LUCKYDOG POKER INTERVIEW WITH SABINA GADECKI

New hostess of the televised World Poker Tour for Season 5

Conducted Nov. 10, 2006

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LDP — I suspect that you don’t have very much free time to yourself these days, right?

SG — Oh gosh, it’s a little overwhelming. I appreciate you wanting to do an article on me.

LDP — You’ve been the WPT hostess now since May. I was wondering what has surprised you the most in this new job?

SG — You know what, I realized people cared who the host was, but I hadn’t anticipated somebody on MySpace pretending to be me. I just think that’s so strange. People had bought out my domain name online, so that was also a frustrating thing. I had expected attention, but I didn’t expect that. And, everyone is really, really great. I know it’s my new job but I hadn’t looked at it as what a great time it’s going to be and what amazing people I’m going to meet. Everyone is so incredible. It’s refreshing to know that I’m working with such great people.

LDP — What’s been the toughest thing for you to deal with so far?

SG — I think it’s really trying to be myself on camera. I’m quirky and goofy. It’s hard when you’re still a little bit nervous and still trying to do your best in front of an audience and still trying to let your personality shine through. I’m my own worst critic. I don’t really like watching any of the work I do but I’m going to have to learn from it. But hopefully I don’t look nervous on camera. So far, I’ve just been getting into the swing of things.

LDP — Would you say that there’s anything you’ve learned about yourself from the experience so far?

SG — Well, one important thing, I feel like in just six or seven months I’ve really grown up as a person. Coming into this I didn’t really know anything about poker. I have really become a huge poker fan now. I first started off with the World Poker Tour Boot Camp. Mike Sexton came to New York about two weeks after the Boot Camp and me and him played in a charity tournament that had about 200 people in it and we both made the final table! I was proud of myself! I’m really learning everything I can about poker, taking it very seriously. I played in the women’s event also in the World Series. That didn’t go so well. I had a bad beat — got two-outed on the river. So that kind of stunk, but I really think I’ve grown up a lot as a person. It’s a little bit difficult to juggle because I am still in school, majoring in international business at Fordham, so I’m trying to finish my degree. I’m also studying acting at a studio in the city and I’m trying to stick with my dance team also, so it has been a little overwhelming.

LDP — You got the job just two weeks before the Season 5 opening event at the Mirage. Can you describe those two weeks?

SG — Oh wow, I was actually on vacation with my boyfriend at that time with his family in St. Louis and, all of a sudden, they called me to say that I had the job and I’m, like, oh God, here I am in St. Louis and the day that I got back to New York was my week of finals at college. So I had a week of finals, I also had jury duty, and it was the last week of my acting school. The acting school I go to, you can’t miss school, you’re not allowed to miss classes. You have to be accepted into the school and you’re not allowed to miss unless, I mean, there’s really a family emergency. Nobody’s ever out of class. I got the job and I couldn’t have been any more excited. It was like a whirlwind because I had to leave straight from my vacation. So I went straight from St. Louis to Los Angeles, signed my contract, left Los Angeles and then went to Vegas, bought every single poker magazine I could possibly get, studying up on the players, learning everything. My boyfriend was there to teach me everything I needed to know about poker. I was bartending at the time in New York, too. So, all of a sudden, I had to get my shift covered. Here I am, I just got this great show, and I’m getting my bartending shift covered, asking my teachers for permission to retake my finals, calling to get out of jury duty if I possibly could. I wish I’d had a little bit more time to prepare, but maybe it’s good that I didn’t. Maybe I didn’t have enough time to work myself up.

LDP — What’s happening now with you sounds like a piece of cake compared to last May.

SG — Oh, it was quite overwhelming, but everyone was really great and went out of their way teaching me everything and making me feel comfortable. The staff at WPT is really great. I was lucky.

LDP — What’s the hardest part about interviewing players?

SG — I think the hardest part is that I’m a fairly sensitive person and I sincerely feel so bad when they come up to me. I realize they’re winning hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some people say that to me: “Sabina, why do you feel bad, they’re winning hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Of course they are, but can you imagine getting that close! I really feel bad. I think that ’s the hard part. It’s a tough job, because I know they really don’t want to be talking to me. They just really want to go off and have some time to themselves. So, I know they don’t really want to be there talking to me, but you know, we have to. And the fact is that I feel bad and I kind of hate to have to put those questions on someone. I’ve competed in pageants and dance competitions my whole life, and I think that having a camera in your face the second you don’t reach the goal you wanted, it would be a little rough. I think that’s the difficult part.

LDP — What’s the best part?

SG — It’s getting better as we go along. My first show was difficult because nobody knew that there was a new host. So everyone was kind of like, “Oh, hey, nice to meet you, whoever you are.” It was a little difficult. But now it’s really great because every show I go to I’m hanging out with the players, I sit in on the players’ interviews before they play for the final table so I can get to know them better. I take their bios the night before when I know what the final table is, so I can actually know them, so then when they do come up to me, I really like that now that I’m actually having friendships with people. It’s getting easier because they come up and say, “Oh Sabina, how are you?” So, it’s getting easier, everyone’s been really great. It gets better every show. The first one was difficult. That was a hard one.

LDP — I read where Gavin hit on you at the Mirage interview. I was wondering if you hit back?

SG — Hahahaha. Well, I have a boyfriend, and it’s actually quite funny. Gavin and my boyfriend are friends. They had met recently also and they really hit it off as buddies so they talk all the time. You know what, Gavin’s really gone out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I owe a lot to him. He was my very first interview that I did on the show. That was when he was Player of the Year. He could tell I was nervous and he said, “Look, don’t worry Sabina, relax.” We had really become friends. When we were in Vegas we had gone to the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay, to the shops there. He has really gone out of his way to be friends with me and teach me about poker, and he was there during the World Series, rooting me on also. He’s been quite a friend to me.

LDP — Some of the early Internet posts about you said you didn’t know a lot about poker. But now you’re taking lessons. Are you ready to take on Annie Duke and JJ Liu and Mike Sexton and Daniel Negreanu?

SG — I already took on Mike Sexton! We played at that final table pretty hard.

LDP — Did you knock him out?

SG — No, I didn’t, I didn’t. I was so bummed when I got knocked out of that final table. Man, I played so hard. I mean, there was close to 200 people and I was so proud of myself. It was a charity event, so I didn’t know the player who knocked me out. But, you know what, I’m up for a challenge!

LDP — Now that you’ve spent some time learning the players and all of that, what do you think? Are the players like everybody else you’ve come across in your various careers, or are they a little bit different?

SG — You know, I don’t think they’re different at all. They’re really wonderful. Everyone’s just been so fun and friendly. I think everyone’s just been really great. I didn’t know what to expect. I had never spent this much time in casinos. I’m not much of a gambler. I really look forward to every single show that I do.

LDP — I wonder if you’ll run into a poker degenerate at some point?

SG — Hahaha. I think it’s really funny. I think the reason I’m not much of a gambler is because I come from quite the gambling family. Everyone in my family loves keno, and scratch tickets, and poker night at my house, oh my God. I liked poker night at my house growing up because I got to see my whole family. Because I was always surrounded by gambling so much, once I got older you would think that maybe I would have been into it more because of it. It’s funny, it kind of went full circle. I wasn’t much into gambling because I was surrounded by it so much when I was younger. Then there I am, hosting a poker show! My parents absolutely love it. They’re coming to Foxwoods this week. They are so excited. My dad is the biggest poker fan ever. My parents haven’t seen me do any of the shows yet. This is the first one. I got my dad a little poker hat. He is so excited.

LDP — I’m going to put you on the spot for a second. Your predecessors wouldn’t’ answer this question. After six months, can you name some of your favorite players?

SG — Hmmm, I don’t want to keep talking about Gavin, but I’ve become closest with him. And Brad Booth also, he’s someone else I’ve become friends with. And Erik Lindgren, also.

LDP — How about a memorable encounter with a player other than your Gavin Smith episode? Anything that sticks in your mind in dealing with poker’s elite? Any embarrassments?

SG — Well, there’s always embarrassing things that happen to me. I’m the biggest goofball ever. It’s just so funny. If there’s a crack in the ground, I’m the one that trips on it. If there’s something silly to say, I’m the one that always says the wrong word.

LDP — So, you really were one of the people chasing the N sync Tour bus?

SG — How embarrassing is that? Where did that come from?

LDP — I can’t reveal my sources.

SG — Hahaha. I guess it’s not the worst thing. You know, people growing up, going through their habits like drinking and all of this, I guess that kept me out of trouble. Me and a couple of my girlfriends were just big fans and it was just something fun to do. We just went to a bunch of concerts and, yeah, we just followed them on tour. It’s so funny because the nightclub that I had worked out here in New York, all the guys would come in, even some of their security guards that I had known from when I was like 16 years old, and now they’re coming into the bar and I was hoping they wouldn’t remember me.

LDP — Are you the same person now as you were when you won a couple of beauty titles in 2002? What’s the same about you and, maybe more importantly, what’s different?

SG — You know, one thing that’s the same about me is that every pageant I did was based on two things: They were based on community service and the other thing was scholarships for school. So, the Miss Massachusetts Pageant as well as the Miss Polonia World, most of the pageant was based on the platform of something I was passionate about. I’ve always been very much involved in community service. Since I was 15, I’ve collected new teddy bears and delivered them to sick kids in hospitals, as well as elderly in nursing homes. Over the years I must have collected about 7,000 bears, and that’s something I still do. So I think that’s something that’s very dear to me. I dance in many fundraisers for AIDS and charity benefits, I’ve run in marathons raising funds. The other fact is that the pageants have scholarships for school, and those are still useful. All my school loans are coming in now.

LDP — Tell me something personal about yourself that you want TV viewers and poker players to know so they will connect better with you during Season 5. What about family and upbringing, and any other values that you have?

SG — I’m very close to my family. They’re my best friends. I’m very lucky to have the parents and the brother (Stefan) that I do have. And my boyfriend, David Lee, did a radio interview at my last show at Borgata, so it’s not too secret anymore.

LDP — Your hometown is Chicopee, Massachusetts?

SG — I’m from Chickopee, but I’ve lived in New York City for four years now.

LDP — Tell me something about Mike Sexton or Vince Van Patten that viewers don’t know.

SG — Hahaha. Oh, let’s see. You know, I was a little nervous when I first met them, but they’ve really gone out of their way to just take me under their wing and help me out and teach me all that they can. Mike is great. He had a trip here to New York two months ago. You know, you’re coming to New York to get away, you’re on vacation. He was so wonderful. We went to see the Jersey Boys musical together, he invited me and my boyfriend to a Yankees game. They’re both really great. Every time we do a show, they’re always inviting me for dinner. At the moment, I don’t really like having any of my friends coming along to the shows. Even though it would be great to have them there, I want to focus on the show and get to know the players. I’m still trying to get to know everybody. They’re always inviting me out to dinner, they won’t let me walk outside by myself. They’re just really great. They’re so goofy! They make me laugh.

LDP — Those two guys seem to have a pretty good chemistry on the air.

SG — Oh yeah. And it’s like that at dinner, too, making fun of each other, cracking jokes. They’re really awesome people.

LDP — What’s your opinion on the past, present and future of poker?

SG — Well, Mike, me and Vince were actually just talking about this in Canada, and the conversation basically was that everyone thought poker was hitting its peak right now and that everyone is almost becoming a professional because there’s so many how-to books out there, there’s so many shows on television that teach you how to play and teach you how to be good, there’s just so much out there. I don’t know. I still think it’s on the rise, but it seems as far as professionals go, I think everyone’s really being educated on poker. It’s not like it used to be in the past. I mean, there’s nobody I meet who doesn’t play poker. It’s surprising — my acting teacher, the people in my class, my little cousin who’s 15 years old. It’s probably still on the rise right now.

LDP — Poker, in a lot of ways, is still a man’s world. Do you think that’s changing, and when do you think a woman will win the main event at the World Series?

SG — I absolutely think it’s changing. The recent show that aired was the Ladies Night event and all the ladies that played in the tournament were just so amazing — Jennifer Tilly played, Vanessa Rousso. I do think it’s changing. Even playing in the ladies tournament in this past World Series, I mean it’s not like I’ve played in a lot of events but I don’t see why a woman couldn’t win (the main event). Why not?! I think the number of women playing in the World Series doubled from last year. It used to be such a man’s world. I think now, so many more ladies are getting into it and I do think it’s changing.

LDP — I’m all for it. I think it’d be good for the game.

SG — I do, too.

LDP — You mentioned Jennifer and Vanessa from the WPT Ladies Night show on the Travel Channel, but you didn’t mention Erica Schoenberg. When you interviewed her, I thought the best line of the whole night — even better than the Sexton and Van Patten stuff — was when she said she “wasn’t expecting the ladies to be so loose!” Where did that come from?

SG — Hahaha. I think Erica is so pretty, she was so fun. Yeah, that was funny. I mean, that was only my fourth show so I was still very nervous. When I went back and had just recently watched the show, I forgot that she said that. She’s so cute. That was funny.

LDP — So, when are you on TV next, do you know yet?

SG — I’m almost positive that Season 5 doesn’t begin airing until February. Which is good, because it gives me some time. I am still working, I still bartend once in a while when I’m in town. I’ve got lots of school loans and living in New York is expensive. So it’s good that it doesn’t air yet. It gives me some time to get my Web site together right now. It’s going up next week.

LDP — What are you going to call your Web site if your name already has been taken by somebody?

SG — It’ll be sabinagadeckionline.com. I wish I didn’t have to throw the “online” in there. This is frustrating because I’m going to have to deal with court issues to get my name. I know it’s not illegal if someone takes my name and uses it as a fan site, that’s fine. But if someone buys my Web site to try to resell it, and just sits on it and doesn’t do anything with the site, and that’s my stage name and that’s my real name, that’s what I’m using, then legally I have the right to my own name. I really hope I don’t have to deal with court issues and I just wish I could really have my own name.

LDP — Well, I got through all my questions. I was debating whether to ask your age…

SG — Oh, that’s fine. I just turned 23 on Sept. 28.

LDP — Thank you so much for your time. I know you’ve been through a lot of interviews, but I hope I asked you a couple questions you hadn’t had before.

SG — I like that. You have. I know with Shana (Hyatt) and Courtney (Friel) in the past, people had put them on the spot with really off-the-wall awkward questions.

LDP — Well, Good luck to you Sabina and I hope to run into you at one of the tournaments around the country sometime in the next year.

SG — I hope so, too. It was great speaking with you. Bye-bye.

LDP — Thank you very much. Bye-bye.