Usain Bolt: Poker Is 'Fun, Social And Competitive'PokerStars Signs Sprinter To Sponsorship Deal |
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The fastest man on the planet will be enjoying some poker in his retirement.
Usain Bolt, winner of eight Olympic Gold Medals, is joining PokerStars as a sponsored player, the company announced Thursday. Bolt will represent PokerStars in marketing campaigns and live appearances geared toward introducing new audiences to poker.
“PokerStars is a winner and I’m happy to join Kevin [Hart] in helping to bring poker and PokerStars to the masses,” Bolt said in a statement. “It’s a challenging game that’s fun, social and competitive so I’m pleased to be able to introduce it to my fans and to people around the world.”
Bolt’s signing follows comedian Kevin Hart joining the team.
Athletes who formerly represented PokerStars include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr and Rafael Nadal. The site currently sponsors about two dozen players.
The Bolt and Hart signings come at a noteworthy time for PokerStars as a company.
Poker revenue for the world’s leading online poker platform was $218.7 million during the first quarter of 2017, the first rake increase for the site in three quarters.
Amaya, parent company of PokerStars, announced in its Q1 earnings report that poker revenue grew 1.1 percent compared to Q1 of 2016.
PokerStars has some 70 percent of the worldwide online poker market.
Poker made up 69 percent of total online gaming revenue of $317.3 million in the first quarter, down from 75 percent the year prior. The other online casino games and sports betting accounted for 27 percent of total revenue, compared to 21 percent in Q1 2016.
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