Johnny Grooms, poker room manager at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, has been elected to the Poker TDA Board of Directors by unanimous first-ballot.
“We’re thrilled that Johnny Grooms accepted this nomination,” TDA Founding Director Matt Savage said. "There’s no more respected or experienced tournament director in the game today.”
Grooms began his 17-year career in the gaming industry dealer $1-$5 stud. He’s since held every position in poker and has served as tournament director for the World Poker Tour World Poker Challenge, WPT World Poker Open, World Series of Poker Circuit and the 2005 World Series of Poker.
"Johnny’s intuition to make tough decisions is as good as anyone in the business,” said fellow TDA board member Jack Effel.
In a recent interview, Grooms described his outlook on poker rulings: "I want players to have a great experience. With fair, consistent rules, players can relax and play their best game. If we take care of the customer, the poker community will grow and thrive.”
The Poker TDA is a voluntary, open-source industry association founded in 2001 to help standardize global poker tournament rules. The association holds a summit every two years to review and debate the rules. TDA membership has grown from 14 delegates at Summit I to more than 2,500 industry professionals worldwide today.
Grooms’ first assignment for the TDA will be to help chair Poker TDA Summit VII, June 26-27 at ARIA Las Vegas. The Summit is sponsored by Genesis Gaming Solutions, developers of Bravo Poker, the World Poker Tour, the International Federation of Poker, C-Scape.com and Ante Up Magazine.
For more information on TDA Summit VII, visit PokerTDA.com.
