournaments
31:18 Dropping Bulls for Poker
40:22 The Poker Boom & Money Management
47:36 From Backers to Binking
56:58 Family + Poker
1:00:30 Getting Stiffed & Almost Going Broke
1:13:39 Make Poker Fun Again!
1:25:18 Good Decisions & The Future
1:30:56 One More for the Road

Play poker with us LIVE (https://table1.vegas) or on Phenom Poker (https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1)
Landon Tice didn’t “make it” the normal way.
He didn’t quietly climb stakes.
He didn’t stay in his lane.
And he definitely didn’t avoid mistakes.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Landon Tice sits down with Art and Justin for a brutally honest conversation about poker, ego, ambition, and the cost of trying to grow up in public.
From timestamping Joey Ingram’s podcast for free, to high-stakes backing deals, to losing other people’s money, to winning life-changing tournaments, to realizing he didn’t actually know what he thought he knew — this is the full arc.
No highlight reel.
No PR polish.
Just the real story.
You’ll hear about:
How providing free value changed Landon’s entire career
The dangerous confidence curve every young poker player hits
What it’s like being staked before you’re emotionally ready
Why “results” can lie to you
The difference between loving poker and respecting it
How faith, humility, and perspective eventually replaced ego
Why growing up off the felt mattered more than winning on it
This episode isn’t about strategy.
It’s about identity, responsibility, and what happens when talent outruns maturity — and how painful (and necessary) that correction can be.
If you’ve ever:
Thought you were ready before you were
Wanted validation more than truth
Confused confidence with competence
Or learned lessons the hard way…
This one will hit.
Show Notes:
00:00 Child of the Sim’s Childhood
21:29 College & Dropping Out for Online Poker
41:12 Early Poker Life
51:42 Getting out of the Basement & Meeting Nick Schulman
1:09:13 The MSPT $200k Score
1:17:47 The Bill Perkins Match
1:27:32 Buying Negreanu’s Car
1:33:29 Landon vs Jeremy Becker
1:44:00 Patrick Leonard’s Influence
1:50:33 High Rollers, Faith, and the Future
Landon's Links:
https://x.com/landontice
https://instagram.com/ticelandon
Table 1 Links:
Play with us in Vegas: https://table1.vegas
Play with us on Phenom Poker: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Art's Links:
SeatJumper: https://seatjumper.com
SlotMaps: https://slotmaps.com
X: https://x.com/artparmann
Justin's Links:
Justin's Phenom Ambassador Link: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=JYPoker
X: https://x.com/justinyoung07
🎧 The Table 1 Podcast
♠️ Fun over funds
📍 Recorded in Las Vegas

Poker careers don’t usually start with a screenwriting degree, a philosophy PhD track, and a failed TV pitch.
But David Lappin’s did.
In this episode of the Table 1 Podcast, David Lappin joins Art and Justin for a wide-ranging conversation that connects poker, writing, creativity, and the emotional reality of life in the game. From late-night UK poker TV to $5 sit-and-gos on Full Tilt… from near-miss Hollywood scripts to building one of poker’s most respected podcasts… this is a masterclass in how strange, nonlinear careers actually happen.
David opens up about growing up around film and theater, falling in love with philosophy, and how rejection in the writing world prepared him for poker’s brutal swings. He breaks down the need to scratch the creative itch—and why so many players eventually build podcasts, write books, or create something outside the game.
In this episode:
The origin story of The Chip Race and how David and Dara O’Kearney built an award-winning poker podcast by treating interviews like game trees
Why most poker content fails to market the actual poker audience (and how that hurts the ecosystem)
The Irish Poker Open’s transformation into one of the best poker festivals in the world (and why player experience matters more than prestige buy-ins)
A sharp critique of modern tournament structures, late registration abuse, and re-entry culture
David’s personal Black Friday story—and how it quietly reshaped European poker
Why poker players, writers, and creatives all struggle with the same thing: rejection, confidence, and meaning
There are hilarious Full Tilt chatbox stories, honest industry takes, commentary war stories, and thoughtful reflections on how poker has changed—and where it should go next.
If you care about poker beyond hand histories…
If you’ve ever felt the urge to build something outside the game…
Or if you just want to hear one of poker’s smartest voices talk candidly about the life behind the results…
This one’s for you.
Show Notes:
00:00 Early Life & Film Studies
20:12 The Poker Grind
27:19 Meeting his Girlfriend In A Sit n Go?!
32:34 Favorite Poker Stops
46:10 Value to the Players (WSOP vs WPT)
54:48 Black Friday & Staking Deals
1:04:49 The Chip Race Podcast
1:19:20 The Future!
David's Links:
The Chiprace Podcast - www.thechiprace.com
X - www.x.com/DKLAPPIN
Simplify Poker - www.SimplifyPoker.com
Table 1 Links:
What is Table 1? - www.table1.vegas
Play with us online & Get 200% Deposit Bonus up to 4,000 USDT - play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
X - www.x.com/table1vegas
Instagram - www.instagram.com/table1vegas