Catch the Beever

Players across the nation are gearing up to compete for the chance to be named Gala Casinos Great British Poker Champion of 2008 and win a chunk of the £400,000 prize pool at the Grand Final in Bristol next month.

It’s not too late to get involved with two weeks of online satellites still to go where players can qualify for free.

All the winners of the 2008 Gala Casino Great British Poker Tour (GCBPT) festivals will be competing at the Grand Final, along with some of the big names in the poker elite, such as Neil Channing and Marty Smyth, who will be striving to snatch the title from reigning champion, Joe Beevers.

Defending champion Joe Beevers said: “I’m really looking forward to going back to the Gala Casino Bristol Harbourside and defending my title – the GCBPT is a great tour and one of my personal favourites.”

“The tour brings back memories of what poker was like before it became so popular with TV and the internet. Players from around the UK compete at a decent level but with no pretences. Everyone seems to be having so much fun it’s easy to forget that first prize is a six figure sum! I’ll be there with all the Hendon Mob and we’ll be joined by Vicky (Coren), Neil and Marty. It’ll be just like a home game!”

Taking place from the 1st to the 7th of December, the Grand Final is set to be a mouth-watering prospect, with two side-events playing warm-up to the deep-stack £1500+100 ‘Championship Event’.

There is a strong community feel on the aptly named ‘People’s Poker Tour’, which has united a real cross-section of players from across the country who keep coming back to enjoy well-organised and well-dealt poker, and a great atmosphere, in great venues. Seasoned pros like Dave Colclough can be seen rubbing shoulders with novices, amateurs and internet qualifiers alike, proving that anyone can get involved in what is a truly unique tour.

GCBPT Tournament Director, Robin Blair, said: “The final marks the culmination of a brilliant tour. We’ve had all sorts of characters take a seat at the tables, from have-a-go-heroes to big-name poker pros, but they have all been made to feel welcome and they have all contributed to the growing GCBPT community, adding to the friendly atmosphere. It’s been a great experience and a lot of fun – I just can’t wait to see who’ll take home the title!”

The Gala Casinos British Poker Tour has been a hugely successful, sell-out tour, with waiting lists and packed cardrooms from Edinburgh to Teesside via Nottingham, Bristol and Liverpool. Over 2,700 players have battled it out for over £800,000 and the winner of the Championship Event in Bristol will take a first prize worth up to £100,000.

The ‘Championship Event’ will be a bumper four-day £1500+£100 NLHE freeze-out. With a capacity of 200 runners, there will be an estimated £300,000 prize pool, plus bonus seats to the WSOP, Aussie Millions and EPT. And in keeping with all the sell-out events on this year’s tour, demand for the Grand Final will be extremely high. But there are still plenty of ways of securing a seat – here’s how:

1. Enter an online satellite on www.galapoker.co.uk – with daily satellites to win 18 guaranteed packages in the last two weeks (including buy-in and expenses) including two daily freerolls

2. Qualify via a live satellite in a Gala Casino – over 30 seats available. The live qualification dates and times are published on the www.gcbpokertour.com website

3. Buy-in direct via the cashier at any Gala Casino

For full schedule details (updated regularly) go to: www.gcbpokertour.com