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Former Brazilian footballer Ronaldo is nearing on a year’s anniversary since making his television debut as an ambassador for PokerStars. The anniversary is sure to provoke some form of new campaign featuring the Brazilian, given his popularity in his homeland and given the reception since his debut advertisement; any new promotion will most certainly be eagerly anticipated.
The debut ad, which was originally screened in June 2013 and what was his first since signing with ‘Team PokerStars SportStars’, shows the Samba legend looking slick as he shows off some flicks and tricks with some poker chips, which you can see here.
The video shows an unidentified man playing with some casino chips, all the while displaying the deftness of touch Ronaldo once showed with his feet and a football to showcase some dazzling tricks in keeping the chips upon his fingers. There are three chips in play, likely to display the three World Cups that Ronaldo was involved in during his career that cemented his legacy as current all-time top goalscorer.
After a good 20 seconds of dazzling tricks the camera slowly pans up to reveal the Samba star, who looks exceptionally smart given he is no stranger to criticism about his image whilst playing football.
One of his more recent appearances for PokerStars saw him become the marquee attraction for a tournament, in which the winner earned themselves a trip to Brazil and a chance to hang out with the former Brazilian international.
The 37-year-old Samba legend penned a deal last year, in April 2013, with the popular online poker company and the move was said to be a clear indication that one of the world’s favourite casino experiences is spreading not only through various countries, but the world’s continents on the whole. The move was also said to be aimed on building on the card game’s popularity in the South American region.
The move to sign Ronaldo by PokerStars in 2013 was also likely related to Ronaldo signing up PokerStars pro Andre Akkari to his sports entertainment agency, 9ine, which also occurred last year.
Ronaldo’s ambassador duties have extended since joining the poker company, with the former footballer frequently featuring in both online and poker tournaments, while the promotional advert is just one of several featuring the Brazilian legend, with others featuring both him and fellow PokerStars ambassador, Rafael Nadal.
PokerStars has gained recognition over the years as one of the best poker sites
all the while using that credibility to sponsor several high profile poker tournaments that are showcased across the world, including the European
, the Asia-Pacific
and the Latin American
poker tours.
The company have even expanded onto the waters in recent years, as they began their PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
in 2004, which has since gone on to become the largest poker event outside of what is considered by most to be the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas.
The company expansion from PokerStars has also seen them opt to sponsor an elite team of poker players, which is known as ‘Team PokerStars Pro’ and consists of top players such as Christopher Moneymaker and Daniel Negreanu. Putting the ambassador signing of Ronaldo into context; Moneymaker and Negreanu are to poker what Ronaldo is to football in Brazil.
Ronaldo joined what was an already star-studded line-up on ‘Team PokerStars SportStars’ that consists of fellow former footballer and Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon, the aforementioned and current tennis pro, Rafael Nadal, former tennis champion Borris Becker and Swedish cross-country skier Marcus Hellner.
The former World Cup winner has the currently unbeaten record of scoring the most goals in World Cup history, with his tally standing on fifteen before he bowed out of football in retirement.
It is this record, along with several other accolades such as World Player of the Year awards that has earned him unfathomable recognition amongst the Brazilian public for his contributions to sport in his homeland.