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If anyone wants to gauge the
popularity of the current obsession with Texas Holdem poker, the stardom
reached by some of the game's greatest players may be the way to do so.
While Chris Moneymaker and local poker champion Erick Lindgren become
household names, one might wonder whether the growing national mania with
the game is being matched outside the United States.
Enter the Hendon Mob to eliminate any doubts about the international scope
of the
Texas Holdem
poker frenzy.
Touring the world for the second year in a row to play in the most renowned
poker tournaments, the four lads from west London are betting the pot to
make a name for themselves while riding the crest of the poker craze.
By parlaying their European reputation to crack the
American market, the Hendon Mob is hoping to win the same kind of success as
the Beatles. Like that Fab Four, the four Hendon "mobsters" are quickly
becoming the new wave of poker after securing a $1 million dollar
sponsorship for their tour from Internet poker site, Prima Poker.
"It's a great sport but it's an independent sport," says Barny Boatman, a
mob member. "You play for yourself. But to have the support [of friends] is
tremendous. You can judge a person by whether they hang on to their friends.
You can imagine what all that money does. You see a guy who wins and
suddenly changes. We make sure we don't do that."
The mob is comprised of Joe Beevers, Ram Vaswani, and brothers Barny and
Ross Boatman. The four met 10 years ago when they started playing private
games organized by Beevers at his home. As professional players, the four
men tended to socialize together while playing on the European
Texas Holdem
poker
tournament circuit and they quickly became recognized as the Hendon Mob.
At the same time, the four players started winning major tournaments across
Europe. Beevers won the 2002 European championship Omaha event and is the
current Irish champion, while Vaswani won the Dutch Master Classic in 1999,
the European Superbowl in 2000 and the French Championship in 2002.
Meanwhile, Barny is the current Finnish champion and won the Seven Card Stud
European Championship in 2002 as well as being the top British finisher in
the World Series of Poker (WSOP) three years in a row between 2000-02. Ross
is the current British poker champion and champion of both the Irish and
Austrian Omaha Opens.
In addition to the titles, Ross is a British television actor, best known
for his eight years in the role of Kevin in "London's Burning" while Barny
is a commentator for various televised poker tournaments.
Last year, Prima Poker, one of the world's largest online poker Web sites,
began sponsoring the Hendon Mob's play to take advantage of the group's
growing popularity as part of its marketing strategy. With Prima Poker in
hand, the Hendon Mob started the tour by making history as brothers Barny
and Ross finished one and two in the Pot Limit Omaha event at the Four
Queens here, while Vaswani placed seventh.
"We love poker and whatever the poker event, we're always there," says Barny.
"So Prima Poker approached us last summer because they wanted to raise their
profile. They've been around the longest in Internet gaming and they're very
respectable. Now we've become central to their marketing strategy. Since
we've been on Prima Poker, they've been growing phenomenally."
This year, the sponsorship was expanded to cover 14 tournaments around the
world for the full year. In addition, Prima Poker will feature live
satellite coverage of the mob's games in conjunction with the group's Web
site as well as offer games via the Internet to match skills against the
Hendon Mob. A dozen winners will then join the mobsters in their march
across the top poker tables in the world.
The sponsorship has cost Prima Poker $1 million just to pay for the Hendon
Mob's buy in at the games, with more to cover traveling and other expenses
during the tour.
"I don't know [the total figure] because we haven't finished spending their
money," says Barny. "Basically, this tour forms a bridge between live poker
and online poker. Prima Poker has brought
Texas Holdem
poker up to a proper sport. It's big news in poker,
big news in sports and big news in television."
"It's big news in Hendon anyway," quips Ross.
The Prima Poker sponsorship has also brought the Hendon Mob to the forefront
of the sport, providing new opportunities to cash in on their fame with
endorsements, licensed products and other lucrative offers. The group is
still sifting through the offers while keeping their eye on the prize
already in their grasp.
"The Hendon Mob is a brand and we're starting to look at exploiting that
brand," says Barny. "We want to keep control over what we do. We are getting
more deeply involved with Prima Poker. Prima Poker is an important part and
we're important for them. We get offers all the time but we want to be
careful. We don't want to just put our name on a box."
While the Hendon Mob's success has been rewarding for its members, it has
also been beneficial for the sport. Their pioneering deal with Prima Poker
has led to a wagon train pulling other top players into sponsorship deals.
"A few big deals have hit since we've done it," says Vaswani. "It's opened a
few doors."
Despite the Prima Poker sponsorship, the Englishmen don't have to share any
prize money with the company. "We keep our winnings but we give each other a
drink," says Barny. "We're a mob but we're not a team. It has to be that way
because that's the way poker is."
The Hendon Mob is currently holed up in Las Vegas to play the World Series
of Poker at the Horseshoe. The group also played at the World Poker Tour's
Five Star Classic at the Bellagio but the mob was strong-armed, with Ross
the only cash winner, picking up $66,500 for his 18th place finish.
"Look at the prize money," says Vaswani. "Where else do see that amount of
money for 18th? You can see the allure of the sport."
Ross also contrasts the treatment afforded to winning players in Las Vegas
compared to Europe. "In Europe, they don't try to bring you up but try to
bring you down actually," Ross says. "If you're a poker player, Las Vegas is
the place you have to be."
By breaking into the American market, the Hendon Mob is entering a new level
of their career. Yet like the game itself, the group believes the pinnacle
is still far away and they plan on getting there while having the time of
their lives.
"Maybe we will look at this years from now and say it never got higher,"
says Barny. "But this is the biggest participation sport in the world and
it's hardly scraped the surface. The Internet is still new. There's Europe
and Asia. I can only see it growing. I'm lucky to be in a sport where age
doesn't matter, as long as you don't lose your marbles."
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