In a press statement Tuesday the New York-based online poker tournament operator Cafrino advised top management changes.
Haig Kayserian was named chairman and Joseph Conner director of poker operations at the site, which has been operational since 2011 and claims significant growth to a registered player base of 60,000, with over 10 percent identified as monthly active users.
There are over 1.8 million hands dealt on the website per month, a number that the company says is expected to grow significantly with the launch of the Cafrino mobile app, slated for later this year.
Cafrino takes no money from players, but pays players cash prizes from its advertising revenue, which is received by running advertisements between hands.
Kayserian, who has been part of Cafrino since its inception, is an internet business consultant with two international companies under his directorship – digital agency, Kayweb and angel investment firm, Kayweb Angels – and has sat on the boards of over ten internet businesses in the United States and Australia. He is also an adviser to a venture capital fund.
He is likely to be a key figure as the company seeks to raise Series A funding that will further its product and marketing efforts to what he refers to as “a tipping point”..
“Our CEO Michael Murphy has led Cafrino beyond all set targets since we raised our seed money at a $1 million valuation,” said Kayserian. “Our relationships with ad agencies have us clear-sighted on what we have to do to reach a tipping point in terms of active users, and we’ve drawn a path to achieve that with the help of a Series A funding round that will reflect the new value of this business.”
Joseph Conner is joining the team as director of poker operations, with the task of managing the product evolution post-funding.
He is an online poker product professional with eight years of experience in real money, membership, ad-based and social poker models. His list of product involvements include Tropicana Entertainment’s Social Casino, Bwin.Party’s Party Poker & Party Casino, NYX Gaming Group, and DoylesRoom Poker.