Managing Editor
Daniel Negreanu, poker’s most visible living celebrity, has signed on as an ambassador to Kalshi, the foremost legal predictions market in the U.S. The first step of the new partnership will be to give away a package for the upcoming WSOP Paradise in December.
That promotion also makes clear that the new ambassadorship will harmonize with Negreanu’s current role as the public face of GGPoker. That international poker operator bought the World Series of Poker from former owner Caesars last year.
The package includes:
- $26,000 Super Main Event entry including bubble protection
- Nine nights at the Atlantis Royal
- Player’s lounge access
- GGPoker Paradise-branded merch
Only new Kalshi users will be eligible, using Negreanu’s nickname “DNEGS” as their signup code. He said:
I’m incredibly excited to partner with Kalshi. I’ve been playing with the various markets on there for months and it’s truly been a blast!
For its part, Kalshi has been securing some interesting deals since the explosion of predictions “betting” in the U.S. Aside from Negreanu, its eclectic lineup of partners includes comedian Tim Dillon, the stock trading app Robinhood, and Elon Musk’s xAI.
The goal, it seems, is to make event contracts mainstream. These once-obscure financial derivatives have become a booming alternative to traditional betting, thanks to a newly lenient stance by federal regulators.
Each partnership seems geared toward a different segment of potential users. Dillion will make the product less intimidating to the average American. Robinhood’s involvement will facilitate crossover from retail investors. The integration with X’s Grok AI will make it easily accessible to tech-savvy social media users.
As for “Kid Poker,” his involvement cements the natural connection between the predictions and poker industries, a recurring topic here at PokerScout.
Why a Poker Pro for a Kalshi Ambassador?
If there’s one thing poker players like almost as much as poker, it’s prop betting. Whether it’s Trump’s chances against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, or Shaun Deeb losing weight, if there’s a debate happening among poker players, there is probably money getting placed on it.
Predictions markets are just that, but facilitated among strangers by a third-party market platform like Kalshi. No need to establish the other person’s reputation, ask a friend to escrow, or haggle over terms on social media. If you think you know better than other people, getting money down on the proposition is easier than it has ever been.
Meanwhile, making money in poker is hard these days, as many recreational players have moved on, and advanced solvers increase the amount of study required to be a winning player. Predictions betting is similarly skill-based, yet much of the userbase is still new to it. Many markets have low liquidity and could be priced far from optimally. Edges abound for someone with a head for probabilities and better-than-average awareness of politics and business news.
Negreanu also holds special status as an ambassador, in that having him on board has been an indicator of being number one in the poker world. He represented PokerStars for many years, and his departure for GGPoker coincided with the former relinquishing its crown for the latter. By signing him, Kalshi signals to poker players that it intends to remain the dominant force in US predictions even as the competition begins to arrive.
