Birmingham is often regarded as the U.K's second city behind the Capital, but in the poker world, it is fast becoming a hotbed of poker festivity and perhaps the number one place in which to play the wonderful game. The latest venue to follow in the footsteps of various other casinos across the Midlands area is the resplendent Circus Casino at Star City. Although the cardroom has been up and running for a few years now with tournaments being held on a daily basis, Circus Casino has finally decided to treat their punters with an exclusive festival with their... drum roll please, maestro... Second Chance £100,000 Poker Classic.
"It does what it says on the tin," claimed a once annoying Ronseal advertisement, and the same is true here as the generous folk at Genting Stanley are guaranteeing a mouth-watering £100,000 prize pool for their £500 main event.
As well as the main event, there are also a number of other side events available to suit a broad range of bankrolls. The full schedule is as follows:
Thu 30th Oct (8pm) -- £100+10 NLH F/O
Thu 30th Oct (9pm) -- £20+2 NLH F/O
Fri 31st Oct (8pm) -- £100+10 PLO F/O
Fri 31st Oct (9pm) -- £10+2 NLH F/O
Sat 1st Nov (1pm) -- MAIN EVENT: £500+50 NLH F/O - DAY 1
Sat 1st Nov (9pm) -- £10+2 NLH F/O
Sun 2nd Nov (1pm) -- MAIN EVENT - FINAL DAY
Sun 2nd Nov (4.30pm) -- £20+2 NLH F/O
Sun 2nd Nov (9pm) -- £50+5 NLH D-C F/O
As well as the inevitable array of local talent, a number of familiar names from the poker circuit have already been confirmed, most notably former European Player of the Year and 2007 Manchester GUKPT winner Dave 'El Blondie' Colclough, as well as yours truly and a possible appearance from Jen 'Mrs Merton' Mason.Peter Nolan, Managing Director Online, said: “We have created a unique tournament which allows us to offer both offline and online players a free, second chance to reach the £100,000 final. We don’t believe this format has been tried before, and it is a great way of showcasing both sides of our business by allowing players a free opportunity to play on our new CircusPoker.co.uk platform.
“Although we only launched CircusPoker.co.uk less than a month ago," he continued, "as the UK’s biggest casino operator we have tremendous heritage and therefore we are able to offer a substantial guaranteed prize pool for our inaugural tournament.”
Satellites are currently running both live and online, but for all the details, feel free to click here or go directly to the festival's homepage by clicking here.