Now he would be good to share a table with

[Colchester Kev]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/hampshire/7191384.stm

[kinboshi]

Imagine the rub-downs!!

[George2Loose]

He's playing in Aussie Millions as we type!

[ripple11]

I was lucky to share a table with him last year,....at a cricket benefit event at the Sportsman/London.

As a big cricket and Hampshire fan it was a hugely enjoyable night!

[lazaroonie]

not being funny, but who the hell is he to get a poker sponsorship ? There are probably 100 players on this forum alone who could wipe the floor with him, who will never get a sniff of a buyin for a major event.

sickening.

[jizzemm]

not being funny, but who the hell is he to get a poker sponsorship ? There are probably 100 players on this forum alone who could wipe the floor with him, who will never get a sniff of a buyin for a major event.

sickening.

Thats they way they get good advertisment..... Sickening i agree..

[Ironside]

not being funny, but who the hell is he to get a poker sponsorship ? There are probably 100 players on this forum alone who could wipe the floor with him, who will never get a sniff of a buyin for a major event.

sickening.

he gets sposnored because he will get more press space that the player on this forum with no "celeb" status

[Colchester Kev]

not being funny, but who the hell is he to get a poker sponsorship ? There are probably 100 players on this forum alone who could wipe the floor with him, who will never get a sniff of a buyin for a major event.

sickening.

there are probably a million and one Laz, but unfortunately no one with a prayer of getting as much media coverage as Warne would command.

sponsoring decent players doesnt turn the press on, sponsoring a celeb does. 

In fact look at Michael "Bepe" Greco ... when he first started on the poker ladder he was absoloutely shite, and I know he knows that ... he got sponsored/backed in events and put a hell of a lot of time and effort into improving his game and becoming a decent player as he is today.  But the people who sponsored and backed him in the early days didnt do it for his poker ability, they did it for his publicity and media appeal.

who knows, maybe Warne will one day take down an EPT or a GUKPT .... but fact of life Number one is ... "It aint what ya know, its WHO ya know", and im afraid this is as prevalent in poker as it is in most other fields.

[Mango99]

not being funny, but who the hell is he to get a poker sponsorship ? There are probably 100 players on this forum alone who could wipe the floor with him, who will never get a sniff of a buyin for a major event.

sickening.

Aye, sad but true. It's all about publicity. Mansion have just signed Shannon Elizabeth. Have they signed her because she is a world class player (though admittedly she is a good player), or have they signed her 'cos she's an attractive Hollywood actress?

I'd consider signing someone who is going to guarantee a hell of a lot of publicity over someone who is a brilliant player.

[ripple11]

 There's a cricket/celeb tournament at the Empire Leicester Square on 26th November.

 Details to be confirmed, but i will post info nearer the time for anyone interested.

[boldie]

wow..people complain about Warne being sponsored..yet I've heard noone about Boris Becker now being a part of Team Pokerdonks.

[vegaslover]

I was more bothered by the fact Hampshire will let him pick and choose which matches he plays.
They should just play him against Sussex, 1st game of the season. The Sussex fans love old Warney, he would be banned by the end of the match then free to play poker...lol

[Grier78]

I think there are two markets for poker advertising, new to (online) poker and site switchers. There is no point in sponsoring the likes of Jullian Thew if you are going after the new to poker. These kind of people have only heard of the American players who are on TV a lot and maybe the Devilfish. So getting famous celeb types to play for you is well worth it even if they are rubbish (Matt Hughes from the UFC is sponsored by Full Tilt for gods sake).

For site switchers I think its more about awareness, but if your site isnt good then you wont keep switcher players for long. Generally I think that the perks/sattelites are more important than the Poker Players sponsored by the site.

[dazzaster]

Shane Warne is a sporting icon and big name so i suppose it keeps poker high profile, but don't you just get sick of all these so called celebs getting the opportunity to play in the big money TV tournies and getting sponsorship when they are clearly awful. (and I do mean awful)
Shannon Elizabeth is barely famous and a mediocre player at best, but she picks up sponsorship deals with ease. Full Tilt now I hear Mansion.
I haven't got a problem with these celebs advertising the game and getting paid for their services. But how many do we need?
BTW Yes it would be good to share a table with him because that would mean I would be playing in hugh tourny like the Aussie Millions and I'm sure my chances would be better than Shanes. But thats not happening anytime soon for the majority of us is it?

[owen1923]

who knows, maybe Warne will one day take down an EPT or a GUKPT .... but fact of life Number one is ... "It aint what ya know, its WHO ya know", and im afraid this is as prevalent in poker as it is in most other fields.
[/quote]

Not quite right Kev, its not who you know, its who knows you.

I think the warne thing will be good for poker, bringing the potentail for new players to follow his lead and have a go.  Do not underestimate the high regard this guy is held in, in the sporting world.

Sponsorship has never been about rewarding good players, it is just another form of advertising, and unfortunately most of the the good players do not have the media profile to appeal to the public as a whole.

When you do get a top player with a sponsorship deal this is designed to appeal to existing players, where as the likes of the warne deal is to get poker into the minds of the semi interested or none poker player.