Online Poker rooms sponsor poker professionals in a similar way large brands sponsor F1 racers or Premiership football teams. The poker professional is expected to promote their brand by wearing their branded apparel and being seen on television. In return, sponsored professionals receive free entries into tournaments, free play at their respective online poker site, and other perks.
Some examples of this are Shane Warne the famous Aussie cricketer who is sponsored by top online casino 888.com and a member of their WSOP team, Full Tilt has stars Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Mike Matusow. The stars become free agents when the deal comes to an end or is dissolved and this happened to David Williams; Poker Stars jumped in and offered him a deal to join them. He is one of the most successful poker players on the scene at the moment with almost $8 million in live tournament poker winnings. Williams will be making an appearance at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.