Los Angeles, California – The contenders for the first ever GPI American Poker Awards have been announced. A nomination panel, comprised of close to 60 of the brightest minds in the poker industry was asked for two selections in each category. Votes were then tabulated and the four finalists in each category can be found below. A Jury Panel will decide the winners. The members of the Jury will meet on the morning of the Awards in order to make their selections. The members of the esteemed Jury Panel will be announced at a later date. The GPI American Poker Awards are sponsored by PokerStars, the world’s leading online and live poker operator, and will take place on Friday, February 27, 2015 at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
“I wish to thank each and every member of the Nomination Panel for taking part in the selection process for this very first edition of the GPI American Poker Awards,” announced GPI Chief Executive Officer and GPI American Poker Awards President Alexandre Dreyfus. “We noticed some very interesting trends and I do believe that their selections reflect perfectly with what happened in the North American poker landscape in 2014.”
“Our event is already endorsed by the poker community at large, including poker players all over the world,” Dreyfus continued. “The support of PokerStars is a great way to build on that, helping us to promote poker on a larger scale and celebrate this amazing game with the global poker community and beyond. I’m truly excited about the upcoming ceremony.”
The GPI’s exclusive formula has already determined the winners in the Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year and American and Canadian National Players of the Year categories. The GPI Player of the Year award is sponsored by Swiss watchmaker, Roger Dubuis.
Without any further ado, here are the nominees for the 2014 GPI American Poker Awards, (in alphabetical order):
| NOMINEES FOR TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR |
Daniel Colman, Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event Winner Darren Elias, WPT Borgata Poker Open Winner Mark Newhouse, WSOP Main Event, 9th |
| NOMINEES FOR BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
Mukul Pahuja Jake Schindler Brandon Shack-Harris |
| NOMINEES FOR EVENT OF THE YEAR (CATEGORY BUY-IN OVER $2,000) |
WSOP Main Event (Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas) WPT Montreal (Playground Poker Club, Montreal) WPT World Championship (Borgata, Atlantic City) |
| NOMINEES FOR EVENT OF THE YEAR (CATEGORY BUY-IN UP TO $2,000) |
WPT500 at Aria (ARIA Resort & Casino, Las Vegas) WSOP Millionaire Maker (Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas) WSOP Monster Stack (Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas) |
| NOMINEES INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR |
Adam Pliska, WPT President Matt Savage, WPT Executive Tour Director & TDA Founder Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director |
| NOMINEES FOR POKER MEDIA CONTENT OF THE YEAR |
Brad Willis, “WSOP 2014: Stages / Never stop fighting” for PokerStars Blog Pokernews Live Reporting at the WSOP Jason Somerville for Run It UP! |
| NOMINEES FOR CHARITABLE INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR |
Charity Series of Poker REG (Raising for Effective Giving) Charity The WSOP One Drop Partnership |
| NOMINEES FOR POKER INNOVATION OR INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR |
Poker Night in America WPT’s successful partnerships with DeepStacks, Hublot, DraftKings & Monster The WSOP Monster Stack |
| NOMINEES FOR MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR |
Chris Grove Kevin Mathers Rich Ryan |
Fans can help decide the winner for Poker’s Best Ambassador. Voting is now open, as the People’s Choice will also be honored at the American Poker Awards:
http://www.americanpokerawards.com/peopleschoice/
About the Global Poker Index
Global Poker Index (GPI) and The Hendon Mob (THM) feature 400,000+ live poker player profiles and 203,000+ tournament results. Known as the Poker Ranking Authority, GPI acquired THM in July, 2013 under the guidance of Mediarex Sports & Entertainment. These two sites are heavily integrated and feature up to date poker news, casino listings, and fantasy poker gaming. GPI coordinates and runs an array of industry wide Poker initiatives as well including the American Poker Awards, European Poker Awards, the Global Poker Masters and the Global Poker League.