Name: Someone who a poker room is ‘proud to welcome to the family’, but ends up leaving under a cloud.
Age: They’ve been around since before the poker boom, but there’s certainly a lot more of them now.
Appearance: At first, smiling and wearing their sponsor’s patch. Later, fewer smiles and fewer patches.
What does a poker ambassador even do? It varies. Some just wear their sponsor’s patch at live events or when streaming online; others produce training content, host meet-up games, act as a player liaison or work behind the scenes. The important thing is that they’re visible, and represent their sponsors with integrity.
What could go wrong? I know, right?
That wasn’t a rhetorical question: what could actually go wrong? That seems like a pretty easy job. There are all types of reasons things could go south. Take the case of Ren Lin, who was just signed this week as an ambassador for WPT Global. His previous position as a sponsored pro at GGPoker ended suddenly after he ‘fessed up to helping a friend with decisions in a tournament. One player to a hand, people!
Who else got caught out online? Sadly, a few. Nacho Barbero was an ACR Poker ambassador until he posted a shot of himself playing on the site while having banned solver software open on the same computer. He rode it out, but was then picked up by a hot mic suggesting that the site wouldn’t have known had he not posted it online, and that they might not even be trying to stop it. Barbero was shown the door but went on to pick up another sponsorship… at WPT Global.
Is there anyone WPT Global would say no to? Maybe Dan Bilzerian? The infamous playboy influencer had a stint as a GGPoker pro, which started with him saying he “will be working with GG to make cash game tables even better for the average player”, and ended with him saying “most poker players are f***ing nerds”.
He dissed guys like me? I’m a guy like me! There’s worse. Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer both wore the patches of Full Tilt Poker, before the Department of Justice claimed they ‘lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying… about the safety and security of the money deposited.’ Neither admitted wrongdoing, but both forfeited millions of dollars in settlements.
Yikes. Then there’s Russ Hamilton, the 1994 WSOP Main Event champ, who wore the UltimateBet patch. In 2008 the Kahnawake Gaming Commission found that Hamilton ‘was the main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents’ which included using insider access to view opponents’ hole cards. Over $22 million was eventually paid back to players.
So it’s an online problem? If only. Take Australia’s Chris Skinner, an ambassador for the country’s Southern Poker Tour until news broke this week that he’d cheated in a live tourney by sneaking extra chips into play. Skinner and the SPT have since ‘parted ways’ and he’s been banned from their events. And then there’s Will Kassouf.
The noisy Brit from the WSOP? The very same. Long before making a ton of enemies at the WSOP last year, in 2018 Kassouf split from his sponsor Grosvenor Poker after an altercation at a roulette table involving someone else’s chips. Kassouf confessed he ‘made an error of judgment’ in the incident, which was one of alleged theft.
What happened to the good old days, when Amarillo Slim was representing the game on The Tonight Show? Sorry to pop that bubble, but in 2003 Slim was charged with indecency with a minor. He took a plea bargain, paid a fine and got a couple years probation.
Are there any good poker ambassadors out there? That’s the thing: there are tons, but sadly integrity and good behavior don’t get the headlines like scandal and controversy. Most sponsored pros do a lot of good for the game, and for their brands. Some even ‘part ways’ over their own perceived integrity issues, such as when Victoria Coren-Mitchell stepped down from PokerStars when they introduced casino games, or Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin’s recent departure from WPT Global over Lin’s appointment.
So… there’s an opening for me at WPT Global? You never know, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned it’s that to last as an ambassador you need to keep your nose squeaky clean.
Never mind, then. Thought so.
Do say: “Use my code to get an extra 50% bonus with your first deposit…”
Don’t say: “...you stupid f***ing nerds!”
