April 09 2015, by Alexandre Dreyfus

Blog Alex Dreyfus – My picks for Bluff Power 20 (2015)

For the first time, I’ve been invited last January to be part of the 60+ people that votes for the annual Bluff Power 20. This ranking is the picture of the most influential individuals of the poker industry, globally. Bluff just released the official list for 2015 (see below). For the European Poker Awards, our policy doesn’t let GPI’s initiatives or myself to be on the list (even thought was number one from the nomination panel the last 2 years) as I believe than to be legit, the organizer shouldn’t appear. So the only reward I can get, as I organize most of the Poker Awards globally, is to be in the Bluff Power 20  :-). It never hurts to be there, especially when you know how Bluff and GPI loves each others 🙂 My main disappointment is that because there is no more printed edition, I will never have my picture in Bluff Magazine. (by the way, what is this picture you chose ??) 🙂

Power 20 : www.bluff.com

My Power 20 (sent in January as a secret ballot to Bluff – without below comments)

1 David Baazov (CEO of Amaya) for acquiring the largest poker force in the world
2 Ty Stewart (WSOP) for having the most direct impact on the live poker industry
3 Brian Mattingley (888) for the exceptional run of 888 Poker (.com) and aggressive US strategy
4 Matt Savage (himself) for its dedication to the poker community and the value he brings to it
5 Alexandre Dreyfus (spender) because you need to grind step by step
6 Adam Pliska (WPT) for leading and driving the  2014 success of WPT in US
7 Jeffrey Haas (Party.Bwin) for playing politics between MGM, Boyd, Party.Bwin – complicated situation
8 Edgar Stuchly (EPT) for exceeding all the highest expectations of their live poker tours
9 Jack Effel (WSOP) for running the longest, wildest, biggest poker festival in the world
10 John Pappas (PPA) for trying to make something right in USA
11 Alex Roos & Christophe Schaming (Winamax) for innovating in online poker, beating the world leader and then getting copied (Spin&Go)
12 Sheldon Adelson (Gondolier) what for.
13 Hermance Blum (WPT Europe) for succeeding in developing the WPT Franchise in Europe.
14 Daniel Negreanu (follow me on twitter) for being the best poker ambassador
15 Chris Grove (Online Poker Report) for bringing proper and educated insights
16 Jason Sommerville (Poker Pro) for bringing a entrepreneur spirit to the players community
17 Kevin Mathers (Kevmath) for not sleeping more than 2h per night to tweet 22/7
18 Ray Lesniak (NJ Senator) for speaking french to me and taking strong position for poker
19 David Rebuck (NJ Regulator) for running a well organized operation of regulated market
20 Matt Parvis (Pokernews) for representing the leading poker media

Bluff Power 20 of APril 2015 (with some of my comments – sorry if I said what I think, nothing wrong with that)

1 David Baazov (CEO of Amaya)
2 Sheldon Adelson  Gondolier.
3 Mitch Garber
4 Ty Stewart
5 Norbert Teufelberger  Mitch like Norbert, I don’t think they have real influence on poker. Just because their job description include leading brands, doesn’t make them influent.
6 Michael Hazel Great choice – Totally deserve it, even though I’m surprised that the voters knew him and his position.
7 Daniel Negreanu
8 Jeffrey Haas
9 Brian Mattingley
10 Adam Pliska
11 Brian Balsbaugh
12 Isadore Hall III Didn’t see the Season 1 and 2.
13 Edgar Stuchly
14 David Rebuck
15 Chris Christie
16 Chris Grove
17 PT Barnum of Poker I had to google to figure out what it means. Not sure if its good or not. Ty says its good.
18 My Facebook Friend Lucky you, you can get rewarded on your own list !
19 Jason Somerville
20 Jack Effel

Alex Dreyfus.
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About the author

Alexandre Dreyfus is the founder and CEO of Media Sports & Entertainment, a company dedicated to manage different projects, including the Global Poker Index, a ranking system for live poker players, The Hendon Mob, Worlds Largest Live Poker Database, the Global Poker League, European & American Poker Awards and recently launched the Gaming Player Index, connecting the world of poker with esports. Alex Dreyfus is the founder and CEO of Chiligaming, amongst other projects, whose technology was sold to Bally Technologies. Social links: Alex Dreyfus on Twitter | Alex Dreyfus on Linkedin | Alex Dreyfus Blog | Facebook Alex Dreyfus