Rafael Nadal Joins Hands with PokerStars
PokerStars, a world leading online poker room has made progress in attaining yet another champion to add to their brood. This new recruit is a champion of a different kind, a sportsman and a star player. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, former World No. 1 in the tennis circuit, has decided to bring his sportsmanship and his perfection to yet another game. A different platform entirely, poker is a virtual war of wit and strategy; and Nadal has chosen to hone his poker skills at PokerStars.
The tennis pro Nadal is currently World No. 2 in the ATP rank, right behind the well known tennis star Djokovic. Having recently won this year’s French Open in Paris, the Tennis superstar is looking forward to his time with PokerStars. This year’s French Open title earned him his 11thGrand Slam title and the seventh championship in eight years. His current career earnings exceed $50 million on court, while he earns the rest endorsing big brands such as Armani, Kia, Lanvin and other brands like Nike. Nadal also has an Olympic Gold medal among his other major ATP titles with a fan following in millions.
On announcing his newest decision on joining PokerStars, Nadal stated, “When I discovered the game of poker, I chose to join PokerStars because they understand what it takes to be the best and associate themselves with the qualities of champions. I’m very happy to be working with them.”
PokerStars’ decision to sign Nadal could not have come at a better time. The decision came in two weeks after Spain’s new take on online poker market. As the country opens its doors to a government-regulated flow of online poker, PokerStars has used its Spanish connection to earn a significant market share in Spain’s emerging poker market. PokerStars’ Spanish site – PokerStars.es was launched on June 5th and has since ranked No.8 worldwide in their online poker traffic. The result was based on PokerScout.com’s research on the global poker traffic. In just two weeks, PokerStars.es has managed to hold down its closest competitor 888poker.es in a 3-to-1 ratio, an impressive count for a two-week old site.
PokerStars hopes to rein in more popularity with the help of its newest member Nadal, whom they hope will boost the company’s virtual popularity among Spaniards. Mark Scheinberg, Chairman of the Board at PokerStars said, “Rafa Nadal represents all that is great about competition – the mix of talent, intellect, dedication and mental strength that you find in champions in every sport. We are proud to have Rafa as an ambassador for the brand and excited at the opportunity to help him enjoy and improve his game.”
This is certainly not PokerStars first decision to rope in professional athletes. The company has previously signed various sports stars from across the globe that include the likes of Boris Becker, one of the best known names in tennis history,
Team PokerStars is ecstatic over their new addition. Rafael Nadal joins other great names from the sports industries who are promoting poker like Juan Manuel Pastor and Ana Marquez on the team.
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