Mike Matusow has made a name for himself in the world of poker not only because of his impressive live tournament resume, but also because of his table blowups and rants, earning him the nickname “The Mouth”.
Matusow is among the most entertaining players to watch and he is looking to take advantage of his popularity by becoming a content creator. Well, the 51-year-old is not entirely new to the content creation business. Back in 2007, Matusow starred in a video series for CardPlayer. However, after three years and about 70 episodes, “The Mouthpiece” fell by the wayside owing to a dispute with the company, with Matusow refusing to get into details.
The show attracted more than 35,000 subscribers and despite an abrupt end, Matusow still considers it a successful project. For several years, the four-time WSOP winner has expressed his intention to revive the show and now it’s finally back – in podcast form. He supplements it with plenty of video blogs that document his entire WSOP grind this summer at the Rio, along with livestreamed commentary of final tables.
The Mouthpiece Returns
Working on bringing The Mouthpiece back wasn’t a very easy task for Matusow. The cost of hiring an editor to produce and finetune the content he wanted was an expensive process. However, the cards fell right for Matusow was able to meet his old editor from the CardPlayer show and both worked out a deal, with the editor receiving a share of the enterprise for his editing job.
Matusow’s decision to jump into the content creation sphere comes as no surprise given his desire to diversify his income. Matusow couldn’t play poker on a full-time basis due to his injured back. Things have been rough for him financially over the past few years, despite pulling off a back-to-back solid performances at the WSOP in 2017 and 2018. He earned $400,000 in cashes and scored four final tables and thirteen top-20 finishes, but Matusow wanted to have another source of revenue.
Matusow’s Edge
Players like Daniel Negreanu, Joey Ingram, Doug Polk, “Johnnie Vibes” Moreno and Andrew Neeme have all been making it big creating poker-based content, building large followings in the process. While Matusow admits his content isn’t as polished as the pioneers in the space, he wants to be equally successful, and The Mouth believes he can do it.
Armed with a genuine and down-to-earth personality, Matusow thinks he has what it takes to deal with tough competition in the content creation business. The American poker pro is well-known for wearing his heart on his sleeve. He is not afraid to express his views and throw severe criticisms even if it leads him to difficult situations and conflicts with friends. Matusow and Negreanu were involved in a bitter dispute which resulted in both of them not talking for three years, though Matusow recently disclosed they’ve already patched things up.
Matusow said his podcast will not entirely be focused on poker as he will also tackle relevant subjects including current events, politics and sports. In a bid to neutralize the current media coverage of politics which focuses too much on the extremes leading to social divisions, Matusow plans to bring on people who can offer new perspectives and can encourage dialogues from both sides. Matusow also aims to hit the mainstream market and attract a large number of followers.
2019 WSOP Journey
The 2019 WSOP is in full swing at the Rio and Matusow is among the players competing for a bracelet. He wants to focus on the competition for now, but that doesn’t mean his podcast will be put on the back burner.
Matusow will continue releasing vlogs that will allow fans to get a glimpse of his bid for gold. The Mouthpiece will also run once a week and Matusow will spice things up with impromptu interviews. Along with documenting his WSOP journey using his scooter cam, Matusow is also planning to release two to four feature videos each month, which he admits requires the most work from his editor.
The videos will be satirical, aimed at prominent figures in the poker community. Matusow assures everyone the material will be exciting and full of fun, starting with the first video “Blockers for Dummies”.