PartyPoker Signs Isaac Haxton to Endorsement Deal
PartyPoker’s resurgence among the ranks of online poker sites continues this week with the signing of another prominent pro, Isaac Haxton, to its Team PartyPoker lineup.
Haxton, popularly known as Ike, has been one of the most dominant poker pros in the world over the last decade, with major successes both live and online. Adding Haxton to its Team PartyPoker lineup gives the regrowing site another big name; since September, Team PartyPoker has added Haxton, Jason Koon, Martin Jacobsen, Joni Jouhkimainen, Fedor Holz, and Kristen Bicknell to its roster.
Team PartyPoker was already in good shape, having signed many up stars of the game, young and old alike, in recent years. The lineup of endorsed pros now also includes the venerable Mike Sexton, along with Roberto Romanello, Marcel Luske, Dzmitry Urbanovich, Sam Trickett, Johnny Lodden, retired tennis star Boris Becker, Padraig Parkinson, and many others. The signing of Haxton swells Team PartyPoker to 20 poker-playing brand representatives.
Among them, Haxton will rank as one of the most prominent. He’s logged over $15 million in live-tournament earnings, ranking 22nd all time, in addition to a largely untracked “millions more” online, and he’s a regular participant at the largest worldwide events. The native of upstate New York has grown far beyond his early years as a childhood chess and Magic: The Gathering player, and he became a full-time pro after achieving his first major scores while in college over a decade ago.
According to an announcement on the official partypoker blog, the outspoken Haxton is expected to “facilitate open and effective communication channels between partypoker and the players.” It’s also not the first go-round with a major site for Ike, who formerly held a similar role with global market leader PokerStars. Haxton, though, left that site in early 2016 amid a wave of growing consumer discontent toward that site expressed by a large number of its veteran, high-volume players.
According to Party, Haxton is expected to make his patched-up debut at the upcoming MILLIONS Grand Final in Barcelona.
Said Ike, “I am very excited to be joining the partypoker team. I’ve been very impressed with their growth over the last year or so. From expanding their online cash game and tournament offerings, to improving their software, and most of all rolling out their ambitious and innovative live events program, their commitment to growing the game and providing a great product for their players has been clear. I’m truly proud to represent the company, which I believe is going to be the future of poker, online and live.”
Partypoker Managing Director Tom Waters also commented on Haxton’s signing, saying, “We are delighted that Isaac is joining us at partypoker. Isaac’s profile and experience makes him a perfect ambassador for the company. Over the years he has also demonstrated a real commitment to principles and will play a key role in helping us meet and exceed player expectations. We are in the process of building a poker site for the players and Isaac will be instrumental in helping us to achieve our goals.”
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