![]() So you didn’t know anything about poker before starting there? Poker constituted the vast majority of its business, and that’s where I first learned about the game. I started with a company called Empire Poker (with the poker team at Empire Online). Somehow, I eventually found myself in the online gaming sphere. ![]() So, I was focused towards the financial world, and then venture capital investments. I did portfolio management, both stocks and bonds. I worked many years with a big Japanese company, doing technology-related investments. Let’s start off with you telling us a bit about your background prior to getting into the poker industry. What follows is a transcript of our interview, which offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how 888poker operates, as well as Hili’s opinions regarding the future of both live and online poker. While Hili wanted his story captured “while the iron was hot” shortly after he left 888, for a variety of reasons he preferred that it remain unpublished “until a later date”. In addition to sharing the story of his rise to the top and how 888poker climbed to at one point be the #2 online poker room, Hili talked about the many ups and downs he and his department had experienced, how Black Friday was received internally at the company, how he led the department to branch into live poker offerings and partnerships for the first time, and much more. We met shortly after his departure from the company and spoke for close to an hour and a half, during which time he opened up about his lengthy career at one of the world’s top online gaming companies. To the best of my knowledge, only once before, in 2010, had Hili agreed to do an interview, so it’s a true honor that he said yes when I approached him and asked. The name Hili Shakked is not necessarily one that many poker fans and people in the poker community will be familiar with, but that’s only because he has always shied away from the spotlight, preferring to let his teammates and colleagues get the media attention.Īt 888, Hili worked his way up to being the Head of Poker, a position that he held for the final five years of his tenure there. After an 11 year run working at 888poker, back in late 2018 he decided to move on to his next adventure. Hili Shakked is someone who I’ve known for close to 15 years now.
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