Totti Signs for PartyPoker.it

Party Poker signs Italian World Cup winner and AC Roma captain Francesco Totti to be their exclusive star player and ambassador to its online poker site

Italian soccer legend and captain of Serie A club Roma Francesco Totti has joined the Party Poker team in a signing that will see him represent the online poker site as ambassador and play exclusively for the online poker team.

A well loved and much respected figure around the globe, Totti is universally considered as one of the greatest players of his generation. Known as "Er Pupone", Totti's signing could have a huge positive impact on the continued success of Party Poker, as well as strengthening their brand in Italy, if not the around the world. Totti is arguably the biggest sports star to sign a deal with an online gaming company, and it is the first deal of its kind to involve someone who is still an active sports player, rather than retired.

The five-times Italian Footballer of the Year said of his new contract, “I have faced many challenges in my career and I always apply myself with skill, intelligence, loyalty and passion. You need all these abilities for poker and it is also a game that excites me and is a lot of fun. Thanks to PartyPoker.it, I am able to combine my passion for sport and the challenge of poker. The qualities you need to become a good poker player are very close to those of a sport.”

As well as being a success in the world of football, Totti is known to be an avid poker player. The World Cup winning striker reportedly enjoys playing during AS Roma's away trips, when the pots have sometimes reached at least five figure sums in euros.

A Party Poker spokesperson says, "We expect Totti to become the most capped player and number one goal scorer in our history. He is one of the greatest football players of his generation – the question is now will he be one of the greatest poker players of his generation too? What Totti strives for he normally succeeds in achieving! He is a huge signing."

Francesco Totti will now feature in TV and print advertising all over Italy. After the success of his 2006 autobiography, Tutto Totti, Party Poker will be hoping that fans everywhere follow him to the virtual poker tables as well.

PartyPoker.com was launched in 2001 and has since grown to be one of the largest online poker card rooms. The site offers various forms of poker including Texas Hold'em and Stud poker.