PokerStars Players Meet with Amaya Executives: No Good News

PokerStars players Daniel Dvoress, Isaac Haxton, and Dan Stern met with Amaya executives on January 18, 2016, to discuss changes in the VIP program. The meeting was held at the Amaya office in Montreal and included representatives Sean Nicholson, Eric Hollreiser, Severin Rasset, and Bard Dahl.

Players were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prohibiting them from discussing confidential business and financial information. The players expressed concern over PokerStars' decision to withdraw promised rewards for SN and SNE status holders in 2016. Amaya representatives denied any obligations to SN and SNE status holders for 2015 and argued that extending bonuses for 2016 would not align with their business interests.

PokerStars representatives presented evidence of issues within their ecosystem but did not show how the changes would directly benefit players. Players proposed various ideas to improve the system, including adjusting rake on high-stakes games and offering bonuses for certain game types. However, Amaya representatives were not convinced that these ideas would bring more benefits than problems.