Blotter: PartyPoker buys some pros
Rss-
For years now top poker sites like UltimateBet and PokerStars have been pumping their numbers through the commercial use of recognizable pros. Many aspiring amateurs get starry-eyed at the mere thought of rubbing elbows with poker legends like Daniel Negreanu, and many poker sites have been cashing in on this idol-worship by sponsoring their own teams of pros. While other online poker rooms pimped out their teams in trade for added traffic, PartyPoker has been largely neutral toward the movement...until now.
In a bid to maintain their historically high numbers, PartyPoker has joined the scramble for sponsored pros by adding a few recognizable faces to their own roster. From the beginning, PartyPoker's only payrolled player was WPT commentator Mike Sexton. Whether Sexton was tired of going it solo or not, he's going to get some company. In light of the site's international crowd, their new team of pros is appropriately diverse.
The first PartyPoker pro addition is Englishman Ian Frazer, already a familiar face at PartyPoker's major live tournaments. Days after announcing their first selection, PartyPoker announced two more: Frenchman Remy Biechel and Brazilian Felipe Ramos. While these three players may be relatively unknown to American poker fans, they've all placed in the money at the WSOP (with Ramos appearing at the Event 35 final table just last week) and have posted major international tournament wins.
PartyPoker's recent additions officially give them their own team of pros, and insiders speculate more are coming soon. This should be exciting news for existing members of the popular poker room.
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28-Jun-2009, 16:14