The heyday of online poker provided many players with the chance to earn money and gain notoriety by representing a site through wearing a patch while playing. We all know why that stopped becoming a fad but players in New Jersey have been granted that opportunity through the regulation of online poker in the state. Out of all of New Jersey’s websites, BorgataPoker.com has the most “ambassadors” with Michael ‘Gags30’ Gagliano among them.

Gagliano’s online reputation needs little introduction as the online coach is well-respected by many of his peers and the results of his former students, including 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Joe McKeehen, speaking volumes.

Along with his $2,700,000 in online tournament earnings and WSOP bracelet, which he won in 2016 for a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event, Gagliano is about as well-rounded of an online and live player that a site could want to represent them.

When online poker first became regulated in New Jersey, BorgataPoker.com was among the first clients to make their product available and Gagliano was excited to be able to represent a company from his home state.

“As soon as the opportunity to work with Borgatapoker.com came up I knew I wanted to do it. I’ve been a huge fan of their live poker room and tournament series for quite some time and knew that working with their online team would be a great experience. It’s great to have regulated poker in NJ, and even better having a site like Borgatapoker.com where they’re constantly working to get the players the best experience possible.”

Being a representative of a site generally means that the “ambassadors” become public figures who put themselves out there in ways that other poker players might not. Gagliano and his popular Twitch stream have given him the opportunity to interact with players from within New Jersey, which Gagliano says is one of his favorite parts of working with BorgataPoker.com.

“The best part is getting to interact with all the other players in NJ. A lot of players know me from being represented by BorgataPoker.com, while others just know me from my stream, or even just from seeing my name at the tables. I constantly have players reaching out to me to ask me questions or to just that they enjoy my stream or to congratulate me on a score. It’s just really cool knowing that there’s such a community of players that support me and enjoy playing online here in NJ.”

Although Gagliano enjoys being part of a website now, he did not feel the same as he rose through the ranks of the online world. Gagliano says he was more focused on playing poker than anything else but thought it would be a “good experience” should the right circumstance present itself.

The New Jersey online poker community is a strong one and Gagliano is in some ways, the face of one of the top online sites in a poker-crazed state. Gagliano’s teammates on BorgataPoker.com includes accomplished professionals like Matt Stout and Vinny Pahuja, but the state of New Jersey has formed a unit around Gagliano. One that supports their favorites son everywhere he plays.

“Wherever I go to play live, I’m never alone. Even if I don’t know anyone there, there’s nearly always someone who’s looking to talk to me and ask questions, it’s like I have friends in every cardroom on the East Coast. It’s a pretty cool experience most players just don’t get.”