Exclusive: The Return of Phil Gordon? Poker Legend Speaks After 12 Years
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For an entire generation of poker players, Phil Gordon was one of the voices of the game.
Whether you knew him as a commentator, the author who helped countless amateurs with poker books, or as an accomplished player who battled on the game’s biggest stages, Gordon was everywhere during poker’s boom years.
A member of the legendary Tiltboys crew, and a former Full Tilt Poker pro, Gordon racked up millions in tournament earnings, captured a WPT title, and made a deep run in the 2001 WSOP Main Event, finishing fourth in a final table that included Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow and eventual champion Carlos Mortensen.
Beyond the felt, he became one of poker’s most recognizable ambassadors, hosting Celebrity Poker Showdown. And then he walked away.
For the past 12 years, Gordon has been largely absent from the poker world. In this exclusive PokerNews interview—his first in over a decade—Gordon opened up about his life today, his reflections on the game, and whether we might ever see him back at the tables again.
What Has Gordon Been Up To
Alongside his work, Gordon has spent the last decade focusing on family, raising his two sons, who are now starting to follow in their father's footsteps.
"I think this is my first interview in 12 years. My kids [Xander and Zachary] will be excited to see me back in the poker media again," Gordon shared. "They’ve recently discovered poker, so now my days and nights are filled with bad beats and 'Dad, can you believe this?' It's been so much fun, you know, relearning the game with them."
And they’re not just casual fans, they’re studying the game in ways their father never did. "They're on all the solvers, and my buddy Jonathan Little gave them a subscription to PokerCoaching.com, which they're using all the time, trying to get better. It’s just been really fun for us as a family to reconnect with the game that I love so much and has given me so much over the years."
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Something else that's been fun for Gordon is watching Chris Moneymaker's career blossom over the past 20 years. Not only did Moneymaker win the 2003 WSOP Main Event, but less than a year later, he finished runner-up to Gordon in the WPT Season 2 Bay 101 Shooting Star, a tournament that is returning to the WPT schedule later this year for the first time since 2017.
"Chris has been amazing in the poker world," said Gordon. "None of us would be here today, no one would care about poker were it not for Chris and his amazing win back in the day. I was standing 10 ft from him when he won the tournament. It’s been fun to see him winning and doing great things in poker."
Whether He's Kept Up with Poker
Has he been keeping tabs on the poker world over the past decade?
"No, I’ve just unplugged. I haven't played seriously. Some home games and some tournaments, and I still do a lot of charity poker nights and that kind of thing. But I haven't played a serious tournament in 10 years. I think the biggest game I've played is probably $5/$10."
Instead, his focus has been on building his business. "I've spent a lot of time at my job. Eleven years ago, as of yesterday, I started a company called Prompt (an all-in-one texting platform). I'm CEO and founder. We’re venture capital-backed, profitable, growing like crazy, with employees all over the world. We're having a really good time with it and making an impact, I think, with the customers that we're serving."
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Remembering Perry Friedman
In January 2024, the poker world lost Perry Friedman, a WSOP bracelet winner and founding member of the Tilt Boys. He was also Gordon's best friend.
"It's still hard to talk about, honestly. I think about him every day," Gordon said. "The great thing about Perry is that he was easily the most authentic person I've ever known in my life, and probably will ever know. I met him when I was 22 or 23 years old, and we were basically great friends, best friends for 30 years. Losing him has been very, very hard."
He added: "I'm tutoring his son in math, we do a Zoom session, and we get together for hockey games when I go to Vegas to visit him. His son is the spitting image of Perry in every way, in terms of intellectual capacity. His penchant for bad jokes and his love of poker are great to watch, and it's been a real joy to spend time with his son every week. I do feel like I get to see Perry essentially every week."
Will Gordon Be Back at the Tables Anytime Soon?
While Gordon still dabbles in poker, his recorded tournament cashes have been minimal. His only results in the last decade include a first-place finish in a $60 daily tournament at Sahara, Las Vegas, and a sixth-place finish for $1,135 at Foxwoods, Mashantucket.
So, is Phil Gordon making a serious comeback to the game?
You'll have to watch the full interview to find out.
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:20 | Welcome Phil Gordon |
| 01:05 | Relearning the game with his sons |
| 02:17 | What role does poker play in your life now? |
| 02:56 | What are you up to these days? |
| 03:30 | Looking back on the inaugural WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star in 2004 |
| 05:45 | Winning WPT title on a double elimination on final hand |
| 07:17 | Poker fame and Celebrity Poker Showdown |
| 10:43 | Winning the Ante Up for Africa charity event at the WSOP |
| 12:27 | World Series of Rock, Paper, Scissors |
| 13:55 | Winning a WPT and making WSOP Main Event final table |
| 16:22 | The Tilt Boys & remembering Perry Friedman |
| 19:13 | Might we see you back in the poker world? |
