Mark-Pincus-250414Mark Pincus

Social games developer Zynga reports first growth in poker booking in nearly 2 years, however founder Pincus severs important ties with company.

Mark Pincus announced that he was stepping down from his position as chief product officer, virtually relinquishing the final role that bears some influence in the mobile casino gambling firm. Now, he will serve as a non-executive chairman of the company’s board.

Pincus commented on his decision to leave, as he believes that “a ship is better with one captain putting a hand on the wheel.”

Nevertheless, he remarked on his time at Zynga as a successful period, which he relished in. He gave himself “high marks being an entrepreneur and entrepreneuring a big idea about how popular social gaming could be.”

However he also highlighted the hardships of being the top executive in a big mobile casino firm. “But I learned a lot of hard lessons on the CEO front…and do not give myself very high marks as a CEO of a large-scale company.”

Zynga Poker the biggest winner

24% of the total gaming revenue comes from Zynga Poker, which is an increase of 3% from Q4 of last year. The poker division bookings rose sequentially, which is in fact the first increase in seven months.

Another interesting trend is that poker on Zynga’s mobile portfolio grew 19%, which marks the strongest mobile growth in 2 years, while also being among the most popular choice for players.