Nick Wright is a busy man by any measure. He’s on FS1 five afternoons a week breaking down the biggest news in the sports world as a co-host on First Things First, and he also hosts a hit podcast, unsurprisingly called What's Wright? with Nick Wright three times a week on top of all that.
You might think that kind of schedule would preclude Wright, who’s based in New York City, from doing something like showing up for a live edition of No Gamble, No Future on a Monday afternoon at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. But then, you’d be underestimating just how much Wright loves poker and the opportunity to play on just such a live stream.
Wright was determined to do everything in his power to play in that game, and managed to jam as much as humanly possible into his 20-hour Vegas ‘Vacation.’ But then things almost went off the rails well before Monday’s stream went live.
“I flew out to Vegas on Sunday, landed around 9 p.m., and met up with the legend, Nick Schulman,” Wright told us on a break during the livestream at the PokerGO Studio. “Had some drinks, caught up, then went and played post-drinks in MJ’s game at the ARIA.
“That was a truly horrific decision. I was really bordering on having to wire money for this game again before the [stream] even started, because of how that went. But as the gambling gods say, that's why they created blackjack. I got back to even around 3 in the morning.”
Off to the races
Before he could tangle with the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, and Joe Stapleton on No Gamble, No Future, though, there was still the matter of Wright’s day-to-day hosting responsibilities on FS1. Everything had to be planned down to the minute, but Wright’s Monday played out about as perfectly as he could have hoped.
“I slept for a few hours, meeting for the TV show at 7 am, prepped for the TV show until 11, TV show from noon to two,” said Wright. “Got in a car at 2:02, got here at 2:15 and in the game at 2:20.”
Wright had made it into the game on time, for his intended purpose of this trip, and it was off to the races. It wasn’t his first foray into televised poker by a long shot; he’s been in and around the poker world in a visible way since March 2021, previously playing on No Gamble, No Future, High Stakes Duel and Poker After Dark, among other appearances.
The perfect game
Monday’s return to the PokerGO Studio was exactly the environment Wright craves when it comes to poker. The right kind of lineup, the looser vibes of a show like No Gamble, No Future and the perfect price point.
“This is the exact stakes that I play my best,” Wright said. “Anything bigger, I play a little nervous and not to sound like a jerk, but anything smaller, I'm probably screwing around too much. This is my sweet spot where the money matters enough to stay locked in, but not so crazy that I'm handcuffed by nerves.
“Another reason is I love playing on stream because I love watching streams,” said Wright. “I still get thrilled about seeing myself on the stream, which is weird, because I'm on TV every day. But that's my job.”
As Wright enjoyed a break from the action and some fresh air, he was all too happy to lay out how important the relationships he’s built in poker have been to him. He had a lot of praise to dole out to the brain trust at PokerGO, but just as he does when sharing his expert opinions on sports, Wright couched that praise in some friendly jabs.
“I love Brent Hanks, and he's been great to me,” said Wright. “And Jeff, I love Jeff Platt, too. I've always wanted to play here - this is the best poker room in the world, in my opinion. And, you know, Brent's got it tough. He's a Bills fan. And Jeff's got it tough. His basketball team just traded away Luka, and so anything I could do to lift their spirits.”
'Phil and I have a real history'
None of Wright’s relationships in poker have gotten quite as much attention as his friendship with Hellmuth. They’ve played poker together all over the United States, including a memorable night in New Orleans during Super Bowl week earlier this year. Monday was the latest chapter in their friendly clashes at the table, and in two of the biggest and most memorable pots of the night Wright got the better of the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner.
“Those two hands against Phil, I knew exactly where I was, and I was very, very confident exactly where he was. And that's a good recipe. That second hand, [when I had kings][] that's a cold deck, there's no doubt about it. But I do think my check on the turn earned me a little extra, and he was very confident he had the best hand.
“Phil and I have a real history, right? And that can work against me, but it can also work to my advantage at times. Phil has been so incredibly kind to me from the moment I met him. And so, yeah, I was thrilled when he showed up and decided to play. I mean, it just makes the game feel bigger, and it's just cooler.”
Over the course of Monday’s session, Wright opined that he might be in the top .1 percent of poker stream viewers by volume, especially with all of the content he consumes during his daily Peloton rides. It’s something Wright would have struggled to imagine during his collegiate days amidst the biggest moments of the poker boom — playing for those kinds of stakes and getting the best of Hellmuth, who’s become his friend away from the table.
“My best friend in the world, Danny Parkins, who's going to come out here at some point and play with me. We went to college together. We did radio together in Kansas City. He does the morning TV show on FS1, Breakfast Ball. Danny does a good job, as a good friend should, reminding me of how dope this actually is. We were at Syracuse, watching Phil play in the World Series of Poker on TV, dreaming about one day, maybe, we would be in a position where we could possibly buy into the WSOP Main Event and maybe get lucky enough to end up at the same table as any of those guys, as Hellmuth or Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu.
“The fact that now most of those legends, I have relationships with, and Hellmuth is a legitimate friend, it's really special. I'm not gonna try to, like, be too cool for school. I feel incredibly blessed about it. Now you're also talking to me when I'm beating the game for $20,000, so I might feel totally differently before the end of the night.”
Wright did indeed walk away a winner on Monday, but he didn’t have much time to bask in the afterglow. He flew out of Las Vegas on the 11:40 p.m. red eye, recorded his podcast at 10:30 am New York time and then rolled right into the studio for Monday’s edition of First Things First.
He might be a little extra tired for the next few days, but one thing seemed clear — Wright would happily do it all again, in a heartbeat.
Photos courtesy of PokerGO/Antonio Abrego
