Next week I am off to the WSOPE in Cannes (cannot wait to see Hellmuth) then my focus stays on France as I head to WPT Amneville on the 1st November. I have never been to Amneville before but I have heard great things about it.
On the downside it appears to be in the middle of nowhere but last year all pros I talked to were raving about the bad players on show there. Perhaps the accommodation and nightlife isn’t like that in a big city but the money making opportunities are huge! Plenty of French and Italians and players from all over Europe – a fish pond.
The fact that Amneville is only 90 minutes from Paris and convenient for travel from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands mean players come from everywhere. I was cursing myself that i didn’t go last year – some people say that i could have worn a blindfold and made the money.
I am certainly going to make up for it this year. I would be surprised if i am the only player who thinks this way. One man I am sure who will be back is last year’s winner Sam El Sayed – that man knows a fine cigar when he sees one, something we very much have in common. El Sayed cleaned up in Amneville last year and very nearly took down the WPT Championships too – close, close but no cigar!
This brings me to something that has been swirling in my head for a while. Say you are a European pro going around the live circuit. Who do you want to play with? Tables of recognised world beating top pros or a load of unknowns from France and Italy?
I don’t think you need me to answer that question – it is obvious which exercise will be the most profitable. If you are shrewd then WPT Amneville is certainly the sort of place you should be going.
I have to hold my hands up and applaud those that run the Casino Municipal D’Amneville for their ambition in bringing a major WPT tournament to their casino and they deserved the record numbers they got last year.
I heard the final table had an electric atmosphere, fuelled by the local presence on the final table. In a communication sense they seem to be doing a lot right – they promote their tournament via social media very well.
As I have written many times before France is a hotbed of poker these days with all the big tournaments in September but why should we only have the chance to get some decent action one month a year. If you were a big Aussie saltwater crocodile with Lithuanian stripes like me you don’t just feed in one gleeful frenzy – you need a consistent feed!
Hopefully my friends the pink panther Mr Guillaume Darcourt and Bruno Fitoussi will be there too so i can own them again. Arnaud Mattern, yum, yum! Anthony Lellouche – on your bike! Elky? Are you a real Frenchman?! Levi, Big Roger and No Mercy Mercier – bring it on!
If this isn’t enough i heard they do a bit of line dancing in Northern East France and that Amneville has a nightclub where they do it to house music! A friend of mine told me a story about how Mad Marvin Rettenmaier and some guys ran up a massive bar bill but the card machine didn’t work. With true heart, commitment and trust the owners of the club popped into the casino the next day to get settled up. They had trust, heart and commitment!
See you in Amneville on November 1st – it will be like Amityville if you are on my table. Remember you can pre-register.
