Barry Greenstein Joins Team PokerStars

Winner of two WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles, Barry Greenstein, has become the newest member of Team PokerStars. The renowned tournament and cash game player was one of the few big name pros without an affiliation with an online poker room until now.

The move surprised poker fans, many of whom churned the rumor mill as to why Greenstein would finally join forces with PokerStars. Greenstein himself explained his decision on a poker message forum hosted by Two Plus Two Publishing.

One of the major reasons he accepted the offer was because the increasing number of major tournaments have taken away from his cash game play. As many know, Greenstein donates his net earnings from tournaments to charity, whereas his cash game winnings are his income. The expenses have gotten so high with all of the tournaments, that this deal with PokerStars will allow him to donate more money, as much of his expenses will be taken care of.

Additionally, Greenstein said he was able to help his friends and top poker players in their own right, Mimi Tran, Tuan Le, and Nam Le, deals with Stars. He will also be involved in the software development of the poker room, which is definitely a good thing, and he made it known to the company that he will speak honestly and not push internet poker on young players. Essentially, while he will support PokerStars and very much likes the staff, he is not going to be a puppet for the company.

As a final note, Greenstein has this reason for signing on:

“I figured if I won the main event this year, they'd go after me anyway. I decided to call my shot (winning it) and sign up ahead of time.”

Very nice.

Originally published July 4, 2006