PokerStar CEO Gabriel Campos is quitting his position with the online poker giant effective February 1. Campos had been with the company for less than two years.
Few Specifics Available
News of Campos’ departure was broken by poker player and legal consultant Wendeen Eolis and later confirmed by PokerStars officials in a brief statement to the press.
“PokerStars announced today that Gabi Campos has decided to step down from his position as Chief Executive Officer, effective Feb. 1, 2012, to pursue other opportunities. The company thanks Gabi for his hard work and commitment and wishes him the best in all his future endeavors. A search for Gabi’s replacement is under way,” the press release read. As of this writing, no further details were available.
Poker Forums Speculate
Campos resignation took the online poker world by surprise and speculation ran rampant on poker news sites and forums. Some speculated that PokerStars is running short of cash and was looking to cut high profile staffers; other suggested that the move reflected some sort of internal power struggle at the world’s largest online poker site.
The one thing every theory had in common is that none of them could be backed up with hard facts.
PokerStars Exodus
Of course much the rumor swirling around PokerStars were fueled by the fact that Campos is not the first high profile figure to depart the company recently. His resignation comes just after European Poker Tour founder John Duthie and Tournament Director Thomas Kremser both tender their resignations within a short time of another.
Campos Era PokerStars
Campos took the helm at PokerStars after a successful tenure at Dragonfish, the B2B unit of 888.com. During that time, he led the company to revenue increases of around 33 percent.
In his pre-gaming life, the Israeli-born Campos directed technology companies and even served a hitch with the Mossad, Israel’s top intelligence agency. Neither Campos, nor PokerStars indicated what his next move might be. Though it’s very possible he could wind up with one of the many companies clamoring to help re-open the American poker market.
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