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Interview with Richard 'chadders0' Chadwick
Charles Hawk: Amaya's CEO has been recently charged with insider trading, stock price has tanked and the server errors are on the increase since the 2014 takeover. How safe is pokerstars position as a market leader and trend setter in the online poker industry?
Richard 'chadders0' Chadwick: In the first instance I would say that the charging of the CEO should at worst mean the company acquires a new one, whilst this could hinder day to day operation by all accounts that could be a good thing given that every time a decision is made it seems to be a raise in rake. A lot of people have little faith in Amaya as a company with respect to running a poker platform in the long term interest of the game, this scandal will make them more accountable in the legal arena but there is no reason to believe this will effect customer services and business plans.
Charles Hawk: Where do you see pokerstars in 5 years?
Richard 'chadders0' Chadwick: I think pokerstars will still be a market leader or close to it in 5 years time, but I believe this will be a hangover from it's glory days. I have a hard time seeing how they will increase their market share whilst dealing with unanimous contempt from online professionals.
Charles Hawk: Do you think the poker community as a whole could benefit from pokerstars losing its position as market leader?
Richard 'chadders0' Chadwick: i don't think anyone will benefit from pokerstars losing its market share, I think as other companies increase their market share we are more likely to see better quality services with the same prices as opposed to the same services with more competitive pricing. I believe this is the case because businesses will look to capitalize on the low stakes player pools where high rake is standardized.
Charles Hawk: What are your thoughts on the merging of FTP and pokerstars scheduled to take place in April?
Richard 'chadders0' Chadwick: I will miss FTP, I cant tell you how many times I've disconnected from stars yet had no problems with FTP. It almost seemed as if the forgotten child was the healthiest. I understand there is little need for the site to exist now, but I am sure none of the benefits of site consolidation will be passed onto the players.
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Big thanks to Richard "chadders0" Chadders for sharing with me the news and helping create the questions.