iGB Affiliate Awards Highlights: Long Live the Queen!

Wow, what a show! It is nights like this that make me absolutely adore my job and the igaming industry- it does not even feel like work, it feels like drinking, eating and celebrating with good friends. The iGB Affiliate Awards were a complete blast…the queen was there, I was sitting at the best table of all, the entertainment was excellent, the awards were great fun to watch, and we raised a ton of money for Oxfam and Haiti relief. Also, for the first time ever, the awards were streamed live at CalvinAyre.com, so even if you could not make the ceremony, you could still take part in the fun AND I did not F up on the live stream camera. YES!
Pokerisivut
Pokerisivut.com Table
For the second year in a row, my good Finnish friends from Pokerisivut.com invited me to join their Affiliate Awards table. Now, this may sound biased, but I sincerely believe that this table was full of some of the best people on the planet. Not only do they organize (and fund!) some pretty ridiculous parties, but they were also the recipients of “Best Overall Affiliate Program of the Year”, certainly the most prestigious award in the world for any igaming affiliate. Thanks boys, and more to come about the “record breaking” Affiliate Awards after party they organized at Jalouse…stay tuned for details on this gong show, and do yourself a favor and watch the highlights video in the meantime. Welcome to the igaming industry.
Petebox
Awards Entertainment
All I can say is ThePetebox.com. UNREAL!! This guy was amazing. Funny thing is, when I first laid eyes on the guy during the champagne reception, I thought he was a new affiliate from Russia or something- he was the dude decked in street clothes with one hell of a hairstyle. Next thing I know, prior to the award presentations he’s up on stage with nothing but a mic, a recorder, and his unbelievable vocal cords. Call me sheltered, but I have never heard of “beat boxing” in my life, let alone seen it live. From my “half in the bag” memory at that point in the night, I recall a Michael Jackson song, a Hymn for the religious igaming folks out there, and some of the sickest beats I have every heard. Well done Petebox, most award ceremony entertainment absolutely sucks, so you were a very pleasant surprise for all of us.
MCs
Oh, but that’s not all. Half way through the award presentations, a beautiful belly dancer came on stage immediately followed by a crowd of break dancers- full blown modern London entertainment at its finest. Some more modern London entertainment at its finest includes the sexy Michael Caselli who MCed the entire event along side of professional poker player Phil “Unabomber” Laak who is known for his hooded sweatshirt and glasses at the poker table, his WPT championship in 2004, and his relationship with Jennifer Tilly. Lucky bastard.
AwardRecipient
Awards Ceremony
Aside from the entertainment, the awards themselves were very exciting and it was an absolute pleasure to personally capture the moment of surprise and delight as I interviewed each recipient, many who are good friends of mine. I loved every minute this, even if some of them felt “tricked” into the back room by the Ayre Heads and were somewhat petrified of the camera. The awards of note include “Best Affiliate Program of the Year” which went to Bet365, “Best Overall Affiliate Manager of the Year” which went to Carly Sawyers of Pokerstars, and “Best Overall Affiliate of the Year” which went to the fabulous Fins of Pokerisivut.com. What? You think I’m biased? Never.
Oxfam
Oxfam and Haiti Relief
While I am clearly so proud of all the award recipients, one of the most memorable moments of the night was the announcement that the combination of the iGaming Business efforts and the Calvin Ayre Foundation match raised over 65,000 GBP for Haiti relief. Oxfam’s Chris Ashworth joined me on stage to receive the check representing the total raised by our industry and he was so grateful for this huge donation. Thank you all so much for your generosity, and please keep those donations coming- just send me the receipt and Calvin will continue to match.
Queen
For more on the iGB Affiliate Awards, please do not miss the highlights video and CalvinAyre.com picture gallery. Enjoy, have a laugh, and Long Live the Queen!