Rest in Peace, Maria Florides

[MichaelCorfman]

It is with great sadness that I make this post. This afternoon, Maria’s husband, Chris, spoke with both Anthony and I, to let us know that she passed away in her sleep last night.

I spent the last week in Malta at SiGMA with Maria. The caring, friendly, enthusiastic, and always helpful Maria that I was so proud to work with and that embodied the very spirit of the GPWA. I cannot believe she is no longer with us.

Many of you know Maria (GPWA Maria in the forums) well. She worked very closely with both affiliates and affiliate managers.

She will be sorely missed.


P.S. We pay tribute to Maria in the newest issue of the GPWA Times Magazine.

You can see the article here: A fond farewell to Maria Florides

The third and fourth page of the article feature posts from this thread sharing memories of Maria.

Michael

[Integrity]

Maria was one of the kindest people I ever knew, let alone worked with. She would do anything for you... personally or professionally. The conferences and the GPWA will not be the same without her.

[Anthony]

Really hard to believe. She had such a kind heart.

[iGamingWriter]

I can't believe this. I was literally talking to her yesterday over LinkedIn about GPWA.

She was a person that overflowed with positivity. I've not met another person in the industry that was so enthusiastic. She always has a smile. She always had a friendly word of support. She always had time.

This is an absolute punch in the guts.

[universal4]

Had just got this news also.

You will be missed, may you rest in peace and may your husband and family be comforted.

Rick

[DaveWynters]

I'm shocked to hear about this unexpected news. Maria was a wonderful person, and we will miss her. RIP

[stephaniewynters]

This is very sad news. I am sorry for your loss. It is a loss for the industry. She was very kind. My deepest condolences GPWA team.

[Pokerface]

This is such sad news, totally shocked. Maria was such a lovely person and always there to help. She will be deeply missed.

My heart goes out to all her family and friends.

[Cash Bonus]

I just read this post now and it made me very emotional. How very sad. I used to always talk to her on Skype. I'm deeply upset and shocked to learn such tragic news

Rest in peace, Maria

She was such a kind and helpful woman.

My sincerest condolences to her family. Life is way too short for fighting and being negative.

[GPWA Gary]

Maria was an absolute pleasure to work with. Always -- and I mean ALWAYS -- energetic, positive, helpful, friendly.

Even though we lived on opposite sides of the world and communicated mostly by DMs and email, her exuberance would virtually shine through my computer screen with every correspondence I had with her. She will be sorely missed here at the GPWA and across the industry.

RIP, Maria.

[PaulP]

Such a sad news, just chatted with her for a long time last Thursday in SiGMA. She was always so helpful genuine and nice person, the industry lost a great person indeed. My sincere condolences to her family in these difficult times.

[LowFlyingBird]

Devastating news, I really enjoyed seeing her at all the many events.

She was frequently in my chats telling me good news about travels and people she would meet up with.

Recently, she made a trip to Chile in Feb.22 and while talking to me about it.
I told her another affiliate friend was also in Chile.
I put the two of them together to potentially meet up and we all hilariously learned how big Chile is.

It would take several hours to meet up for drinks.

Maria was not to be deterred.

She said,

"Oh what's 5hrs on a bus ride in jungle."

"great, as long as we can see each other
su casa or mi casa LOL"

This one hits hard, as she was helpful in so many ways and connections over the years.

Condolences to GPWA, She will be missed.

[Lee-Ann]

Maria was a pillar of networking and positivity of our industry and a colleague and someone that I considered a dear friend. She will be sorely missed by many whom she helped, served and connected to help get good business done. It is a very sad day today, especially as we spent time together chatting just last week at SIGMA. I’m just shocked to have received this very sad news. Maria will leave a huge gap in our affiliate community and will be remembered as one of the most influential women in iGaming by me, her colleagues and all her industry friends. She was and will always be remembered as an industry connector , nay … affiliate legend - rest in peace. We are all the better for knowing you. Our deepest condolences to her family, to you her GPWA colleagues and this community of her affiliate friends. X

[tomgalanis]

Such sad news to read. My condolences to her family and everyone at the GPWA team. Maria was one of the happiest people I’ve met in the industry. So upbeat and always loving life. She will be missed

[Christiaan]

Maria was a good friend to me and it was always a pleasure to see her. We had the tradition to have a dinner or do something fun at each conference we both attended. Some weeks ago when she was in Berlin she messaged me to remind me about the time we ended up in this dancing club for senior citizens in Berlin some years ago.



You will be missed Maria, RIP.

[Renee]

So many have already said what I feel so I won't be a broken record. I've been thinking about this since I saw Jay's post on facebook early this morning. Maria was one of the constants in this industry and I cannot echo enough that she was so positive and happy and her energy just rubbed off on every person she came in contact with.

It's a sad day and she will certainly be missed by everyone. Condolences to her family.

[GPWA Nancy]

I have no words, I'm still in shock over this. RIP Maria

[golfbettingsystem]

Such sad news to hear. Rest in peace Maria.

[VeselkaP]

I have no words. Maria was an amazing person, she was a great professional and on top of that she was always helping, caring, supporting. May her family have peace in this hard situation.

Veselka

[Linsam]

It's shocking and unbelievable how Maria could have left us so soon. She was one of the sweetest people I have met and was always ready to help when I first started in the industry. She was always in high spirits and so caring to others.

I just met her at SiGMA last week so it's hard to believe that I can never see her or talk to her again... My sincere condolences to Maria's family and to GPWA. And rest in peace Maria, I will miss you dearly.

With lots of love,
Sammy