The World Poker Tour (WPT) made a huge splash on the heels of Season XX by adding talented American DJ Steve Aoki as a brand ambassador.
Aoki, 44, has over 8.2 million Twitter followers and is a regular performer in the hottest nightclubs in Las Vegas and all around the world. He gives the WPT a mainstream celebrity name representing the brand, potentially bringing in a new audience to the popular poker tour.
“It’s such an honor to be joining the WPT family. I have watched and admired the WPT for many, many years and to now be part of the WPT family; it feels so surreal and I am incredibly grateful,” Aoki said in a press release.
Aoki is an avid poker player who has often competed in Hollywood games against his celebrity friends such as Dan Bilzerian, a social media icon and GGPoker ambassador. Last year, Aoki competed in a few episodes of Poker After Dark on PokerGO along with Bilzerian.
Adding Star Power to the World Poker Tour
According to a press release, Aoki's role will be to help raise brand awareness for the World Poker Tour, a task that shouldn't be much of a problem given his already massive social media audience. The new WPT ambassador is a respected musician and record producer. He's currently touring the country with his next stop in Chicago at the TAO Chicago nightclub on Friday.
The popular DJ is the son of Rocky Aoki, a restaurateur who founded the Japanese cuisine restaurant chain Benihana. Steve Aoki's partnership with the WPT will include an invite-only charity poker event in mid-2022 benefiting the Aoki Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for brain science and research. Details of the event haven't yet been made available.
The World Poker Tour will kickoff its 20th season January 21 in Hollywood, Florida with the $3,500 buy-in Lucky Hearts Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. A complete schedule for the first half of Season XX events were released earlier this week, but the WPT informed PokerNews that additional tournaments could be added at a later date.
Aoki has an extensive history of playing poker beyond his appearance on Poker After Dark. And he isn't the first high-profile celebrity to rep a major poker tour. Actor and comedian Vince Vaughn announced "Shuffle Up and Deal" to start the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table and will serve as Master of Ceremonies for this year's WSOP when it moves to Bally's and Paris on the Las Vegas Strip.
