Radio Rounders: Sports Talkers Ben Mintz and Seth Foster Dial It in at WPT Choctaw

By Sean Chaffin

Ben Mintz (pictured above) and Seth Foster (pictured below) shared a unique claim to poker fame as they relaxed for a few minutes during the second break on Day 1b of the Season XVII WPT Choctaw.

“We think we’re the only sports radio combo to cash in the same World Series of Poker Main Event,” Mintz said, laughing.

It’s a bullet point that seems pretty difficult to disprove.

“We’re just going to claim it, how about that?” Mintz added.

The two host “Mixin’ It Up with Mintz” on The Ticket-100.7 FM in Shreveport-Bossier City in Louisiana. The show airs from 3-6 p.m. local time, but the two hosts are given some freedom to play poker tournaments here and there.

Their poker adventures have become a big part of the show and their deep run in the WSOP Main Event garnered plenty of attention. Mintz finished 327th for $37,705. His on-air radio partner and fellow poker player Foster finished 94th for $66,330.

“It’s been kind of wild,” Foster said, who is hoping to celebrate his 36th birthday on Sunday by advancing to Day 2 at Choctaw. “We’ve gone to a lot of restaurants around town and everybody was saying they had the WSOP on TV and were rooting for us. Ben went to play a tournament at the Horseshoe poker room and it was all anybody wanted to talk about. It’s been fun.”

To accommodate their poker travels, the radio duo taped their Friday show early so they could head to Choctaw. They don’t have to be back until 2 p.m. Monday unless they make a deep run in this tournament.

“We’re very blessed and lucky that our general manager loves poker,” Mintz said, who began hosting in December 2015. “So if we miss a radio show and we’re deep in a World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker event, he’s our biggest fan. They give us a lot of creative freedom, which is cool because the show’s doing well right now.”

While in Las Vegas playing this summer, the pair broadcast the show live when not at the tables. Mintz, 35, has nearly $583,000 in live tournament winnings and was a regular on the poker scene until he landed his radio gig a few years ago. Foster has some poker skins on the wall as well with almost $270,000 in winnings. Both have several wins and final table appearances at tournaments across the country.

A career in radio isn’t easy, but poker seems to have helped Mintz and Foster distinguish themselves a bit and gain fans not only for their sports talk but also because of the fact that they’re poker players. Their success in Las Vegas has helped the radio show, and they hope their success on the felt continues at WPT Choctaw.

“What’s also cool is that it crossed over to our business, and it got us a lot of notoriety in Shreveport and people really got behind it,” Mintz said. “So we got a bunch of new sponsors for ‘Mixin It Up with Mintz’ as well. We’re certainly not upset about that. What’s great is that they’re coming to us now, too.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and host of the True Gambling Stories podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @PokerTraditions.

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.