New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Poker Stars loves partnering with Hollywood elite, famous athletes and poker legends like Daniel Negreanu. Here are some of the company's sexiest female ambassadors over the years.
#1: Yuiko Matsukawa
After Japanese supermodel Yuiko Matsukawa expressed her love for poker through her social channels in 2014, Poker Stars inked a deal with her immediately. She was at the peak of her modeling career and her fame throughout Asia made her an ideal ambassador of the game.
In 2015, Yuiko made her first appearance as Poker Stars' ambassador at the Macau Poker Cup. The competition is a major event that attracts some of the world's best poker players. So, when the steaming hot model took a sit at the tables and played a round of Casino Hold'em, tens of thousands of her fans paid attention.
Yuiko later expressed her experience at the competition saying,
"In the beginning, I was a bit nervous, but eventually I found myself enjoying the game in a relaxed mood."
#2: Liv Boeree
English poker champion and Astrophysicist Liv Boeree is the perfect definition of beauty with brains. After attaining a first-class degree in Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, the 35-year-old fell in love with poker and changer her career to be a professional player.
Despite being a young professional, Boeree won the European ladies Championship in 2008 and bagged $42,000 in prize money. She participated in the Five Star World Classic in Las Vegas and won $25,000.
Following a few appearances on TV shows and stints as a model, the three-time European Female Poker Player of the year is now a PokerStars ambassador. She's also a frequent competitor on PokerStars events and has won over $3.5 million since joining the company.
#3: Fatima Moreira de Melo
Fatima is a Dutch field hockey legend who led her country to win gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She's also a smart woman having graduated with a law degree in 2006. What's more, she's multi-talented and has appeared in several singing competitions and lately poker tournaments.
Fatima made her first appearance as a PokerStars' ambassador in 2009. She finished ninth at the No Limit Hold'em event and took home $48,000. Her other major competition was the 2013 Isle of Man £1,100 Main Event. It was also her best tournament as she finished second and won a total of $95, 750.
Since she became a PokerStars' ambassador, Fatima has also nine major events, grossing over $200,000. Considering the Dutch model hasn't always been a poke player, she would probably have earned more if her entire career was based on poker.
#4: Celina Lin
Most poker fans can grab bonuses on this website, play the game on PokerStars and even win a couple of a hundred of dollars. But to win as much money as Chinese model Celina Lin, they would have to be exceedingly talented.
The Shanghai-born professional first played poker in 2004 in Melbourne and won. Since then, she's been ruling poker tournaments all over the world. Lin loves to play in Asia-based best online casinos, hence why she makes an excellent ambassador of PokerStars in the region.
Lin's biggest achievement was coming out first at the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon event in 2012 and winning $110,000 in prize pool money. She's also won two other tournaments: the 2009 Macau Poker Cup and the 2016 Asian Championship of Poker.
#5: Muskan Sethi
Muskan hit poker headlines in 2014 for her outstanding performance in PokerStars' Shark Cage TV show. Although she failed to bag the ultimate prize, her clever tactics which she used to knock out several celebrities impressed many.
After the show, Muskan nabbed a contract with PokerStars to be the company's ambassador in Europe. Surprisingly, the youngster has previously considered careers in fashion, computers, online marketing business and anything but the risky career of poker gaming.
But being a naturally talented player with skills passed down from her grandmother, Muskan finally settled on playing cards. She's yet to have a breakthrough in the major events but she regularly plays the game online at PokerStars.
#6: Maria Konnikova
With a PhD in psychology, Maria Konnikova never imagined she would one day become a poker professional. Instead, she's made a career of authoring books, including her two New York Times best-sellers centered on psychology.
While writing her third book, Maria explored the concept of chance by playing poker. That's when she fell in love with the game. In 2018, the psychologist took part in PokerStars' Caribbean Adventure and emerged first, winning $84,600.
Obviously, PokerStars signed her as an ambassador while she got motivated to take part in more tournaments. She participated in the APPT 2018 event, for instance, and came in second to bag $57,519 in prize money. She wasn't very lucky at the PCA Main Event where she emerged 42nd but she won more than double the $10,300 buy-in required.
#7: Jennifer Shahade
American Jennifer Shahade is known for her eye-catching books "Chess Bitch" and "Play like a Girl." She's also one of PokerStars' hottest ambassadors and an accomplished board member of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Shahade comes from a family of chess champions. Her father is an award-winning chess winner while her brother is also an International master of chess. In the Poker scene, Shahade made her breakthrough at the 2014 Tony Bet High Roller Event, winning €100,000.
Of course, her main talent lies in chess where she's known to play up to 50 people at once. But she's also a fierce poker player who regularly participates in major PokerStars' events. In 2013, for instance, the Philly native emerged 62nd from over 2,300 players in a Prague-held high roller event. The next year, she took part in an event with over 1,000 players and emerged 31st.
Away from poker and chess, Shahade cherishes mentorships and travels across the world to provide chess instructions to young girls. She's also a generous philanthropist who donates all her royalties from her 'Play like a Girl Book' to charity.
