The list of nominees for this year’s American Poker Awards was released on Wednesday. The second-ever edition of the prestigious ceremony will be held on February 25 at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
This year, there are 11 categories that are voting-eligible and the final lists for each of those are now clear. Over the past several weeks, players, executives, and media representatives (all related to poker) had to submit their ballots for the list of nominees to be determined. The winner in each of the 11 categories will be selected one day before the awards ceremony by a juror panel.
And here are the nominees themselves:
Tournament Performance of the Year
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
Moment of the Year
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
Breakout Performance of the Year
Cate Hall
Kelly Minkin
Asher Conniff
Joshua Beckley
Event of the Year (buy-in under $2,000)
WSOP Millionaire Maker at Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
The first-ever WSOP Colossus, Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino
WPTDeepStacks – DSPT Championship at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino
WPT500 at ARIA Resort & Casino
Event of the Year (buy-in over $2,000)
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
Industry Person of the Year
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
Charitable Initiative of the Year
Tiger’s Poker Night
Chad Brown Memorial Tournament
WSOP One Drop High Roller
Charity Series of Poker
Media Person of the Year
Donnie Peters
Joey Ingram
Jason Somerville
Kevin Mathers
Poker Presenter of the Year
Joseph Stapleton
Sarah Herring
David Tuchman
Kara Scott
Poker Innovation or Initiative of the Year
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
Media Content of the Year
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
It is also important to note that during the ceremony Byron Kaverman will receive his award for becoming the 2015 GPI Player of the Year, and Kelly Minkin will be honored with the 2015 GPI Female Player of the Year Award.
What is more, the second-ever American Poker Conference is scheduled to take place on the morning of the American Poker Awards at the SLS Hotel, just as it was last year. Organizers have revealed that the panels will include discussions on various poker-related topics, including Women in Poker, Poker Media, as well as eSports. The popular Players’ Panel will also be part of the conference’s schedule.
