P ‘‘


IN IRELND Stop the Rip Off I


KER


I’m not saying that all sponsors are the same and there are some out there who are more than generous to their qualifi ers. I am not going to name names but, if the cap fi ts...


’’ NEWS


2011 kicks off with two ranking events in


January and another at the start of February.


t’s a new year and many people use this time making resolutions to change old habits and try to adopt new, healthier ones. My wish for the New Year, and for the future, is that


tournament sponsors should stop using hidden charges to boost their income from the players. My idea of a good sponsor is that of a company willing to spend a bit of money in order to boost their public profi le and to attract new customers, not to annoy their existing ones. Examples of what I’m talking about include


the inclusion of hotel deals in online satellite packages at prices which are patently higher than those which could reasonably be obtained by any savvy travellers by themselves. Then the sponsor refuses to refund the hotel costs to anyone not needing accommodation or wanting to make their own arrangements. This also includes sponsors negotiating so called “special deals” with hotels which can quite often be bettered by people walking in off the street. And also, what happens when players leave the hotel early, for whatever reason?


IRISH PREMIER POKER FESTIVAL


 T


he fi rst major event of the year takes place in the Ballsbridge Inn Dublin


from 1st to 6th February. The buy in is €500 + 50 for a 50,000 starting stack to play in this four day event. There are two starting days, each with a capacity of 500 players. This is a very popular event among European players and it sold out a month in


This is a new addition to the tournament calendar and is a joint promotion between


Waterford Poker Club and The Loft Card Club, Naas.


The festival takes place from 20th to 23rd January at the Westgrove Hotel, Clane, Naas, Co. Kildare. The main event has a buy in of €220 + 30 and has a guaranteed prize pool of €50,000. Details are posted on Irish Poker Boards.


EUROPEAN DEEPSTACK POKER CHAMPIONSHIP


advance last year, leaving many Irish players locked out. Although the capacity has been increased this year, it may be a good idea to register early to make sure of your seat and your preferred starting day. Online satellites for seats are running on various sites. • Full details and online registration is available at www.d4events.com


 36 Poker Europa | JANUARY 2011 | www.PokerEuropaOnline.com


The well established Grosvenor UK Poker Tour has announced


their intention to bring a leg of the tour to Ireland. The event is provisionally pencilled in for September 2011 with the venue most likely being in Dublin. This tour has been running


by Poker Europa's


REGULAR IRISH CORRESPONDENT


MICK McCLOSKEY


I don’t imagine the online sites are tripping over themselves to make sure that the player gets a refund for any unused hotel nights.


Another example is to invite online qualifi ers


to a welcome party and then deduct an excessive amount from the online package to cover their costs. For some of the fi gure involved I could manage a good night out and dinner for two. Again, there are no refunds for anyone not attending the welcome party. Another wheeze is for the sponsor to arrange


other quite unnecessary extras for their qualifi ers and then to charge them for the privilege, whether they avail of the extras or not. It’s not as though the sponsor has to add


anything to the package. After all it is entirely the players’ money which produces the online qualifi ers, and produces profi ts for the online site running the satellites in the process.


I’m not saying that all sponsors are the same


and there aare some out there who are more than generous to their qualifi ers. I am not going to name names but, if the cap fi ts...


CLONMEL


+ 30 and carries a guarantee of €40,000. This is another joint venture, this time between Big Slick Events and Celtic Poker Tour. Details can be found on their websites and also on Irish Poker Boards.


T COURSING FESTIVAL


his established event is scheduled to run from 28th January to 1st February in the Park Hotel, Clonmel. The main event has a buy in of €220


in various Grosvenor Casinos around the UK since 2007 and usually involves a full week of tournaments culminating in a £1,000 three day main event, with two starting days. There is £200,000 of added value for the 2011 season including prizes for leader board winners and a massive freeroll for the winners of all main and side events over the season. Watch this space for further details.


If you have any news, views or events, you can contact me by email to mickymccloskey@hotmail.com. You can also check out my website www.pokerinireland.net for archive articles, Irish poker news and links to Irish poker rooms.


Park Hotel, Clonmel


Micky


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48