He’s the son of actor Dick Van Patten, and got started in acting very early in life. It’s been quite a run for Van Patten, from acting to tennis to poker and more. So when that guy makes that call, I’m excited for him, or when that guy makes a brilliant bet.” And that’s part of my job, to really keep the drama going like I have something at stake, like I have half of his action. “…Those kinds of moves, I get excited about and I’m enthusiastic about. I will also, I’m delighted when I see a brilliant play, a brilliant call with queen-high or something.”
I’m a little softer on bad plays, I don’t think it’s necessary…the world will get it, the shrewd people will get it, that they’ve made a major mistake. And I’ll call it like it is more or less. “I like to come from the perspective of I’m truly just seeing the hand unfold. Van Patten said for him, the thrill of commentary is when it comes to calling smart plays. But for him to have that genius and say ‘Oh yeah, that’s going to make it a giant sport’…because once you see the cards and see the play, the guys that are doing it today and some of the calls they can make off of huge bets, it’s really remarkable.” “And the World Poker Tour, the genius of Steve Lipscomb, he had the idea of ‘Let’s show the cards.’ That was his idea, he brought it there first, and then the World Series did it later when they saw what he was doing.
