Federated Sports + Gaming’s Standards & Conduct Committee

Federated Sports + Gaming’s Standards & Conduct Committee

Friday, 27 May 2011

The Federated Sports + Gaming series of poker tournaments is still months in the making but Annie Duke has revealed a new Standards and Conduct Committee, overseeing the events to preserve both the integrity of the game and the etiquette at the tables.

“We realized really early on that we wanted to take standards and conduct very seriously. We felt like we had a great opportunity, because we have the same people playing each event, to do that in a way other people hadn’t been able to do strictly because of logistical reasons,” Duke explained. “It is a way that closer resembles what other professional sports leagues have done. Our first step was to find an outside ethics advisor. The next thing was to make sure we have player input.”


Stephen Martin is the only name there that you wouldn’t recognise – he has no WSOP bracelets or cash game earnings but is a former federal prosecutor; he worked with many large companies beforehand and has agreed to help out with the Committee. The names you WILL recognise are Chad Brown, Joe Hachem, Nick Schulman, Andy Bloch and Eric Baldwin as well as tournament director extraordinaire Matt Savage. Duke herself is also on the committee but will not vote on matters.


“When you’re thinking about professionalizing a sport,” Duke said. “It is a matter of everybody partnering together and realizing that everybody in this community really stands up and represents this sport to the public. In terms of creating and mainstreaming the sport, the conduct of those that face the public is very important and that’s very much under the purview of the committee.”


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Tags: Federated Sports + Gaming, Annie Duke, Joe Hachem, Chad Brown, Nick Schulman, Andy Bloch, Eric Baldwin, Matt Savage