The Venetian Las Vegas has announced that the casino’s Sands Poker Room has signed an ambassador deal with poker pro Annette Obrestad, a poker pro famous for launching an online poker career while only 15 years old.
Now 27, Obrestad reportedly recently played her first game in the poker room as an ambassador after the deal was announced on the poker room’s—and her—Twitter feeds.
Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson, who also controls the Venetian, has been waging a self-funded war on online gaming in the U.S., often pointing to the threat of underage gamblers getting access to the sites as a major reason to ban them. Adelson’s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling is a principal force in pushing for the Restoration of America’s Wire Act in Congress, which would ban online gambling in the U.S.
The irony of one of his casinos hiring a player best known for her underage gambling has not been lost on many in the poker world.
Rumors of the deal started when Obrestad tweeted “Have a pretty exciting announcement (for me anyway) coming up…Stay tuned.” That was followed by a tweet from the Venetian Poker Room reading “We are pleased to announce Annette Obrestad as ambassador of the Sands Poker Room. Welcome to the team!” along with her official “team” photo.
Obrestad is known for starting her career at 15 years old by playing online freerolls. Between September 2006 and February 2007, she reportedly won over $830,000 on online sites. She is also known for winning the inaugural World Series of Poker Main Event in 2007, a day before turning 19.
Obrestad had previously signed sponsorship deals with Full Tilt Poker—which was soon shut down in the U.S.—and Lock Poker, which has also since shut down.
