Global Poker Index and Roger Dubuis Team Up for Player of The Year Award
Thanks to a new deal signed between the Global Poker Index (GPI) and the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Roger Dubuis, the winners of the GPI's 2014 Player of the Year Awards are now set to take home a prestigious La Monégasque custom-made timepiece.
Announcing the finalization of the deal between the poker ranking authority and the manufacturer part of the exclusive Richemont Group, GPI Chief Executive Officer Alex Dreyfus said that he has found in Roger Dubuis a "logical partner."
"In poker, everything is about fluidity, math, precise timing, pressure, and performance," Dreyfus said, mentioning a series of factors in which Dubuis is undoubtedly a world leader.
"I'm excited to announce a great partnership between Global Poker Index and Roger Dubuis," Dreyfus continued. “It has been a long journey to 'sportify poker,' and in Roger Dubuis we’ve found an amazing partner who supports our vision."
"It is a privilege to find a partner from the exclusive fine watchmaking industry that actually understands the true potential of Poker as a sport and commits in helping us build the legitimacy of our industry by supporting our annual Poker Awards," Dreyfus concluded.
"The partnership with the GPI will enable us to share our common value for mastering timing, our quest for ultimate precision and our aim for top performance with a global audience," Roger Dubuis CEO Jean-Marc Pontroué commented.
According to Pontroué, who during the past years built himself a solid reputation in the luxury industry as Commercial Director at Givency and as Vice President at Montblanc, the deal is set to work since both the GPI and the company he represents are working towards common goals. "We look forward to support GPI and its ambitions to develop poker as a sport," Pontroué explained.
As a result of the deal signed by the two companies, the next winners of the American Player of the Year (Los Angeles, Feb. 27, 2015), the European Player of the Year (Malta, Mar. 25, 2015) and the Asian Player of the Year (to be defined) awards will be able to put on their wrists a unique personalized La Monégasque timepiece.
"Roger Dubuis watches are very high-end timepieces. Their average price is between $40,000 and $50,000, even if most of their models are priced between $150,000 to $1,000,000," Dreyfus told PokerNews.
"This model have been designed explicitly for GPI players, which means that it will exist in only three pieces – and each one of them will be completely unique because of its personalization."
At the same time, "photos of the awards and other 'promotional' material will be used in the shops of the maison, and this will help us in our mission to promote poker at a whole new level," Dreyfus admitted while giving PokerNews some exclusive insights about the deal.
"Having a customized watch for the winner of the GPI Player of the Year race, is for me something more 'useful' than a ring or than a bracelet," Dreyfus went on. "True, it is less symbolic than those, but the fact that it is going to be a truly unique piece is what makes it a very significant prize."
However, the deal is not going to be only about what will land on the world's best poker wrists, as Dreyfus believes that by cooperating with a respected and known brand as Roger Dubuis, he can help the whole game to reach new heights and attracts new (wealthy) players.
"[The] GPI and Roger Dubuis, will organize some private poker events to educate the maison's customers with the help of some VIP poker players. This will help us to promote the game, the sport and why not, also to bring new players in the ecosystem."
Click here to get more information about the GPI, the American Poker Awards and the European Poker Awards.
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