Deaf Poker Tour
On July 25, the Venetian hosted the final event of the Deaf Poker tour. In its fourth season, the deaf-only poker tournament had a huge participation, breaking last year’s main event record by 42 and reaching a total high of 136 players.
Launched in 2006 in Atlantic City by a group of six deaf friends who wanted to bring the top deaf poker players on the East Coast together for the chance to play Texas Holdem in real tournaments, the deaf-only tournaments provide deaf players the opportunity to play in events where there are no barriers of communication.
The deaf-only poker tournament offer players the chance to prove they can play the game using only sign language to communicate, and it is just another of the many challenges that deaf players need to face when playing any competitive sports.
As the deaf poker players became more serious on the green table, Las Vegas and big events such as the WSOP started to look really appealing and not so far out of reach. According to Jarrod Musano, one of the deaf poker tour founders, they had all played at a local table at casinos or at small tournaments, and Las Vegas was just a dream. A dream came true today.
And while poker is growing among the deaf community, it’s definitely not the only tournament the deaf players challenge themselves with. From bowling to golfing to basketball, they are showing how in sports there are no barriers of communication.
