Neymar makes appearance at World Series of Poker

Football superstar Neymar Jr. was sighted at the 53rd edition of the annual World Series of Poker. The Paris Saint-Germain forward, who also plays for the Brazil national team, tried his luck in the $10,000 Limit Hold ‘Em Championship, before hosting an exclusive ‘Neymar and Friends’ tournament at Bally’s Las Vegas.

By Gambling Insider

Bally’s, which will soon be rebranded as The Horseshoe, accommodated the event featuring 16 established Brazilian poker players. The group, which included André Akkari, was playing for a prize pool of $10,000.

While Neymar has an extensive catalogue of football accolades, he has yet to add the prestigious WSOP gold bracelet to his collection.

Operating since 1970, the World Series of Poker is poker's longest-running tournament and has awarded more than $3.5bn in prize money in that time. Last year’s tournament attracted 127,075 players.

With its flagship tournament in Las Vegas, the WSOP also operates the WSOP Europe and WSOP Asia-Pacific, launched in 2007 and 2013 respectively.

The tournament moved back to the Las Vegas strip in 2022, after spending 17 years at the off-strip Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

This year also saw the WSOP launch its online, real-money service in Michigan, the fourth US state to have access to the platform.

The launch was accompanied by a range of bonuses and promotions, including a $1,000 prize to any Michigan resident that can outlast 2009 Main Event champion Joe Cada at this year’s WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.

Commenting on the launch at the time, SVP of WSOP Ty Stewart said: “Michigan is a special market for the WSOP.”