The schedule for the Global Poker League´s “American Poker Conference” has been announced, along with details of some of the panelists who will attend.
On Thursday 25th February, some of the leading players in the world will be welcomed to the SLS Hotel in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, for a day dedicated to analyzing, sportifying and celebrating poker in the USA.
The day is divided into three sections and will start with the American Poker Conference – a look into the threats to, and opportunities for poker in the USA. The afternoon is dedicated to the draft for the inaugural Global Poker League; and, during the evening, the American Poker Awards will honor the players, events and personalities that helped to make 2015 a memorable year for poker.
Coffee and HoldemX Start the Proceedings
For early risers, a welcome breakfast awaits those who can face eating at 8:30am in the morning, before the first discussion of the day gets underway at 9:00am – “The Boom of the E-sports Industry. An example to follow for poker?”
GPL founder, Alex Dreyfus, has been an interested follower of the E-sports boom, and has recently invested millions into launching HoldemX – a game that bridges the gap between poker and E-sports. Undoubtedly much of the discussion will surround HoldemX and similar attempts to introduce more gaming players to the world of poker.
Women in Poker – More of the Same, or a Gateway to a Dedicated Conference?
The second item on the American Poker Conference schedule is Women in poker: how could a more balanced gender diversity redynamise the live poker world?
Hopefully the discussion will be more about the effects of more women in poker, rather than the same old How do we attract an untapped database of poker players?
Women in poker has been a hot topic for years, and possibly the thirty minutes allocated to this discussion will not be enough for everybody present to express their views. Ideally, the inclusion of this topic at the prestigious American Poker Conference will lead to a dedicated “Women in Poker Conference”, which will then give the subject the time it deserves.
The Turn of the Poker Media to Have its Say
After a short comfort break, the topic of discussion focuses on the poker media in Does the Future of the Poker Media have to be Based on Players´ Self-Marketing and Starification?
A panel from the world of poker media will be moderated by Matthew Parvis and include Adam Schwartz, Donnie Peters and Lance Bradley.
It will be interesting to see what develops from this discussion. The title of the discussion implies that poker players are the main focus of the poker media, whereas there are many online poker news sites (this one for example) that covers topics such as regulation and online poker site promotions. Possibly the time allocated to the panel (45 minutes) would not allow time for these issues to be discussed.
Players Panel Wraps Up American Poker Conference
The final event of the American Poker Conference discusses How to Improve Collective Initiatives among Players to Effectively Impact the Industry
. This should also be a hot topic, because many players feel they give plenty back to the industry through excessive rake structures and other prize pool deductions. The discussion should also be well attended due to the events scheduled for later in the day.
The Players Panel – along with the rest of the American Poker Conference – will be live-streamed on Twitch. It should make interesting viewing; although, due to the time allocated to each topic, it is unlikely that anything substantial will come out of the conference itself. Hopefully there will be some good points raised that can be developed at a later stage to help develop the poker ecosystem in the USA.
Dates for European Poker Awards & Conference Released
In addition to announcing the schedule for the American Poker Conference, the Global Poker League revealed that the European Poker Awards and Conference will be held during the EPT Monte Carlo on Tuesday May 3rd. Possibly, with no GPL Draft to take up the afternoon, more time can be allocated to discuss some of the more important issues in today´s live poker environment.
