The crowd forming around the bar and cloakroom has started to stream into the tournament area now, checked by security for their 'player' wristbands. Among them are several players more used to playing Stateside, judging by the accents in the queue...
Peter Eastgate, WSOP champ 2008 is officially Out Of Retirement, here, and presumably up at this time because he's a Day 1a-er, as is Annette Obrestad, Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern, EPT Vienna finalist Luca Cainelli and Norwegian sensation Rolf 'Woody' Woods.
After the excitement of the Scandinavian Poker Awards last night, a midday start is going to be tough on a few of these ladies and gents, and there may be a couple of hours of late entries as people drift in from the late breakfast here at the Radisson (1pm finish!).
Good morning and welcome to the second northernmost stop on the EPT circuit, Copenhagen. A light dusting of snow is falling over the city that has been home to Hans Christian Andersen, Soren Kierkegaard and Edvard Grieg - and the clientele currently residing at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia hotel is no less heavyweight.
Among the players expected to cough up the DKK 35,000 to play today are former World Champion Peter Eastgate, fresh out of retirement and being sponsored by PokerStars here this week, along with his former Team PokerStars Pro teammates Johnny Lodden, Theo Jorgensen and Ville Wahlbeck.
Players are still mostly standing in a long queue downstairs to register at the casino, but in the meantime we can happily announce that in other EPT news, a venue for the Grand Final has been confirmed. This season will culminate at the Casino Gran Madrid in the Spanish capital - the first time that the EPT has been to Madrid.
EPT founder John Duthie said, "We wanted somewhere new, dynamic and inspiring, and knew that Madrid would tick all the boxes for the travelling poker player, regardless of age or desires. The same familiar team will be running the event and the schedule will, I am sure, provide something for everyone. All the usual qualifying satellites will be held on PokerStars.com and other regional versions of the site, giving all players of all nationalities the opportunity to join us in launching from our new home. Hasta la vista!”
So there's some sunshine to look forward to, but for the time being it's back to the Danish snow. Play is due to start at noon, in around half an hour. Please stand by.
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