International Poker Open - New Thread

Hi all,

Just want to answer a few concerns from the old thread.

If anyone is having any trouble whatsoever registering then I want to hear about it; stephen@pokerireland.ie

I can understand why some players might be critical of online registration but I am growing tired of answering really negative posts here on boards. A lot of posters really have no idea how much of our time (and both mine and Derek's time is quite valuable) is being used for this project.

I know that players don't want to hear about the problems of tournament organisers but I have a little bit of experience organising big poker tournaments so I just want to share something with everyone .

If we run this as an ordinary cash tournament security becomes a major concern and a major cost. Far more staff will be needed to register players and the tournament will start at least one hour late. Lots of dealers will be sent home without pay (as an organiser you normally have to book far more dealers than you might need - just in case - I'm sure all dealers that post here will remember the Citywest fiasco the first year I was involved with the Simon Charity fundraiser - this was BB [Before Boards] for me). Seating assignments will be all over the place. Players will not be guaranteed a fully transparent tournament as they are with online registration. Payouts will be a huge mess and again more staff will be needed for more hours. It is possible that the Gardai will not allow the tournament to go ahead as it is against the law to run a poker tournament with a cash value exceeding €10,000 outside of a casino club.

If it is taking you an extra few minutes to register for this tournament then I really am sorry but it will be worth it. It will save you and Poker Ireland an awful lot of hassle on the day and it will mean that a €30,000 payday could well be on the cards for the paltry buy-in of €125+€25 reg.

With online registration we can draw seats well in advance of the tournament and have them displayed on a big screen for player's convenience. This means that the tournament will start on time. We can ensure that all players are happy. We can run a really good team event which again will more than likely have added value. We can run a really good tournament and really put Irish and European poker on the map. We can keep player's costs as low as €25 for a massive tournament in an historic venue as central as the RDS. We can concentrate on a very hectic promotion campaign that will hopefully see us reach at least 1,000 players. We can relax a bit and enjoy the project that little bit more.

So please if this doesn't convince you that online registration is the way forward in terms of the future of poker tournaments don't post here. Take it up with me via email ( stephen@pokerireland.ie ) if you do want to play and if you don't want to play you are missing out on the best value (and biggest dead money fest) of your life so far.

Cheers,
stephen@pokerireland.ie

cooker3 wrote:

Really?
How do the ipc, irish open etc allowed to run their tournaments?

Sorry yeah, I meant to say it is possible to apply for a licence but minimum cost is about 1k. The last time we took legal advice on this they weren't issuing any licences inside of the Pale due to the ongoing review in law concerning poker tournaments. Also lots and lots of poker tournaments are run in what I suppose is a grey area.

The Irish Open, as stated by GoodLuck2ME, is run by the Merrion Casino as is the EPT.

I'm sure you remember working at the Citywest with me and with about €1mil cash on the premises and absolutely no security......I'm not willing to risk having €100k of other people's cash on site with my name attached to it.

On more point about pre-registering for this tournament;
Anyone that has ever played in an EPT, IO or any other major event will know the importance of pre-registering and pre-paying for tickets. The EPT don't guarantee your seat until you are paid in full......With a tournament of this size (albeit with a much smaller buy-in) we need to make sure everyone is pre-paid either way. Registering online just makes things so much easier for all concerned

http://shadowbj21.blogspot.com/

Thought this was a great support.

There are now two German players confirmed (verbally), one U.S. player (again verbally) and about 75 players travelling from the UK so far.......And lest I forget the gorgeous Mermaid girls......Plus; Now that I think of it there are one or two French players already too.

Guys please get in and register now as it will show players that are thinking of travelling to Dublin on Oct 6th that this really is going to be huge.

Cheers,
Stephen@pokerireland.ie

ditpoker wrote:

i think this is a very valid point. probably short notice but perhaps get onto a UK equivelant of budget travel or someone like that and get them to put a package together (i.e flights from stanstead, accomodation etc).

just a thought.

I had the same thought but you saying it means that I will acutally get it done.....Hopefully.