The two largest online poker rooms in the world have sprinkled a little celebrity flavour over their upcoming tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

It was back in April that a number of gambling websites proffered an opinion that PokerStars had done a Pontius Pilate and washed their hands of any affiliation with sports stars in a change in marketing strategy.

The view formed after PokerStars told affiliates to shelve promotional materials relating to Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona favourite Neymar Jr as it became evident their contracts had run their course and wouldn’t be extended.

I reached out to Eric Hollreiser, Head of All Things to do With Communications for PokerStars and Amaya, and he confirmed that the rumours were false. PokerStars had not created a marketing strategy to move away from established sports stars and would use them again as well as other established stars from the world of TV, film and whatever else passes as celebrity status these days.