Content Editor
Martin has been actively covering the gambling industry since the mid-2000s, working in both freelance and full-time roles. Over that time, he has reported on many of the industry’s biggest shifts, from the height of the poker boom to the emergence of daily fantasy sports, the rapid expansion of regulated sports betting, and the growth of sweepstakes sites and prediction markets.
With a deep editorial résumé, Martin has written and edited for a wide range of gambling-focused publications, including long stints at PokerStars and PokerNews. In parallel with his industry work, he brings more than 25 years of experience teaching college-level courses in writing, literature, and film, which informs his analytical and research-driven approach to coverage.
Martin is the author of "Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game," an in-depth exploration of poker’s history and its portrayal across film, television, music, and popular media. The book earned the Global Poker Award for Media Content of the Year, recognizing its contribution to gambling-related scholarship and journalism.
Outside of gambling coverage, Martin has written extensively on horror and science fiction cinema, along with two novels and numerous essays. His most recent collection, "Horror and Science Fiction Cinema and Society," was published by Routledge in late 2024, reflecting his ongoing interest in the intersection of culture, media, and storytelling.
Martin Harris is a longtime gambling writer and editor with more than two decades of experience covering the industry. Early in his career, he spent years traveling to report from major poker tournaments around the country, including extensive coverage of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. His reporting has also taken him overseas, with bylines from events held throughout Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa. He’s sorry to report to Michigan fans that as a UNC Chapel Hill alum, one of his favorite sports memories is his beloved Heels knocking off the Fab Five in the 1993 NCAA final.
In recent years, his coverage has broadened beyond poker to include the full spectrum of legal gambling. That now includes online and retail casino gaming, sports betting, prediction markets, as well as social and sweepstakes casinos where he spends time testing platforms and playing familiar favorites such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and a rotating cast of slot games.
Martin holds a Ph.D. in English and has published widely in both academic and popular outlets. He is the author of several books, including the award-winning Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game, which explores the game’s place in American history and media. He lives with his family on a horse farm in North Carolina and, when he’s not writing, enjoys watching sports, making music, reading, and teaching part-time in the American Studies program at UNC Charlotte.
Catena Media
Content Editor
2020-present
PokerNews, PokerStars, World Poker Tour
Poker Reporter
2008-2019
UNC Charlotte, American Studies program
Adjunct Professor
2011-present
University of Indiana at Bloomington
Ph.D., English
2000
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., English
1994
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., English
1990
UNC Tar Heels, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets
DOOK (i.e., Duke)
The Cincinnati Kid
Short-Stacked Shamus
Global Poker Award, Media Content of the Year (2019)
for Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game
Online poker during the early 2000s boom years. Like many people at the time, I was fascinated by how quickly the game spread and by how poker combines intellect, emotion, psychology, math, and storytelling.
Without question, how normalized it has become. What once felt niche or underground is now widely regulated, advertised, and woven into mainstream entertainment.
The Biggest Game in Town by Al Alvarez. It’s sharp, honest, and captures poker/gambling culture better than almost anything else I’ve read.
I’m not really a nit-picker, but I do get irrationally annoyed when people talk about “counting cards” in poker (a term/concept that belongs to blackjack).
Poker will always be my favorite, but I also like blackjack and baccarat, and games from sweeps sites like Dice, Limbo, Mines, etc.
A bankroll “vault” that lets you separate money you’re actively playing with from funds you want to protect. It’s a simple tool that can save players from themselves.
I wouldn’t necessarily call it a superstition, but I’m strict about never celebrating a win until it’s fully locked in.
Sites that let you create your own gambling game using AI.
