Two more recognizable players joined the GGPoker stable of ambassadors on Tuesday. The site announced the addition of Jeff Gross and Ali Nejad to the team during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Both will represent the online poker site in live and online events. The company has officially dubbed Gross as the “voice of GGPoker” and Nejad as “GGPoker media ambassador.”
Their primary focus will be to create new content to engage with new communities of players and help grow the game, the company noted in announcing their signings.
“GGPoker is the world’s biggest online poker room, but that doesn’t mean we’re not focused on growing even bigger,” GG ambassador Daniel Negreanu said in a news release. “Adding two of poker’s best contest-creating personalities to the GGTeam means we’ll better entertain our existing customers while broadening the game to reach new ones.”
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A growing roster at GGPoker
Gross and Nejad add to a growing list of poker ambassadors at GG. They join some of the biggest names in poker representing the brand including Negreanu, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jason Koon, and Fedor Holz.
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gross currently divides his time between Miami, Florida, Las Vegas, and Brazil. He first played poker at age 14 and boasts over $5 million in career tournament earnings. His poker record includes making seven WSOP final tables.
Gross is an avid podcaster and streamer, and engages with his large community across multiple social media platforms. GG hopes to harness some of that following and Gross’s creativity.
“I am thrilled to be joining GGPoker,” Gross said. “It’s an amazing time right now for poker and GG is leading the way. I am looking forward to being a brand ambassador as well as hosting the best tournament on the Internet, the weekly $10,300 Super MILLION$, with final tables broadcast every Tuesday.”
Nejad, a native of California, is one of the best-known broadcasters in poker. He has lent his insight to shows like NBC’s Poker After Dark and National Heads-Up Poker Championship, ESPN’s World Series of Poker coverage, The Ultimate Poker Challenge, and World Poker Tour broadcasts.
More recently, Nejad hosted the Triton Super High Roller broadcasts, both commentating and interviewing players away from the table. The signing added to an already-busy WSOP on Tuesday and drew some headlines for the WSOP partner.
Dan Bilzerian exits GGTeam
While GGPoker added two well-known poker personalities, the site also lost another brand ambassador recently. The so-called “king of Instagram” Dan Bilzerian signed with the company in February 2020.
His treatment of women in his social media posts immediately created some controversy within the poker world. The high stakes cash game player shook off any criticism and GG stood by the signing.
On a recent episode of the No Jumper podcast, Bilzerian outlined some disagreements he had with the site. He also criticized many in the poker world, especially singling out Phil Hellmuth and Doug Polk.
“Most poker players are fucking nerds,” Bilzerian said on the show. “I don’t really hang out with that many of them. I don’t really want to associate with them. I shut most of them out of my fucking games. I never really let pros in.”
Bilzerian’s exit brings to a close an interesting chapter in the world of online poker. The signing of Gross and Nejad may provide less controversy for GG. Both are well regarded among many players in the poker community.