Ivor Parker Becomes GGPoker’s Full-Time Ambassador at 100
New coverage says he worked until 98 and launched the role at a Coventry VIP event ahead of Goliath 2026.
Ivor Parker has been signed by GGPoker as a full-time ambassador, and one report described the 100-year-old as the world’s oldest paid professional poker player. A later account added that he worked as a production operative for East Midlands Farmer until he was 98.
The new role began at a VIP event with Grosvenor Casinos ahead of Goliath 2026. LBBOnline said guests got an exclusive masterclass from Leah Hauer before a winner-takes-all showdown with Team GGPoker UK ambassadors and invited talent Mark Labbett and Rory Jennings.
Parker’s own poker story goes back to 1940. He said he started playing at 14, and a later account said he played his first hand in a pub in Boston, Lincolnshire that year. He also said he has played all over the world, especially during the war.
He said every game is different and every table has its own stories, and that poker today is far more strategic than when he began. Parker also said he has played with hundreds of people over the years and believes poker has kept him sharp.
Angela Martin, GGPoker’s head of marketing, said poker is about bringing people together, learning and challenging yourself, and said Parker perfectly embodies what the brand loves about the game. Leah Hauer called sharing the table with him incredibly inspiring and said it shows why poker is such a unique game.
GGPoker says it will sponsor more than 50 poker festivals a year across most of Grosvenor’s 35 poker rooms, with live cash boosts and added-value rewards for players who qualify through GGPoker or buy in through the client. Those boosts can be worth up to 20%.
Goliath remains the bigger backdrop. PokerNews said the 2026 edition carried an estimated £2 million prize pool, nine scheduled flights and a nine-day live stream across Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. More than 1,300 players had pre-registered.
The event has grown every year since its 2011 debut apart from the COVID-era online editions. The first Goliath drew 1,765 buy-ins, Lee Rawson won £32,705, last year’s attendance record hit 12,961, and Paul Worsley turned a £200 buy-in into £316,640 in 2025.
