The world’s largest online poker room just got a little bigger. PokerStars has signed “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander to become its newest ambassador. He’ll join National Hockey League (NHL) legend Mats Sundin, Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker, and former Cy Young Award winning pitcher Orel Hershiser as faces of the site.
Alexander is represented by Poker Royalty, a major management company. In a release recently distributed by Poker Royalty, Alexander stated, “PokerStars has very graciously asked me to sign on as one of their official players. I am very flattered and happy to be playing for a real quality site and with the kind of professionals that remind me every day how truly mediocre I am at this game, but I’m learning. Now, I can learn from some of the best.” His poker talents have led him to finish 10th in the $5,000 buy-in Ante Up for Africa charity tournament held during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Daniel Shak, the husband of Beth Shak, ultimately emerged triumphant in that event, where money raised benefited the charity fronted by Annie Duke and Don Cheadle.
Most poker players associate Alexander with television’s “Seinfeld;” however, he broke into the mainstream world in 1989, when he was presented a Tony Award for his performance in the play “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.”. Shortly thereafter, the character George Costanza was born. In May of 1998, “Seinfeld” came to an end after nine seasons and is now available in syndication around the world.
On Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” Alexander put his poker skills to the test. He defeated a table that included “Resurrection Blvd.” actor Nicholas Gonzalez, “The West Wing” actress Allison Janney, former “Saturday Night Live” star Chris Kattan, and “The Brady Bunch” personality Mary McCormack. At the championship table, Alexander fell to Brad Garrett heads-up. He has been featured prominently on ESPN during recent WSOP Main Event runs.
In 2008, Alexander appeared on NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, facing off against Huck Seed in the first round. Seed defeated the decorated actor before losing to Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch in the semi-finals. In the finals of the 2008 event, Bloch squared off against Chris Ferguson, who emerged victorious two games to one. Poker Royalty also states that Alexander will appear on NBC’s other marquee poker television show, “Poker After Dark.”
Sundin is currently a member of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team in the NHL. As of the time of writing, he has two goals and one assist during the current season and his most recent netter came on January 18th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Becker won Wimbledon, tennis’ marquee tournament series held in London, at the age of 17. He recently participated in a Battleship Poker promotion on PokerStars at the site’s Caribbean Adventure in The Bahamas. Hershiser won the National League’s Cy Young Award in 1988 and was named World Series Most Valuable Player during the same year. He is now a baseball analyst for ESPN, the television outlet for the World Series of Poker.
Alexander will play on PokerStars under the screen name “J. Alexander.” The online poker room’s personalities include several past WSOP Main Event Champions: 2003 winner Chris Moneymaker, 2004 winner Greg Raymer, and 2005 champion Joe Hachem. Other members of Team PokerStars Pro include Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Steven Paul-Ambrose, Vanessa Rousso, Victor Ramdin, Humberto Brenes, Hevad Khan, and 2008 WSOP November Nine members Ylon Scwartz and Dennis Phillips.
Poker Royalty’s cast of poker pros includes Erick Lindgren, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and Carlos Mortensen. The agency is based in Las Vegas and managed many of the post-WSOP interviews for 2008 Main Event winner Peter Eastgate.
