Shining a Spotlight When Global Poker Index (GPI) President Eric Danis met with his team in Malta at the end of 2024, he pitched the idea of expanding the Global Poker Awards to include more people in the industry who deserve recognition but whose work had fallen through the cracks. New categories were born and others redefined. This was important to Danis, who is always listening to feedback and trying to improve upon what has been done before.
the more eyes on these awards, the better it is for our game
It’s important to remember that it is a thankless job that the GPI undertakes, year after year, shining a spotlight on poker with a night that honors players, industry people, and content creators. That is not to say that we can’t argue about the nominees, complain about those who were snubbed, or find fault along the way. That’s all part of the fun. Opinions drive interaction and the more eyes on these awards, the better it is for our game.
VSO News spoke exclusively to the great man himself to get his opinions in what has become an annual Q&A that he probably dreads, knowing my penchant for snark and hole-pickery. Fortunately for me, Eric Danis is Canadian, so he is culturally predisposed to meet my pedantry with politeness. And fortunately for him this time around, I genuinely think the shape of these awards is close to perfect, both in terms of global representation and the categories chosen.
Q&A with Eric Danis VSO News: There are a number of awards each year that are chosen by you guys: The Hendon Mob Award, the Charitable/Community Initiative, Poker Icon, and the GPI Award of Merit (my prediction – Kit Chellel for his Bloomberg article “The Russian Bot Army That Conquered Online Poker”). Have you selected those recipients yet and what is that process like?
ED: The process is pretty simple. We look out for names all year long and then make an approach to those to whom we would like to offer an award. Most of the time, they accept. Occasionally someone refuses. All-in-all, it is a simple and rewarding process.
Our partners at PokerGO don’t want a 5-hour show and we don’t either.
VSO: You have expanded out the awards with some new categories. The Best Book, Journalist, and Tournament Reporter categories are back. I actually think you’ve got it close to perfect this year with the categories. The only downside I can think of is the length of time that the ceremony might last. Is that a concern for you and will you be hiring an orchestra to play people off?
ED: I actually think there are way too many categories. For the past few years, some awards were presented on our socials prior to the ceremony and this will be the case again this year. Our partners at PokerGO don’t want a 5-hour show and we don’t either. I’m sure those in attendance and those watching at home agree as well!
VSO: Well, in that case, you’re going to absolutely hate this, but given how a number of categories have become, for want of a better phrase “closed shops,” is there any merit to splitting the Breakout award into Breakout Streamer, Breakout Podcast, Breakout On-air Talent, and Breakout Vlogger to give a bit more love to up-and-coming creators for whom recognition would probably mean more?
ED: We are always looking at the possibility of adding and removing categories to freshen things up, but sadly, this isn’t the Oscars or Grammys where every candidate has to submit their names in order to be included on the ballot. It already takes hundreds of hours to come up with the lists because we don’t get much help from the poker world. In an ideal world, if everything was user-submitted, we could consider adding more, but honestly, my team is already spending way too much time with the awards as it is!
VSO: Having fan-voted awards is a great way to engage the poker-loving public with the big night. I’m interested to know how you guys guard against bots, fake votes, and those kinds of shenanigans?
ED: We’re on the lookout for it. Hans Kleinsman and I run several different reports provided by the software that we run the voting on. We do our best to find and remove invalid ballots.
VSO: Thank you, Eric, for your time.
Last week, I made my predictions in the categories that featured the players. Now let’s take a look at the nominees in the content creation categories that involve the written word, without which there would be nobody to prompt ChatGPT to create an article about how AI bots are an existential threat to poker.
BEST LIVE TOURNAMENT REPORTER Mickey Doft (USA) BJ Nemeth (USA) David Salituro (Canada) Christian Zetzsche (Germany) The last time this award was given out, it was a fait accompli that tournament reporting GOAT Christian Zetzsche would win. His machine-like precision with hand histories and the sheer volume of content that he is able to create at a single festival makes him one of poker’s unsung heroes.
In the intervening period, nothing has changed about Zetzsche’s output and he finds himself nominated once again in a tough category against WPT reporter Mickey Doft, industry veteran BJ Nemeth, and PokerNews Live Reporter David Salituro. This is a very difficult category to predict, but my hunch is Salituro’s efficiency, writing chops, and omnipotence on the circuit will result in a well-deserved bit of recognition for one of the hardest workers in our game.
BEST X/TWITTER PERSONALITY Marle Spragg Jamie Kerstetter Caitlin Comeskey Barry Carter Last year, I said how I thought that there was a problem with the X/Twitter award insofar as it had sort of merged with the short-form content category because it was one of the main platforms by which the short-form videos get distributed. That issue still exists, and in a recent episode of “Poker In the Ears,” Eric Danis made it clear that this category would morph into something more general about social media and no longer focus on the contributions by poker folk on Elon Musk’s garish Hellscape.
If his name isn’t read out, I will personally storm the GPI Headquarters.
That is to take absolutely nothing away from Caitlin Comeskey and Marle Spragg, but I do think that this prize should be for written tweets, gifs, and memes. Kerstetter is the undisputed queen of poker Twitter and when she graces us with a morsel from her funny brain, we certainly lap it up like the loyal subjects we are. This prize, however, simply must go to Meme-Lord Barry Carter, whose hit rate is absolutely obscene. Banger after banger, he never misses. If his name isn’t read out, I will personally storm the GPI Headquarters.
BEST POKER BOOK Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified (Dara O’Kearney, Barry Carter) On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything (Nate Silver for Penguin Press) Poker Pioneer: The Autobiography of Tom McEvoy (Tom McEvoy, Brad Smith) Trapped (Joseph Stapleton, Neil Gibson for Twister Comics) Worthy of its own category, Best Book has previously been lumped in with Best Written Content. Fair play to the GPI for recognizing how impossible it is to compare a book to an article. Beyond GTO by my “Chip Race” colleagues Dara O’Kearney and Barry Carter has a shot as the only strategy book. It could well pinch this one, partly in warranted recognition of their five previous best-selling books.
Standing in their way is On The Edge, a New York Times Best Seller from data journalist and statistician Nate Silver, Poker Pioneer, the autobiography of 1983 WSOP Main Event and Poker Hall of Famer Tom McEvoy, and Trapped, a comic book by Joe Stapleton. While I would personally love to see O’Kearney and Carter in the winner’s circle, I suspect that Stapleton will take this one down.
BEST MEDIA CONTENT: WRITTEN A Further Investigation into the Existence of the BotFarm Corporation (Jonathan Raab for Poker Pro) Cancer Fight Didn’t Stop John Bird from His Golden Passport Moment (Lance Bradley for WPT) I’ve lost all my other hobbies – Ari Engel opens up on poker and a torn heart (Paul Oresteen for Poker.org) Music Icon Steve Albini’s Death Puts Fabled 20-Year Poker Home Game on Pause (Connor Richards for PokerNews) Poker writers have gotten a serious upgrade this year in terms of acknowledgment. Best book would have infiltrated this category in another year, and it is nice to see the Best Journalist award to recognize consistent work over the year as opposed to a one-off piece. Nonetheless, there were some standout singular pieces of written content in 2024.
Connor Richards is a very talented writer who always does interesting feature pieces, not the least of which was last year’s beautiful tribute to the legendary Steve Albini. Lance Bradley is a polished and adroit wordsmith who is also the VP of Digital for WPT. His excellent piece about Golden Passport winner John Bird not only perfectly captured his subject’s grit and determination, but also his profound acceptance.
unearthing worrying secrets about insidious parts of our industry
Paul Oresteen’s article about Ari Engel features a raw interview with a “modern day vagabond” whose obsession with poker still dictates his life’s path, but also a man who pays a prize for that dedication. My inkling, however, is that the award will go to “A Further Investigation Into The Existence Of Botfarm Corporation,” published by Jason Glatzer’s PokerPro, in which industry veteran Jonathan Raab dug deep, unearthing worrying secrets about insidious parts of our industry.
BEST JOURNALIST Sarah Herring (USA) Nick Jones (England) David Lappin (Ireland) Brad Willis (USA) You could be forgiven for thinking this is the “Hottest Person In Poker” category. At first and second glance, this dreamy foursome could be mistaken for catwalk models. You could also be forgiven for thinking that we don’t really do journalism in poker.
Probably the favorite, Willis is a storyteller, Alternate Reality Game creator and true crime podcast producer. Herring was the best sideline reporter in the business before she turned her attention to fast media at Poker.org. Jones is a data journalist par excellence who weaves narratives out of cold hard facts, offering an important mirror to our industry.
long shots do occasionally come in
Twice a week, washed-up poker pro David Lappin scribbles his vexations with the industry leaders in crayon, barely concealing his contempt for everyone around him in the most sickeningly indulgent and florid prose. He is clearly the long shot in this group of finalists. However, long shots do occasionally come in as his chances have certainly been buoyed by the breaking news that Willis went to Diddy parties, Herring made the cheese sandwiches at the Fyre Festival, and Jones is on the Epstein List.
Next week in Part 3, I will look at the nominations in categories that honor industry figures.