Amaya CEO David Baazov earned $1m in 2015 but interim CEO earned twice that sum

Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov’s pay packet topped C$1m last year, but it was interim CEO Rafi Ashkenazi who really made out like a bandit.

In corporate documents filed ahead of Amaya’s annual shareholder get-together in Montreal on June 26, Amaya says Baazov (pictured) received a base salary of $1m last year, plus an extra $41k in option-based awards. The sum compares quite favorably with the total $640k Baazov earned in 2014 and $620k in 2013.

Ashkenazi, who assumed Baazov’s role when the CEO took an indefinite leave of absence in March to defend himself against insider trading charges filed by Quebec securities regulators, earned base pay of just under $769k, along with nearly $815k in option-based awards and a further $554k via his annual incentive bonus for a total haul of $2.1m compared to just $665k in 2014.

Ashkenazi came over to Amaya via its 2014 purchase of the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt. Two other Rational holdovers, Michael Hazel and Israel Rosenthal, each earned a total payday of around $1.85m in 2015, although Hazel has since left the company.