Poker found him… after bulls, butcher shops, and a $10 rodeo payout for being the guy willing to climb on the ones nobody wanted.

If you’re new around here, every week (or so) we yank a gambler straight out of their seat at the table to tell us how they got there, and what they’re up to now.

This week’s episode is a full-on time machine. The kind of conversation that makes you realize poker didn’t just change…it got rewritten. Like the techno remix of Bob Segar that nobody asked for.

Lee sits down with Art and Justin to talk about growing up fast, chasing adrenaline, and the kind of old-school poker stories you literally can’t recreate anymore.

No influencer arc.
No Twitter brand.
No “content.”

Just a guy who survived the rodeo… and then survived poker.

But first — wouldn’t it be great to clear a 200% deposit bonus and stack some fellow degens over at Phenom Poker? We might even run another Rake Race promo soon for people who signed up with our link…(this link: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1)

🧨 Bulls, Bankrolls, and a Lifetime of “Don’t Owe Anyone”
Lee’s story is a masterclass in the version of “professional gambler” that’s almost extinct.

It starts with a chaotic childhood that sends him to the farm at 12.
Turns into full-blown bull riding — including a moment where a bull steps on his back, breaks seven ribs, punctures a lung… and he’s back on a bull five weeks later.
Then a shoulder surgery sidelines him… and he picks up a poker book that changes everything.

From tiny Washington card rooms to WSOP final tables… from “assumed names” like Seymour Flop to the Bellagio boom years… Lee somehow threads the needle in the one way most poker players don’t:

He never went broke.
He never stayed in debt.
He never had to borrow to stay alive.

And he tells it all like it’s just Tuesday.

🔥 What We Talk About
How a bull-riding obsession turned into a poker career

Growing up in a blended “Brady Bunch” home…and moving out at 12

The $10 rodeo “shill” jobs nobody talks about

The injury that could’ve ended everything (and why he kept riding anyway)

How poker clicked during shoulder surgery

Early poker: stud games, dealer’s choice, wild games, and “IOU bankrolls”

This legendary Seymour Flop / Omaha Bob assumed-name era👇

Running card rooms… losing his gaming license… and going pro

The WSOP final table where Negreanu won his first bracelet (and the hand that still stings)

Bellagio’s golden era + why private-game politics changed Vegas

Why Lee game-selects hard now — and how he keeps poker fun

🎧 If You’ve Ever…
Felt like the “old poker” stories are disappearing

Wondered how the best players survived the boom and the bust

Wanted to hear what poker was like before phones, solvers, and robots…

This one’s for you.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZGxSNVULdSA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HDxAprhKwcFspGPDdKSMv?si=uBtqSMeBTOaeS2cYf0FKgQ

See you next week!
— Art & Justin
🃏 @artparmann & @justinyoung07

📌 Don’t forget to subscribe for more behind-the-scenes stories from the world’s funniest, fiercest, and most feral poker personalities. (it really helps us!)

PS: Want to play high stakes in Las Vegas — but in a game that still feels like home?
Come play with us at Table 1.

PPS: Check out our Cardplayer Featured Stories — the best hands, moments, and madness from the pod.