On Tuesday, 16th, the EPT Barcelona kicked off in Spain. This is the 13th year of the European Poker Tour (EPT).
The event will take place between August 16 and August 28 and is a combination of cash games and tournaments.
The events is sometimes also involved in controversy and has made some not too good headlines, like in 2010, when four pros were involved in a robbery.
Poker Players are known for carrying large amounts of cash and Barcelona is known as the pickpocket capital of Europe, a combination that leads to some trouble. Kayvan Payman, William Reynolds, Kevin Stani and Cater Phillips were relaxing in a local bar when they were confronted by a local Spanish gang. The gang stole €4,000 from Payman and did not get much help from the bar owners. After the incident, the players considered never coming back to Barcelona for another event.
Even though incidents like this one, are not organizer’s fault, it highlights the dangers of attending poker event outside of Las Vegas, where the security is not as tight. Although Las Vegas has also had some incidents of attempted robberies.
EPT Barcelona
Luckily, the events has bounced back since the incident. In 2014, the event make world news again, but this time, due to the lavish player party with international DJ Roger Sanchez. Also, Neymar Jr, famous soccer player and PokerStars- sponsored, has attended the event a couple of times.
Last year the tournament has 1,694 participants and John Juanda won the title and $1,186,208.
This years’s Main Event may even reach some records thanks to supporting events like the PokerStars Open, the Super High Roller and the Estrellas Main Event.
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