US Poker Pro Sponsorship Continues Its Steady Decline

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Tuesday, September 30th, 2014 | Written by Shane Larson

Just a few years ago, it was a common sight to see a plethora of US poker pros sporting internet poker site logos at tournaments as part of their sponsorship deals. Since Black Friday, however, many of those same players haven’t even been able to access online poker sites and so sponsored links have been severed and we are increasingly seeing a sponsorship industry more focused on arranging deals between players and land-based casinos.

Changing Times

Across the online poker industry we are witnessing a streamlining of the number of sponsored pros the various sites keep on their books. The world’s biggest poker site PokerStars is no exception, either, and since surprising poker enthusiasts in 2012 by releasing two high-profile WSOP Main Event winners in the guise of Greg “Fossilman” Raymer (2004) and Joe Hachem (2005), its offloading has continued unabated and in recent weeks PokerStars has also released the 2009 WSOP Main Event winner Joe Cada from its stable of pros, as well as other high profile players such as Marcel “The Flying Dutchman” Luske, Russian pro Alex Kravchenko, and some of Latin America’s best pros, including Humberto Brenes, Jose “Nacho” Barbero and Angel Guillen.

Its All About The Money

Online poker in the US was once a multi-billion industry but since Black-Friday and the subsequent regulation of a number of local markets, the industry has been reduced to just Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey which together generate roughly $135 million each year in iGaming revenues, of which around a third is derived from poker. Naturally, post-2011 there has also been a major shift in the sponsorship environment from American to Europe, and after Joe Cada announced his departure from PokerStars this week, the 26 year-old US pro, explained:

“If everyone is wondering what happened with Poker Stars and myself it’s pretty simple. I asked for 100 percent rake back, they said no. I asked for zero money. I just wanted the rake back that I used to get.”

Chris Moneymaker Still In Favour

While PokerStars has been shedding many of its non-US pros, Chris Moneymaker (photo) continues to be one the site’s talisman and has been one of its permanent features since sparking the poker boom in 2003, having qualified for the $10k WSOP Main Event via a $40 online satellite, before going on to win the competition for $2.5 million.

Post-Black Friday, Chris Moneymaker’s obvious appeal has also continued for both PokerStars and for the USA’s land-based casinos, and this week the 38 year-old was named as the new Tour Ambassador for the Hollywood Poker Open (HPO). The tournament series takes place in a number of Penn National Gaming owned Hollywood Casino across the US and in Season 3 starting November 13th will be making appearances in Indiana, Ohio, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Missouri, West Virginia, and Las Vegas.

Moneymaker’s latest endorsement deal highlights the importance land-based casinos now attach to signing the right type of sponsored pro to their books, even as US online poker sites continue to move in the opposite direction. Performing his promotional duties admirably, Chris Moneymaker explained following his latest deal with HPO:

“Every event this past season seemed to grow and I thought it was really cool that you started to see some of the same people showing up at different stops. This tells me the word is getting out that these structures are really player-friendly and the vig is lower than their competitors. It was an easy decision when they asked me to come back and represent them for Season 3.”

WSOP.com Bucks The Trend

While Nevada’s Ultimate Poker off loaded half its sponsored pros last month, rival site WSOP.com decided to reverse its stated policy of rejecting endorsement deals with individual players by signing 2012 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Merson to be its sole brand ambassador. Announcement of the deal coincided with WSOP.com’s one year anniversary and while the signing of just a single player highlights the seismic shift in the industry, it also shows the importance the Caesars Entertainment owned WSOP.com places on linking a respected WSOP Main Event winner to its site, as well as its Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, where the prestigious tournament series takes place every year. As WSOP.com Head of Online Poker Bill Rini commenting following Merson’s signing:

“Greg is a terrific ambassador for the game of poker. He loves the game, is passionate and opinionated about its future, and he will help us spread the word about our offerings and ensure the poker playing community has a respected, experienced voice to help shape WSOP.com moving forward.”

In other words, when a US poker pro is signed these days their responsibilities go far beyond just sporting a patch and they are now expected to act as spokespersons for the casino sponsoring them, play in their poker rooms, and help attract players to the casino’s tables by utilizing their social media networks.