PokerStars EPT Paris enjoys record numbers as new location beckons with EPT Monte Carlo on horizon

When you set foot into a casino, you’re blown away by the enormity of it, the clinking of the chips, the sound of the slots and incredible atmosphere. It’s the same thing when you enter a PokerStars EPT event.

EPT Paris was such a success in 2023, it not only broke records but forced the organisers and partners to move to the bigger venue of Le Palais des Congres.

And the triumph is exemplified by the entries and interest seen from poker players entering into the tournament along with spectators to EPT Paris this year.

With an incredible amount of entries into the big events:

• EPT main event: Buy-in: €5,300 Prize Pool:€8,385,600 Entries: 1,747
• EPT High Roller: Buy-in: €10,300, Prize Pool: €4,915,200, Entries: 512
• €25,000 NL Hold’em VI: Buy-in: €25,000, Prize Pool: €1,011,360, Entries: 43

Barny Boatman won the EPT Paris Main Event title at the end of February securing a huge payout of €1.3 million after a six-day battle coming first of the 1,747 players entered.

Julien Liarte, head of Live Events Europe for European Poker Tour, summarised: “Well this is the second time we’re coming to Paris for EPT. The EPT has 20 years of history and we’ve been waiting to get the opportunity to come to Paris and when we had last year, we were obviously very excited, but the venue was a bit too small for the volume of players that the capacity of Paris was expecting.”

As a result, the organisers along with PokerStars had to really ramp up the capacity for 2024 so that it could accommodate the level of interest shown the year prior.

Liarte explained: “The very highlight for us is the venue which is a very big space that can accommodate 134 tables, and more if we would like to put more, but we thought that was the optimal number of tables for the attendants who were waiting for.

“And the great thing is that we have seen the response from players, which was very positive because the first events were massively attended breaking all the records.

“Especially for the €1,100 France Poker Series Main Event that got 4,194 runners and now we have seen the main event which is just about to close registration was also breaking the record from last year.”

Fintan Hand, PokerStars Team Pro and Twitch streamer by the name of EasyWithAces – believes that the PokerStars EPT is an incredibly well-run event, he explained: “I think there’s a lot that goes into the EPT’s to make them what they are, there’s definitely a lot of prestige because it’s a legacy event. It’s been around for quite a long time, for many, many years.

“Nobody won more than one main event – I think it’s only happened twice now – Victoria Coren-Mitchell from London was the first person to ever do it after so many years, so it’s not something that people can win very easily. It attracts the best players in the world and on top of that.

“It’s the prestige, the difficulty, the fact that you know you’re competing against the best and then the staff.” 

It’s clear that France leads the way from many nations in terms of its popularity in poker and its culture. So in its capital it’s bound to attract a huge number of players.

Liarte added: “The level of interest for poker in France is very high, we know that because we have five EPT’s during the year; so that’s Paris, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Cyprus and Prague. 

“And each of those except Cyprus, the number one nation is French. So even abroad we see French player coming up as the first nation when we do our ‘Camembert’ of countries.

“So we knew it was popular, but we didn’t expect to have this level of participation especially for the France poker series main event.”

A one-of-a-kind technological challenge

With the record-breaking EPT Paris there’s obviously a lot going on behind the scenes, even before the first cards get dealt, to get it ready.

What has to happen for a European Poker Tour to descend onto a venue, while also being a safe environment that players risking big money can feel comfortable and also enjoy the experience that comes with playing live poker?

Well firstly, an entire exhibition centre, the venue Le Palais des Congres, situated in the heart of Paris, has to be transformed from an event space into a fully fledged casino and PokerStars tournament arena.

All while complying with the strict regulations and security requirements of a casino.

That means a tremendous amount of staff, equipment and work goes into making EPT Paris what it is on your screens.

Liarte added: “The highlight for us is the venue, which is a very big space that can accommodate 134 tables and more if we would like to put more. But we thought that was the optimal number of tables for the attendance we were waiting for.

“We brought 280 cameras and it’s like building your casino in three or four days. So by French regulation we need one camera per table and we have invested in this beautiful camera pole with the LED light, and each table has their individual camera that we create a some sort of Parisian lighting, so it’s also aesthetic.

“What the team have built here, again like huge credit to all the team that work here, we’re speaking with the dealers, the floors, the logistics, the TV, over 500 staff – it’s really massive. And speaking about the cameras is something that, to my knowledge, was never built before.

“It’s the massive technological challenge to have this setup in a few days it’s recreating the condition of a casino, and every single camera is checked by the gaming police that comes and approves all the tables and we are very proud that we’ve been able to comply with all the regulations in time and ready to open the doors on opening day.”

Security and integrity goes a long way to ensuring success of a major tournament

Liarte also adds that to ensure the opening of the EPT Paris, or any EPT for that matter, security and integrity is paramount. 

Not only with the cameras and equipment but also adhering to all regulations in France, the casino which makes it run so efficiently as Liarte explains: “This is something very, very specific to our Tour de Europe Poker Tour, but also to our company PokerStars and our partner Casino Barrière.

“We have very good coordination with our partner Barrière because they have the same level of integrity, security and they really want to go above and beyond, whatever we can do to protect the game.

“Our team of experts, floor managers, tournament directors are always keeping up to date with the latest angles and we regularly review the game and our procedure to make sure we are on top of everything we can do to protect the integrity of the game. And we obviously have a policy of zero tolerance for anything that goes outside the rules of poker.”

What also makes the European Poker Tour stand above the rest, aside from the scale and security, is the dealers.

EPT dealers are always praised

Hand added from a poker player’s perspective that dealers and staff really help the tournament: “What you’ll hear there is everyone saying the staff is amazing like every poker dealer is just at the top of their game, the floor staff are incredible, I think it’s run impeccably.”

According to Liarte, what makes their dealers special is three things: “The first one, is that the level of recruitment is very, very difficult. You need to have at least two years of experience in international tournaments.

“There is the second point which is our dealer engagement department, who are floors, managers and tournament directors with a lot of experience constantly reminding them of the rules, reminding them the procedures, going around the table getting feedback.

“We have some initiatives; we do some activation with the dealers where we put them into situations that are tricky and we try to explain ‘Okay what’s the best outcome for this, what’s the best outcome for that?’ “So we elect the best dealer of the series.

“But this dealer engagement department is here to make sure that every single procedure is respected and we have consistency across all the tables. And the third point, it’s because we give them very very good work conditions. 

“And we really try to take care of the dealers, we try to be fair with everyone, we base our recruitment or progression carrier, based on their skills and what we can see so I think with those three pillars; which are recruitment, training and work conditions, we make sure we have the best dealers in the industry. 

“And some of them just work for the EPT’s like some of the top dealers or floor managers just follow the five EPT’s and for them they wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. Yeah this is where they want to be.”

FUTURE

The European Poker Tour has five well established and by now, expected locations and stops across the year; Monte Carlo, Prague, Paris, Barcelona and Cyprus there’s always scope to visit new cities or countries that has the appetite and culture of poker.

He revealed that there’s some headway being made in that regard, even with the challenges that come with going into new countries.

Liarte said: “We are looking into going to – the regulatory landscape has been difficult – cities like Amsterdam and Berlin. Berlin, we’ve been to in the past and it would be great to go back”

“Amsterdam, we have never been and this city always comes up, back on top of the pool of feedback. So yeah, maybe one day that will happen…”

Of course the current tour has solidified and expected stops across the year with Monte Carlo the next destination in April, before heading to Barcelona in August, Cyprus in October and capping off in the winter in Prague in December.

EPT schedule:

• EPT and FPS Monte-Carlo – April 24-May 4, 2024.
• EPT and ESPT Barcelona – August 26-September 8, 2024.
• EPT and Eureka Cyprus – October 9-20,2024.
• EPT and EUREKA Prague – December 4-15, 2024.

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

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