Jack-of-all-trades is a trump card for WSOP

By Samantha Rea, Special to The Sunday

Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Jack Effel is vice president of international poker operations and director of the World Series of Poker.

Starting his career as a poker dealer, Effel put himself through school as a working parent and earned a bachelor’s degree in real estate and finance, and a master’s degree in hospitality. He moved to Las Vegas from Memphis 10 years ago to work for the WSOP, where he’s involved in all aspects of the brand worldwide, on and offline.

How did you become head of the WSOP?

I speak both languages — poker and corporate. There were lots of people lobbying for this position, but the guys who knew about poker didn’t understand corporate structure or business. I had been involved in poker events since the World Poker Open back in Tunica, Miss., plus I had my degrees.

Did you ever imagine you’d be in this position?

No, I wanted to be Donald Trump. I thought I was going to be a real estate tycoon and manage multimillion-dollar buildings.

How do you handle an event as big as the WSOP?

Once it starts, it’s execution time; the planning is over. You try to be as proactive as you can, but you also try to be as reactive as you can when things don’t go as planned. You try to do damage control when things falter or fall apart, whether that’s tournaments not running on schedule or not having enough personnel or having a major blow-up situation.

How important is collaboration?

I’m in the public eye, so I get the blame and the credit for what we do, but I don’t take it all on myself. This is a major business with a lot of people behind the scenes, pulling a lot of triggers, making things happen. I work with these individuals so I know what they contribute, and I value their perspectives. None of this would be possible without a really good team, which I have.

In the early days, I had people who knew poker, but they lacked other skills. I replaced them with guys who had business acumen, supervisory skills and people skills — and I taught them poker.

Charlie, who works on the floor for me, used to run special events for the Cincinnati Bengals. I hired a guy who used to be a host — he was real good with people. I hired a guy who was one of my first poker managers because he was just so good at operations. Now there’s a handful of us who make the decisions, but we’re very humble and open to feedback from players, colleagues and employees.

What hours do you work?

During events like the WSOP, I typically work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; on weekends, I can be there until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. During the Main Event, I’ll work until midnight, then be back at 8 a.m. The WSOP is a beast. I had one day off this summer. By the end of the competition, I was groggy, sore and fatigued.

During quieter periods, I’ll work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. I might have to go on a business trip for the weekend, but if I’m in town, I’ll spend the weekend at home with my family. It’s the only chance I get, because during the week it’s hard to turn things off, even at night.

How important is work-life balance?

You have only so much time in life to build your career and spend time with your children while they’re young and spend time with your wife while you’re young and do things in life that you want to do. Knowing I have a wife and children who love me, who are excited to see me when I come home, that keeps me grounded and is the most important thing. If I don’t get the balance right, my wife will say, “Hey, you’re not focusing enough here.” I think men need that in their lives.

Who inspires you?

My wife, Elisha. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in. She inspired me to pursue this career, she pushed me to reach out and say: “Hey, give me a shot.” There’s this idea that if you’re talented, people will come and find you, but I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. If there’s something you want in life, you have to go after it, and my wife helped me see that.

What do you do in your free time?

My wife and I love to go to the movies. If we’re not on some goofy diet, we’ll buy popcorn and candy.

We love to go to nice restaurants and have a good meal. We like good food — Del Frisco’s, Morton’s, Lawry’s. We eat to our mood, so sometimes it’s a burger, sometimes it’s barbecue or Mexican food.

How do you relax?

I love to spend peaceful, quality time with my wife, away from the stress of changing diapers and chasing kids. We can sit in the car, and that’s a great time because we’re both so busy. It might sound boring, but for us, it works because life is stressful. Having time to hear your thoughts, process your feelings and be a human being, that’s magical.

We go through life searching for those moments, but they don’t come as often as you think. So I focus on my breathing, my surroundings, my wife, my kids and my health. I enjoy being a husband and a father. Those are the things that are important. Those are the magical moments.

What do you see in your future?

I have aspirations to get my Ph.D.; I just have to figure out how to pencil it in. I’d like a doctorate in business or hospitality, and eventually I want to teach. If I wasn’t running the WSOP, I’d be a teacher. I’d work at the university and find some really cool research to get involved with. I’d hang out with a bunch of intellectuals and try to learn something.