Jean-Robert Bellande revealed on Johan "YoH Viral" Guilbert's podcast that a young Tom Dwan was the first person who ever backed him at the poker table.
The backing arrangement began in the early 2010s when "JRB," a popular player on televised poker shows during the poker boom era, became an ambassador for the Aria poker room in Las Vegas. Bellande, who played almost daily in the high-stakes room formerly known as "Ivey Room," helped grow Aria into one of the top poker rooms in the world.
Discussing the Poker Staking Arrangement
Dwan burst onto the poker scene in his early 20's playing on Full Tilt Poker, a poker site he'd soon become a top ambassador for, playing under the screen name "durrrr.