Artur Voskanyan Reflects on 20 Years of Poker Club Management

Poker Club Management (PCM) was founded by Artur Voskanyan in September 2006. The company's journey began when Voskanyan was working at the casino 'Shangri-La' in Moscow under Michael Botcher. Voskanyan, who was initially assisting Tony Power, the manager of the poker club at 'Shangri-La', decided to start his own business after being offered to downsize the poker club.

Voskanyan and Power, along with Yuri Krasovsky, who later became the owner of 'Liga Stavok', opened the first Poker Club Management location in the 'Asia' casino on Olympic Prospekt. The building was owned by Iosif Kobzon and Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, known as 'Taiwanchik'.

The poker club at 'Shangri-La' was the best in Russia at the time and featured TV tables with card windows. Notable players such as Evgeny Kafelnikov participated in the tournaments conducted by PCM, which were held daily. The company's success led to competition with Storm International, which continued to operate the poker club 'Makao' in its original capacity.