The SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California is where some of poker’s biggest names were on Thursday, February 25. The venue played host to not one or two, but three important industry events – the inaugural Global Poker League Draft, the American Poker Conference, and the 2nd annual American Poker Awards.
As reported earlier today, the day started with GPL’s 12 team managers picking the members of their teams. It took a little less than four hours in order for the names of all players who have been selected to contend in the first-of-its-kind competition aimed at “sportifying” the game of poker to be announced.
Another important event to take place at the SLS Hotel yesterday was the American Poker Conference. It has become a tradition in a way for the conference to take place at the day of the awards. This year, poker players and industry personalities talked about important topics, including e-sports, women in poker and poker media, etc. In addition, the Players’ Panel, which proved to be quite successful last year, was also featured during this year’s edition of the conference.
Quite expectedly, the day was finished with the lavish awards ceremony that gathered together some of the world’s most accomplished players. This year, there were as many as 11 voting-eligible categories. A nomination panel of 80 players and industry personalities selected four nominees for each of the categories. And it was up to a specially appointed jury panel to pick the winners.
The first award was handed to Kelly Minkin for becoming the GPI Female Player of the Year. Minkin accumulated a total of 1,748.99 points last year. Byron Kaverman, the 2015 GPI Player of the Year, was the next to be honored and to receive the shiny statuette. He collected a total of 4,736.90 points in 2015.
And here are the winners in the 11 voting-eligible categories in the order they were announced last night:
Breakout Performance of the Year
Joshua Beckley
Nominees:
Cate Hall
Kelly Minkin
Asher Conniff
Joshua Beckle
Event of the Year (buy-in under $2,000)
Inaugural WSOP Colossus, Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
Nominees:
WSOP Millionaire Maker at Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
WPTDeepStacks – DSPT Championship at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino
WPT500 at ARIA Resort & Casino
Inaugural WSOP Colossus, Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
Tournament Performance of the Year
Anthony Zinno for emerging victorious in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic
Nominees:
Joseph McKeehen for winning the WSOP Main Event
Jonathan Duhamel for winning the WSOP One Drop High Roller
Anthony Zinno for winning the WPT L.A. Poker Classic
Mike Gorodinsky for winning the WSOP Poker Players’ Championship
Media Person of the Year
Donnie Peters
Nominees:
Donnie Peters
Joey Ingram
Jason Somerville
Kevin Mathers
Poker Innovation or Initiative of the Year
The WSOP adds an online gold bracelet event with a live final table
Nominees:
The WSOP adds an online gold bracelet event with a live final table
The launch of the Poker Central 24/7 television network
The introduction of the WSOP Colossus
The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open livestreams four final tables at the same time and in the same room
Event of the Year (buy-in over $2,000)
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Nominees:
WSOP One Drop High Roller at Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
The first-ever Super High Roller Bowl at ARIA Resort & Casino
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
WSOP Main Event at Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
Media Content of the Year
Joe Giron’s photo of Daniel Negreanu crumbled on the floor after his WSOP Main Event elimination
Nominees:
Jason Somerville’s record Twitch Broadcast during World Championship of Online Poker in September 2015
BUST, an Insider’s Account of Greenville’s Underground Poker Scene
Joe Giron’s photo of Daniel Negreanu crumbled on the floor after his WSOP Main Event elimination
Faraz Jaka Homeless Poker Millionaire, CNN Money
Poker Presenter of the Year
Kara Scott
Nominees:
Joseph Stapleton
Sarah Herring
David Tuchman
Kara Scott
Charitable Initiative of the Year
Charity Series of Poker
Nominees:
Tiger’s Poker Night
Chad Brown Memorial Tournament
WSOP One Drop High Roller
Charity Series of Poker
Industry Person of the Year
Matt Savage, Executive Director of WPT and Founder of TDA
Nominees:
John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance
Jack Effel, Vice President and Tournament Director for WSOP
Matt Savage, Executive Director of WPT and Founder of TDA
William Mason, Director of Poker at Seminole Hard Rock
Moment of the Year
Daniel Negreanu finishes 11th in the WSOP $10,000 Main Event
Nominees:
Phil Hellmuth wins a record fourteenth WSOP gold bracelet
Anthony Zinno wins back-to-back WPT titles
Daniel Negreanu finishes 11th in the WSOP $10,000 Main Event
More than 22,000 enter the inaugural WSOP Colossus
Two special awards were also handed last night – the Jury Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The first one went to poker media personality Kevin Mathers for his numerous contributions to the promotion and popularization of poker. The final award for this year’s edition of the American Poker Awards – the one for Lifetime Achievement – went to poker player and commentator Mike Sexton. One-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, Sexton is best known for his work as a WPT commentator.
