Veteran Belgian pro Kenny Hallaert will soon be expanding his twin roles as a player and as an industry worker courtesy of PokerStars, which has signed the former WSOP November Niner to a unique dual role with the company. Hallaert will join PokerStars as a brand ambassador, sporting Stars gear at certain live tourneys, while also joining the company as a live-events advisor, sharing his years of experience as a well-known tournament director, especially in Europe.
Hallaert was best known in poker for his work as a TD before his breakthrough showing in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, where he made that fall's delayed "November Nine" finale, finishing sixth for $1,464,258. That remains his best-ever tournament cash, though he has amassed just under $5.5 million in career winnings, which include victories in four European Poker Tour (EPT) preliminary events between 2009 and 2015.
The EPT is just one of several tours or venues where Hallaert has also served in a tourney director's role, along with Belgium's Namur and Spa Casinos, the Belgian Poker Series, Belgian Poker Challenge and French Poker Series.
Previous role with Stars helped assure good fit with Hallaert
Hallaert's prior experience with the EPT and PokerStars management made him an easy choice as an asset for further strengthening many of PokerStars' live-event offerings. “I’ve known Kenny for years," said Cedric Billot, PokerStars' Associate Director of Live Events. "He has a unique profile of being both a respected player and tournament organizer. His passion for the game, wealth of experience both on and off the felt, and professionalism, makes him someone we are incredibly excited to bring onboard.”
Hallaert was equally enthusiastic about joining Stars in an exoanded role. “I’m really looking forward to being part of the PokerStars team," he stated. "My role as ambassador and live-event advisor will no doubt bring up some great opportunities, and I can’t wait to contribute to the constant evolution of PokerStars' fantastic live events.”
The brand-ambassador part of Hallaert's signing has already taken effect, as he's been playing in the ongoing PokerStars Belgian Poker Challenge in Namur, Belgium.
'Spacey' tourney spreadsheet creator a regular participant in Las Vegas's summer poker events
As a player, Hallaert has also become a regular participant at each summer's WSOP in Las Vegas, where he has cashed 103 times and collected over $3 million in lifetime earnings. His industry-side flair in helping schedule and produce live series also led him to create and distribute an all-in-one spreadsheet each summer that displays all the events in each of the major series offered each summer in Las Vegas.
The "SpaceyFCB Sheet" has always been a free resource for players wanting one-click info on what tourneys are on tap each summer. Hallaert's sheet has been often imitated, but he was the first to put as much information as possible into an an accessible and multi-sortable spreadsheet for other players to use.
Hallaert created his 2024 Vegas tourney summer spreadsheet back in February and has been expanding it as each Vegas casino that will offer a summer series releases its schedule of events:
Images courtesy of WPT
