If you have not heard or read the news, let me give you a quick recap. On February 9th, it was announced to the poker world that Foxwoods Resort Casino named me its official spokesperson for their World Poker Tour (WPT) branded poker room. I am extremely honored and privileged to be representing one of the best poker rooms in the world and the premier New England gaming destination.
I also want to thank everyone who has passed along their kind words and congratulations regarding my sponsorship deal with Foxwoods Resort Casino. I was very humbled to receive numerous e-mails, texts, and messages from the poker world, from Joe Hachem to Daniel Negreanu to Dennis Phillips to Joe Cada to Chris Moneymaker to Lee Childs to Matt Glantz, and many more. Moreover, I was very pleased to receive many kind words and comments from you, the fans, and I can’t thank you enough.
Foxwoods Resort Casino has always held a special place in my heart, which is all the more reason I am extremely pleased with this outcome. After its grand opening in 1992, I visited the Foxwoods poker room for the very first time. Ever since then, it has been a place of many firsts for me, which include:
1) My first poker tournament
2) My first satellite tournament win
3) My first large buy-in main event ($10,000 World Poker Finals in 2004)
4) My first poker title ($5,000 No Limit Hold’em event during the 2006 World Poker Finals)
Afterward, I captured two other titles at Foxwoods in the next two years, allowing me to win three titles at the World Poker Finals in three successive years (2006 to 2008). I won the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event in 2007 and the $600 modified No Limit Shootout in 2008. I almost made it four titles in four years in a row when I made the final table in the 2009 $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event. Unfortunately, I came up a little short, finishing disappointingly in ninth place.
Nevertheless, I have made eight final tables there, earning over $750,000. So, you can see why I consider it my home away from home. As I said in the press release, “If there is such a thing as home-court advantage in poker, for me it’s at Foxwoods.”
After the news was announced last month, many people were slightly confused and asked what this sponsorship agreement entails. The agreement is pretty straightforward, as it is analogous to an online poker room sponsorship agreement that we have all grown accustomed to over the past several years.
However, although online player sponsorship has previously been fairly commonplace, it has become increasing difficult to obtain such as deal, especially for Americans, since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIEGA) came into effect.
Now, Foxwoods becomes the first major casino to sign a player to a sponsorship agreement. Previously, other players have signed deals with smaller casinos: Scotty Nguyen with Cherokee Casino in Oklahoma and Michael Mizrachi with Planet Hollywood. Additionally, Daniel Negreanu signed an interesting, yet short-lived deal with the Wynn to play heads-up matches on its property.
Now, other casinos across the country may begin to take a closer look at their internal situations and possibly consider if there is sponsorship opportunity with a local recognizable player.
Overall, I believe that this agreement has opened up another avenue of player sponsorship in the world of poker. Within the next 18 months, I feel that there may be additional signings by casinos, especially in states that have smaller, regional competition. States such as Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan, Indiana, and Arizona are places where an agreement with a local player could be advantageous. For example, Florida has increased its tournament buy-in maximum to $1,000 and is looking at increasing it even further. With a plethora of top players coming from the Sunshine State like Jason Mercier, Jonathan Little, the Mizrachi brothers, Chad Brown, and Vanessa Rousso, the casinos would have several players to choose from.
I look forward to this signing to potentially becoming a trend. The next time that you are on the East Coast, come up and join me at the ‘Woods and experience “The Wonder of it All.”
Before I leave you this month, I want to thank my personal team, which made this agreement with Foxwoods Resort Casino possible. These members include my agent/business manager (Charlie Tillett), publicist (Jennifer Rosinski), and assistant/radio news manager (Steve Buchanan). Finally, thank you to my incredibly supportive wife and two wonderful children.
And as always, don’t forget to listen to my radio show, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which is now presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino on RoundersRadio.com every Tuesday night from 6:00pm to 7:00pm ET (please note the new time) and repeated throughout the week. Future guests will include 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, three-time WSOP bracelet winner Barry Greenstein, 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Champion Harrison Gimbel, and many others.
Bernard Lee is the official spokesperson of Foxwoods Resort Casino. Lee is the co-host of ESPN Inside Deal, a columnist for the ESPN.com, Sunday columnist for the Boston Herald, and author of “The Final Table, Volume I” and “Volume II.” Listen to “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino every Tuesday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on 1120 AM in Boston (MoneyMatterBoston.com) or RoundersRadio.com. For questions or comments, e-mail him at BernardLeePoker@hotmail.com.