Poker legend Daniel Negreanu to buy your $26k WSOP buy-in…
In a new partnership with trading exchange Kalshi, seven-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu is promising to cover the cost of one lucky fan’s buy-in to December’s WSOP Super Main Event.
Those participating in the end-of-year ‘Paradise’ tournament of their own accord must cough up $26,000 to join a table – but, as part of this recently announced alliance with Kalshi, Negreanu will foot the bill for one player.
News comes by way of an official Negreanu post on X (formerly Twitter), in which the 51-year-old outlines how players can enter this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try and snag a $60m jackpot.
How to enter WSOP Paradise on Negreanu’s dime
Entry rules for this Kalshi and Negreanu-led WSOP competition are quite straightforward.
Essentially, players must sign up to Kalshi using the code ‘DNEGS’ to get involved. Once the platform verifies all account details, the admission is confirmed.
Including the $26,000 buy-in, the total value of this prize totals $30,000 – with nine nights at the Atlantis Royal in the Bahamas also thrown in.
Negreanu and Kalshi: A “no-brainer” collaboration
In a LinkedIn post, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour described the fitting nature of this collaboration: “Daniel embodies the idea that anybody can make it in life if they find their competitive edge. It was a no-brainer to partner here.”
Dubbed ‘Kid Poker’ for wise-beyond-his-years performances during major events in the 1990s, Daniel Negreanu now stands as one of the industry’s most recognizable names.
Always one to jump at a lucrative opportunity, the veteran poker star views Kalshi as a “fun” way to bet on selections not traditionally available at run-of-the-mill sportsbooks or online casinos.
For example, Negreanu was seen backing the maximum outdoor temperature in Miami during a September 18 livestream on Twitch. Most ‘normal’ betting platforms simply do not support such a niche market.
Within seconds of checking his weather-based trades, Negreanu was able to view a slate of football-focused markets. Game-by-game results, end-of-season win totals and more were all at his fingertips.
Speaking to PokerNews on the sheer volume of unusual markets available, the multi-championship winner explained that he also traded on whether President Donald Trump will ban lab-grown meat by the end of the year.
“I bet no, but I had to lay a big price,” he said.
All of this plays into Kalshi’s main selling point: Negreanu could back virtually any outcome he wanted, spanning a deluge of unusual prop-style picks.
But, as the operator makes abundantly clear, it is not a betting website. Rather, Kalshi is a prediction-centric trading exchange.
And that is precisely the element that plays into Negreanu’s poker sensibilities; poker is a game of skill played against other people. Kalshi operates similarly by channeling individual expertise – with the market’s overall preference driving prices up or down.
It is the collective people, not the site itself, who decide the value of a pick.
How Negreanu could influence future Kalshi markets
Despite teaming up with one of its biggest names, Kalshi does not support poker-adjacent markets.
This is one area where Negreanu plans to help, telling PokerNews that he thinks there are “certainly a lot of markets related to poker that we can put up.”
He continued: “We’ve been sort of talking about how I could potentially help grow Kalshi and whatnot. It’s so fun. I play Kalshi markets, where it’s not about me making a bunch of money. I’m betting $100, $250, but I sweat the markets every day.”
Pointing to poker players’ propensity for side wagers and prop bets, Negreanu said: “What do poker players like to do? We like to make prop bets on a wide variety of different goofy markets that we come up with, right?”
One idea presented by Negreanu is whether certain tournaments will achieve specific targets: “Will GGPoker hit the guarantee in its Super Main Event? What about putting a market on it? So, you bet yes, you bet no.
“You can basically put your own predictive talents to the test, and the cool thing is you can make money doing this.”
Perhaps most pertinent to those trading on the platform is Negreanu’s familiarity with its services. The Toronto native expressed that he is “stoked” to sign with the exchange after spending “quite a while” trading on the platform prior to the announcement.
Kalshi facing nationwide criticism as lawsuits hit platform
“It’s just a blast. It’s super fun. This isn’t considered gambling as it’s a prediction market.”
Daniel Negreanu views Kalshi as the next big thing in the money-making predictions world – but lawmakers hold a decidedly different perspective.
As things stand, Kalshi is legal across all 50 states. However, multiple lawsuits have already been filed against the firm, citing illegal sports betting.
Specifically, Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts have each taken an anti-Kalshi stance – with the latter of that quartet plotting to ban the exchange throughout its legal saga.
Robinhood, a trading platform that borrows elements of Kalshi’s sports vertical via a business agreement, has taken counteractive measures to battle Massachusetts’ lawsuit. It contends that Kalshi’s trading services should not be limited by the same regulations as traditional sports betting.
Legal action in Nevada and New Jersey collapsed when federal judges ruled in favor of Kalshi. And, although the exchange lost its legal skirmish with Maryland regulators, the company remains active within the state.
Commenting on future court encounters, a spokesperson for the group told Cointelegraph: “We are proud to be the company that has pioneered this technology and stand ready to defend it once again in a court of law.
“Prediction markets are a critical innovation of the 21st century, and all Americans should be able to access them.”
For Kalshi, the legal road ahead will be far from smooth. Nevertheless, with $1bn in monthly trading volume and dominance over the global predictions market – for which it boasts 62% of total volume – the platform is set to make headlines for quite some time.
