When Dianna (Donofrio) Trigatzi came from Indiana and sat at her first poker table at the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas she had no idea that she would embark on a lifelong journey with in the poker industry. She learned poker at the hand of her late father as a little girl and by the time she was done playing at her first live 7-card stud table she had not only won but was also offered a position with the casino.

It was not long before Dianna started making history behind the scenes of the West Coast casinos. Her time with the Frontier served her well as it gave her time to learn the industry and more importantly to Dianna, the players. Her new found experience as well as her history of marketing and public relations gave her a boost into poker rooms such as the Bicycle Casino where she organized one of the most popular tournaments to date, the Legends of Poker. She already had established a rapport with the players, so bringing in the “Legends” of poker was a task that happily took on. Dianna then moved to the Commerce to expand their satellite program. She worked closely with Jack McClelland as she perfected structures, procedures and techniques for running satellite events.

Dianna had yet to grasp her dream in poker . . . Las Vegas. After two years at the Commerce, Dianna found her opportunity at the Four Queens Classic where she was offered the position as the Satellite Director. News in the poker world traveled quickly as Dianna continued to put out successful, well run satellite events. For the next twelve years Dianna drew offers and continued to work with various casinos and organizers running satellite events including the World Series of Poker for over ten years.

Dianna continued to make history in the poker industry when she took the position as Satellite Coordinator and then Pay Out Manager for the 2005 and 2006 World Series of Poker. In her positions with the WSOP she was able to make considerable changes to procedures and stream lined the events to make them more profitable and more enjoyable for players.

Raised in Indiana, Dianna served on the staffs of several former US politicians and in that vein was nominated for the “Outstanding Young Woman of America” award. Given her history in politics it seems only natural that Dianna would accept the position of Nevada State Director for the PPA (Poker Players Alliance). Her background gives her a great understanding of the issues that face the U.S. under the UIGEA and the politics of gambling. Her love of poker and poker players give her an even greater ability to support the members of the PPA through education, advocacy and promotion in the poker rooms.

Dianna is looking forward to making history in her new position with GameCtrl.com as the Director of Player Relations. GameCtrl.com, which is still in Beta testing, is a new staking site with a few different twists on the traditional sites such as the ability to track staked players through the site, the ability to build teams and the over all personal feel of the site. The personal interaction of the site and the new out look on staked players makes this an exciting new adventure for Dianna. Owner, Andrew Prell is looking to bring Dianna’s wealth of knowledge of the poker industry and of the players as well as her out-going personality to the forefront in her new responsibilities.

Through out her career in poker Dianna has found the honesty and giving nature of poker players to be immense. She has been able to take her out going personality, experience and the nature of poker and turn it into charity events that have created funds and attention to non-profit organizations that benefit those in need. In the past she has worked for the Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament for the SPCA in Las Vegas, the Nancy Cartwright Charity Event in 2007, the Tournament Coordinator for the Montel Williams Multiple Sclorsis Gala & Charity Poker Tournament in New York City. Most recently she has been behind the scenes in charity events such as working with Annie Duke at the After School All Stars. ASAS is an after school enrichment program for at risk youth founded by Arnold Scrwarzenegger. And also with Annie Duke on an event benefiting the 1736 Family Crisis Center, an organization domestic violence victims and homeless youth.

In every way possible Dianna’s contributions to poker have paved the way for women to enter the poker industry on many levels. Thanks to people like Dianna, women in the poker industry are taken seriously and can make a difference.

 
Dianna with then WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack