Garry Gates is a prominent figure in the poker scene, known for his skill at the tables and his contributions to the broader poker community.
Born and raised in Titusville, PA, Gates developed a passion for the game at an early age. After graduating from Westminster College with a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature, Gates eventually put his writing expertise to good use in poker. At the time, he was living in Las Vegas and grinding the low-limit cash game tables, looking to carve a living from the game he dearly loved. A chance meeting with a former poker writer for ESPN, Gary Wise, gave him a foot in the door to the poker media.
Gates worked for almost three years as a live reporter for PokerNews before moving to PokerStars, where he would work for a decade across its player liaison and events departments.
As a budding recreational poker player, Gates made a splash when he made the final table of the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event while senior manager of player relations, communities and engagement at PokerStars. He finished fourth, bagging a life-changing $3 million payday. Gates’ deep run had enchanted the poker community, with many friends and colleagues supporting him from the rail.
In 2021, Gates came within a whisker of landing a coveted WSOP bracelet again by finishing fourth in a Deepstack WSOP event, winning another $70k+.
Since then, Gates has worked in customer acquisition and retention with other iGaming brands such as DraftKings and, more recently, Fanatics. The 2023 WSOP was another fruitful period for Gates, who managed to cash in four live and two online events.
