The Welsh Wizard, Roberto Romanello, has signed an extension to his partypoker deal that will see him represent the online poker room through the 2017 World Series of Poker. Partypoker parent company GVC Holdings roll out mobile poker changes and strengthen casino team.
Talks of the five figure patch deals in the golden years of poker have surfaced this week thanks to Daniel Negreanu’s chat with Brain Balsbaugh on the Full Contact Poker Podcast. But not everyone was interested in the money.
Back in those days, a young Welsh lad by the name of Roberto Romanello turned up at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) desperate for a patch. It wasn’t about the money. It was about pride.
Full Tilt was the first to make his dreams come true. Mike Matusow has to take some credit after advising his employers that they would be wise to take a look at the lad from Gorseinon after this memorable hand.
Romanello became a star under the Full Tilt banner. After that deal ended the Welshman found it difficult to continue on the live tour. He is a proud family man, and when he’s not playing poker, you can find him serving the best fish and chips in Wales at his family’s chain of restaurants.
The live poker tour can suck you dry quicker than a wet towel in the Sahara. Romanello had a dilemma. Should he continue to play poker, or should he invest more time with his family? He decided to find the groove in between. It worked. He won the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Prague and the World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event in Bratislava.
He became a member of the notorious Poker Farm, a time when Matchbook invested heavily in sponsorship of British poker players, and Romanello’s face was more prevalent on the live tour again. Once that ended, he withdrew once more, working with his family, spending time with his fiancee, and working on a new business.
In the summer, partypoker sponsored him for the entirety of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). He was one of four men capable of winning the Triple Crown, and he came mighty close finishing 3/2242 in a $1k event. I have always thought Romanello and partypoker would be a great fit. It seems the online poker room agrees.
Romanello has signed a one-year extension to his contract. He represents the online poker room as ‘TheWelshWizard’ and will compete in live events until the end of the 2017 WSOP where he will once again try to join the elite Triple Crown Club.
The partypoker Team Pro outfit is steadily growing. Patrick Leonard, Carl Froch, Natalia Breviglieri, and Romanello joining Tony Dunst and Mike Sexton.
You can catch Romanello representing partypoker at the Mazagan 10 High Roller in Morocco, the Grand Prix Poker Tour (GPPT) in Cardiff, the WPT National in Ireland, and the partypoker Caribbean Poker Party.
GVC Roll Out Mobile Changes After Successful Trial at partypoker
Partypoker’s parents GVC Holdings has announced plans to roll out a substantial update to their mobile poker product after a successful trial on the partypoker client.
The most significant change is the ability to play up to four tables simultaneously, including a mixture of tournament and cash games. A new swipe facility means you won’t have to visit the lobby to interact with tables, and table alerts will ensure you never miss a hand.
The brand spanking new version will be rolled out on the GVC’s other platforms including bwin and a select group of GVC’s B2B partners.
GVC Strengthen Casino Team
Romanello isn’t the only person joining the GVC team.
The online gambling giant recently made three new senior appointments in its casino division.
Rob fell joins as Head of Casino Product, Oliver Bartlett joins as Head of Anything Live, and Andrew Whitworth takes over as Head of Content. All three of them will report directly to Liron Snir, GVC’s Chief Product Officer.
Fell arrives from Lottoland and has worked previously for Paddy Power, and Gala Coral. Bartlett was the Head of VIP and Casino Project Manager for Bgo.com. Whitworth comes with time at Talarius and SG Gaming on his resume.
