GG poker was launched in 2014 so is already 6 years old- which is not new by any definition. What is new is the promotion to a global audience beginning 2016/7 rather than a specifically Asian one. It is also the head of the world’s biggest poker network.
Which is why I remarked Negreanu repeatedly noting being there from ‘the ground up’ (this week on a podcast again) is little more than Negreanu exaggerating things for his image as per normal. We are all aware of Negreanu’s popularity (I noted so in my reply) but on a personal level I don’t regard him as Saint Daniel of Poker.
I have no real opinion on GG and its future. But, as stated before, it is a presence which is not a question of opinion one way or another. Their GG Masters series is regarded as one of the fastest growing competitions within poker. That said, I just checked and they had overlaid that tourney 14 times out of 16 through April for a total loss of $420,000. They have deep pockets and ambition yes, but that makes me a little uncomfortable as a business model.
PokerStars remains by far the biggest poker entity (not network) and I regard their shedding of ambassadors (including Negreanu) as smart business. Being so well established I do not see how ambassadors were bringing any new business to the site. How would anyone casually stumble across Negreanu, Liv Boeree or Jamie Staples and then decide ‘Well I’ve never played poker before but now I am going to join PokerStars, deposit and start playing!’? Why do sites think this works? It obviously didn’t work with Kevin Hart who is a global celebrity...or Ronaldo...so maybe PokerStars woke up to the fact ‘celebrity’ does not equate to cross over markets.
zinzir makes a valid point also about Negreanu's 'rake' comments and I would add habit of making dubious comments.
The only case to be made is by an entity such as GG who is making a global push and can use an established figure to drive new business. What GG is attempting to do is take established players from the likes of PokerStars or Party Poker and have them sign up with them. In that scenario, certainly for a near term future, such a campaign makes sense.