The latest sports star to take an interest in the game of poker is Formula One driver Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian speedster recently signed on to a sponsorship deal with PartyPoker.it, PartyPoker’s Italian site.
Fisichella, known to his fans as Fisi, gained notoriety in the poker world during the PartyPoker-sponsored Sports Challenge IV earlier this year. The tournament combined online qualifiers from PartyPoker with celebrities from the world of sports and put them in themed heats. Fisichella played in the “Racing” heat and impressed commentators and observers alike with his understanding of position and use of aggression. He ultimately lost to online qualifier and PartyPoker VIP player Scott O’Reilly, but his display of skill impressed PartyPoker enough to keep him in mind for a future sponsorship deal.
Apparently, Fisi has had a hard time getting poker off of his mind. As he explained in a statement to PartyPoker, he often turns to poker to pass the time while on the racing circuit: “Poker has become a very popular pastime in the paddock in recent months with many of the drivers. I have joined two new teams recently and am delighted to be in pole position as a new ambassador for PartyPoker.it!”
The other team Fisichella is referring to is Ferrari, which he signed a deal to race for in September of this year. The longtime driver has been affiliated with several other teams during his storied career, including Jordan, Minardi, Renault, Force India, and Benetton. The Roman got his start racing go-karts back in the mid-1980s, made a name for himself on several tours, and transitioned to the F1 circuit in 1996. He won his first F1 race when he took down the Brazil stop in 2003 and also has a 2005 victory in Australia to his credit.
Fisichella will now have to find time to fit poker into his busy schedule, serving as a spokesman for PartyPoker.it both online and at major live poker tournaments. The site is looking forward to having the driver onboard and a company spokesman commented on Fisi’s potential in the poker world: “Giancarlo is the fantastic new ambassador for PartyPoker.it. Many commentators have already said that they believe that he is on track to be one the best ‘celebrity’ players on the poker circuit.”
In celebration of Fisi joining the PartyPoker team, PartyPoker.it is hosting a series of freerolls with Fisichella-themed prizes. The daily freerolls will give out €500 in cash prizes as well as a specially designed F1 shirt autographed by Fisi. The free tournaments will run daily through the end of the month.
The promotion is exclusive to PartyPoker.it and cannot be accessed by PartyPoker.com customers. PartyPoker’s Italian-only poker site launched earlier this year and has already established itself as one of the most popular online poker sites in Italy. The country has gone back and forth on the issue of online gambling and, at one point, even outlawed online poker entirely. Italy passed new laws regulating and licensing online poker in 2008 and, ever since then, sites have had to create online poker rooms specific to Italy and only open to Italian customers.
Fisichella is the first sponsored player for the Italian site, but PartyPoker has been picking up new players from all over the world to be a part of its grassroots-based Team PartyPoker. Felipe “Mojave” Ramos, Remy Biechel, Ian Frazer, and Bodo Sbrzesny all joined the team this year and the site recently added 2009 Aussie Millions winner Stewart Scott to its list of sponsored pros.
