2017 Cash Game Festival Gibraltar
Day 1 Completed
2017 Cash Game Festival Gibraltar
2017 Cash Game Festival Gibraltar
Day: 1
Many Familiar Faces Join the Action on Day 1 of the Cash Game Festival Gibraltar
Day 1 of the 2017 Cash Game Festival Gibraltar at Sunborn Casino has been a huge success.
The day began with welcome drinks. Immediately after began a £1/£2 no-limit hold'em feature table. Players were enjoying the action so much, that festival organizers allowed many to return after a short-break. Most of the players did just that. Joining the action, however, was 2011 WSOP side event winner Hasan Alexander Anter.
Dom was the biggest winner on the feature table, taking home more than €800 in profit. However, there may be other players winning as big on side tables if not more including Betsafe Head of Poker Michael Robinson tripling up his buy-in in early action on the £2/£2 Sviten Special table.
Other players from previous Cash Game Festivals got into the action on the first day and plan on playing through the evening including John Scanlon, Janar Kokk, Veli-Matti Puumala, Niklas Blomqvist, Michael Michelin, Peter La Terra and Michael Fletcher.
Cash Game Festival co-founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk also played for many hours on the Sviten Special table. He was first ahead proclaiming that, "I am amazing at Sviten Special" before he wound up losing a few buy-ins.
At after midnight., the action was still running strong with four tables in action. Many players shared they plan to play through the evening. The record for the most cash game tables running simultaneously at the casino is six and based off today's action a new casino record will likely be established before the festival is in the books.
Tomorrow's activities off the felt begin very early with a morning and afternoon whale and dolphin watching on a boat taking off about an hour away from Gibraltar in neighboring Spain. Players have been buzzing with excitement about the site seeing, while others plan to see some sites on the land on their own time instead before heading to the poker tables.
Stay tuned at PokerNews as the action unfolds through the 2017 Cash Game Festival Gibraltar.
Aspers Casino's John Scanlon is Fired Up
John Scanlon is well-known in the poker industry as the Head of Poker at Aspers Casino, which houses one of the biggest poker rooms in Europe.
The Cash Game Festival made two visits to this poker room last year and one thus far this year with another planned.
Scanlon is always having a good time on the job, but it is rare to see him without a suit and tie.
We almost didn't recognize Scanlon as he walked in wearing casual clothes and he joked with PokerNews that, "People think I was born wearing a suit."
Scanlon shared he plans on playing poker and having fun for a few days in between getting a few hours of shuteye in his hotel room on the yacht.
Hasan Alexander Anter on the Feature Table
Playing £1/£2 no-limit hold'em is something many players even if they normally play high stakes. After all, the game is fun and sometimes poker is meant to be social.
While many players on the feature table are familiar from today's earlier table, one new face casually joined them in Sweden's Hasan Alexander Anter.
Almost six years ago Anter won big on poker center stage during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He shipped a WSOP gold bracelet and almost $780,000 after winning a $1,500 no-limit hold'em WSOP side event in 2011.
This was only Anter's second career cash with his first coming days before in small-field event. Since then Anter recorded three different tournament cashes, with his biggest coming when he took eighth place in an EPT side event in London in October 2011 for £3,400.
Mr. and Mrs. Poland Enter the Room
Janar Kokk and his wife Elora Kask have attended many Cash Game Festivals and have just arrived in Gibraltar for this festival.
Kokk is one of the more animated players during Cash Game Festivals lost a prop bet during the Cash Game Festival Bulgaria in August against Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk.
It is almost time for Kokk to pay the price as he will be exiled to the Polish village of Hrubieszów, located on the Ukrainian border to live for one month between May 31 and June 30 as a "punishment" or sorts.
What turned out to be a punishment may be a story of a lifetime for Kokk as Polish local and national media have been in touch with him after the story went viral at PokerNews. Additionally, the mayor recently offered Kokk a personalized tour and they may be holding a poker tournament in his honor.
While Hrubieszów may not be a household name for many, a big name in poker is originally from the village in World Series of Poker gold-bracelet winner Henry Orenstein, who now lives in New Jersey.
Orenstein worked his way to success in the United States and became a millionaire as a toy maker. He also founded Topper Toys and was able to convince Hasbro to produce Transformers, his patented product.
Orenstein had a huge impact on poker as well. Among his many patents included the ability to detect and display hole cards in poker games in the United States. Many believe this is what led to the success of poker on television.
He was also the executive producer of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and produced the High Stakes Poker.
New Feature Table Begins
A new feature table just began with stakes at £1/£2 no-limit hold'em. You can check out the action on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel as well as will be broadcasted across multiple media outlets including PokerNews.
Michael Fletcher is On the Boat
When United Kingdom's Michael Fletcher left Slovenia during the Cash Game Festival that took place at Perla Casino in March, he promised many festival regulars that this would likely return a couple of months later in Gibraltar.
Fletcher is a man of his word and just entered the poker area. He shared that this time he brought a friend that likes to recreationally play higher stakes games such as £10/£20 no-limit hold'em.
While Fletcher does love cash games, he is perhaps better known around Europe as a tournament player. Fletcher has almost $650,000 in live tournament cashes according to The Hendon Mob. He recently finished on the tail-end of the final table in the Irish Open Main Event for €13,500.
Niklas Blomqvist Arrived on Spanish Time
Things in Spain happen at its own pace. It isn't unusual for restaurants and stores to be closed for hours during the day for siestas without assurances they will reopen.
Cash Game Festival veteran Niklas Blomqvist from Sweden recently arrived, but later than he thought he was going to. Like many players, he flew into Malaga, Spain instead of flying into the airport just a few minutes walk away in Gibraltar.
At first, he thought the bus ride would be 90 minutes, but before getting on the bus he was informed by the bus driver it would be more like two hours. However, two hours turned into three hours before Niklas made it to the border of Gibraltar.
He recently entered the casino and exchanged handshakes and hugs with all his friends from previous Cash Game Festivals.
Blomqvist then went ahead to put his name on the list for £1/£3 no-limit hold'em list, but changed his mind when he heard a £1/£2 table was opening.
After Blomqvist took his seat, he waved over to Cash Game Festival's Maxime Roseau who also just arrived. Roseau recently began a vlog during the last Cash Game Festival in Tallinn at the end of April. This is something Roseau describes as fun and is in addition to sharing with the French community through a blog about the highlights of each festival.
Dom Wins Big on the First Feature Table
The first feature table is now in the books and Dom booked a big win of £813 on a £1/£2 no-limit hold'em table. On the flip side, Lithuania's Robertas had a rougher go at things and lost £690.
The next feature table should start in about 30 minutes.
Michael Robinson Loves Franke's Money
Cash Game Festival co-founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk's early start to the Sviten Special table has fizzled and is now down a few bucks. It probably doesn't help matters that Peter La Terra just sat next to him.
Franke's loss is someone else's gain. In this case it seems that Betsafe Head of Poker Michael Robinson has taken the most advantage and appreciates having Franke on the table.
Robinson posted on Facebook that he is "Three buy-ins up. Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk money - the best sort."
Robinson bought in for €100, so three buy-ins currently give him a quick profit of €300. Sviten Special is a swingy game and as Franke can attest to, profit isn't booked until one steps away from the table.