Imagine you are a tournament poker player about to sit at a table when you learn that you will be facing a smiling man in his sixties, who is nicknamed “The Shark,” who is known as the Godfather of Poker in Costa Rica, and who was sponsored by none other than PokerStars for nearly a decade; would you still take your chances and sit at that table?

 

Many players professional poker players who faced legendary Tico player Humberto Brenes over the years ended up handing over quite a bit of their earnings to “El Tiburón.” Mr. Brenes, an engineer by trade, was a major figure in the World Series of Poker and many other circuits as part of the Team PokerStars Pro. Mr. Brenes and PokerStars recently parted ways in a fashion that can be described as neutral, but not altogether positive for the future of online poker, gaming and wagering in Costa Rica, an industry that has been in decline over the last few years.

 

Looking Beyond Online Poker

As recently reported by CardsChat.com, Mr. Brenes’ departure from PokerStars:

 

was widely reported by poker media due to Brenes’ willingness to talk about the inability of the two parties to renegotiate a contract.

 

CardsChat goes on to explain that two other major Latin American players also departed PokerStars. These departures appear to be in line with a statement by Juan Carreño of PokerStars, who was quoted by the Spanish version of Poker News as saying that the Latin American market has been in decline.

 

In an interview with Poker News, Mr. Brenes explained that PokerStars is taking a business approach that does not focus solely on online poker. Mr. Brenes is confident that the nearly 300 people working at the PokerStars operations center in Costa Rica (at Forum I in Santa Ana, near Pozos) currently enjoy job security.

 

As was extensively reported by The Costa Rica Star in 2013 after the debut of the film Runner Runner starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Afleck, a movie that was virtually hijacked by the American Gaming Association (AGA) to paint the online gambling industry in Costa Rica in a bad light while trying to bolster support for legalizing gambling in the United States, PokerStars was looking at the lucrative American casino space:

 

In less than a month, New Jersey will go live with legal online poker. PokerStars, the world’s most recognizable online poker brand is ready to operate in the Garden State; this is a brand that once had a major presence in Costa Rica, but it has been shifting its operations to the Isle of Man and other jurisdictions. PokerStars may keep its Latin American operations based in Costa Rica, but the company is clearly tired of dealing with the hassle of indictments and U.S. law enforcement agents freely barging into their offices.

 

Perhaps PokerStars’ diminished presence in the professional poker circuit will free up resources that the company can focus on its New Jersey operations, which recently came under a scathing attack by Assemblyman Ralph R. Caputo (D-Essex) on the pages of the New Jersey Star-Ledger:

 

PokerStars, the disgraced online gambling giant that was accused of multiple federal crimes, is once again trying to enter the New Jersey marketplace, this time under the guise of a sale to a licensed company.

 

With attacks by the AGA and comments such as those issued by Assemblyman Caputo PokerStars will face an uphill battle to establish gaming operations in the U.S., and the company may need to focus more on that fight than on sponsoring esteemed players such as Mr. Brenes.

 

Here’s a portion of PokerStars’ bio on Mr. Brenes, to whom The Costa Rica Star wishes the best:

 

Nicknamed ‘The Shark’ Brenes is also a figurehead for poker in his home region, and he is a regular on the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour. Indeed, Humberto cashed in 28th position at LAPT Punta del Este in Uruguay in Season 1, a tournament in which his brother Alex came second.

 

A member of Team PokerStars Pro since 2006, one of Brenes’ best qualities is that he has been able to move with the times, from the poker of old to the new fast-moving, media-savvy, multi-million dollar industry it is today. With his trademark shark card protector, Humberto is easy to spot at the tables. Colorful sportswear? Check. Loud voice? Check. Table antics? Check. Smile a mile wide? Check. A true character, that brightens up the game wherever he goes.