European Live Poker Is Back with A Bang
Any concerns about European live poker struggling to recover from a long Covid-19 induced shutdown have been quickly dispelled. Record numbers for London’s Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) and events in Kings-Resort, the poker hotbed in the Czech Republic, suggests the appetite for live poker is greater than ever.
The lights are slowly going back on in Europe’s casinos and some of their card rooms. ©Brindley
London GUKPT Records Broken
It had been over 16 months since a GUKPT event had been staged. So, understandably, organizers would have had more than a hint of trepidation when dusting down their poker tables to host the 2021 GUKPT London main event. When last staged, in early February 2020, this tournament attracted 379 entrants.
But starting in mid-July and continuing past July 19 – the point when the British Government dropped almost all Covid-19 lockdown restrictions – the 2021 London GUKPT main event attracted a whopping 804 entries. These combined to create a £637,100 prize-pool smashing the organizers conservative guarantee of £200,000.
Britain’s Euan McNicholas took the title and £165,800 winner’s prize ahead of Tadas Budzeika. The deciding hand was certainly fortunate for McNicholas with him clutching Ace-5 and his rival holding Ace-Jack. The flop ran-out: 10-3-2-Q-4.
Dates for Your GUKPT Diary
The second 2021 GUKPT takes place in Manchester between August 5-12. The corresponding main event in 2020 attracted 317 entries. The success of the London event and feedback from card rooms up-and-down the British Isles suggest this number is also likely to be bettered by a considerable margin. The remaining 2021 GUKPT Schedule is as follows:
- Leg 3: Coventry – August 29-September 5
- Leg 4: Leeds – September 16-26
- Leg 5: Edinburgh – September 30-October 3
- Leg 6: Luton – October 7-17
- Leg 7: Blackpool – October 28-November 7
- Finals: London – November 21-December 5
Rozvadov Reporting Records Despite Number Caps
Meanwhile, at the Kings-Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, Marketing Manager Mika Murat reports record-breaking action. “We are very happy at the moment at how our tournaments are running after our re-opening”, he told Online-Casinos.com.
We were expecting the traffic because during our closure we maintained active communication with our audience. A lot of players could not wait for King’s to re-open. Despite having to cap some tournaments, since the re-opening our guarantees have been surpassed majorly. The €250 Grand Opening event in June smashed its €400,000 guarantee by almost €100,000. The Italian Poker Sport Event in July hit a record of 3,072 entries. Furthermore, the cash action is insane. On average from Friday to Sunday, we have 30 cash game tables running simultaneously in the evening. During the past weekend’s German Poker Days festival, we had 42 full-ring cash game tables running simultaneously on Saturday evening. We are expecting numbers to increase once we can remove caps and we are excited for the upcoming bigger festivals such as EuroPokerMillion, WSOP Circuit Events and WSOP Europe.
Austria Pulls Plug On 2021 European Poker Championship
Austria is another country welcoming poker players back into its card rooms. However, while the numbers are “healthier than expected” the action is restricted to cash games only. The popular Casino Austria Poker Tour (CAPT) has been cancelled for 2021. Likewise, the Casino Austria showpiece event, the European Poker Championship staged in Velden – which was last played in July 2019 – will not be staged again until July 2022.
“We regret this measure, but we are committed to protecting our guests and employees, which unfortunately leaves us with no alternative to cancelling”, says a statement on the State-run casino’s site.
Master Classics Goes Too
News from Holland is bleaker. Another state-run organization with 14 venues, Holland Casino do have all their properties open for traditional casino games but their official website states: “No poker cash games and tournaments until further notice”.
“As a result of the current measures, there are no poker cash games and tournaments. All our poker cash games and tournaments are cancelled until further notice,” says the post which continues: “Also multi-day tournaments like the World Series of Poker and Master Classics of Poker can unfortunately not take place this year”.
Like Austria’s European Poker Championship, the Master Classics of Poker was always a cornerstone of European Poker. The tournament, which is staged in Amsterdam, dates back to the early 1990’s – long before the advent of internet poker and an explosion in the game’s popularity.
