Known for his work in films like Tere Naam, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai and Filmistan, Datt shot to fame with Cyrus Broacha’s The Week That Wasn’t, TVF web series, Pitchers and multiple AIB sketches. Most recently, the actor was appreciated for his work in the highly praised Netflix series, Delhi Crime.
He is also a poker enthusiast known for dabbling in the game whenever he gets a chance.
Datt will be flying to the world poker capital, Las Vegas with the #9stacksTeamIndia contingent this year to cover the event for 9stacks, engage with players prior to the Vegas trip and will follow their journey in July.
“Gopal Datt and his trademark brand of humour is very relatable, refreshing and honest. He truly connects with the players and with his viewers and we believe that having him on board with us in Vegas to cover the WSOP2019 will help us bring India closer to poker,” says 9stacks CEO and cofounder Sudhir Kamath.
“Poker has always fascinated me as an actor. Both acting and playing poker involve an intense obsession with understanding human behaviour and predicting the next move. It is an extremely challenging sport that I will be witnessing LIVE in Vegas with #9stacksTeamIndia. This year is going to be special as WSOP celebrates its 50th Anniversary and I am looking forward to meeting all the upcoming poker talent from India,” says Gopal Datt.
9stacks was launched 2 years ago with the aim of making poker the next generation game of skill.
With the 2018 LFGVegas contest, they successfully disrupted the Indian poker industry by introducing an extremely do-able challenge, where players won a trip to Las Vegas to play poker during the annual World Series of Poker events.
25 players formed #9stacksTeamIndia 2018 which included an interesting mix of professional poker players like Nishant Sharma, Vivek Rughani, Mayank Jaggi, Sanjay Taneja, Aditya Pratap Singh amongst others, and regular poker players from working backgrounds like Vishal Tulsyan, Amresh Kumar, and Dinesh Singh.
Nishant Sharma and Vivek Rughani led India to historic heights by becoming the first two Indian poker players ever to enter the top 100 ranks in the Main Event. Both had won the entry ticket to the tournament on 9stacks. In 2019, 9stacks is back with #LFGVegas2.00 and is looking at doubling the feat and sending at least 50 players to Vegas.
With LFGVegas2.00, the Vegas in Rs. 2 and the recently culminated Vegas in Rs. 9 tournament challenges, 9stacks is already breaking the mould and is expanding its presence in tier 2 and 3 markets effectively.
9stacks also recently launched India’s first poker rap anthem, #HustleHai, showcasing the struggles and aspirations of young poker players across the country. This anthem is becoming a sleeper hit amongst youngsters across the country.
