The PPT teams have returned from the Mecca of Texas Hold’Em; the World Series of Poker. Why were they there? For the game of course, but not in the way you would think…Basically, the team was asked to promote the largest French poker tournament in the world.

Welcome to the Rio
Away from the strip (the main road in Las Vegas where almost all the biggest casinos sit one after another) rises Rio. Why is it special? It is here that the 55 WSOP events were organised. It is “the place to be” when holidaying in Vegas during the month of July. And so it is from here that the organisers of our national tournament are returning.
But note, they were not allowed to sit at any of the tables and try to win a paid place. And the temptation was huge…There were hundreds of tables as far as the eye could see and thousands of players came for the challenge and the pleasure of the game. What an amazing environment to play in!

Encounter with the third kind
Maxime Masquelier, leader of the Partouche-Poker delegation and Director of the Partouche Poker Tour tournament, tells us about his visit: “We were part of the WSOP to inform players all over the world that a new type of poker is now on the market in the form of physical tournaments. We received a more than warm welcome from the WSOP organisers, but also from the biggest players in the world who had heard about the Partouche Poker Tour. Apart from that, our mission was simple: convince players to come to the Main Event that we are organising at the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes from the 3^rd to 7^th September 2008″.

Hot news
“Thirty or so players have shown their interest in participating in the Main event. Who can resist a guaranteed prize pool of two million euros?” Maxime Masquelier told us before ending with these few words: “And I am very happy to announce exclusively on the Partouche Poker Tour site’s blog that we will welcome to the first Main Event Mr. Gus Hansen and Mr. David Benyamine who have confirmed they will be in Cannes this September”. They will join players such as Soulier, Koscas, Tardieu and others, whose participation has already been announced.

It already looks like a nice cast, but it is important to realise that it is just the beginning. We can’t wait to be there!