Industry News
Natural8 Continues To Soar With The Addition of Ambassadors Laura Cintra & Danny Tang who received a WSOP Bracelet and a win of $1,600,000 at WSOP Las Vegas
Natural8 is one of the fastest growing online poker platforms in the world and home to its very own Natural8’s Team Hot.
Made up of some of the world’s best players, Team Hot features professional players who began with humble beginnings who grew to be some of the most widely recognized and respected players internationally.
Just recently, Natural8 welcomed two new additions to their family of Poker Pros.
Being a hugely male dominated community since the beginning, now Poker has its fair share of incredible female players. Introducing Natural8’s new friend, Laura Cintra.
Laura is a Brazilian professional poker player since 2015. She brings a fresh perspective into the poker scene as she documents her journey as a poker player. She is no less passionate about poker than any of the well-known pros out there.
In the continuously growing poker community, Laura considers herself not only a player, but also an influencer. With 58K+ in followers, she has a strong presence in the social media world. Laura is able to share her lifestyle, mental and physical development, as well as trends as a poker player in a more intimate and personal way.
Laura is not only admired for her beauty, but also for her diligence to reach her A-game. She studies the game religiously and plays online for 8 to 10 hours a day. She has also admitted that she undergoes ‘special training’ to play live tournaments. Her journey as a poker player shows her tenacity and determination as she strives for success.
The next new addition to Natural8’s Team Hot hails from Hong Kong and has consistently ranked as one of the highest in GPI Asia, Danny Tang. Danny has reached major heights this year and continues to climb.
Currently holding at 2nd on the Hong Kong All Time Money List with total live earnings of $6,310,799 and 1st in the Hong Kong GPI Ranking, Danny is a well-respected and formidable player in the Hong Kong poker community.
Just recently in the 2019 World Series of Poker. Danny captured his first golden bracelet in the $50,000 Final Fifty No Limit Hold’em. Making him the second WSOP bracelet winner from Hong Kong, and the first among Natural8’s Team Hot.
This amazing achievement has also propelled Danny into the Top 10 of the 2019 Player of the Year.
“It means absolutely everything. Being one of the ambassadors for Hong Kong and Asia, and to just win the first bracelet in Las Vegas in a No-Limit Hold’em event. It’s just unreal. Words can’t describe it,” said Danny after winning Hong Kong’s second WSOP bracelet.
For the vast majority, winning at the WSOP can take years upon years of attempts especially with attendance climbing each year. The Final Fifty High Roller event was a late addition to the WSOP 2019 schedule. The event ran for three days attracting 123 entrants for a prize pool of $5,904,000. World renowned pros in attendance were Mikita Badziakouski, David Peters, Fedor Holz, Daniel Negreanu, and Rainer Kempe, however none of them would reach the money.
“Playing poker obviously is my passion, and financially has helped me where I’m at right now. I want to go down in the history books and I want to be remembered. When I’m older I can tell my kids, and generations and generations after me when they talk about poker, ‘Oh yeah, Danny Tang’, so I will be aiming for that number one spot eventually.”
Industry News
SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level
11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.
Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.
Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.
GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.
Industry News
Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase
Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.
“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.
“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.
Industry News
PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer
PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.
In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.
Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.
“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.
Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.
Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.
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