After some intense discussions the PokerPlayer team finally decided its hero and villain for 2013. There were many candidates for both the awards, but there could only be two winners…
Hero of the year – Barny Boatman
If there was anybody in UK poker that was ‘due’ a big tournament victory it was Barny Boatman. After a fifteen year career there had been a lot of cashes but no major wins. Barny himself says he and his brother Ross, ‘have hit the crossbar so many times since the poker boom’.
That all changed when Barny sat down in a $1,500 WSOP event and made it all the way to the final table. The rail was packed with poker players of all ages that wanted to see Barny net the biggest win of his career. The British poker legend didn’t disappoint, putting on a tour de force to win his first bracelet and nearly $550k.
Sometimes in life the good guys really do win. Congratulations Barny!
Villain of the year – Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson – Villain of the year!
Sheldon Adelson is the CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns a number of major casinos, and is a big player in the US political scene. Unfortunately for us, this year he turned his ire to online poker, saying that, ‘Online gambling is fool’s gold…and it could bring a plague to our society.’
Adelson’s fear tactics are exactly what the poker industry does not need at this crucial time of flux. It is also a strange coincidence that he is denouncing the one industry that could have an adverse effect on his casino business… Thankfully, despite the best wishes of outdated oaf Adelson, it looks like online poker is on the comeback trail in the USA.
For more PokerPlayer 2013 Awards, check out the latest issue of PokerPlayer magazine, available on iTunes here.
