World Series of Poker November Niner, Felix Stephensen, signs for Betsafe ahead of the Main Event on Nov 10. The second player to sign a new contract this week after Bruno Foster Politano joined 888Poker.
It’s that time of year.
The build up to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine means the patches have been unsealed and slapped onto every conceivable piece of clothing of anyone remotely near that fabled final table.
The 24-year old Norwegian, Felix Stephensen, becomes the second member of that illustrious group to be snapped up by an online gambling company, after inking a deal that will see him represent the Betsafe brand.
Stephensen has decided to stick with the Scandy way after joining the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) skin that falls under the umbrella of the Swedish online gambling company Betsson. Betsafe also offers sports betting and online casino options.
Stephensen will start the final table as one of the favorites as his 32,775,000 chip stack is only towered over by the one possessed by Jorryt van Hoof, and it’s the second major announcement this week, with many more planned in the comings weeks I am sure.
Earlier this week, 888Poker announced the signing of the Brazilian Bruno Foster Politano, who joined the likes of Sofia Lovgren, Xuan Liu, Shane Warne and last years Nov Nine recruit JC Tran as a brand ambassador.
On a more low frequency note, the chip leader Jorryt van Hoof has also done a little bit of wheeling and dealing, this past fortnight, after agreeing to become the ambassador for the forthcoming Masters Classics of Poker (MCOP) in Amsterdam.
Don’t let the recent signings fool you into thinking that poker sponsorships are on the rise. The signing of Nov Niners is a blot on the landscape, as gambling companies try to cash in on that ESPN exposure, when in actual fact quite the reverse is true.
In recent weeks PokerStars have released three Latin America stars: Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero, Angel Guillen and Humberto Brenes; whilst Ultimate Poker released William Reynolds, Jeremy Ausmus, Phil Collins, Brent Hanks and Lauren Kling from their Stateside brand.
