July 27, 2009 (London, UK) – For the second year running, Dublin has pipped London to the post for the title of this year’s European Poker Capital, as voted by industry leading poker publication Bluff Europe Magazine.
Bluff Europe praised the unbridled enthusiasm which Dubliners have for the game, as well as the variety of good card clubs in the city and the commitment to player-friendly tournament structures adopted by tournament organisers. The magazine says it deliberately ignored those countries where government gambling monopolies strangle the game, as well as places where the rakes in cash games are exploitative to the player – instead, they looked to reward variety, value, enthusiasm and “action”.
London took second place but was also praised for its venues, tournaments and for the growth of pub poker in the city over the last two years, as were fellow runner-ups Vienna, Tallinn and Galway respectively.
“It’ll always be a close run thing between Dublin and London for top spot, but we just had to give it to the Irish again this year, simply because we’re always overwhelmed by the enthusiasm we encounter for the game whenever we visit,” said Philip Conneller, editor of Bluff Europe. “Dubliners are mad for it, and in Ireland poker seems so much more of a passion than elsewhere. Even the table banter is just – well – better.”
Dublin is also home to the annual Irish Open, which is the oldest poker tournament in Europe and one of the most eagerly event on the circuit because of its festival atmosphere as well as the Irish sense of fun and fair play.
Please join Bluff Europe at this year’s Poker in the Park, August 13 & 14 in Leicester Square, London to toast all five top class poker cities.
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For more information contact:
Melissa Ross
Lyceum Media
Melissa@lyceummedia.com
+44 (0) 207 976 6469
ABOUT BLUFF EUROPE
Bluff Europe is Europe’s most widely read poker publication, the largest in the UK, aimed squarely at the poker enthusiast. The magazine is distributed through European card rooms and poker clubs as well as on newsstands in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. Regular contributors include Phil Laak, Paul Jackson and a host of other poker professionals from the UK, Europe and the USA.
Bluff Europe magazine is the first magazine to be available by subscription through SMS. Poker enthusiasts in the UK can subscribe by texting POKER to 60155. www.bluffeurope.com
ABOUT POKER IN THE PARK
2009 will mark the third anniversary of Poker in the Park. Held in Leicester Square, the event draws 15,000 poker enthusiasts to participate in fun, free poker tournaments and enhance their poker skills through free poker lectures taught by the biggest pros in Europe.
Follow Poker in the Park on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pokerinthepark or visit us online at http://pokerinthepark.com/.