PokerWorks

The PartyPoker roster of players continues to grow into a diverse representation of the global poker industry. The two newest members of the team, live poker pro Dragan Galic and Italian football star Francesco Totti, help create one of the most interesting groups of represented players in the industry.

PartyPoker slowly began rebuilding its roster back in May of 2009 with the announcement that Mike Sexton would rejoin the team as a sponsored player and spokesperson. Then it sped up the process, first with the January 2009 notice that Kara Scott was joining its team, not only as a player but as a hostess for some of its events like the PartyPoker Premier League, and second, only days later, with the addition of Tony G to the team and the acquisition of Tony G Poker assets. The team then consisted of those players and Stewart Scott, Ian Frazer, Remy Biechel, Felipe Ramos, and Bodo Sbrzensy.

And just as February came to a close, two more players were added. The first was a bit of a surprise, as well-known Italian football legend and Roma captain Francesco Totti was announced as an ambassador for PartyPoker in Italy. He will be playing poker online at the Italian PartyPoker.com website in the months ahead. He commented on the partnership: “I have faced many challenges in my career and I always apply myself with skill, intelligence, loyalty and passion. You need all of these abilities for poker and it is also a game that excites me and is a lot of fun. Thanks to PartyPoker.it, I am able to combine my passion for sport and the challenge of poker. The qualities you need to become a good poker player are very close to those of a sport.”

The second was Dragan Galic, a Croatian player who now lives in Germany and has nearly $1 million in live tournament winnings to his credit. His career began in 2008 but quickly took off as he made numerous final tables in European poker events, the most well known being a fifth place finish at the 2009 European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event and two 2009 World Series of Poker cashes. He is widely recognized as a strong up-and-coming player whose aggression is noted at the tables, as is his patience and serious tone. The 35-year old pro spoke of his PartyPoker affiliation: “After spending time with the other members of Team Party in Vegas [at the PartyPoker Premier League] I am delighted to join. PartyPoker.com was the very first site I played on so in many ways it feels like coming home. I find games suitable for me on there and am excited by the opportunities this sponsorship deal will offer.

In Galic’s first personal blog post on the PartyPoker blog, he spoke on a bit more of a personal level about his excitement. “I took my chance and flew to Las Vegas, did not qualify for the finals of the Premier League but came back with a top sponsor. This was one of the best moments in my short poker-life. I am very proud of now being a member of Team Party, a really cool & hot team. I have got to know most of them in Las Vegas. I think we will have a lot of fun in 2010.”

PartyPoker seems to be creating a well-rounded team of poker pros for its company, a team that represents various facets of the industry and different parts of the world, like Totti in Italy, Galic in Germany and Croatia, Scott in Canada and America, and Tony G in Lithuania and Australia. The emergence of PartyPoker back into a dominant role in online poker is evident.