Name: Regional poker events which are not where you expect to find them.
Age: At least 17.
Appearance: Confusing.
Poker in unexpected places? Do you mean playing underwater or something equally silly? Definitely not underwater, but I can’t say for sure it’s not silly. We’re talking about live poker events held in places completely different to where they’re ‘supposed’ to be.
What do you mean ‘supposed to be’? It’s a global village, man. Of course, poker can be a great time wherever you play it, but there’s still something odd about pretending The Bahamas is in Europe.
But The Bahamas isn’t anywhere near Europe… is it? Correct, there’s about 5,000 miles between them. But that didn’t stop the European Poker Tour (EPT) staging the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure as part of its schedule.
Oops! Sounds like someone messed up the spreadsheet! If it was an accident, it took a while to fix; according to the EPT The Bahamas was officially part of Europe from 2008 to 2023.
Everyone gets confused sometimes, take it from me. It seems you’re right, there are plenty of other examples. The Irish Poker Tour has popped up in the UK, and last year went to Portugal, while the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) has visited Spain and Malta multiple times.
Maybe they need a break from the weather? Could be. The partypoker Scandinavian Masters might have been looking for warmer climes when it was played in England in 2007, but the Spanish Poker Festival has been held in Slovakia more than once. Last we checked, Spain was pretty sunny.
Are the countries at least fairly close to each other? Not always: The Asian Poker Tour (APT) has held events in the UK and Czechia in Europe, as well as Mauritius off the African coast. But there's one nation that has played its National Championship in at least four different countries — do you know which one?
Me? No way. Close, the answer's actually ‘Norway’. Over the years the Land of the Midnight Sun has held Championships as far away as the UK, Ireland, Slovakia and Latvia.
For legal reasons? Partly. Regulatory issues are an excellent reason poker tours might look abroad when picking a venue. Live poker tournaments were only legalized in Norway in 2014, but that hasn’t stopped the Championships from continuing their international adventures since then. It’s good to see the world.
Is that a real reason? It’s as good as any. Picking a spot with good weather and lots of stuff to do are all considerations when it comes to drawing in the numbers to meet those tournament guarantees. And of course, you'll need a lot of dealers and equipment, not to mention somewhere big enough for all those players to actually sit down and play. Rozvadov in Czechia, for example, may not have tons of tourist attractions but it does have one heck of a big casino.
That must be why the World Series of Poker Europe is held there, right? Yes, but not for long — next spring it’s moving to Prague, a major city with lots to see and do. And with its new springtime schedule, the weather’s not bad either — assuming you make it outside.
Do say: “Of course I’ve been to Europe — I was in The Bahamas last December.”
Don’t say: “Are you voting for ‘Bahamexit’?”
