Virtual Gaming Worlds And Scuderia Ferrari Take On The Las Vegas Strip

This November, Sin City gets its first taste of the high-octane thrill that is Formula One racing. For three straight nights, the Strip will be taken over by the fastest cars in the world. A total of 20 drivers will shrug off the G-forces caused by hairpin turns in their single-seat, open-cockpit racing machines, all looking to be crowned the champion of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

One team that will certainly be in the mix for the title is Scuderia Ferrari, which is the racing division of the luxury Italian auto manufacturer and has a proud history in the sport that dates all the way back to even before the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix.

The team will be racing in their customary red, and eagle-eyed poker players will no doubt spot the familiar Global Poker logo on the car as it zips by at speeds of up to 212 miles per hour. As part of the relationship between Virtual Gaming Worlds and Scuderia Ferrari, Global Poker has been featured on the race car not only for Las Vegas, but also for Grand Prix races in Miami, Montreal, and Austin.

Global Poker, Virtual Gaming Worlds’ (VGW) social poker brand, has quickly established itself as a leader in the online poker space, and only looks to get stronger thanks to its partnership with Scuderia Ferrari.

“We are excited to partner with Ferrari, one of the world’s most iconic global brands,” said Virtual Gaming Worlds Founder, Chairman, and CEO Laurence Escalante. “With such a rich history, success in motorsport and a brand synonymous with winning, achievement, passion and luxury, we look forward to working together and our next chapter of growth.”

“F1 is a truly global sport with massive reach that has experienced amazing growth in recent years, particularly in the US, and there’s no bigger brand than Ferrari,” Escalante continued. “We may operate in different industries, but we share similar beliefs when it comes to the power of technology and teams for performance, and the role of passion that unites us all.”

Ferrari Chief Racing Revenue Officer Lorenzo Giorgetti agreed that it was a mutually-beneficial partnership.

“We are pleased to announce the arrival of VGW as a Premium Partner,” Giorgetti said when it was announced. “As leaders in the gaming technology sector, they share our passion for innovation and thinking outside the box. We look forward to working with them in offering new assets and experiences to our loyal and passionate tifosi.”

[Editor’s Note: ‘Tifosi’ is Italian for fans, or a group of supporters. ‘Scuderia’ means stable, as in a stable of horses.]

“Scuderia Ferrari works with several global technology companies, and with VGW we were able to click well right from the start of our partnership,” said Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vassuer. “We both have passion for detail and the continuous search for improvement in our respective fields, so the partnership went smoothly from the start, which meant both parties could get the most out of it. We’re already looking ahead to next season, working together to develop more opportunities to create value for both parties.”

Formula One racing continues to surge in popularity in the U.S., spurred in part by Netflix’s Drive To Survive series, which gave American fans a behind-the-scenes look at the sport.

“The result of this heightened level of interest is clearly visible in the fact that, for the second time ever, we are going to have three US races on the calendar with everyone particularly excited about the brand-new event, the Las Vegas GP,” Vassuer continued. “We know how important these races are for VGW too, and we look forward to giving it our best shot in Nevada.”

The multifaceted partnership, which started from the first race of the season in Bahrain in March 2023, will also see VGW’s branding featured on the Formula 1 team’s drivers and crew teamwear, and comes with other benefits and potential collaborations.

“Partnering with Scuderia Ferrari and seeing our brand on the Formula One team’s cars, drivers and crew at the US races, has been a massive thrill for us,” said Global Poker General Manager David Lyons. “We’re only one season into our multi-year partnership, but it’s already been an amazing ride, driving increased awareness of Global Poker and new opportunities to engage with players, as seen in our recent Global Poker Celebrity Challenge. Partnering with a brand as iconic and successful as Ferrari was beyond exciting from the start – and it’s already exceeded our expectations.”

It even caught the attention of Global Poker ambassador Michael Phelps, who is not only the most decorated Olympian in history, but also quite the poker player himself.

Phelps was on hand to kick off the race weekend at Global Pokers’ Austin Pit Stop event that drew over 1000 people, mingling with fans on special racing simulators, and even playing some live poker. Phelps joined the players at the final table, where two lucky individuals were awarded a premium Ferrari hospitality experience.

Global Poker has also been busy with their first-ever Grand Prix Turbo Series, which features four online tournament festivals that coincided with this year’s adrenaline-fueled Formula One season. There was an event in May for the Miami race, in June for Montreal, in October for Austin, and finally in November for Las Vegas.

Each series featured 12 Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin hyper turbo events, fulfilling every racing fan’s need for speed. Event winners were treated to exclusive Global Poker merchandise and apparel, but the Sweeps Coin overall season leaderboard winner was also set to receive a custom Ferrari racing helmet and a once-in-a-lifetime exclusive trip for two to the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy.

That’s right. One poker player gets to test their driving skills on the actual Ferrari driving course while enjoying a three-night stay in Italy!

Global Poker Celebrity Challenge

Meanwhile, Global Poker ran its first ever Celebrity Challenge, featuring not only Phelps, but also NBA stars Paul George and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as Grammy-winning producer DJ Khaled.

The grand final saw the four celebrities pitted against each other for $90,000 in total donations to a charity of their choice, funded by Global Poker. Not only did each celebrity play against each other, but Global Poker players also got the chance to compete with challenges that ran from Sept. 18 to Nov. 13.

Before each showdown there was a Sweeps Coin qualifying event. Players who made it through qualifiers competed for the chance to win a slice of the prize pool, exclusive Global Poker merchandise signed by the celebrity players themselves, and a spot in the player challenge grand final. The winner of that event earned a special Ferrari Race Day Experience of their choice in North America for next season.

“For many of our players, Global Poker has been the best kept secret in the poker world for some time,” said General Manager David Lyons. “We saw this challenge as a great opportunity to bring our unique and authentic poker experience to a wider audience and we’re thrilled to have these amazing athletes and musicians on board.”

The Scuderia Ferrari show car ultimately made its way to each celebrity’s home, and fans can watch footage of the car’s unboxing on GlobalPoker.com.

There’s Always More At Global Poker

Global Poker is a free-to-play, online social poker room with more than one million registered players. The site is dedicated to its loyal and growing community of players, with a mission to bring a greater variety of games, a larger range of bigger prize pools, and more tournaments and championships.

Everyday across the United States, Global Poker players enjoy reliable, fun, and rewarding online social poker. Not only is it entirely free to set up an account — and to play — you’ll also find poker rules and hand rankings, as well as poker strategy tips and helpful how-to guides to enhance your poker skills.

Now you can get more from your play by “unlocking The Vault” with Global Poker’s 30 percent ring game giveback promotion. The Vault, as it is known, is a feature that awards a bonus to ring game players every time they play a qualifying hand.

There are no hoops to jump through. You don’t have to do anything to qualify other than play your favorite games. The site will automatically assign the accrued bonus to your personal online Vault during play.

While cash game players are certainly appreciating The Vault, Global Poker hasn’t forgotten about tournament players and continues to offer some of the best online event series available.

Play Gold Coin poker games for fun or play Sweeps Coins games for a chance to win. There’s no better place to learn and play poker online. Global Poker is where poker champions are born, and you could be next. ♠

Las Vegas Grand Prix Quick Facts

• The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the 1,100th contest in Formula One history, officially starting back in 1950.
• This is the first race in Las Vegas since 1982, which took place at Caesars Palace.
• The track measures 3.85 miles (6.2 kilometers), and between 40-50 feet wide.
• Each driver must complete 50 laps for a total of 192.6 miles.
• Every car can go from 0 to 99 mph, and then back to 0 in less than five seconds.
• A pit stop lasts between two and three seconds.
• Tires are changed once or twice per race, depending on the track.
• All races will take place at night, with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, and the final on Sunday.
• Lewis Hamilton is the current record holder with 103 Formula One wins.