Daniel Negreanu called Alexander Dreyfus a ‘visionary’ after the inaugural Global Poker Index American Poker Awards and American Poker Conference turned out to be a tremendous success.

Alexander Dreyfus said that poker is an old game, but a new industry. It does feel like that. The Frenchman has provided that feel. He has picked the game up by the scruff of the neck, given it a good old-fashioned spit wash, and now it looks shiny and new.

Part of that new look is the American Poker Awards (APA). It looked amazing. The highlight reel put together by PokerNews put a smile on my wife. 14-awards were dished out to the deserved. It was great to see nearly all of them turning up to pick up their award in person. I guess the only surprise was the lack of tears.

Daniel Negreanu called Alex Dreyfus a ‘visionary’. He is. This was a smart move. If you think awards ceremonies serve no purpose then you are wrong. These awards ceremonies are important for poker. It’s part of the new wave of new wave.

So who won, and more importantly how many winners did I predict?

I decided to take my shot at predicted nine awards and I only got two wrong. How did Daniel Colman’s record-breaking year not merit enough votes for him to walk away with the Breakout Player of the Year award? It’s quite simple really. Colman’s media shun – he was one of the few people not to turn up at the APA for example – means he is not gaining any fans. He won’t care one iota. Not today; perhaps tomorrow? Brandon Shack-Harris was the lucky recipient of Colman’s lack of appeal.

The other prediction that I got wrong was my vote for Raising for Effective Giving (REG) to be handed the award for Charity of the Year. That award went to Dan Shak and the team behind the “All-In for Kids” charity. Congratulations to everyone who puts the time and effort behind that initiative.