PokerStars is ready to announce that Irish poker skilled David Lappin has been chosen as its latest ambassador, following his success within the PokerStars Stay League competitors. The reveal passed off in the course of the EPT Paris livestream, marking the beginning of the most recent chapter in PokerStars’ renewed concentrate on community-driven ambassadors.
For many who’ve adopted Lappin’s profession, the transfer feels each logical and well-deserved. A protracted-time advocate for equity and participant illustration, he has earned respect as one of the outspoken and principled voices in poker. His repute for integrity was underscored when he and Chip Race co-host Dara O’Kearney resigned from their roles with WPT World, citing issues about sport integrity.
When pokerfuse spoke with Lappin forward of the official announcement, he recalled how the chance unfolded. “A couple of weeks in the past, I bought a name from the workforce at Stars,” he mentioned. “They advised me they’d carried out their course of for the Stay League leaderboard. I’d completed tenth—simply scraped onto it, actually—and I’d put in an utility with a brief video. They should have favored it.” He smiled, including, “When you’d advised me six weeks in the past that I’d be sitting right here in a brasserie in Paris speaking about becoming a member of PokerStars, I’d have mentioned that was laborious to think about.”
A Participant’s Ambassador
For Lappin, the ambassadorship isn’t a brand new identification—it’s a reaffirmation of what’s guided him for greater than a decade. “Hand on coronary heart, I feel and hope this shall be just like my time at Unibet,” he mentioned. “I’ve all the time seen myself as an envoy for the gamers first. You serve the corporate greatest by caring concerning the gamers first—that’s basic.”
He admitted that after a turbulent few months, his requirements for any new deal had been clear. “It was so essential that if I took one other deal of this nature, it could be with an organization I may belief fully when it got here to sport integrity and participant safety. That was non-negotiable,” he mentioned. “I couldn’t have discovered a greater residence in that regard.”
Listening to Gamers
The Maltese professional says he’s desperate to convey vitality and empathy to stay stops. “I hope to be a pleasant, gregarious presence on the tables, somebody who teases out what introduced gamers right here within the first place,” he defined. “I wish to hear what excites them—whether or not it’s the satellites or the venues—and feed that again to the workforce.”
He name-checked Stay Operations head Willie Elliott as “sensible at understanding liquidity and the panorama,” including, “I hope to help him this yr. The PokerStars stay workforce—Toby Stone, Nick O’Hara, all of them—are the very best within the enterprise. However there are all the time small methods to take care of gamers higher, and I wish to be a drive for good in that respect.”
Excited for the New Season
Discussing the upcoming Stay League season, Lappin’s enthusiasm was palpable. “The schedule appears nice,” he mentioned. “It’s wonderful to be again in Paris, and I truly assume this cease may grow to be the most important EPT in a few years. The venue can go even greater.”
He praised the long-standing success of Barcelona and Prague whereas trying ahead to experiencing Monaco for the primary time. “I really like that the Opens maintain the identical worth level however increase the EPT Open buy-in—it makes a variety of sense,” he added. “As this league grows, I hope they rotate venues—let gamers see new cities and maintain the circuit recent.”
All in on PokerStars
As for his schedule, Lappin plans to make almost each cease. “My hope is to overlook nothing—or perhaps one cease at most,” he mentioned. “For the previous few years, Stars’ occasions have already been about two-thirds of my stay quantity anyway. Ambassador or not, you’d have discovered me at most of those stops.”
When requested how the brand new function would possibly have an effect on his life, he smiled. “I don’t assume I’d ever select one other model’s occasion over a Stars one. Possibly I’ll journey extra now—say sure to Monte Carlo as an alternative of staying residence for a Malta cease—however that’s a worth I’m comfortable to pay.”
Integrity and Authenticity
The appointment comes months after Lappin and Dara O’Kearney, co-hosts of The Chip Race and The Lock-In, publicly stepped away from WPT World over issues about sport integrity. The choice strengthened Lappin’s repute for precept and transparency. “If I took one other deal, it needed to be with an organization I may belief 100%,” he famous.
Along with O’Kearney signing a brand new sponsorship with Flutter’s Paddy Energy, Lappin’s transfer to PokerStars displays a union between one of many sport’s most outspoken advocates for equity and a model desperate to have belief on the entrance of all its choices.
Wanting Forward
Past the tables, Lappin hopes to contribute to PokerStars’ stay protection groups. “James and Joe are legends,” he mentioned, referencing veteran commentators Hartigan and Stapleton. “Nick Walsh, Griffin Benger, Maria Ho—all sensible. It’d be an honor to affix them within the sales space once more.”
Greater than something, his objective is obvious: “Day one among an ambassadorship is day one among auditioning for a renewal,” he mentioned. “I don’t need a one-year deal. I wish to show helpful throughout completely different areas in order that they received’t wish to let me go.”
Because the Stay League season takes form and EPT Paris units the tone for 2026, the poker world shall be watching. For a determine who has lengthy championed transparency, it’s a partnership that feels each earned and becoming—and as Lappin put it, “an opportunity to be helpful once more.”
And for the various followers who know him by The Chip Race, it should certainly be fascinating to see how this new chapter impacts the podcast.
