PokerStars has announced that future NFL Hall of Famer Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski and sports media personality Nick Wright will compete in the next season of the “Big Game on Tour” poker show.
Key Highlights
- In the “Big Game,” one amateur “loose cannon” competes against five pros.
- The loose cannon keeps any profit above the $50,000 buy-in paid by PokerStars.
- Gronkowski has missed field goals in FanDuel promos over the last two years.
- Wright lost to Phil Hellmuth on High Stakes Duel III in a 281-hand contest.
Quick Promo With FanDuel
To promote the show, FanDuel, owned by PokerStars’ parent company Flutter Entertainment, and for which Gronkowski is a spokesman, is running special fantasy football contests during the first two weeks of the NFL season that will award two participants North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Gold Passes.
Just like on the football field, I’ll be bringing my competitive edge and giving it everything I’ve got at the tables.
Rob Gronkowski – Former NFL Player
The passes allow the winners to skip the qualification portion of the “Big Game on Tour” and advance directly to the audition round.
“I’m always up for a challenge, and diving into the world of poker is going to be an amazing new adventure for me,” Gronk said in PokerStars’ press release.
“Just like on the football field, I’ll be bringing my competitive edge and giving it everything I’ve got at the tables.”
Wright said that his grandfather taught him how to play poker and that “Big Game” is one of his favorite poker shows. He added, “This is a bucket list moment for me, and I’m beyond excited to get to Vegas and get the cards in the air!”
Loose Cannon Versus Pros
“Big Game” debuted in 2010 but ceased operation in 2011 after the US Department of Justice shut down online poker in the country on April 15, 2011, a day known in the poker world as “Black Friday.”
In the $100,000 buy-in, 150-hand cash game, one amateur player called the “loose cannon” took on five poker pros (or very skilled amateurs).
PokerStars paid the loose cannon’s buy-in, though the other players paid their own way. After the 150 hands, the loose cannon kept any profit they made.
The show was revived this year, its name slightly changed to “Big Game on Tour” to better reflect its partnership with the NAPT. The buy-in was also reduced to $50,000.
Prospective loose cannons play in a free shootout poker tournament at an NAPT stop, with the winner of each table moving on to the audition round. For the first season, which began airing on PokerStars’ YouTube channel in May 2024, 20 players made it to the auditions.
From there, they went through a series of interviews to determine the two loose cannons.
Nikki Limo, the loose cannon for the first part of the season, busted out in the final episode, while Lily Newhouse booked a $55,800 profit in part two.
Good Thing Gronk Was a Tight End
Both celebrities announced on Thursday have experience in the gambling world. As mentioned, Rob Gronkowski is a pitchman for FanDuel. He has also been the center of a FanDuel Super Bowl promotion the last two years called “Kick of Destiny.”
In 2023, FanDuel customers who bet at least $5 on the Super Bowl would win a share of $10 million in free bets if Gronk made a 25-yard field goal during halftime.
In a rather strange feeling 30-second spot in a remote location away from the Super Bowl, Gronk missed the field goal, hooking it dramatically outside the left upright.
With fireworks going off, some people in attendance lamenting the miss, and others cheering, FanDuel announced that everyone was receiving bonus bets, anyway.
Gronk tried again during this past Super Bowl and again missed. The promo was slightly different this time, as FanDuel customers did not have to place a bet and could just choose whether they thought he would make or miss the kick.
Wright Knows His Way Around the Felt
Unlike Gronkowski, Nick Wright is an avid poker player and is not shy about playing for high stakes. He appeared on PokerGO’s “No Gamble, No Future” podcast twice in 2021.
It was in that second appearance that he announced he would take on 17-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth on PokerGO’s “High Stakes Duel III.”
An amateur against one of the best poker players of all time should have made for a quick match, but Wright acquitted himself well.
He used an unpredictable style of play to get out to a 2-to-1 chip lead, leading Hellmuth to say, “He had me dazed and confused and frustrated.”
But Hellmuth chipped away and finally, on the 281st hand of the $50,000 buy-in match, finished off Wright with a flush over flush.
Sources
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/aria-manager-accused-of-stealing-more-than-773k-from-strip-hotel-2900967/
https://www.fanduel.com/rob-gronkowski-kick-of-destiny
https://www.pokernewsdaily.com/phil-hellmuth-continues-heads-up-rampage-defeats-nick-wright-in-high-stakes-duel-iii-34665/
