Danny McDonagh Becomes PokerStars Live Executive Tournament Director
The team at PokerStars has announced Danny McDonagh's return to PokerStars Live as he assumes his new role of Executive Tournament Director for the flagship tour events.
McDonagh brings with him over two decades of experience in the industry, having starting out at Crown Melbourne Poker Room where he was Tournament Director for all events, including the Aussie Millions.
“It's definitely about making poker events more fun for the players whether on or off the felt."
He’s no stranger to running events for Stars either; he joined PokerStars in 2007 as Asian Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Tournament Director and nine years later became Director of Live Operations – Asia Pacific, President of the APPT and Commissioner of the Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT). In Tuesday's press release, McDonagh shared a bit about his new role.
“There are some obvious duties involved such as overseeing Tournament Rules and Regulations, reviewing schedules and structures,” said McDonagh. “I will also be a point of reference for our players to have a voice about our events, whether chatting to me in person at events or connecting to me via social media. And another important aspect will be the ongoing review of PokerStars’ live poker offerings and being part of the team effecting exciting changes and innovations to our events.”
His first appearances at PokerStars Live events in the new capacity will be at EPT Barcelona in August, followed by EPT Prague at the end of the year and the highly anticipated PSPC in the Bahamas in January 2019.
Interview with McDonagh
In an interview on the PokerStars Blog, McDonagh said he was most excited about being involved with major EPT events and the PokerStars Players Championship in the Bahamas. He plans to apply the experience he has gained from his stint in Asia Pacific to the flagship Stars Live events.
“For those who don't know me, I am a very approachable person and always look forward to mixing with our customers whether they be recreational or professional players. That's one good way I can get a good cross section of players opinions about our events.”
“For those who don't know me, I am a very approachable person and always look forward to mixing with our customers whether they be recreational or professional players."
McDonagh also plans to focus on an all-around tournament experience that involves attention to players’ preferences both on and off the felt.
“It's definitely about making poker events more fun for the players whether on or off the felt. On the felt, while we of course need to adhere to tournament rules, my approach is to promote a happy atmosphere amongst staff and the players which I believe leads to poker played in good spirits and less problems being encountered.”
Looking to the future, McDonagh hopes to help build on an already strong and growing PokerStars Live brand.
“The challenge as I see it is to lift the bar to new heights and deliver even more for the players, making them not to be missed events for any poker player. I intend to give it my best to help Toby [Stone] and his team achieve this objective.”
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