{{Short description|American poker player and commentator (born 1971)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{infobox person |name=Jesse May |birth_date={{birth year and age|1971}} |birth_place=[[New York City]], U.S. |alma_mater=[[University of Chicago]] |occupation=Poker player and commentator }} '''Jesse May''' (born 1971) is an American [[poker]] [[Sportscaster|commentator]] and player.
Jesse May was born in New York City in 1971 and raised in [[Madison, New Jersey]], where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988, he started attending the [[University of Chicago]], but he found that classes were clashing with his poker games, and so dropped out. For six years, Jesse travelled the world playing poker.
May found fame presenting the ''[[Late Night Poker]]'' television series. He also appeared in a season 1 episode under the [[pseudonym]] Mickey Dane. This pseudonym is in fact the main character in his poker novel, ''Shut Up and Deal'' ({{ISBN|1-901982-56-4}}).
May has continued to be involved in poker commentary on other shows, including the [[William Hill Poker Grand Prix]], [[PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup]], [[The Irish Poker Open]], [[Poker Nations Cup]], [[Poker Million]], [[Victor Chandler Poker Cup]], [[Celebrity Poker Club]], and [[The Poker Show]]. He also co-presented the PartyGammon Million, a pro [[backgammon]] tournament, on early-morning [[five (channel)|five]] TV.
He often commentates alongside [[Padraig Parkinson]], who has said that it surprises him that May plays so little poker when he is such a good player.<ref name="cpart">{{Cite web |last=Parkinson |first=Padraig |author-link=Padraig Parkinson |date=August 2, 2006 |title=A WSOP Report from Padraig Parkinson |url=http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_news/news_story/1240?class=PokerNews |access-date=August 31, 2006 |website=[[Card Player Magazine]]}}</ref>
In 2006, May signed an exclusive contract for presenting televised poker with [[Matchroom Sport]].<ref name="matchroom">{{Cite web |title=Jesse May Signs Exclusively with Matchroom Sport |url=http://www.thehendonmob.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11073 |access-date=August 31, 2006 |publisher=[[The Hendon Mob]]}}</ref> In January 2012, he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the European Poker Awards for his contribution to promoting the game as an author, commentator and personality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Earl |date=January 26, 2012 |title=2012 European Poker Awards Handed Out, Sam Trickett Takes Player of the Year |url=http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/2012-european-poker-awards-handed-out-sam-trickett-takes-player-of-the-year-21056/ |access-date=November 24, 2023 |website=Poker News Daily}}</ref>
May is married and lives in [[Denmark]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061127100627/http://www.matchroomsport.com/staticPage.asp?strPageName=Jesse_May Industry profile of Jesse May] *[http://www.thegoodgamblingguide.co.uk/spotlight/wsop2001/wsop2001_jessemayzero.htm 2002 World Series of Poker write-up by Jesse May] *[http://www.thehendonmob.com/articles/jesse_may/news_from_the_poker_scene.html List of TheHendonMob.com articles written by May] *[http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=1350 Hendon Mob profile]
{{European Poker Lifetime Achievement Award Winners}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Jesse}} [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:American poker players]] [[Category:American gambling writers]] [[Category:University of Chicago alumni]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Writers from Iowa]] [[Category:Poker commentators]] [[Category:21st-century American male writers]] [[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:American male non-fiction writers]] [[Category:1971 births]]