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Since the new owners took over...
….dare I say it? Skypoker has actually got better.
First of all, they kept TK. To many of us old boys, TK is skypoker. The day that the suits pension TK into retirement is the day that the the ethos of skypoker changes forever.
We lost the TV channel. Yes this was a huge disappointment, but not as catastrophic as some thought it would be.
Tournaments now have bigger guarantees.
To an untrained eye, there seems to be more action on the site, though not on the bumhunter heads-up games. Hoorah!
The 'feelgood factor' is coming back. There are more loyal players.
The forum is starting to show some life, mostly because of TK stimulating it (forget the 500 posts of “my journey” or whatever that are never read.)
There are many more players enticed by offers.
Punta Cana.
UKOPS.
Viva Las Vegas (the suits better do it next year as well or there will be a rebellion).
Most of this was done under the old skypoker, but it's just that little bit better now.
Fletch.
Comments
That's a very nice post, thank you Fletch.
It's all about perception, isn't it?
Is a 10p piece round or flat? Depends which angle you view it from.
There's an inherent distrust of "new owners" & the like, & that's understandable.
Some are for the good, & invest, some not so much, & they run the new business as a cash cow.
In this case, they have chosen to give the green light for Management to invest a lot in the SB&G business. In the last few months, 2 extra floors have been taken at the Head Office Building, another Office nearby has been procured for further expansion, & a new satellite office opened in Sheffield.
Just recently - it was in the media, so google is the answer - Mr Flint, who is the SB&G Top Top Cheese, announced an "£11 million recruitment drive", whatever that it.
In reality, there has not - so far - been much affect on Sky Poker, other than a commitment to recruit & develop more.
So those who say the takeover has put them off, well, they are entitled to that view, but it's hard to see how it has negatively impacted anything on the players side of the table.
Certainly, yes, it was a big disappointment to lose 861, (& that includes to the 861 staff & myself, obviously), but once the takeover was agreed, there was no option, none at all.
So yes, a disappointment, but life is full of them, but its rarely the end of the world.
As to me, well I was very grateful for those kind words, I love being part of it all, &, if I have my way, I'll be here a little longer yet, all things being equal. At some stage I'll go though. There'll be a thread "ra ra", & a few days later, all will be forgotten, & everything will continue as before. It's just how things are. The main drivers behind the ethos are Management & Staff, all I do is reflect their mindset.
I don't actually DO anything as such. First respondent on the Forum, try to answer players questions as best as I can, to try & ease the load on the senior staff. I have my UKPC baby to look after, but it's hardly a 12 month job, it comes & goes. Blogging, helping out with Promos, helping the Sky Poker TV lads, Vegas & Punta Cana when selected (what a life...) just a whole basket of little jobs. I'm currently angling to do more, I enjoy working, but that's up to them. We shall see.
Anyway, thank you.
Not sure if I'm being whooshed here, but the next Sky Poker UKPC is in February, & all the details are HERE
It was announced on the day the recent UKOPS ended.
The one after that? All being well, & not to get ahead of myself, it should be in August or September.
It was quite a juggling act this year to get dates that worked for 2 x UKPC, 4 x UKOPS, 1 x Viva las Vegas & 1 x Punta Cana. They all need a solid satellite period, so it was a bit awkward.
I have no idea what the plans for 2016 are, but it'd be neat if that lot all ran again.
I wrote.......
".....It was quite a juggling act this year to get dates that worked for 2 x UKPC, 4 x UKOPS, 1 x Viva Las Vegas & 1 x Punta Cana. They all need a solid satellite period, so it was a bit awkward. I have no idea what the plans for 2016 are, but it'd be neat if that lot all ran again....."
The only one which is 100% in the book for 2016 is the February UKPC. Fingers crossed, most or all of the others will run too, but none of them are currently confirmed, or not to my knowledge.
They were all successful this year (2015) so let's hope they all run again in 2016.
Some other stuff is in the pipeline too.
I guess the main thing that makes people worry about new owners is that they are going to change everything and mess things up rather than help to change things for the better.
In the case of Amaya for example they paid a huge amount for a company and needed to finance some massive borrowing that was needed to do it and this involved taking money from the players and upsetting everyone.
I am not privy to all the behind closed doors meeting between CVC and SB & G but it seems to me that they paid a very fair price that they could easily afford for 80% of a very successful company. They had absolutely no motive whatsoever to do anything other than let the guys who are doing a great job carry on doing a great job.
As far as I know they don't take any of the day to day decisions and I'm sure that in terms of the poker part of the business any strategic plans that have been made have come 100% from the people who would have made them if they had never heard of CVC.
The TV channel was a direct consequence of the company no longer being wholly owned by BSkyB but I think the solution to that has worked out pretty well, less hours of poker but a much higher profile for the company with those hours. As for the new rewards scheme, in total the players have had a massive amount of extra money given to them which must be good for ALL players in the long run.