Bravo. I come from a live theater background where there's less of a stigma attached to being openly gay, and I've always thought the poker world was shockingly (and disappointingly) different. Good on you, mate; and I hope this inspires others.

good blog post


I moved to Cabo after BF to do the online poker thing, and there are a ton of grinders down here. One of them happens to be gay and i have been hanging out with him some. Everyone here seems to just not care about it though. there are jokes made (about everyone) and from my perspective it just seems like he is just one of the guys. It doesnt matter that he is gay. I am happy my friend down here could finally come out to everyone and just be himself. Its really ******ed that people have anxiety over things like this because of how the world/friends/family will react.

good luck jason and great blog post.

Prolly should read the blog before deciding what he wrote in the blog.

Well said Jason props!

From the comments on his blog:

"Tom Marchese said:


Good to know i’m not the only one. If u ever want to talk, myspace me."

Next?

Good for Jason coming out,If the gay community can just get that really high profile player to come out then they would be good to go! He just twitted something that pretty much said he is, but I can not say what it was. Again good for you Jason, Im sure there are more out there that will get the courage now.

allen cunningham has a gf (or at least very recently did) and i don't believe has ever come out as gay. if you're listing him because you think he seems gay or because of some rumor then clearly nothing you said here has any credibility

Clearly takes courage to comeout in a way that anyone can see it, congrats on finding peace. People who compare poker players to NBA and other MAJOR sports just are dillusional beyond belief. In the poker world you get sponsorships for being different and a minority. In major sports you will not get that type of treatment. Not saying its right or its wrong but its the way it is. Lets not mistake poker for what it isn't we are not great athletes we are not great role models we are not in the spotlight of millions or the whole world. It is a enclosed community as he said in his own blog. I dont think anyone should look at him differently it is what it is.
Best of luck
-Dan

They might look at him a little less, don't want him getting the wrong impression iykwim

If you dont think its hard being anybody other than a heterosexual male in the poker world go look at all the ******ed s*** that gets said whenever a woman is discussed in these forums.

Definately not easy to come out given how many losers and trolls there are on these interwebs. Kudos Jason

Is Tom Marchese from the past? Weird... he plays a modern style

I think we over exaggerate how developed and civilized the modern day is, a lot of people are still homophobic as hell

ITT: Straight dudes talk about how coming out as gay isn't a big deal.

Congrats Jason, I'm so glad you decided to do this.

Maybe not super duper high profile but EPT player of the Year and Master Classics of Poker Amsterdam winner Trond Eidsvig was openly gay. His boyfriend used to rail him all the time during the WSOP when he still played. Also pretty sure that Dag Martin Mikkelsen is gay and open about it.

eh i'm straight and not the one who posted that.


but yea, good for jason seems writing that blog was probly a big step for him.

Rick Santorum cares.

This. Congrats and gl.

unfortunately this is not true.

Well done Jason, this is a positive step for you and the community.

Also it's good to see the mostly positive comments ITT.

So Jason is gay? Shrug, ok cool, why such a long thread about it?

hope he gets an award for that blog post.
so 2002

It is really nice to see a high profile professional come out. While there are a few of us openly gay professionals, very few of us are well known outside of certain parts of the poker community.

Glad to see it happen, i hope his strength, and the welcoming embrace he is getting by the community helps give more and more people the strength for self acceptance and the desire to come out. The more, the merrier!

Edit: What most of you NVG-tards don't realize is that most of the world is a very very very homophobic place, including so called bastions of "freedom" and democracy. It shouldn't be a big deal, not in the least, however the rest of the world makes it into a big deal and it puts so much pressure onto people that many GLBT'ers are afraid of their own sexuality, to the point of repressing it until they are in their, 20's or even 30's+ (Jason himself is a good example of this) or even being driven to suicide (gays have the highest rate of suicide, the highest rates of homelessness, the highest rates of drug abuse and depression. Being gay dosn't drive you to these things, lack of acceptance from those you care about does).

Hell, much of 2+2 is still homophobic, and I have found the poker community to be one of the most accepting places in our society.

Put yourself in his shoes, truly think about all the pressures on you to "conform", all the hate that is spouted at you in day to day life. Then try to imagine being a well known person, and having the strength to come out in a male dominated sport/game.

Much kudos to him! Stop belittling his accomplishment.

Good post.

BTW, apart from him openly declaring he's gay, there are also lots of other good points in his post. Best of luck to him.

Fair enough, however I didn't say he was the first - the OP did. Also I'm pretty sure it isn't common knowledge (nor should it be) that there are a lot of openly gay top players.

I could definitely see a higher % of poker players being gay than real world people. Nearly all of my gay friends are pretty smart, which is a pre-requisite for being a successful games player.

Obv level. No one uses MySpace.

I hope the ridiculous comment about fslexduck above was deleted. I was shocked to see it there.

LMGTFY

Sadface.

Although I'm glad to see the vast majority of 2+2ers seem to realize how insane anti-gay type people are. Pay it forward- if you witness anything like this irl speak out. Everyone can make a difference.