The Latin American poker market has always been on the radar of PokerStars as the online poker giant has tried different marketing strategies over the years to expand its presence and strengthen its brand image.
PokerStars recently took advantage of its partnership with the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world – the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The UFC just concluded a massive pay-per-view card in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on May 11 when it hosted UFC237.
PokerStars announced the signing of three new poker ambassadors during the weigh-ins for UFC 237.
Bruce Buffer, the veteran voice of the Octagon who loves playing poker is one of those ambassadors. The UFC Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and rising UFC Lightheavyweight Brazilian star Johnny Walker have also been signed as brand ambassadors.
Buffer was especially honored since he is a lifelong poker fan and player. He was also part of several PokerStars events and the man who opened the inaugural PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championships (PSPC) in the Bahamas.
PokerStars Chief Marketing Officer Chris Coyne says that one can expect more UFC stars to sign up as brand ambassadors and join the promotions, events, and campaigns. PokerStars has signed a number of athletes and sportsmen in the past including Neymar Jr, Ronaldo, Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal.
The UFC has a massive fan following in the Latin American market and these new brand ambassadors will get a lot of attention for PokerStars.
Experiment With 6-Plus Hold’em
PokerStars is thinking of taking advantage of the popular Short-Deck format and riding this wave by announcing its own version called 6-Plus Hold’em. This format will be part of the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) as side events.
There will be multi-table tournaments featuring $22, $215 and $2,100 buy-ins when they debit on May 17. Plus, there will be an On-Demand Sit & Go format available at $2.50, $7 and $15 buy-ins later in the month.
This will be the first time an online operator has decided to run multi-table tournaments of this new format but many expect other operators to soon follow. PokerStars will have these games restricted to the dot-COM, dot-UK and dot-EU clients while it is still being experimented on. There are also rumours that other formats like Showtime and Fusion will make a comeback to multi-table tournaments within the year.