Eight-member board leaves as Chairman Eolis steps aside to work for US Presidential candidate.
Friday 20th June 2008
Only two weeks after being elected, the eight board members of the Las Vegas-based World Poker Association (WPA) have resigned following a decision by Chairman Wendeen Eolis to step down.
Industry sources are still unclear as to what precipitated the resignations but a statement from the poker advocacy group stated that Eolis had been offered a role on the campaign of a US Presidential candidate.
The founder and Chairman Emeritus of the WPA, Jesse Jones, has been reinstated as Chairman and will now oversee the task of assembling additional poker industry representatives for the group’s board.
During her one-year term, Eolis facilitated the development of the WPA’s Code of Ethics alongside revising its internal affairs. She also produced the first WPA Annual Meeting and Educational Conference and helped redesign the group’s website at WPAPoker.org.
'We thank Wendeen for her valuable contributions,' said Jones.
'Her resignation is warmly accepted and we wish her success in her new role.
“Discussions between outgoing board members and other key contacts within the poker community will now begin. Our primary goal is to invite additional talent to represent and advance the interests of poker players around the globe.
'We have a unique opportunity to form a strong board with a united vision, to promote poker as a sport by advocating professionalism and uniform rules and standards of conduct and help to create increased economic opportunities for players worldwide.
'We thank our members for their continued support and look forward to an exciting year in shaping the policies and practices of international poker.'
Only two weeks after being elected, the eight board members of the Las Vegas-based World Poker Association (WPA) have resigned following a decision by Chairman Wendeen Eolis to step down.