Image courtesy of Antonio Abrego, Run It Up
Arriving at the Bellagio, you feel an internal buzz. You’re walking down the same path as Lymon Zerga and Danny Ocean in Oceans 11.
Up above your head, you see “Fiori di Como,” the 2,000-square-foot iconic flower sculpture created by artist Dale Chihuly. The buzz continues as you pass the Conservatory showcasing the latest imagination of the Bellagio’s Botanical team come to life.
Every part of the Bellagio has a hum of energy, including the quiet class of the Bellagio poker room, and Sean McCormack is an embodiment of that same type of energy, except it doesn’t hum; it practically vibrates from the depths of his soul.
Sean is the Executive Director of Poker Strategy and Development for MGM Resorts International. MGM International includes 14 hotels in Vegas alone, of which four hold poker rooms.
In total, his “role focuses on helping align strategy across (their) domestic poker portfolio, which currently includes nine poker rooms across six different states.”
He’s coming up on his 20-year anniversary with MGM Resorts this November, and poker has been a big part of his life since his father taught him “all kinds of card games (growing up), so cards were always around, but poker did not really become a bigger part of my life until after college.”
In college, Sean studied Computer Science, and he says he:
Originally thought I would end up writing code somewhere in the tech world. If you asked me back then, I probably would have said my dream job was working for a big video game company. I have always been a bit of a gamer and pretty competitive by nature.
However, after moving to Florida, he adds that he “started playing regularly and eventually dealing poker, which ultimately set me on the path that brought me to Las Vegas and MGM.”
He remembers that:
Poker there (Florida) looked very different from what it does today. At the time, the card rooms were limited to $2 limit games, so a lot of the action was on casino boats or in home games.
I then found myself around those games more and more, and eventually decided to learn how to deal. That led to an audition at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club, which became my first poker-dealing job.”
After a few years of dealing, he then took a traveling dealing gig at a World Poker Tour stop at Gold Strike in Tunica, Mississippi. He didn’t know at the time, but that would lead him to his future at the Bellagio.
I took a traveling dealing gig at a World Poker Tour stop at Gold Strike in Tunica, Mississippi. That event ended up being a turning point. Gold Strike was owned by MGM Mirage at the time, and because the tournament was so large, staff from Bellagio came out to help support the event.
I have always been curious about the business side of poker and eager to learn, and that caught the attention of a few people from Bellagio who told me if I was ever in Las Vegas, I should stop by and audition.
Sean kept this in mind, and he recalls that “a couple months later, I was hanging out with a few dealer friends when one of them said, ‘We should just move to Vegas.’ I said, ‘If you are serious, I will pick you up at midnight, and we will drive.’”
He adds that he:
Honestly, I didn’t think he would go for it, but when I pulled up at midnight, he came running out with two suitcases and tossed them in the back of the car. We hit the road that night, and I never looked back.
Therein started his Vegas journey, where, when he arrived, he recounts that, “I played poker for about six months while getting settled, and in November 2006 landed my first Vegas dealing job at Bellagio.”
He earned his moniker of “The Poker Boss” after a World Poker Tour event at the Bellagio.
Before the start of Day 1, I was out in front of the poker room handling some operational stuff when the Royal Flush Crew showed up.
We were chatting while I was also coordinating with the poker team, getting ready for cards in the air. One of the Royal Flush Crew members looked over at me and said something along the lines of, ‘Wow, you are like a real boss… a Poker Boss.’ The name just kind of stuck from that day forward.”
Sean enjoys continuing to educate himself on the ever-evolving landscape of poker. He says that
A big part of it starts with simply staying connected to the players themselves. I spend a lot of time talking with guests in our poker rooms, interacting with players on social media, and keeping an eye on conversations happening across message boards, live broadcasts, and even X Spaces, which can get a little wild at times. Those places give you a very real look at what players are thinking and talking about.
The poker community is deeply entrenched in X, and when asked if it’s satisfying to be able to reach the poker community so easily and immediately, he agrees that it is.
I really enjoy engaging with the poker community on X because it creates a direct line of communication with players and industry voices all over the world. Poker has always been a game where people love to debate strategy, formats, and the direction of the game, and social media gives that conversation a real-time platform.
In addition to the social landscape, he also “pays close attention to what others in the industry are doing and how the poker landscape continues to evolve.”
His computer science background comes more into play with his focus on “data and analytics. Looking at trends in our rooms and across the broader market helps inform decisions about formats, experiences, and where the game may be heading.”
But just as important is learning from the incredible teams running our poker rooms every day. I lean on them heavily to understand what is working well in their markets and where they are seeing opportunities.
At MGM Resorts, one of our core values is listening to our guests, and poker players are very passionate about the game, so there is always something to learn if you are paying attention.
With overseeing this wide umbrella of the micro and macrocosm of poker strategy, one wonders what does Sean’s everyday look like?
No two days are really the same. A big part of the job is working closely with our property teams to make sure we are sharing ideas, identifying opportunities, and creating a consistent vision for what poker looks like across MGM Resorts.
When asked what one of his favorite moments since joining the poker industry was, he ends up bringing it back to his team.
While working for a company as large as MGM Resorts has given me the chance to be part of some incredible moments, such as collaborating with people from the worlds of music, television, and film… Honestly, the moments that mean the most to me are the ones centered around our teams.
Seeing someone grow in their career, develop new skills, or celebrate a big win as a group is incredibly rewarding.
He’s also supportive of charity events outside of work, including being on the board of the Charity Series of Poker, which he mentions “brings the poker community together to raise money for a wide range of important causes, and it shows the positive impact our game can have beyond the tables.”
He got involved with the charity “through Matt Stout, who does an incredible job leading that organization. What they have built is really special.”
Sean also adds to a work/life balance by having activities and people he spends time with outside of work. He “also loves to be outdoors, playing hoops, spending time with my wife and dogs, and just simply relaxing.”
However, casinos still can sneak in a bit.
I still enjoy being a guest in the casino, and I will admit I do love slots mixed in with my poker play. Even after all these years in the industry, I still enjoy experiencing the product the same way our guests do. It keeps the whole thing fun and reminds me why people love coming to casinos in the first place.
When asked what something not many people may know about him is, he said that:
My guilty pleasure is watching casino content creators. Poker, slots, and table games, I enjoy all of it. I think there is a real opportunity for operators to work alongside creators because they can reach audiences that traditional casino marketing channels sometimes do not.
This “guilty pleasure” actually adds to an exciting new initiative at work. His division at MGM Resorts recently opened a live streaming space at Park MGM, which will work hand-in-hand with content creators.
The space is still very much in its infancy, but we are incredibly excited about what it can grow into. The vision is to create a high-end-partnered environment where content creators from across the gaming spectrum can produce their content. That could include table games, slots, and poker.
Looking ahead at 2026, he’s excited and says that:
This year is shaping up to be particularly fun. The RunGood Poker Series was just at the Borgata with a stop at the MGM National Harbor coming up, which has been a great partnership for us and for the players.
Along with RunGood, they are “also grateful for the continued support of BetMGM Poker, who helps amplify many of the events and experiences we are building across our properties.”
And one of the most exciting times of the poker year is coming up, aka “Summer Poker Camp,” and they “are getting very close to sharing those schedules.” Sean adds that this “time of year always brings an incredible energy to the city and to our poker rooms.”
When asked the secret of how he gets his seemingly endless well of energy, he says:
Honestly it really comes down to passion. I love gaming, I love entertainment, and MGM Resorts truly sits at the center of both. I have also always been a high-energy extrovert, so being around people and the excitement of the casino environment naturally fuels me.
When you focus on supporting your team and creating an environment where they can succeed, that energy tends to come back to you tenfold.
Looking forward to the future, he seems more excited and grateful than ever.
More than 23 years in any industry might sound like a long time, but poker has a way of making every day feel different. After all this time, I still feel a real sense of gratitude towards poker.
The game has given me incredible opportunities, amazing relationships, and a career I never could have imagined when I first started. Because of that, I feel a responsibility to continue giving back and doing whatever I can to help the game keep growing.
