PokerGO continues to build its brand and expand its market visibility by entering into strategic partnerships and launching innovative campaigns. PokerGO confirmed that it had entered into a new partnership with Guaranteed Rate that will make the company the new sponsor for the PokerGO Tour.
PokerGO and Guaranteed Rate Partnership
Guaranteed Rate Companies is a residential mortgage company that was founded in 2000. The company has its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois and has a massive presence across the United States. Guaranteed Rate has over 850 offices throughout the country and has over 10,000 employees. In 2020, the company was reported to have over $73 billion in funded volumes.
Given the financial clout and market image of Guaranteed Rate, PokerGO has brought on a heavy player to sponsor the PokerGO Tour. The partnership not only boosts PokerGO’s brand image but also improves the guaranteed prize money that PokerGO Tour will be paying out to its players.
Guaranteed Rate has committed to adding $175,000 to the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year (POY) prize pool.
PokerGO Tour Presented By Guaranteed Rate
When PokerGO Tour announced its first season schedule in April 2021, it released a set of rules and regulations for the tour. The rules stated that poker players will receive points each time they finish in the money during the tour. The top three players on the PokerGo Tour Leaderboard would receive financial prizes.
The first-place finisher was set to receive $100,000; the player in second place will get $50,000 and the third-place finisher would receive $25,000. The leaderboard prizes are going to look a lot more attractive as the $175,000 from Guaranteed Rate will be added to the first three prizes.
The PokerGO Tour presented by Guaranteed Rate will now award the first-place finisher on the leaderboard a whopping $200,000; the second-place finisher with $100,000 and the third-place finisher with $50,000.
Mutually Beneficial Partnership
This strategic partnership appears a win-win for both companies as PokerGo is not only getting more brand visibility by partnering with Guaranteed Rate but is also getting a financial injection of cash to the tune of $175,000. Guaranteed Rate will also get great exposure as the poker market will now be consistently exposed to a new brand.
Guaranteed Rate has shown with its $175,000 commitment that it is interested in the success of the PokerGo Tour. This bodes well for both PokerGo and the poker community in general as a big name company is now invested in seeing the PokerGo tour succeed.
PokerGO hosts some big tournaments each year such as the Super High Roller Bowl and Poker Masters. The buy-in for some of these big tournaments is usually over $10,000 and the money that Guaranteed Rate pumps into these tournaments may not make much of a difference.
What it does do is ensure that PokerGO is also committed to improving and make its poker offerings better. PokerGo released a statement and said that they are committed to improving and taking the PokerGO tour rankings to the next level. The plan is to take it to the same level as that of top professional sports rankings.
Top sponsors of the NBA, NFL, and other top sporting leagues in the country take a financial interest in the quality of the products released by these premier sporting leagues. Guaranteed Rate has taken a similar interest in PokerGO which is why this is not the usual run-of-the-mill sponsorship between a poker operator and a commercial operator. It also shows that top companies are now looking at poker as a sport and not just a game of chance!