After a more than two week break following the fun, sun, and hours upon hours in the poker room at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), the European Poker Tour (EPT) will resume Tuesday in Deauville, France. EPT Deauville will be a €5,000 + €300 event with a 1,000 runner cap, slated to run through February 6th.
This year, the festivities will be held in the new tournament area of the Casino Barriere at The Deauville International Centre. The venue is situated right on the shore of the English Channel and is attached to the famous Hotel Royal Barriere, which celebrates its 99th birthday this year. Deauville itself is a prestigious resort city, part of an area sometimes called the “Parisian rivieria,” as it is the nearest seaside resort to the French capital.
The EPT Deauville Main Event will begin with two starting days on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Days 2 and 3 on the remaining weekdays. Saturday’s Day 4 will end when 24 players remain (though plans can always change depending on how quickly or slowly players are eliminated), while Day 5 will conclude when the eight-handed final table is determined. Monday, February 6th is when the final table will be contested and the champion will be crowned.
Last year saw the largest turnout ever for the EPT Deauville Main Event, with 891 entrants creating a €4,276,800 prize pool. Lucien Cohen won the big tournament in his home country, banking €880,000.
Deauville has been a stop on the European Poker Tour since the Tour’s inception in 2004, though it was simply called the French Open in Seasons 1 and 2. Because of legal problems surrounding gambling in France, Deauville had to be removed from the schedule in early 2007, but it returned in January 2009 during Season 5 with its new name, EPT Deauville.
In addition to the €5,300 Main Event, there are close to 20 other side events, including a €10,000 + €300 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, a 32-player maximum, 2-day Heads-up event, and a 2-day Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. One unique tournament at EPT Deauville will be held Friday: a €300 + €30 men’s only event. The women will get their own tourney the following day, and to make things even more interesting, the winner from each will square off in a heads-up match on Sunday. In addition, the €1,000 + €100 2-day No-Limit Hold’em event starting Saturday, February 4th will be part of the France Poker Series.
While it is a bit late to qualify online at PokerStars, there is still a live super satellite into Day 1B of the Main Event on Tuesday at the casino. The tournament will cost €500 + €50, will allow one re-buy, and will start at 4:00pm local time. For those who miss that, there will be a few other super satellites during the week for players interested in trying to win seats into some of the other festival’s events, including the €10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.
