By Adam Ulick | April 29, 2009

In an announcement on Wednesday, Party Poker disclosed that they have renewed their association with poker professional and World Poker Tour announcer Mike Sexton. Terms of the deal were not announced but, with the continuation of their association, Party Poker and Sexton have been together for almost a decade in what has to be one of the longest running sponsorship deals in online poker.

Sexton will continue on in his current status with Party Poker as a host, consultant, ambassador and player for the third largest site in the online poker world. “PartyPoker.com has always had a place in my heart and is special to me. I am delighted to pen a new deal, it means so much to me”, said Sexton. “I am looking forward to representing them in events around the world and meeting the online package winners at the WSOP. I also relish my role as a consultant advising on poker room matters.”

A spokesman for PartyGaming Plc, owners of PartyPoker.com, added during the announcement, “We are truly delighted to renew our association with Mike Sexton. Mike is the ‘Ambassador of Poker’ and we hope he gets the acknowledgement he deserves and is inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame this year. Poker wouldn’t be as popular as it is today if it wasn’t for Mike Sexton.”

After picking up the game in 1977, Sexton has gone on to win a WSOP bracelet and nearly $3 million in tournament earnings. What has been more admirable is Sexton’s vision for the future of poker, of which he has been at the forefront.

In 2000, Sexton was approached by Party Poker to assist them in the creation of their online poker room. Sexton once said to this writer, “I didn’t know anything about computers and they didn’t know anything about poker…we just kind of worked it out.” After several months of consulting with the programmers, Party Poker came to life with Sexton as its promotional face and almost immediately, through their aggressive promotional campaigns and Sexton’s professional integrity, became the number one online site in the industry.

Sexton was also an integral part of the creation of the World Poker Tour. Along with co-announcer Vince Van Patten and WPT creator Steve Lipscomb, Sexton brought his knowledgeable style and poker intellect to the masses through the WPT. This exposed him to a whole new generation of poker aficionados, but it didn’t keep him away from the tables themselves.

Although he cannot play on the WPT due to his announcing duties, Sexton has continued to play poker in other events and at the peak of his abilities. He states that his announcing duties on the WPT have sharpened his skills and, in 2006, enabled him to capture the WSOP Tournament of Champions – the final TOC that featured the previous year’s WSOP Circuit champions – after a grueling 15 hour battle. Sexton showed his altruistic side that night, donating half of his post tax winnings to charity, and has since then joined fellow poker citizens Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and Lisa Tenner in the creation of PokerGives.org, a nonprofit organization that offers poker players an easier way to give to charity.

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