Soccer Star Neymar Stops By WSOP Main Event In Support of Brazil
Poker is booming in Brazil. Not only did Bruno Politano provide a huge boost to the game that's considered a sport in one of the fastest developing countries in the world by making the November Nine, but the game also has some of the biggest ambassadors imaginable. Both Neymar Jr. and Ronaldo are rostered by PokerStars, and the former showed up inside the Amazon Room during Day 5 of the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Neymar, surrounded by fans and security guards, entered the Amazon Room through the backdoor to show support to one of his close friends, professional poker player Felipe "Mojave" Ramos. The man with 19 million Twitter followers patiently took photos with fans, got some face time with Phil Hellmuth, and wished his friend the best of luck before swiftly exiting the room.
"He's on vacation, and he came over here just to give me a hug and wish me good luck," Ramos said of Neymar. "That means the world to me, because he doesn’t have to do that."
Someone of Neymar's stature can't walk the streets without constantly being asked to sign autographs and take pictures, so for him to show up to the WSOP during soccer's offseason, is quite special.
"We know what his life as a sports star is like, and it's really hard for him to walk around and just hang out," Ramos said. "He's an amazing guy — very smart and, in my opinion, the best soccer player in the world. He won three championships, crushed everything, scored in all the important matches, and he's just a beast. But as a person, he's even better than that. That's why I'm very happy that he's here, as it gave me a huge boost and I won three hands in a row right away."
The other soccer star, Ronaldo, has meant a lot to poker in Brazil and Ramos makes sure to recognize his influence as well.
"Ronaldo's also a really great guy, and he's helped us a lot with developing the positive image of poker in Brazil," Ramos said. "Neymar is a friend of mine, and he's a really, really nice kid. He told me, 'Don't worry about me, play your game. I'm here to watch and to bring you good luck. You brought me luck, and now I'm bringing you luck.'"
While Ramos was in Las Vegas for the WSOP, Neymar called and said that he needed to make it to the Champions League final, which pitted Neymar's club FC Barcelona versus Juventus F.C. Ramos did just that.
"He said, 'Buddy, you need to be here because you bring good luck,' so I flew over and they won," Ramos said. "He scored in the last minute, like I said he would, so now I said that he needed to come over and he said, 'Definitely! I'm in!' and he stuck to his words. I'm very happy."
Neymar won't be here for the final days of the Main Event, as he's leaving Las Vegas tomorrow morning, but he already promised Ramos to come back for the November Nine.
"It's up to me now; the ball is in my corner!" Ramos said, as he was still in the Main Event at the time of this interview. "I just need to score now, and then we'll have another party in November!
"All the biggest athletes are supporting poker, the game is legal, and you can play it everywhere as it's considered a sport," Ramos added, citing that Politano's eighth-place finish last year for $947,172 was a tremendous boost for the exposure of the game.
"[Bruno's run] was huge, because he was the first Brazilian to make the final table," Ramos said. "I don't even have the words to describe it, because he got the attention normally only the biggest sports, soccer, and volleyball get. We all supported him a lot, and we were hoping for him to win. So I want to say, thanks Bruno, that was amazing!
"If someone can do it again this year, that would be a confirmation of how strong we are. Brazil was the sixth or seventh biggest country in terms of players at the WSOP, and you have to understand that we come from a very poor place. Brazil is developing, and our economy is not like the U.S. or the European countries. It is really hard for us to be professional players. Our currency is more than 3-1 compared to the U.S. dollar, so the Main Event costs a Brazilian player about $35,000. That's so huge, and surviving as a poker pro for so many years is my personal victory, I don't care about any specific result of a tournament."
Unfortunately for Ramos, things didn't go his way; he busted in 136th place for $46,890. However, the support for Brazilians doesn't end with Ramos' exit. The entire nation follows every move of their remaining players, and as of right now there are three chances remaining.
Day 5 started with six Brazilians in the hunt, but Piragibe Lindolfo (207th - $40,433) and Thiago Macedo (180th - $40,433) got knocked out quickly, followed by Ramos in 136th.
The dream of making the November Nine is slowly but surely become a reality for the remaining three — Yuri Dzivielevski, Ramon Vaz Sorgatto, and Lucas Fauth. One thing is for sure; it takes only one of them to turn the Penn & Teller Theatre into another Brazilian Carnival come November.
Lead photo via Phil Hellmuth's Twitter account.
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