Victor Ramdin and PokerStars: The End of a Long Road

Victor Ramdin has parted company with PokerStars following 12 years representing the site as a sponsored ambassador. News of the Guyanan’s departure was made just prior to the start of this year’s World Series of Poker, which was seen as a necessary move in order to preempt any confusion created by his lack of an official PokerStars patch in Las Vegas.

12 Great Years

Interestingly, the news was not announced by either PokerStars or Ramdin, but via Kevin Mathers twitter account, the Community Manager at PocketFives. Ramdin subsequently confirmed the development on the very same social media account, and in his message highlighted the hardworking and fruitful relationship he has enjoyed with the world’s biggest poker site over the years, stating that he has proudly flown their flag at 12 WSOP Main Events, as well as at the European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour, and many more.

Ramdin also took the opportunity to thank his previous sponsor for all the support and charitable deeds which they had contributed to over the past decade or so, stating:

“PokerStars gave a lot back to me. They featured me at events and gave me great exposure on their blog. They were a major contributor to my favorite charities, including giving a lot of support to my medical outreach efforts in my birth country of Guyana. And overall, they made me proud to be part of a team of generous, smart, talented professionals who love their jobs.”

Career Highlights

Originally born in Guyana, Annand “Victor” Ramdin relocated to The Bronx in New York, before taking up the game of poker in 2002, helped along in his endeavors by his good friend Phil Ivey. In 2006, he then won his biggest score to date after taking down the WPT Foxwoods for $1,331,889, and as of today boasts $4,369,537 in career earnings. Ramdin can currently be seen in action at the 2018 WSOP in Las Vegas.

Why The Departure?

Despite living in the United States, Ramdin even managed to maintain his close sponsorship relationship with PokerStars post-Black Friday, although it will have become increasingly difficult to achieve in a meaningful way over the past few years. In January of 2018, Ramdin then indicated that he was playing a little less poker than in the past, stating that he was “trying to get away from technology for a bit”, and in a lighthearted reference to the spate of pros being released by his sponsored site, also said “if PokerStars comes by, tell them I’m not home.”

Following his departure, Ramdin said that he would continuing competing at tournaments across the globe, as well as supporting various charities, and also running a pizzeria using management staff.

PokerStars Changing Roster

Victor Ramdin was one of the longest lasting sponsored pros at PokerStars, but has now suffered the fate of a number of other players whose contract was not renewed this year, including the likes of Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier, Felipe Ramos, and Bertrand Grospellier. There are still a handful of longtime pros still remaining at the site, though, such as Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, Barry Greenstein, Liv Boeree, Andre Akkari and Fatima Moreira de Melo.

Nevertheless, PokerStars has shifted its focus away from just sponsoring talented players to those who are also entertaining, represent growing markets, enjoy strong social media followings, or stream live sessions across platforms such as twitch. According to PokerStars VP of Player Relations Eric Hollreiser, this is necessary in order to keep the game “fresh and exciting” and attract new players to the site, with recent additions fitting the bill including Muskan Sethi, Jeff Gross, Jaime Staples, Benjamin Spragg and Fintan Hand.