Looking for WSOP Sponsors (NOT mooching for buy in)?

Question

A friend of mine has won his way into the WSOP Main Event through his local poker club. Some of the poker sites (i.e. Pokerstars) will pay you a sponsorship fee if you wear their gear (hat and t-shirt) and make a TV appearance or make the final table.

I'm looking around for companies that will offer similar deals, where they will pay him if and only if he has a hand (or multiple hands) that appear on television. They do not need to be of the same value as the Pokerstars deal (they give you $1,000,000 if you make the final table) but they need to be substantial enough to make it worth his while.

Any constructive information would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Since there would be conditions on the sponsorship the best advice I can give you is to find a good contract lawyer to draw up the bare bones of the sponsorship deal before you contact anyone.  Be sure to include any provisions that you are not willing to compromise on.  Then start contacting companies that you think might be interested, like poker sites, Nike, local casinos, whatever!  Use your imagination.  I've actually floated the idea to my local Libertarian party of having a tournament and sending the winner to the Main Event with the stipulation that he or she has to wear LP gear and discuss the party platform any time the opportunity arises.  Another option would be to hire a management company to find the best deal.  These are the guys who basically act as agents for singers, athletes, etc.  They'd take a cut of your contract, but it's in their best interest to get the best deal possible.  Just Google talent agents in your city to get started.  I've included a link to a talent agent network that focuses on entertainment, which is exactly the kind of contract you'd be looking at.  That's how I'd do it, personally.

Answer 2

you ever seen people with tape covering up a logo on there hat? thats because the sponsoring companys aint given up no free advertisement....try another angle.............

Answer 3

I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to when the sponsor's logo/clothing must be seen on TV in order to become fully sponsored.  Sites like PokerStars have satellites to the WSOP and other large poker events for a lower cost than the entry fee.  Satellite participants online can pay anywhere from a dollar to a several hundred dollars for a chance to win seats for a lower cost to these main events.  In many cases, players can use rewards points to enter satellites.  

The amount you buy in for is usually determines how many super (sub) satellites and regular satellites you must win/place in to win a seat.

Also, you are technically not "winning" a seat.  The bogus UIGEA prompted the WSOP officials to independently ban seats won from gambling sites.  Instead, you are actually credited with the cash equivalent to a tourney buy-in  (and in some cases, and extra grand or two for travel expenses) into your player account.  It is then up to you to decide if you want to use that money to buy in the WSOP or not, and the method of withdrawal is also left for you to decide.  Keep in mind that NO poker site has an affiliation with the WSOP, they just offer the cost-equivalent to tourney buy-ins to satellite winners.