On the latest episode of the Mania Podcast – hosted by Daniel and Amanda Negreanu – the topic of the Global Poker Awards came into the conversation following the live ceremony on Sunday night.
While the back-and-forth about the ceremony remains mostly positive, the two do raise valid points about the lack of involvement on the players' side. "Years ago, many years ago before it was the GPI, they used to do poker awards big time. They did 'em in LA, you'd have celebrities, a big banquet hall," Daniel said. "At these awards shows, you'd have Doyle Brunson, you had Chip Reese, you had Phil Ivey, you had Johnny Chan, you had Phil Hellmuth. You had like all the pros, everybody showed up."
"It was like a big deal, it felt like it meant something," Amanda agreed.
Daniel makes the comparison because, based on his conversations with Jeff Platt and Brent Hanks, "nobody showed up" to this year's award ceremony. "No players showed up," Daniel asserted.
'I only vote on the things [I know]'
Amanda was quick to heap praise on Platt for his performance as emcee – "Jeff Platt, you f**king killed it, man," – Daniel thought the audience at the ceremony lacked the guts to laugh at some of his harsher jokes. "I think people are afraid to laugh," Daniel said.
Daniel went on to outline a few more of his points of contention with the Global Poker Awards and the direction the ceremony has gone over the last few years. In particular, he points out what he perceives as a flaw in the award voting process which leads to skewed results more akin to a popularity contest.
"I don't buy for a second that people vote on things where they actually know the right answer or have an opinion," Negreanu argued. "On categories where I don't actually have an opinion – like what's the best Mid-Major tournament – I don't know. So, I only vote on the things [I know]."
"Oh, you don't have to vote on everything?" Amanda asked.
"No, you shouldn't actually, but people do anyway and what ends up happening is you just end up voting for the people you like," came the reply from Negreanu.
Daniel then goes on to tell a story about the last time he and Amanda attended the awards ceremony – you'll want to hear that one straight from the source.
