The Great British Poker Tour – re-branded as the Gala Casinos British Poker Tour – is back for a second exciting season giving players of all abilities the chance to win a slice of the £1 million+ prize pool and the opportunity to be crowned Gala Casinos British Poker Champion 2008. And you can qualify for a seat on the tour for free with www.galapoker.co.uk.

The Bristol leg of the Gala Casinos British Poker Tour (GCBPT) saw Neil Blatchly, an accountant from Leicester, claim the first prize of £34,750. The final players (heads up) decided to come to a deal, splitting the prize money so that they were each guaranteed £30,000, with amateur player, Blatchly, scoring the ultimate glory of first prize.

With over 600 runners across the over-subscribed festival, and an overall prize fund of £182,800, there was much to play for at the Gala Harbourside Casino in Bristol.

Blatchly said: “A good structure meant there was lots of play and I was able to go to the final table needing only one good hand to take the title. I feel absolutely fantastic! For me, the prestige of winning the title and trophy is worth as much as the money. That said, I’ll be using the cash to invest in a poker bankroll as I’m off to Las Vegas later this week to see if I can recreate my success across the pond.”

This is the third GCBPT win for a poker group which calls itself ‘The Best Home Game in the East Midlands’. The sixteen-strong group play together every week and Blatchly’s success comes hot on the heels of Rupinder Bedi and Satish Ry who won the Nottingham GCBPT £500 Main Event and the Nottingham £50 rebuy event respectively.

Blatchly added: “My win shows that the Best Home Game in the East Midlands is a poker force to be reckoned with. All the boys are delighted for me and Rupinder and will be cheering us on at the Grand Final.”

Marcus Farthing, an IT salesman from Bristol, took the runner up prize of £30,000. He said: “I really enjoyed the overall camaraderie – everyone was really friendly and entered into the spirit of the game”.

This is the second year of the GCBPT which was created in response to poker’s ever increasing popularity across the UK. As well as a massive cash prize pool in excess of £1 million, poker professionals, amateur players and poker novices alike will compete for the ultimate accolade of GCBPT Champion 2008.

Further Festivals running throughout the year will be hosted by Gala Casinos in Liverpool (17-21 September); Teesside (22-26 October) and the Grand Final in Bristol 1-7 December. The schedule has been specially designed to ensure there are no clashes with other 2008 poker tournaments.

Qualification for a GCBPT event is very easy and doesn’t cost the earth. You can register and qualify for free now at www.galapoker.co.uk, with at least 30 satellites a week including daily freerolls and weekly finals with four guaranteed packages. In addition, live qualification events are also being held in Gala Casinos across the country, with up to 80 seats up for grabs. There is also limited direct buy-in to the Main Event itself.