There are several factors that contribute to the success of an international poker tournament: the number of players taking part, world-renowned stars in attendance, quality of infrastructure, media coverage, general organization and indeed the competence of the tournament directors.

Tournament directors provide the vital link between players and tournament organisers, responsible for assuring the rules are respected and for resolving disputes.

We are thrilled to present the two tournament directors who will officiate at the Partouche Poker Tour Season 4 Main Event in Cannes.

Aurélien Gallen (pictured left) has been involved in the Partouche Poker Tour right from the outset and is a man who knows everything there is to know about tournament organisation. A very popular and highly respected figure among French players, Aurélien is valued for his expertise and listening skills.

Matt Savage is the most sought after poker tournament director today. He has officiated at the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour among many others and also founded the Tournament Directors Association and has been instrumental in standardizing poker tournaments worldwide. In Cannes, Matt will be the point of contact for the increasing number of foreign players taking part in the Main Event.

The Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour takes place at the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes from the 12th of September up to the 17th. A beautiful week of poker coming up…
Especially since the prize pool and the schedule have been improved, so says Jean-Jacques Ichai, poker marketing director of Groupe Partouche.

The bar was set very high after the last edition of the Partouche Poker Tour in 2010: a prize pool of 5,6 million euros and 764 participants with a buy-in of 8 500 euros. Vanessa Selbst, the winner of the Main Event, won 1,3 million euros. Dou you think that you can get the same amount of players or even more for the fourth edition?

Jean-Jacques Ichai: This year we guarantee an even higher prize pool: four million euros (even though that was passed easily in Season 3)! With a increased guaranteed prize pool, we hope to attract more players to this event and give it an even more exceptional vibe.

I think the number of participants will be higher than in 2010, we hope to breach the 800 player bar. Supporting his prediction are many messages and requests for registration we have received since the beginning of the summer, coming from players all around the world.

Like the American stars?

Yes. The profesionnals and the great international stars, the Main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour presents a significant advantage: the level. They consider it low, especially with regard to the guaranteed prize pool. They know for a fact that 40% to 50% of participants have qualified in our casinos and our online poker room.

I also want to emphasize that since june 29 you can qualify online, even for free, on our room Partouche.fr, for a super-sattelite where 40 packages with a value of 10 000E are guaranteed. This is one of the reasons why so many Americans came last year, and the attendance will be the same if not bigger this year.

Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari and Vanessa Selbst, to name a few, have already confirmed their presence. Phil Ivey should definitely come to Cannes as well.

What is new to the organisation of this tournament?

The structure - one of the best in the world, according to the opinion of many players - does not change: 30.000 starting chips, rounds of two hours. A very deep structure, which attributes to the beauty of the game.

However, this year we have a new tournament director: Matt Savage - whose reputation is well established internationally. He worked as a tournament director for the World Series Of Poker and the World Poker Tour, to name just these two prestigious events. In Cannes he will work side by side with the tournament directors of our team, Jeremie Zawadzki and Aurelien Gallen, themselves also being seasoned professionals.

Having a well known tournament director like Matt Savage is related to the magnitude and the growing importance of the Partouche Poker Tour, which now demands the best specialists in terms of organization and arbitration. It is also a sign of credibility and professionalism for foreign players, Americans in particular