One of poker’s longest tenured voices, Joe Stapleton, announced Friday that he is parting ways with PokerStars. The upcoming European Poker Tour event in Monte Carlo will be his final broadcast.
The poker player, standup comedian, and podcast host said he was leaving the company’s coverage team on good terms. He said the decision was mutual and amicable after being with the company for more than a decade.
“Nothing to see here except for some recent exciting personal life changes that make being on the road less appealing than it used to be,” he wrote in a post on Twitter/X.
“Fifteen years ago, they took a chance putting a snarky kid from a podcast onto actual television. And when that show was sunk by Black Friday, they had the absolute cheek to put me on European television. That gamble paid off for all of us. But especially for me. I have achieved far more in life than I could have ever imagined, and it would not have been possible without the faith and support of the super talented people I’ve had the pleasure of working with all these years.”
Stapleton’s Impact On The Game
Stapleton has been one of the faces of the EPT over that time and has contributed to coverage of other major events, including online tournament series like the brand’s annual Spring Championship of Online Poker.
Some of his duties included lending his voice to the PokerStars “Big Game” cash game show, which airs on Fox Sports 1 in the US. Along with commentary partner James Hartigan, Stapleton also co-hosted the “Poker in the Ears” podcast for several years.
In 2024, the 43-year-old released a poker-themed comic book and served as a poker consultant on the 2021 film, “The Card Counter,” helping to add more realism to the story.
At the tables, Stapleton grossed $23,787 in tournament winnings. However, most poker fans know him for his work behind the microphone. He has had a major impact on the game, bringing some comedic flair to PokerStars broadcasts. As he leaves that behind, he thanked all those involved with the PokerStars team.
“No person is self-made, and many, many people at PokerStars believed in me and stuck their necks out for me along the way,” he said. “However, I would without a doubt have flamed out long ago if it weren’t for the specific encouragement and tutelage of Francine Watson and James Hartigan.
“They are extremely talented people who elevate every project they are involved in. There are many, many more people who fit that description, but those two have been most responsible for what great programming you’ve seen and heard over the past 20 years.”
Looking Ahead
PokerStars hasn’t announced a replacement for Stapleton yet. Additionally, Stapleton hasn’t announced his future plans. PokerStars parent company Flutter Entertainment has shed some jobs over the last year. Moreover, it lost considerable market share to GGPoker over the last few years.
In 2023, the company relaunched in the North American Poker Tour in the US, but the status of the 2026 series is unknown after host Resorts World Las Vegas closed the casino’s poker room in March.
In the same month, the company announced that the US PokerStars platform would now be a part of FanDuel and added the Pennsylvania player pool to the combined New Jersey/Michigan pool.
