Matt Savage has become the poker tournament industry golden boy. Known for his work with the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour, he has been shaking up the tournament world with his reassessment of chip rationing and theory on blind structures. His company, Savage Tournaments, Inc., is currently at the top of its game.

Since the beginning at Binion’s Horseshoe and the WSOP, Matt Savage has worked diligently for the prosperity he enjoys today, however, it is a well known fact that success is difficult to achieve without a strong support system. What is the secret to Matt’s success? While the list is long, at the top is Maryann Savage.

They met at the Binions back before the Moneymaker poker explosion. Maryann was a cocktail server and Matt was the hired gun Tournament Director and as he puts it “Maryann was a diamond among the rocks!” In the beginning they enjoyed a casual friendship hanging out with coworkers. It took more than a year before the two decided to give dating a try and the rest is history.

Since their marriage over five years ago, poker has taken off and become a multi-billion dollar industry, and together Matt Savage and Maryann Savage are Savage Tournaments, Inc. Matt serves as Director and President and Maryann is the corporate Treasurer and Secretary. Wherever Matt goes, Maryann is sure to be right behind him. Not to be mistaken as arm candy, Maryann is the an important member of the Savage Tournaments, Inc. tour-de-force.

During the 2010 Los Angeles Poker Classic, Mrs. Savage could be seen by her husband’s side until the wee hours of the morning, supporting him as he worked as Tournament Director for the second largest tournament series on the poker tour. In addition to her corporate duties, Maryann was seen looking up her husband’s ulceric symptoms on WebMD.com and making sure that her husband ate regular meals to keep him in good health.

With two children, it would be far easier for Maryann to stay at home and telecommute via the internet while her husband traveled the world to conduct his tournaments. Traveling from casino to casino, coordinating and directing various tournaments is very difficult, especially when each casino has its own staff and set of rules that need to be managed. Accordingly, having at least one person in ones corner that knows exactly what to do and when to do it is priceless. Therein lies the secret to Savage Tournaments, Inc.’s success. Maryann is not just Mrs. Matthew Savage, rather she is a strong, intelligent, and dynamic collaborator standing at her husband’s side and the cornerstone of Savage Tournaments, Inc.

A humble woman, Maryann avoids the spot light. She stands quietly in Matt Savage’s corner with a heart full of love and support for her husband, and insists that he alone deserves all the credit for the achievements of Savage Tournaments, Inc. However, the poker industry is a cut throat world and people from both sides of the rail will confess that friendship is fickle when the stakes get too high. Accordingly, there is simply nobody more deserving of accolade than Maryann Savage, one of the not-so-famous (but no less important) women of poker today.