Betfair and Annette Obrestad

There are a lot of firsts flying around in poker these days. The first World Series of Poker played outside of the United States is wraping up, and at the table was a young woman who was the first non-US player to rank number one among online players.This was her first WSOP table, and, according to a recent announcement, she has signed with her first online poker room—appropriately enough, WSOPE sponsor Betfair Poker.

Annette_15 is 18 year old Annette Obrestad, an online poker player from Norway that might be better described as THE online poker player from Norway. Sure there are a lot that could fit that description, but none have had the attention that Obrestad has received lately, tearing up the online field before coming to London to tear up the WSOP felt.

Her screen name includes her name, and her age when she started playing online poker. She was just fifteen when she logged on and discovered that she was very, very good. Now almost 19 and making a lot of noise in the poker world, Annette has attracted many suitors in the form of online poker rooms that would love to say "Annette_15 plays here."

She is young, she's a woman, and she plays lights out poker, so it is no wonder the poker rooms wanted her on board. WSOPE sponsor Betfair must have made the best offer, as she is now officially part of their team of pro players.

She is also on track to becoming the youngest player in history to win a WSOP bracelet, thanks to the different minimum gambling age law in London versus Las Vegas. Should she win today's final table event at The Casino at the Empire, Betfair is going to be very, very happy with whatever deal they made with Annette Obrestad.

(Editor's Note: You can be very happy with Betfair Poker if you sign up now- they are offering a $150 new player bonus!)