Local poker players and national celebrities alike are practicing hard for the arrival of the Great British Poker Tour in Bournemouth from 13th – 17th June 2007.The Great British Poker Tour (GBPT) in association with Gala Casinos will take place from 13th – 17th June at Gala Casino, Westover Road, Bournemouth.
The GBPT festival main event combines 140 runners and an estimated prize pool of £75,000 over three days. Players will be entered into a random draw on Tuesday 5th June that will determine the starting day for each of the two ‘day ones.’
Local poker talent will be playing alongside a host of celebrities including World Cup winning England rugby player Mike Tindall, ex-Republic Of Ireland and Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino as well as snooker legends Jimmy White (above) and Ken Doherty.
Pro Players taking part include Joe Beevers from The Hendon Mob alongside Robert Butt, Paul Jackson, Simon Trumper, Bev Pace, Jen Mason and James Dempsey.
The winner of the televised event is set to walk away with a tidy sum of over £25,000 as well as a place in the GBPT Grand Final this autumn and the chances of a result for a lucky Bournemouth poker fan are good – all regional festival winners so far in the tour have been amateur players.
Eddie Gaines, the winner of the inaugural GBPT festival in Edinburgh in February, kept his cool to scoop £25,000 as well as securing his place into the UK Grand Final. Colin Pearson, winner of the second GBPT festival in Teesside won £20,000. The most recent festival in Nottingham saw amateur player Stephen Holden beat a host of poker pros, earning him almost £20,000 as well as the chance to represent Nottingham in the grand final.Following Bournemouth, the tour will go to Leeds before culminating in the GBPT Grand Final in late October 2007. In addition to the title of Great British Poker Champion 2007, the Grand Final winner will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas in December 2007.