Mike Matusow Jumps into Content Creation: 'I Own Poker Media'
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Mike "The Mouth" Matusow has long been known as one of the most entertaining, and at times controversial, figures in the poker world. Now, he's trying to capitalize on that by building a content creation business.
Spearheaded by the "The Mouthpiece" podcast, Matusow is doing a bit of everything that draws eyeballs and ears in poker multimedia. He's cranking out satire videos on a YouTube channel, giving fans a glimpse into his day-to-day grind with a video blog, and he's even streaming some commentary of final tables.
According to Matusow, things are starting off well enough, and the formula is simple: just be his usual entertaining, fearless, wisecracking self. He didn't earn the nickname "The Mouth" for nothing, after all.
"I own poker media," he told PokerNews on dinner break of the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha at the World Series of Poker. "I own it. Because I'm sincere, I don't lie, I don't make up shit, I be myself and I try to bring my fans into what I'm doing.
"Everyone who listens to my show loves it. They say the best part is how genuine I am. I don't hold anything back. It's just the way I am."
Resurrecting The Mouthpiece
Some might think Matusow's decision to throw his hat into the content creation ring comes out of nowhere. However, poker fans with long memories may recall that "The Mouthpiece" is actually a reboot, just like "Star Wars," "Spider-Man," and seemingly every third movie that's been released over the past five years.
Back in 2007, Matusow starred in video series for CardPlayer that wound up running for about three years and 70 episodes, which still appear to be archived on YouTube. According to Matusow, the show was quite successful, pulling in upwards of 35,000 listeners.
"Back then, that was considered an enormous amount of people," he said.
However, the show fell by the wayside after a disagreement with CardPlayer into which Matusow didn't want to delve too deeply ("I'm friends with the Shulmans.")
Matusow maintains he's wanted to resurrect "The Mouthpiece" for years, for myriad reasons.
For one thing, he doesn't have to look far to see how successful some of his peers have been with content creation. Players like Daniel Negreanu and Joey Ingram have made a huge impact on the community and build large followings.
For another, Matusow's injured back has prevented him from playing poker on a full-time basis. Financially speaking, he admitted things have not been great the past few years. He has put together a couple of solid WSOP performances in 2017 and 2018 — about $400,000 in cashes, 13 top-20 finishes, and four final tables including three $10Ks — but wanted to diversify his income.
"I'm sincere, I don't lie, I don't make up shit, I be myself and I try to bring my fans into what I'm doing."
Unfortunately for Matusow, the old adage that you have to have money to make money loomed over his head. He estimates hiring an editor to produce the content he wanted would cost around $2,500 per week, something he simply couldn't afford.
A tragic event would end up bringing a bit of silver lining, though. When Matusow attended the celebration of life for old buddy Gavin Smith, he ran into his old editor from the CardPlayer show. Matusow confided he was thinking of bringing back "The Mouthpiece"
"I didn't really want anybody doing it but you," Matusow told him. "You understand me."
The two worked out a deal where Matusow promised a chunk of the enterprise in exchange for the editing. "The Mouthpiece" was officially back.
'I Don't Believe in Political Correctness'
The content game is a fiercely competitive one these days. When pioneers in the space like Ingram and Doug Polk achieved widespread viewership and huge success, many others naturally followed in their footsteps.
"Johnnie Vibes" Moreno and Andrew Neeme are among those who have built audiences of thousands following their exploits on and off the felt. Bill Perkins literally launched a yacht with the goal of creating a round-the-clock reality show.
"The only reason I don't have Antonio's job or Hellmuth's job on ESPN is I say f*** too much"
Matusow believes there's a niche for him as well. For inspiration, he brings up one of the most well-known American media personalities of the past 40 years.
"I'm kind of the Howard Stern of poker podcasts," Matusow said.
Matusow said he may have spent more time on the air by now if it weren't for his propensity for swearing.
"The only reason I don't have Antonio's job or Hellmuth's job on ESPN is I say f*** too much," he said candidly. "Unfortunately, I don't even know what I'm saying when I'm cursing.
"In 2010, I jumped in the booth for a WSOP Europe broadcast for 20 minutes. Mori [Eskandani] was just sitting at the door, praying, 'please God don't let Mike say the f-word.'"
Matusow believes that while his content may not be as polished as that of Negreanu, his more raw, down-to-earth personality and approach has value and appeals to people for a different reason. He believes that's been borne out in the encouraging early viewership numbers.
"People like the sincerity," he said. "People know me as a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. I tell it like it is. I don't believe in political correctness. If you're critical of something, you should be able to say whatever you want.
Mainstream Appeal
From a guy who shoots from the hip and has never been afraid to express himself — look no further than his Twitter account — it might be somewhat surprising to hear the first word out of Matusow's mouth when describing what makes his show different: structure.
He said lots of other poker-based shows are "just out there," but he has a specific vision of what he wants from "The Mouthpiece." He wants to open by talking about current events, and not necessarily stay anchored to poker. Sports, politics, anything that's in the news cycle will be fair game. Sometimes, he'll feature guest interviews. Then, he'll close with call-ins from fans.
The plan is to keep things to around an hour, because after that "people lose interest."
Tackling touchy subjects like politics can be a double-edged sword. While controversy and drama often make for good viewing, they can also turn off large chunks of audience, especially if they perceive certain viewpoints to be overly represented.
On Negreanu: "We were best friends. Now, we're friends again after three years of hatred."
With "another bloody election" on the horizon, Matusow sees an opportunity to capitalize but understands he'll have to tread cautiously. He's well aware of the risks, having alienated a close friend in Negreanu.
"It destroyed mine and Daniel's relationship," Matusow said. "We were best friends. Now, we're friends again after three years of hatred."
That situation, though, informed Matusow of what he sees as the problem with mainstream media coverage of politics. Everything is focused on the extremes, he maintained, without care for the majority, who sit somewhere in the middle. The left isn't a bunch of socialists and the right isn't a bunch of racists, as he sees it, but both sides paint the other with a broad brush based on a small subset of people.
Matusow hopes to tackle that divisiveness head-on by bringing on individuals who can foster debate from each side and encourage dialogues rather than one-sided monologues.
"I want to go mainstream," he said. "My goal is to go mainstream and become a really big podcast."
Taking Aim at the Poker World
For now, though, the WSOP is in full swing and that means it's poker season. Matusow said he's focused on continuing to compete for bracelets, and he's feeling as good and ready as he's felt in years after a January surgery relieved a large amount of the back pain and discomfort he was feeling.
Still, the content creation won't be going by the wayside. On the contrary, the WSOP makes for a content-rich environment and Matusow will be taking advantage.
The plan is for "The Mouthpiece" to run once a week. Matusow will supplement that with plenty of vlogs letting fans get a glimpse of his WSOP grind. He'll fire up impromptu interviews and document his journey with what he called "the scooter cam," mounted on his trusty source of transport through the Rio.
"I'm not insecure like Hellmuth is where he has to make sure everybody likes him."
He also experimented with livestreamed commentary of a recent WSOP final table, which sports 33,000 views on YouTube.
Speaking to him, however, it's clear what brings him the most pleasure is the feature videos he plans to create, with hopes of two to four per month. They're the most labor-intensive task for his editor, but Matusow's eyes lit up when he spoke of doling out some satire aimed at prominent members of the poker community.
"I'm not insecure like Hellmuth is where he has to make sure everybody likes him," Matusow cracked.
In the first video, "Blockers for Dummies," Matusow pokes a bit of fun at the view that he's washed up and ribs Negreanu over a recent mini-controversy in which "Kid Poker" posted a poolside picture that prominently featured some male anatomy.
The next installment, "Mark-Up Police," will be even funnier, he promises.
"I can't give too much away," he said. "I dress up as a cop. I'm Shaun Deeb. And we f****** torture Allen Kessler. That's all you need to know."
Fans can find podcatcher-specific links to "The Mouthpiece" on Matusow's Twitter. They can find vlogs and videos on Matusow's Youtube channel here.
