When the life and career of Phil Ivey is viewed in retrospect, it’s likely that the poker legend’s status as a Poker Hall of Famer and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner sit high on the list of what makes him world famous. Synonymous with poker success he may be, but this week’s appearance in a World Poker Tour viral video promoting their forthcoming $1 for $1 million event means all anyone is talking about is Ivey’s iconic screen presence.
What’s the Video All About?
The promotion that is being spoken about during the video is the one dollar for one million tournament on WPT Global, which as the premise suggests, is more than a little off-the-charts in terms of value for money. The $1 For $1 Million tournament is already running and will continue to do so until over a million is given away by the final day of August 22nd.
With a mildly insane 18 opening flights, each flight is restricted to just 5,000 entrants, with each flight taking place on Wednesdays and Sundays until August 17th. With the top 13% of each flight heading to Day 2 on August 21st, just eight finalists will remain at the close of that day.
On the final day of the event the WPT Global site will play host to the finale, with all the action broadcast ‘as-live’ on the WPT Twitch channel. It’s sure to be an eye-catching final day of action, and if you’re not happy with scraping through a Day 1 flight with a micro-stack, you can always re-enter in order to try and pile up a chip mountain.
Ivey’s Starring Role
“OK boss, we’re all over it.”
Phil Ivey’s role in the video is that of a WPT Global customer service phone operator. Picking up a call at the start of the 30-second short, Ivey is incredulous with a caller who is asking about a ‘dollar for a million’ event. As the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner quips back: “No chance! Why would we do that?”
Turning to his nearest co-worker – Tony Dunst in a cameo role par excellence – Ivey asks why he keeps getting these kind of calls.
“One dollar for a million?” says Dunst. “Come on – no chance.”
At that moment, a ‘manager’ appears to check that Ivey and Dunst got the memo asking them to push the dollar for a million event.
“OK boss, we’re all over it.” Says Ivey.
“Been doing it all day!” quips Dunst and the two men lean back in their chairs in order to show ‘the boss’ that they’re co-operating in their roles as WPT Global phone drones.
The advert has had a really positive reaction from the poker industry who are just loving seeing Ivey taking part in the away from the felt side of the game. Greg Jennings called it the “first fun, creative poker ad since 2010.” Former Survivor Ronnie Bardah said it had “…a very similar feel to the ESPN fun commercials.” Both sum up the feelings of 99% of poker fans.
Does This Advert Make Ivey a WPT Ambassador?
If Ivey’s appearance in this advert wasn’t enough, he was even pictured wearing World Poker Tour merch at the 2022 WSOP. Ivey cashed for over $2 million at the 2022 World Series of Poker across nine events, finishing second in the 8-Max high Roller Event #42 for his biggest cash when he ended the event as runner-up to Latvian Aleks Ponakovs.
Ivey’s reputation in the game is always going to be stellar, but in recent months, he has taken a step back into the limelight in terms of playing live tournaments, including big-field MTTs, something that in 2015 or 2016 was practically unheard of.
Ivey’s star has been rising in televised appearances for some time, with brief cameos in cash games such as High Stakes Poker on PokerGO. A full comeback of one of the greatest – arguably the greatest – of poker players would go some way to casting Phil Ivey as being the most relevant of all the current poker legends still plying their trade in the biggest games.
You can watch the full advert right here and get your poker fix of Ivey in action on screen.
WPT Summer Festival now at @wpt_global including the $1 buy-in $1 million guaranteed event. See you there pic.twitter.com/OrL3cXOOJE
— Phil Ivey (@philivey) July 23, 2022
