Kellie de Celis is a lady on a mission.
In 2014, the Louisiana native made historical past as Atlantic Metropolis’s first feminine director of poker operations. Greater than ten years later, she’s nonetheless at Borgata and nonetheless main the cost.
“You may’t be what you’ll be able to’t see,” de Celis tells PokerNews, quoting her favourite line from activist Marian Wright Edelman. “Illustration in management is transformative. Simply by being right here, I problem outdated norms and present that poker really is for everybody.”
Poker is for everybody. Nobody ought to disagree with de Celis on that. However stroll into virtually any card room throughout the nation, and that is not the image you may see.
“Regardless of equal curiosity on-line, ladies stay underrepresented in reside poker, usually as a consequence of stereotypes, lack of visibility, and intimidating environments,” de Celis says. (For context, PokerStars just lately estimated that solely 3% of their reside gamers are ladies.1)
And if there’s somebody extra certified to make that decision, good luck discovering them.
Discovering a Seat on the Desk
Earlier than she was working the room, de Celis lived it from each angle. A former ‘Borgata Babe’, desk recreation vendor, and participant, she labored almost each job on the on line casino flooring earlier than returning to her previous stomping floor in 2014, when her focus, as she places it, “shifted from enjoying to main.”
“My on line casino profession began within the South,” she says. “Shifting to New Jersey to assist open Borgata was a tradition shock, but it surely’s the place I fell in love with the sport as a participant first.”
But it surely wasn’t at all times simple.
“I set a purpose to develop into the primary lady in Atlantic Metropolis historical past to function Director of Poker Operations”
“As a lady in my 20s coming into a male-dominated poker site, I usually felt like I didn’t belong. My selections had been questioned, not as a consequence of lack of know-how, however as a result of I didn’t match the anticipated mould.”
“The turning level got here once I selected to steer with endurance and empathy,” de Celis says. “I constructed belief by way of consistency, equity, and deep rule information. Over time, I discovered my place by standing robust in who I used to be.”
For de Celis, that place was clear from virtually the start.
“I set a purpose to develop into the primary lady in Atlantic Metropolis historical past to function Director of Poker Operations,” she says. “It’s been a journey constructed on intuition, progress, and embracing each alternative.”
Even with such a transparent purpose, it’s exhausting to not be astonished at how completely it’s all turned out. For lack of a greater phrase, it feels virtually manifested.
Constructing a Poker Room For Everybody
De Celis has no intention of squandering the position she manifested all these years in the past. As she tells PokerNews, her mission is to make sure extra ladies really feel they belong on the desk too.
“At Borgata, I’m actively altering that,” she says.
Collectively along with her staff, de Celis has launched a number of initiatives aimed toward opening up poker rooms to ladies, together with the Women Brunch, the Pink Chip Recreation, and a Valentine’s Day Tag Group occasion.
“Poker is evolving, and there is area on the desk for all.”
There’s a specific give attention to illustration past the felt, too.
“When ladies see themselves in decision-making roles, it builds confidence amongst gamers and staff members alike,” she says. “It sends a transparent message: poker is evolving, and there is area on the desk for all. I intention to normalize ladies’s management in poker and assist create a extra inclusive, dynamic recreation.”
And it’s not simply lip service, it’s actually working.
“After a Women Event, a younger lady approached me and stated she’d by no means set foot in a reside poker site earlier than,” de Celis says. “Seeing me in a management position and enjoying alongside different ladies gave her the arrogance to take that first step. She didn’t win, however she left impressed and deliberate to return.”
“That second jogged my memory that inclusion isn’t nearly numbers, it’s about empowerment. Creating area for individuals who didn’t assume they belonged is probably the most significant win of all.”
Sit Down Like You Belong, As a result of You Do
When requested what recommendation she’d give to a lady strolling right into a poker site for the primary time, de Celis is unequivocal: “You belong.”
And in terms of constructing confidence on the desk, she has loads of sensible tricks to share, too.
“Begin by observing. Study the rhythm, guidelines, and desk dynamics. Information builds confidence. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The sellers and flooring workers are there to assist.”
“Belief your instincts, play at your individual tempo, and join with supportive communities, whether or not in individual or on-line. There’s power in exhibiting up, and much more in persevering with to return again. You’ve acquired this.”
Questioning which recreation to start out with? De Celis has a transparent suggestion.
“No-Restrict Texas Maintain’em is the perfect place to begin. It’s broadly performed, simple to study, and supported by numerous sources and communities. Beginning in a low-stakes or ladies-only setting helps ease the training curve and builds confidence in a extra welcoming surroundings.”
Poker as a Blueprint for Life
De Celis can be enthusiastic about emphasizing the broader life abilities poker can construct for younger ladies.
“Poker teaches endurance, emotional consciousness, and calculated risk-taking, all of which I depend on day by day,” she says. “Studying individuals is important, whether or not it is addressing participant considerations or supporting my staff. And risk-taking? It’s what introduced me right here.”
“From leaving Borgata to pursue dealing, to going again to highschool whereas working full-time. Poker doesn’t simply affect my life, it’s develop into the blueprint for a way I lead.”
“Illustration issues, and at Borgata, we’re making a room the place ladies really feel seen, supported, and impressed to play,” de Celis says.
However in terms of the ultimate phrase, it belongs to somebody even nearer to dwelling: her mom.
“My mom was my greatest inspiration. She inspired me to steer boldly and uplift others. Her power lives on in how I lead at the moment.”
Stephanie Freeland
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