The SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California played host to the first ever GPI American Poker Awards which was sponsored by PokerStars and luxury Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis. The event which was put together by the Global Poker Index (GPI) attracted the best and most popular poker players in North America and the night was filled with fun, glamour and excitement as the winners were announced.
The night belonged to the two Daniels as they were recognized for their achievements in the poker industry. Daniel Negreanu who has consistently dominated the poker circuit for over a decade won the prestigious People Choice Award for Poker’s Best Ambassador. The award was given on the basis of the fan’s choice and it was no surprise that Negreanu was chosen. The champion poker player who was recently inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame is a clear fan favorite as he always takes the time to sign autographs, take pictures and interact with his fans either on social media or in person. Negreanu was happy to receive this award and thanked his fans for their support and also his parents who raised him to be the man he is today.
Daniel Colman had an outstanding 2014 as he won a number of prestigious events including the Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker where the buy-in was $1,000,000. He was duly recognized with the 2014 Poker Player of the Year award but he did not collect the award as he was not in attendance. The controversial Colman was also nominated for the Tournament Performance of the Year and the Breakout Performance in 2014 but did not win. The winners were given elegantly crafted silver trophies along with a limited edition Roger Dubuis watch in recognition for their poker achievements in 2014.
There were a number of awards presented on the night including the number one player on the GPI World Poker Rankings to end 2014 which went to Dan Smith; GPI Female Player of the Year awarded to Vanessa Selbst; (WPT): Lifetime Achievement in Poker awarded to Steve Lipscomb; (WPT) Industry Person of the Year awarded to Adam Pliska and the Media Person of the Year awarded to Chris Grove from OnlinePokerReport.
The next GPI awards ceremony will take place in Malta towards the end of March 2015 where the GPI European Poker Awards will recognize the top poker players in Europe.
