Reimagining the Self-Made Man: Myth, Risk, and the Pokerization of America

Abstract

This article takes a rhetorical approach to the rise of gambling in America, and in particular the growth of the game of poker, as a means to explore larger changes to America's collective consciousness that have resulted in an increased acceptance of gambling. I contend that the rise of the risk society has resulted in significant alterations to the mythology that binds Americans together. I establish this claim through the exploration of ESPN's coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker and its use of the myth of the self-made man. I conclude that gambling works both to critique and reinterpret the myth of the self-made man by putting emphasis on the importance of luck and risk management and deemphasizing the importance of the Protestant ethic, as understood through social and individual virtue. Professional poker players can thus be viewed as entrepreneurial role models for a new, risk-based, society.

Keywords:

• Gambling
• Myth
• Poker
• Self-Made Man

Acknowledgments

The author is especially grateful to Ronald Lee and Damien Pfister for their assistance with earlier drafts of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aaron Duncan

Aaron Duncan (PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is the Director of Speech and Debate for the Department of Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.