Mariano Grandoli

Mariano “King Argentina” Grandoli is an Argentine-born professional poker player and content creator from Rosario who moved to the United States in 2002. Before poker became his career, he studied business and economics while working long shifts delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut.

His transition into professional poker was anything but smooth. After repeatedly missing work to play, Mariano was fired from Pizza Hut while watching Argentina play France in the 2018 World Cup. He later went broke, and a longtime friend lent him money to rebuild his bankroll and take another shot at poker.

Mariano credits Andrew Neeme with inspiring him to start poker vlogging and has said he closely studied Garrett Adelstein’s streamed hands while improving his game. He launched his YouTube channel in 2019, eventually growing it to more than 200,000 subscribers and earning a nomination for Best Vlogger at the Global Poker Awards. He is also a CoinPoker ambassador, where he plays under the username `mariano.poker`.

Outside poker, Mariano is heavily involved in music. He is the drummer for Los Angeles rock band Dear Delta, whose sound draws from 2000s emo and punk rock. His role goes beyond performing: Mariano also has songwriting and production credits, including being credited as both a writer and producer on the band’s single “Paralyzed.”