Though it is quite usual for baseball or football players to appear on trading cards, this is the first time a blackjack champion is featured in one. World Series of Blackjack inaugural champion Michael Aponte was chosen by Topps to be part of the 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter set of trading cards, available worldwide as of this week.

The set features 20 world champions from different disciplines, plus 300 baseball celebrities and 25 historic personalities. A limited number of cards have been signed by Aponte and other players and they will be randomly distributed in groups of six cards each.

“I never thought a blackjack player would be featured on a trading card in the same company with professional athletes and world champions,” Aponte said. “Considering the prestigious history of the Allen & Ginter series, I feel incredibly honored and fortunate to be a part of this set.”

Some of the world champions included in the 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter edition are martial arts master Bruce Lee, football star Mia Hamm, race car driver Danica Patrick and boxing champion Joe Frazier.