Daily Poker News Review: Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Global Poker Index Acquires European Poker Awards, Launches American Poker Awards
The Global Poker Index (GPI) has announced that has acquired the prestigious European Poker Awards, and will also host the first ever American Poker Awards in February 2015.
GPI is a the leading poker ranking site that scores and ranks poker players based on tournament results worldwide.
The annual European Poker Awards, in its thirteenth year, recognizes the achievements of European poker players across 19 different categories.
“Without a North American counterpart, it always felt like something was missing,” GPI’s Alex Dreyfus stated. “Now, with poker on the eve of a new resurgence in the US, it’s the perfect time to change this.”
Dreyfus intends to duplicate the success of The European Poker Awards, and make it “bigger both in US and Europe.”
Los Angeles, February 2015
The site of the inaugural American Poker Awards will be Los Angeles, California, February 2015.
“The choice of location was easy. LA is already home to some of the world’s most iconic ceremonies—the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and others—and we don’t think poker deserves any less,” Dreyfus stated.
“We are at the eve of a poker boom in California, with the pending online regulation, and it would definitively help both the live and online poker industries to create a rendez-vous that will not only attract the attention of the poker world, but garner mainstream attention as well,” he added.
European Acquisition
The acqusition of the “historic” European awards ceremony was “to ensure its legitimacy, and expand it globally,” Dreyfus told pokerfuse.
“Moreover, I love the way it is organised with a nomination panel and an independent Jury, which i believe is the best way to make it transparent and accurate.”
The decision coincides with the company’s strong presence at the 2014 World Series of Poker, including the launch of a free magazine.
Zokay Entertainment, parent company of GPI, also recently unveiled a unified website across its products, including new acquisition The Hendon Mob, Fantasy Poker Manager and the recently launched PokerCalendar.
