Monday, June 29, 2009

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PokerRoad captures WSOP big picture

Joe Sebok and PokerRoad continue to push the envelope.

By Owen Laukkanen

If a picture is worth a thousand words, PokerRoad Nation is a dictionary.

The popular multimedia site continues to reinvent the way poker tournaments are covered with its innovative PokerRoad Nation Photo Blog.

Taking inspiration from mainstream media and print sources, the blog seeks to provide a photo essay showcasing the highlights of each tournament day at the World Series of Poker.

It's the brainchild of PokerRoad president Joe Sebok, veteran tournament reporter BJ Nemeth and PokerRoad Nation maestro Jeff Holsey.

"We wanted to take the lead of Sports Illustrated and the Boston Globe's Big Picture," Sebok told PokerListings.com.

"It's basically us trying to tell the story of what goes on at the WSOP through these big high-resolution photos."

Nemeth takes the bulk of the pictures, which range from standard tournament fare to human-interest and lifestyle shots.

A recent album focused on pro Daniel Negreanu's charity golf tournament, featuring pros like Scotty Nguyen and Erick Lindgren.

"We're trying to catch the excitement of what goes on at these tournaments as well as outside of them," Sebok said.

According to Sebok, the genesis of the project sprang from Nemeth and Holsey's background in traditional tournament reporting.

"I think the inspiration came from them doing tournament coverage and wanting to do something different and wanting to push the envelope," he said.

Nemeth is understandably proud of his work.

"It takes a long time to shoot, sort, process, upload and caption the best possible photos to tell the story of each day at the World Series of Poker," he recently wrote on Tao of Poker. "But it only takes five minutes to check them out each day."

As with many of PokerRoad's innovations, reactions to the blog have been positive.

"People love it. People absolutely love it," Sebok said. "I think everyone from [WSOP commissioner] Jeffrey Pollack to all of these different players have all told us they love it.

"It's something you can check out to see what's going on day after day."

Check out the PokerRoad Nation Photo Blog and hear PokerListings.com on PokerRoad Radio at PokerRoad.com.

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