BY TOM SOMACH

It’s not unusual these days to turn on the television and see a commercial featuring a well-known professional poker player.

What is unusual, however, is to see such a commercial that doesn’t involve the pro in question shilling for an Internet poker room.

But now, riding the crest of poker popularity, advertising professionals are turning to poker professionals more and more to flack mainstream products and services.

Such as fried chicken, that’s finger lickin’ good.

A TV commercial currently airing in the U.S. for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) features professional poker players Gavin Smith, Paul Wasicka and David Williams.

The players got the ad through Poker Royalty, a management agency that represents them.

“This is a great step forward for Gavin, Paul, David and poker in general,” said Brian Balsbaugh, president of Poker Royalty.

“Having KFC, the leading chicken chain in the world, embracing poker signals that the poker industry is quickly emerging as a viable outlet for sponsors to achieve their marketing and advertising goals,” Balsbaugh added.

Could endorsing commercial products become a second career for a poker pro?

Possibly, but it’s likely only for a pro who has produced, such as Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr., who has won the WSOP main event (Smith, Wasicka and Williams haven’t).

Hellmuth, who of late has been shilling a so-called “energy drink” that is supposed to help poker players play poker better, once told ESPN that if he took advantage of all the endorsement opportunities presented to him, he could make half a billion dollars.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)