Rational appoints Zynga senior director as social head
Lloyd Melnick hired to head-up the PokerStars and Full Tilt social team in new vertical push
Rational Group has appointed Zynga’s senior director of social casino Lloyd Melnick as its new director of social gaming, where he will lead a team tasked with replicating PokerStars’ real money success in social gaming.
Announcing his move in a blog post, Melnick said the PokerStars and Full Tilt parent company was clearly focused on creating the best player experience on the market, rather than using “short-term tricks” to boost revenues.
He also said the firm wouldn’t be constrained to social poker, with other opportunities currently under consideration.
“In addition to poker, where nobody can question Rational’s expertise, we see great opportunities in social casino, slots and social sportsbet,” Melnick said in his blog.
Melnick succeeds Mark Buser, who left his post last June after one year at the Isle of Man-based operator.
The firm launched its first social casino product, PokerStars PLAY on Facebook in 2013, and is expected to make a more sustained push into other social verticals this year.
Amaya Gaming, which acquired Rational last year, recently announced it was to launch a daily fantasy sports (DFS) product in the US by September where it is thought it will acquire a DFS platform.
Rational had yet to respond to requests for comment on this article.