The Sound of Poker

Tom Sartori has found music in the sound of the poker chips getting added to his increasing stack.

Sartori was a struggling musician, trying to get gigs wherever he could drive his old van loaded with guitar gear to. It was a year and half ago that he discovered the game of poker and found that he was fairly good at the game.

The $305,000 Sartori won in last year’s World Series of Poker has allowed him to have a little more success at music and play some of the world’s largest poker events at the same time. Since Sartori found his poker touch he was upgraded his music inventory to include a new car, publicist, stylist, new clothes, studio and photographer time, everything an emerging rock star could use. He plans to release an independently released album in the new year using some of his poker earnings to front the project.

"It's easier winning the World Series of Poker than it is making it big in music the way the industry is today," Sartori said. "But my dream has always been to succeed in music. Music is my life. Poker is my hobby. But it's a hobby that has allowed me to further my music."

Tom Sartori’s new fame gained from being one the newest poker stars has also helped his rock star cause, now that a lot of people know his name when they hear he is coming to play they know who he is. He has also enlisted the help of producer Geza X of Dead Kennedys and Black Flag fame to produce the upcoming disk.

Another task for the guitar-playing-maverick is too figure out a balance between his two loves, music and poker.

"I don't want to go too much with the poker thing; I was really concerned about that at first," he said in the offices of the World Poker Tour. "I want the music to stand on its own. I don't want to be a novelty thing."