COVID-19 sneaked up on live poker, and slit its throat from ear-to-ear. Everyone connected to that ‘work’ is currently stuck like toffee, clueless as to when the next “Shuffle up and Deal” will fly from a mask-free mouth.
In contrast, online poker is experiencing a surge, but given the restrictions in so many countries, it’s only going to benefit a portion of the poker community. It’s not as if a US citizen can hop on a flight to Mexico and Canada to grind out a few daisy chains.
So, it was nice to learn that Rob Yong had convinced Kevin Hart to sign-up as the latest global ambassador for partypoker. Poker needs and IV drip right, now, and Hart’s veins will do nicely. The man is infectious, and he loves poker.
It’s not Hart’s first rodeo.
In 2017, Hart surprised the world by turning up at the Bahamas to compete in the $100,000 Super High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), and a snort of snuff later, Hart had become a PokerStars Ambassador.
Hart wasn’t the first mega-star to represent PokerStars.
Rafael Nadal.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar Jr.
All three signed-up did a bit of this and that before leaving in stealth mode. Hart’s roles and responsibility statement involved a social media marketing campaign with Usain Bolt, and a few PokerStars live events, and just like that – poof, Hart left.
Hart may have left PokerStars, but he never left poker. The word on the street is that Hart is a regular in the private cash games in Los Angeles, rubbing elbows with some of poker’s live cash games geniuses, and that’s where he would have met Rob Yong.
Yong announced the signing via a video of Hart celebrating the partnership on Twitter. The associated press release said that Hart and Yong had been friends for years, likely trading blows across the felts of some of the biggest games in the world.
Games that you and me, don’t see.
It’s not the first time that partypoker has thrown a contract at a global superstar in a bid to gain more mainstream attention. Boris Becker wore the patch for a while and reshaped their entire multi-table tournament (MTT) branding around Carl Froch.
From an exposure point of view, Becker and Froch are gravy, but Hart is a Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings.
Yong called Hart, “the highest stakes amateur player in the world,” so the timing of the signing is perfect in the wake of Yong’s partnership with the Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT).
Super High Rollers.
Super High Roller Bowls.
Yong has bigger plans for Hart.
Once this pandemic is over, I imagine Yong wheeling Hart out at a $25 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Freezeout at an APAT event somewhere in Rochdale.
Oh yeah, the pandemic.
Kevin Hart is rarely upstaged, but when it comes to helping the general public pick poker’s lock, COVID-19 has a headstart.
Hart may have 36.3m followers on Twitter, but COVID-19 has attracted the eyeballs of anyone within range of radio, idiot box or Internet connection.
“Expect the world of poker to get a lot more fun. Expect it to get real.” Said Hart.
We need that fun, Kevin, we do.
Let’s hope that through all the noise of death, masks and mucus the people notice.