Cheri Dokken Retires as Commerce's Tournament DirectorThe Trailblazer Looks Forward to Quiet Life in Tennessee |
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Cheri Dokken couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, questioning her sanity, as well as her abilities.
It was the night before her first tournament. She had been promoted to the position of tournament director for the Commerce Casino, the biggest poker casino in the world. Her predecessor, the great Jack McClelland, was one of the best tournament directors of all time, even serving that role for the World Series of Poker.
The pressure was on, and all eyes were on her.
“I don’t think I smiled once that first year,” said Dokken. It was 2000 when Dokken became Commerce’s new tournament director. This month, after eight years at that position and 17 total years with the casino, Dokken has retired to spend more time with her husband.
Dokken remembers the struggles and obstacles she encountered as a woman of power in a poker industry that wasn’t used to females at the table. She admits that players tested her, seeing what they could get away with. But Dokken didn’t waiver.
“I stood toe to toe with them on my decisions,” said Dokken. “After about two years, I started to gain the respect of the male players in the room.”
As tournament director, she focused on being consistent and fair.
“You need to make sure everyone is being treated the same,” said Dokken. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Phil Hellmuth or Joe Smith.”
Dokken learned the game from her parents as a child. Her family would sit around the kitchen table and play, and all of the kids would talk excitedly about how they would “go to Vegas and show them how it’s done” once they turned 21. While a laughing Dokken admits that didn’t exactly happen according to plan, no one can argue that she didn’t become a major player on the poker scene.
She has directed more World Poker Tour events than any other woman, and she oversaw a poker room that has about 240 tables. Commerce’s annual L.A. Poker Classic regularly attracts more than 600 of the world’s best players, featuring million-dollar prize pools.
The room has more than doubled in size over her tenure, transforming from a “modest” room of about 100 tables into the behemoth it is today.
Dokken said it was just the right time to retire, so now she’s packing up her bags to move with her husband to Tennessee. While poker isn’t legal in the Volunteer State, she’ll only be a couple of hours away from the tables at Tunica, Mississippi. She plans to play the occasional big tournament there.
“I’m really going to miss the players at Commerce,” said Dokken. “I’ve met some wonderful friends out there.”
But she says that she won’t miss the long days and the long hours. She looks forward to a more relaxing life with her husband, splitting up her time between painting and riding horses. She also plans on starting a non-profit organization to give special-needs children the opportunity to experience the joys of horse-riding.
Matt Savage will direct the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic, but there has been no official announcement on who will replace Dokken permanently as tournament director.
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