Barbara Zangaro, Executive Director, Poker Gives (Photo courtesy of PokerGives.org)
If you have played in the Orleans or Aria poker rooms in Las Vegas then there is a very good chance that you know Barbara Jones Zangaro, but if not, please allow me to introduce you. Barbara, currently a poker Tournament Supervisor in the Orleans Hotel & Casino poker room, was introduced to poker by her former in-laws, more specifically her father-in-law who was impressed by her math skills and gin rummy play and encouraged her to learn poker, which she did.
After starting her professional career as a dealer at the 2006 WSOP she traveled the WSOP Circuit in 2007 before settling in Las Vegas as a dealer at both the Venetian and Orleans poker rooms in 2008. In 2009 Barbara not only joined the Aria poker room floor staff, but she was also promoted to a Floorperson at the Orleans. By 2019 supervising daytime tournaments at the Orleans and being a nighttime Floorperson at Aria had unfortunately become too much of a daily grind, so after 10 years she regrettably left Aria.
But as much as Barbara loves what she does for a living there is something that she is even more passionate about: the plight of the homeless. In 2017 she took over the role of Executive Director of Poker Gives, but for the past seven years she has been on a mission to feed and clothe as many of the homeless as she can, something she and her small army of volunteers do every Monday night at 7pm on McWilliams Avenue.
We are not just talking about a simple boxed lunch. It is a full meal conveniently served in to-go containers that includes everything from hot entrées, soup, salads, sandwiches, snacks, canned and fresh fruits and vegetables and bottled water to boxes of fried chicken personally delivered by WPT Champion Frank Stepuchin.
A March evening I was out there seeing how the operation ran was cold and windy, but I did not dare complain because I knew that once we were done, I would have the luxury of getting into my car, turning on the heat and then driving home and getting into a warm bed later that evening. It is a luxury the people in that food line do not have, which is why what Barbara has been doing and will continue doing is so important.
After a short break, the Monday night feedings are back, a variety of people in the poker community joining in to help, From Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Ralph Massey and many, many more.
Poker Gives is under the oversight of Lupe Soto, with Barbara as its executive director. Founded by Johnson, Fisher, Mike Sexton and Lisa Tenner, Poker Gives in the poker fundraising arm of Vegas Connected, its mission to raise funds through poker events and private donations and distribute on behalf of the poker world to direct service programs Vegas Conencted operates and works with.
Poker gives donations can be made direct via this link.
Barbara’s start.
Barbara, currently a poker Tournament Supervisor in the Orleans Hotel & Casino poker room, was introduced to poker by her former in-laws, more specifically her father-in-law who was impressed by her math skills and gin rummy play and encouraged her to learn poker, which she did.
When asked about changes she would like to see in poker, Barbara said while there are many female poker dealers, she would like to see more women apply for and put into leadership roles such as Floor Supervisor/Manager, Tournament Supervisor/Director or Poker Room Manager.
As one of the VERY few female Tournament Supervisors currently in Las Vegas she sometimes finds herself handling situations women in positions of authority often deal with: come across as too soft and players think they can and try to run over her; adhere to the tournament rules and she is being a you-know-what; or players unhappy with her decision asking to speak to “someone with more authority”.
