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PUEBLO, Colo. – The Austin Gamblers organization has been committed to finding different and unique ways to build fandom in Austin and throughout the entire sports world during this year’s inaugural PBR Team Series.

General Manager JJ Gottsch has been encouraged by team owners Egon and Abby Durban to make sure the Gamblers are ‘interactive and accessible’ in as many ways as possible.

That goal has been on Gottsch’s mind since he was named the team’s GM this past winter, and the first-place Gamblers have been finding multiple ways to spread the word about Austin’s newest professional sports team.

Gottsch was at a concert earlier this year when an idea popped into his head.

“Every great idea is one that you can steal,” Gottsch admitted with a laugh during Stampede Days in Nashville. “I was at a concert two or three months ago and at the end of the concert, what does the band do? They throw their guitar picks into the crowd. We were going to get some poker chips made anyways with our Gamblers logo on them, so I thought, ‘What if we actually had our guys have them in our pocket, and in the case we have a qualified ride, that’s getting thrown out into the crowd just like a guitar pick?’

“It wasn’t completely original, but it’s one of those things. I’m an outsider (to the sport), so I’m going to bring certain things to the eyes. If the guys think it’s great, great, but if they think I’m crazy, I’m not going to push anything, but these guys have really enjoyed it.”

Fans attending this weekend’s Gambler Days at the Moody Center – Austin’s first homestand in team history – will not just be getting a chance to snag a team-branded, poker chip. In fact, each chip is autographed by the rider who tosses it into the crowd.

“It’s great for the brand,” said Austin coach Michael Gaffney. “If you look at it from the fan’s perspective, it’s cool. If you’re here with your 12-year-old, you know, that’s cool as hell, especially with the signature on there.”

Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme said he liked the idea behind the poker chips when it came up during a team meeting. During the Unleash The Beast season, fans became accustom to watching Leme punt his bull riding helmet soccer style in celebration.

Leme said he hopes the chips bring a sense of joy for kids or fans who are lucky enough to snag one at Gambler Days (Aug. 26-28) at the brand-new Moody Center.

“We were talking about some different stuff and thought maybe we would throw these chips to them,” Leme said. “It’s awesome when you have people around cheering for you and supporting you because that brings more energy for the rider and bulls. Austin has been a great town for us. This team is a new thing for them, and everybody is so excited and I’m sure we’re going to have a good crowd there.”

Leme, the PBR league leader in qualified rides (10), has helped Austin win six consecutive games ahead of its homestand.

Austin begins Gambler Days vs. the Nashville Stampede (3-7) on Friday night (10 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).

The Gamblers have also won back-to-back event titles (Anaheim and Stampede Days).

Gottsch explained Austin wants to continue to slowly build fandom for not just their team, but the entire PBR Team Series.

A small thing as a fan snagging a poker chip could easily be a lasting memory for a fan.

The moment is similar to when a kid catches a foul ball or home run at a baseball game, something Gottsch saw plenty of during his professional sports business career.

Gottsch spent the last eight years as the chief operating officer of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment. During his 24 years with the company, he played instrumental roles in the establishment of two of Minor League Baseball’s most successful franchises — the Round Rock Express and the Corpus Christi Hooks — as well as serving as the executive director of “Big League Weekend,” a Major League Baseball spring training exhibition series at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Now Gottsch is taking his expertise and creativity to the Western sports world.

“For all of us, each and every day, what we’re trying to do is build not only Gambler Nation, but this entire sport,” Gottsch concluded. “Everything we do, we’re going to do to the best of our ability every single day. There are really two types of conversions. There are traditional bull riding fans, who we hope live in Central Texas and that we hope we can convert to become Gamblers fans, but then there are fans who are either casual or didn’t know they were fans of the sport.

“That’s really the important part for us, because we feel like, as one of the eight teams, where PBR has done a great job over the last 30 years of growing this sport, where I think the eight individual teams are going to help this sport and really help it grow is when we get a casual fan or non-fan to come and tell their own community – their friends, their families, their neighbors – that means a lot more to people. That’s going to be the biggest thing for all of us, not just in Austin, but all the markets.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media

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