Beyond The Patch: A Look At Modern-Day Poker Sponsorships

Xuan Liu became the first female player to win a Triton event last May when the Canadian pro took down the $25,000 Triton Montenegro WPT Global Slam. The score came right as her ambassador deal with WPT was coming to an end, but may have proved to be a springboard for other opportunities.

As the World Series of Poker kicked off last summer, Liu found herself in numerous meetings about possible business deals, sponsorships, and other collaborations.

“That’s why I haven’t played a day of poker since I’ve been back, taking a bunch of meetings and strategizing in that department for the most part,” she said two weeks after the win. “There are other non-endemic agencies and PR situations that would like to work with me. As for poker companies, there are a few of them, and I would say a couple of top contenders, but still working out the creases.”

Liu is considered a top free agent, having also represented 888poker and Natural8 in the past. It’s a spot Alexandra Botez found herself in as well earlier this year. The chess champion and content creator signed with ClubWPT Gold after representing GGPoker for a year. The clamor to add poker pros and content creators to a company’s roster seems to be on the upswing as the landscape has grown beyond simple “patch-up” deals.

For those that can get it, it means a steady paycheck, getting to jet set around the world, free tournament buy-ins, and becoming the face of marketing campaigns. That’s the type of life many players envision when scoring a poker sponsorship.

The game’s new boom has made that possible, but the reality is that it requires much more than being a winning player. Several players and industry insiders recently offered Card Player a look inside the world of poker sponsorship and how to build a brand to attract a deal.

A New Landscape

Both live and online poker has seen an uptick in numbers since the pandemic. The continued growth of online poker, the game’s visibility on social media, and the rise of poker content creators helped drive that trend. These platforms are bringing the game to more people and putting poker in the mainstream on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon to see viral poker hands replayed on YouTube shorts or TikTok with millions of views, reaching audiences that otherwise had never been exposed to the game.

It also helps that Americans now have the option to play on more regulated sites and that market has shown growth since Pennsylvania joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association (MSIGA) earlier this year. The U.S now boasts four online operators since BetRivers launched, along with WSOP Online, BetMGM, and PokerStars. Additionally, the growth of sweepstakes operators like ClubWPT Gold and Global Poker has brought back the game to many players who were previously shut out in the U.S.

In the international market, significant players remain, such as GGPoker, PokerStars, CoinPoker, ACR Poker, PartyPoker, 888poker, and WPT Global, and these brands remain mainstays and continue using teams of pros, vloggers, and streamers to rep their brands.

Perhaps no one knows the ups and downs of the sponsorship market better than Chris Moneymaker. The 2003 World Series of Poker main event winner and Poker Hall of Famer was the namesake of the 2000s boom and has ridden the wave of ambassador deals for more than two decades.

After qualifying for the main event via an $86 online satellite, he spent 17 years as a PokerStars ambassador. He then joined ACR Poker in 2021, taking on a more hands-on approach with the company. He believes players currently have more opportunities to make a mark and find a sponsor, but there are different expectations than in the past.

“Competition has opened the door for more sponsorship opportunities,” he said. “WPT, ACR, GG, BetRivers, PokerStars, et cetera are all competing for market share. Unlike for many years after Black Friday, sites can market more effectively on social media to try and gain market share. Pre-Black Friday being a sponsored pro was more about putting on a patch and showing up to play, maybe do some poker media interviews. But overall, it was not time consuming and didn’t require much.”

“COVID seemed to have given online poker a second life that’s filled with opportunities. However, those opportunities are not the same. Gone are the days of just wearing a patch and showing up. Today, ambassadors need to be either streaming, or on YouTube, or active on social media. There is more work involved in being an ambassador than in the past.”

Art Of The Deal

As Moneymaker notes, plenty of considerations come into play for operators looking to strike a deal with a player – social media presence, YouTube subscribers, Twitch numbers, marketability, winnings, and other factors. Bigger names with significant name recognition, such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, can score eye-popping deals that dwarf others in the industry –basically becoming brand partners rather than simply company representatives.

But what about the rest of us mere mortals? Once a player has found an audience and attracted the attention of an operator, what do these deals look like?

All deals are unique to the player, insiders say. Many players receive payments, sometimes to an online poker account, along with some live tournament buy-ins and paid travel and accommodations, with the requisite brand patch worn while playing. These agreements can include affiliate deals, where players receive a percentage of the rake from those they convince to sign up and deposit.

ClubWPT Gold has gone this route, with players like Doug Polk and Ethan “Rampage” Yau using codes to get their audience to sign up. Moneymaker notes that these “can be lucrative for a hard-working pro.” Those with big followings and a knack for sales can really cash in.

When playing online themselves, lesser known pros might also receive 100% of their rake back, plus some amount of money based upon how much time they spent playing on the site, 2004 WSOP main event champion and former PokerStars ambassador Greg Raymer said. Today’s sponsored pros may be required to deliver social media content and logo visibility, and participate in other special events such as public appearances, meet-and-greets, or live event creation.

Despite the number of operators, even pros with established winning resumés may face a logjam in finding an operator looking to partner up.

“It’s still not easy to get a sponsorship deal,” Moneymaker said. “I have had several very big name pros want to come work with us at ACR. It’s still a process and it’s not easy to get signed.”

Four-time World Poker Tour champion Darren Elias hooked up with BetMGM in 2021 and has become the face of the brand. He agrees there are more opportunities for players in the sponsorship department right now. He feels that this pattern is cyclical based on the ebbs and flows of the game and that the industry. He says the site a great partner for him because he was looking for a regulated brand and a company that operated in the U.S. market.

“I was thrilled to become part of the BetMGM team,” he said. “While there are so many options for online poker platforms these days, I value working with a regulated trusted brand like BetMGM. Add in the connection with brick-and-mortar MGM Properties that I’ve been playing poker at for decades and I cannot imagine a better partner.”

Power Of The WSOP Main Event

Some deals are designed to be short-term campaigns, such as wearing a patch at a major final table as seen in the WSOP main event each year.

Going deep in the WSOP main event can not only bring millions of dollars in winnings, but can also attract some attention from brands. Several players at the final table were once again patched up this year, and eventual champion Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi found several sponsors. That included a U.S. online poker operator, a social poker game, and California’s Commerce Casino. Tech firm AngelAI also got on board and even featured Mizrachi in commercials.

“We’re inspired by Michael’s tenacity and his commitment to excellence,” AngelAi CEO and creator Pavan Agarwal said about the deal after Mizrachi’s historic win. “Just as he dominated the WSOP with focus and finesse, we’re leveraging AI to help everyday people win in the housing market-by making affordability and fairness the new standard.”

Mizrachi’s success points to how winning the game’s biggest event can help in brand building. Moneymaker’s deal with PokerStars lasted almost two decades before stepping into his role with ACR. He has since expanded his footprint with his own live tour, poker room, and even a coffee brand.

Raymer’s run with PokerStars also lasted for several years. He says that deal included monthly compensation plus reimbursement of buy-ins and expenses for any tournament that the company asked him to play or that was televised.

“I was required to play a minimum number of hours per month on PokerStars, and prohibited from playing on any other site,” he says. “I was also expected to wear their logo in any public appearance, or while playing poker, and to give interviews as much as possible. I was expected to mention PokerStars in an interview whenever it was reasonable to do so.”

Several other main event winners have found sponsorship deals through the years, but none have parlayed bracelet gold into sponsorship dollars like Hellmuth. The 1989 main event champion and 17-time bracelet winner originally represented Ultimate Bet before that brand imploded in the wake of Black Friday. Hellmuth has also represented numerous brands including Aria Casino in Las Vegas, Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain, the Bitcoin Latinum ​​cryptocurrency platform, Breinfuel energy drink, and Milwaukee’s Best beer.

Similar to Elias, Hellmuth’s current deal with BetRivers goes beyond simply showing up and playing. He’s also representing the company’s other online gaming operations and is part of the company’s Poker Night in America plans with his own Hellmuth’s Home Game series. Hellmuth says the deal was a nice fit for him and allows him more involvement with the brand.

“The new ambassador deal with BetRivers is a long time coming,” Hellmuth told Card Player. “I have been waiting for over 10 years for the right partner for a ‘front of hat deal’ for me in the online space. Many companies have approached me for the last 12 years, and I was close to signing with some other massive online casinos/poker rooms. BetRivers was the right fit for me.”

Developing A Following

Building a brand is not just important for operators, but also for players looking to link up with online operators, said Tom Wheaton, founder and CEO of Faded Spade playing cards and Above the Felt poker marketing and talent agency. The company has represented players like Moneymaker and Elias, as well as Jeremy Ausmus, Phil Galfond, Matt Berkey, Samantha Abernathy, Jamie Kerstetter, and others.

Wheaton has been playing poker for about two decades and brought a 20-year background as an executive in corporate sales and marketing into the new endeavor. He launched the agency in 2021 because he believed there were some missed opportunities for players to take advantage of beyond traditional online poker deals, such as public speaking, team building, appearances, and other partnerships.

There has been a real shift in how brands approach player partnerships, Wheaton says. The landscape has expanded as more poker operators, tours, apps, and brands entered the market globally.

“We’ve also seen a few major casino brands better connect their online and live poker offerings through internal corporate alignment or strategic external merger and acquisition,” he said. “Whether it’s regulated online rooms, emerging social poker platforms, or live tournament series, the demand for poker talent to help shape and share brand stories has grown.”

“I think that the criteria has changed though. It’s no longer just about who’s winning the most championships, it’s about who’s connecting with the community, too. Operators want players who are not only successful on the felt but also authentic, engaging, and aligned with their brand culture. There isn’t a single path to poker ambassadorship anymore. Whether you’re a high-stakes crusher, a YouTube vlogger, or an inspiring community builder – if you have purpose, voice, and consistency, you have value in today’s poker ecosystem.”

Wheaton says hybrid deals that include elements like social amplification, live event appearances, and marketing or operational consulting have been a bigger part of the industry and points to Elias as an example. He has served as lead brand ambassador during a tremendous omnichannel growth period for the company.

“His partnership is built on trust, consistency and performance,” Wheaton said. “Darren brings elite professionalism and helps build credibility for the brand both on and off the felt. On the flip side, someone like Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau is a great example of a content-first ambassador. His YouTube channel and social platforms make him a powerful partner for ClubWPT Gold right now, where the public can see very clearly that the focus is more on creator-led exposure, reach, and player acquisition.”

“I’d say that the best deals today are customized to the player’s strengths and brand’s business goals. Some players bring prestige, others bring personality, and the most valuable ones often bring a blend of both to the table.”

That hybrid approach has carried over to players building audiences on platforms like Twitch. While streaming was seen as an important niche in the market in past years, this has become a part of a bigger whole for ambassadors finding deals in recent years. Even the old school guys like Negreanu and Hellmuth are known to stream their action at least on occasion.

“While Twitch was once the gold standard, now it’s part of a broader content ecosystem,” Wheaton explained. “Brands look at engagement across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, Discord, and beyond. It’s no longer just about how many followers you have, it’s about how connected those followers are to you.”

While Above the Felt represents some of the bigger names in the industry, up-and-coming YouTubers like Ashley Frank and Jaman Burton are also part of the portfolio and have become content ambassadors for BetMGM.

“They’re not just making highlight reels of their play, they’re building stories around themselves and the brand,” he said. “Their content fills a much-needed gap between traditional sponsorship and modern influencer marketing. You also have personalities like Kasey Lyn Mills with PokerNow. She is helping that company build a highly-engaged community by hosting online home game poker events and connecting the most recreational players with an online poker option for their home games via a freemium model.”

Rivers Of Revenue Streams

These days there are plenty of recreational and semi-pro players looking to up their games. Training sites have stepped in to meet that demand and these sites and other coaching opportunities offer another way to cash in on poker success.

Numerous pros have signed on to share their secrets, if not create their own sites, gathering a roster of pros as hired guns to help produce training videos, lead group sessions, review hands, and numerous other content opportunities. While these may not be online poker deals, linking up with a training site can be lucrative. Private coaching only adds to the amount a player can make.

“Training sites are definitely another avenue for established pros,” Elias said. “There’s been a surge in interest in online study and technical analysis of poker. Tools and software are constantly evolving in this technological era. It seems like a new training site or tool is popping up every year so there’s obviously opportunity there for players to attach themselves to a brand or even develop the platform themselves”

Players like Doug Polk, Matt Berkey, and Jonathan Little have been successful in taking this approach. Wheaton also points to Jeremey Ausmus as an example.

“He’s one of the best tournament players in the world with multiple WSOP bracelets and constantly in the running for player of the year.” Wheaton said. “He now plays a key role in Run It Once Training, where he shares deep strategy and advanced insights via monthly coaching videos available to subscribers. That’s a traditional yet powerful example of a top-tier pro elevating an educational poker brand by being a part of it.”

Looking Ahead

“Poker is four times bigger than golf globally, but underutilized as a brand platform,” Wheaton said. “When you combine reach with philanthropy, where winnings or appearances channel back to causes, you unlock an emotional ROI (return on investment) for fans and sponsors alike. I call it ‘corporate philanthropy.’ Think of it less as a logo placement and more as a content platform, where brands, players, fans, and charities all exchange value. Everybody wins, and that’s one way poker can truly out scale the traditional patch-on-the-shirt model, which also still works at a certain level.”

The overall range of what’s achievable has grown, Wheaton adds. There are more opportunities than ever for different types of players. Vloggers, streamers, content creators, and other poker pros all have different stories to tell, registering with companies in different ways.

“The poker ambassador space is now a spectrum, not a silo,” he explained. “You’ve got elite players like Darren Elias and Jeremy Ausmus, content creators like Ashley Frank and Jaman Burton, hybrids like Phil Galfond and Matt Berkey, community builders like Jamie Kerstetter and Kasey Lyn Mills, and popular personalities like Jeff Platt or Samantha Abernathy, all serving different purposes and delivering different types of value.”

• Photos by PokerGO – Antonio Abrego, Enrique Malfavon, and Miguel Cortes, World Poker Tour, Moneymaker Poker Tour