Just one day until the start of the Grand Final

Just a couple of days ago, you guys could follow my reports on the EPT from Vienna in this place. Now, we have all gathered in Monaco for the Grand Final of the European Poker Tour season 1. All winners of the first six EPT events are here, as they have automatically qualified for this final because of their win. In fact, if my information is correct, all runners-up have automatically qualified as well. In addition to these players who have already proven their abilities in earlier events, we have a large group of experienced pros, and also many people who may be a bit less experienced, but who want to test their abilities against the best pros or are here simply to try and "take a shot". The buy-in for the Grand Final is no less than €10,000, which is quite drastic for European standards, but we can expect a rather large field nonetheless. In fact, I would be very surprised if despite this large buy-in we will not have 160 or 170 entrants, and in fact about 200 players may be a more reasonable estimate.

So, we are all in Monte Carlo, Monaco now, a beautiful place I had never been before. The place is luxurious and obviously attracts the wealthy people and the nouveau riche, but it is also very easy to feel at home here, because it is so small and everything is within walking distance. The event is not staged at the beautiful casino, but in a large place located immediately next to it: a great choice, as the room is large and there is more than enough space to host the large number of players we are expecting. The stage for the Televised Table has been set already, and right now there are some satellites going for tomorrow's event. Day one of the Grand Final will start at 2 p.m local time. It will be played over four days, the final being Saturday 19th, 5 p.m. local time. As before, I will try to keep you informed about the players, the hands and the stories, and again as before, I will try to be as fast and as accurate as possible. From Monte Carlo, I say: Good night, see you all tomorrow.