Usain Bolt is the New PokerStars Star
The world’s fastest sprinter has decided to join the online poker site, Poker Stars and to become a brand ambassador for the poker giant. He will participate in marketing campaigns and make public appearances in order to attract new players to the site.
PokerStars has most recently confirmed it will not end the practice of adding world famous athletes to their branding team and the addition of Usain Bolt is just the latest confirmation. Bolt’s arrival is also another validation of the company’s stature in the competitive online poker industry.
The Jamaican sprinter is the first athlete in the world to hold the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay records. The most successful World Championships athlete, having won consecutive races in all three categories from 2009 to 2015, will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and since he is heading into his retirement years has decided to put his strength to other interests.
He announced that he signed for the world’s most popular online poker room by posting a video on his Facebook and Twitter account on 8 June saying his goal was to promote the game around the world.
Sportsmen like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker, and Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima are already brand ambassadors for PokerStars.
The most recent addition to the celebrity side is comedian Kevin Hart who joined the team in May because he wanted to make poker fun again. Hart welcomed Bolt with the words “he would bring speed and smarts to poker”.
Eight-time Olympic gold winner, set to retire from professional competition this summer, will give his best to promote the game of poker to an international audience through live promotional campaigns.
“PokerStars is a winner and I’m happy to join Kevin in helping to bring poker and PokerStars to the masses. 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.”
Eric Hollreiser, the Vice President of PokerStars Corporate Communications welcomed the signing of Bolt and is certain he will take the game to a whole new level.
“Usain Bolt is a fierce competitor who pushes his game to the limits,” Hollreiser said. “But he’s also one of the most-liked athletes in the world. His strong global following and winning personality will help us to introduce poker in a fun, social and fast way.”
