Poker Articles

From Bulgaria With Love
By T.J Cloutier

A little over a week ago my wife, Joy, and I left Dallas on an adventure like none we had ever experienced. At the invitation of the London Casino we were on our way to Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is an ex-communist country of 8 million people that is trying to make the transition to a Democratic system. A Bulgarian's monthly salary is approximately 500 bgn (pronounced leva) which is their currency. This is about $330 American dollars. Sofia is the capital and has a population of nearly 2 million living in a city designed for 500,000 people. You can really see this when you see how they park - anywhere and everywhere. The Bulgarians are very friendly and we were surprised by how many of them speak some English. But we couldn't reciprocate. The Bulgarian language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet (like Russian) and we couldn't even guess the meaning of the street signs.

When we arrived at Sofia airport, about ten people were there to greet us and we met our two hostesses from the London Casino, Tanya and Rumyana. We were also introduced to our guide and driver for the week. Poker is just taking off in Bulgaria, and the whole purpose of my trip was to promote this fairly new game. This was to be accomplished in several steps, leading up to a 1,000 bgn tournament on February 23rd and 24th. The largest Bulgarian tournament before this had a 300 bgn buy.

We stayed at one of the finest hotels in Sofia, the Radisson SAS. There are many small casinos in Sofia, but the London Casino at the Radisson is the only one with a poker room. The poker played in Sofia is Pot-Limit Holdem (cash games) and No-Limit Holdem (tournaments). The reason the casino is called the London Casino is that all of Sasha's (Alexander Toumparov's) casinos have famous city themes.

The first few days we were there, our guide, Nenko, took Joy and me to see many historic sights in Sofia and the countryside. We visited the Rila Monastery, which is the top tourist attraction in Bulgaria. We also visited Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulargia and one of the oldest cities in Europe. In the old town of this city we saw many of the ancient Roman walls and arches including the 2nd century amphitheater which was just uncovered in the last 20 years. Joy is a dedicated and knowledgeable sightseer. She was at it from early morning to dark every day. I think our hosts enriched us far more with our exposure to Bulgarian history and culture than I enriched them with exposure to the finer points of poker.

Every night we were taken to one of the best restaurants in town and each day we were joined by different hostesses and guests. The dinners were always pleasant and leisurely. They also always included lengthy discussions about poker. I was pleasantly surprised by how knowledgeable many Bulgarians are about the game. One night we went to a Bulgarian folk-style restaurant with the traditional fare, singing and dancing. (It was great.)

While we were there, I was interviewed by many newspapers and magazines. One night I was a featured guest on the Slavi Show which is the Bulgarian equivalent to our Jay Leno Show. This was quite an experience that lasted about 15 minutes. As I was answering his questions, an interpreter was translating simultaneously. Slavi is very talented. He asked very knowledgeable questions about poker. I am sure that this media coverage and television show stimulated interest in poker throughout Bulgaria.

I was surprised at first that so many people recognized me. Then I learned that Bulgaria has a television channel devoted entirely to poker. It was a very pleasant surprise that many people had purchased at least one of my books online and brought them to the casino for me to autograph. Needless to say, I was delighted to oblige.

On Thursday, February 22, I gave a two hour seminar that attracted about 80 people and was very well received. Eighty may not sound like a big number, but for a place that never had as many as 40 people in a tournament before, it was a large turnout.

The tournament started on the 23rd with 60 players and a 3,000 bgn bounty on me. The London Casino added 10,000 bgn to the tournament, which made the prize pool a total of 70,000 bgn (and no juice!!). I was very surprised at the over-all level of play of the Eastern Europeans who competed (at least 90% Bulgarians). Playing online has definitely helped their game a lot. They have only four tables, so the tournament was played in two parts for the first 5 levels and then combined after the second group was completed. We played 20 minute levels with 2,000 bgn in chips and 10-20 starting blinds. On the first day they played down to the final table of 9 players (which, unfortunately, did not include me) and then continued on Saturday. The final table was televised throughout the Casino with hole-card cameras. As you can see, the London Casino spared no expense in this attempt at promoting poker.

When the tournament was over, they held a wonderful ceremony for the winners and for me. Each of the nine finalists received a trophy and a framed certificate that read "Texas Hold'em Main Event T. J. Cloutier Cup." They also presented me with a special trophy and a certificate along with a hand-made copper plate.

It was a very special week for us in Bulgaria. I would like to thank Sashsa for one of the finest experiences of my life. It sure is nice to be treated like a king. Joy and I hope to return to Bulgaria and we look forward to welcoming Bulgarian poker enthusiasts to upcoming events in the U. S.

About the Author
One of the last of the legendary road gamblers whose numbers are dwindling each year, T. J. brings a wealth of experience, card skill, and natural ability to every game that he plays. T. J. was named Player of the Year by Card Player Magazine in 1998 and 2002 and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame during the World Series of Poker in 2006. T.J Cloutier is also a teacher at PokerSchoolOnline

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