In February of 2007, NYC-based online poker professional Jay Rosenkrantz (KRANTZ) started a thread in the immensely popular poker forum community, Two Plus Two, asking if anyone might be interested in watching a documentary about online poker. The response was overwhelmingly positive. It was clear there was an audience for a film about online poker. The only problem: Jay is professional poker player, not a filmmaker, and lacked the experience necessary to take the next step.
Meanwhile in Northern California, Ryan Firpo (amateur poker player, 2p2 lurker, and founder of 918 FILMS) stumbled upon the thread. He too had been harboring the secret desire to explore some of the more outlandish tales from the online poker community in a film. He contacted Jay directly and pitched himself and his company as the perfect team to get the job done. He spent the next few weeks researching and developing the treatment for what would ultimately become 'From Busto to Robusto'. Months later, during the 2007 WSOP, Jay and Ryan finally met in Caesar's Palace and a deal was put into place over sushi and sake.
After a few minor setbacks, Jay and Ryan partnered up with online poker professionals Dan Morris (DJ Sensei) and Dean Strachan (TonyBliar) and the four of them officially formed Robusto LLC. Principle photography on their first segment finally began in December of 2007. 'From Busto to Robusto' is an on-going web-series, produced by Robusto LLC and 918 FILMS, that explores the subculture of online poker professionals. Each episode will profile a different player and focus on a different aspect of the online poker lifestyle. This is a project made for poker players, by poker players, and is being funded 100% with online poker winnings.
