Aviation Insights
By Isabelle Mercier

No one can deny that recently the entries have been down in the ACF's tournaments. The truth is, entries have been down almost everywhere, except for some special cases. For example, recent tournament in Amsterdam was truly an amazing success, and the Poker'Em event in Baden attracts many contestants every year. But even there, number of entries are decreasing, going from 438 participants in 2000 to 356 in 2002. One of the main reason is the absence of American players over the European circuit.

Still, those are unique events, they're being held only once a year, and only for a few days. Both are organized by gigantic casinos that don't make money out of their poker activity, but instead use a poker event to promote their casino companies.

Moreover, those special tournaments are being promoted with unbelievable marketing budgets, that cannot be compared with the means available for smaller poker clubs, like the Concord Card in Vienna, the Merrion Club in Dublin, or the Aviation Club in Paris, all poker clubs that do make their money out of poker. Don't get me wrong, those huge events held by casino companies and directed by a large staff and support teams are wonderful for the game of poker, giving it a great image, live covering, added prize money, and much more..

It is also true that more and more poker tournaments are being added to the calendar every year in Europe, so players tend to be dispatched in different places. Concrete example was recent tournament in Barcelona, where the main event at € 1 000 attracted 35 players, while at the exact same time the ACF main event at € 2 000 attracted 49 players... how unfortunate they were not all competing in the same event! Obviously, and with the creation of the new European ranking system for 2003, things are settled between all 10 participating poker rooms to avoid further clashes.

Even then, don't forget that the Aviation Club runs 5 tournaments a year (over 60 days of international tournament per year!), so everyone cannot attend every single one of them. Still, and since you compared Paris with Amsterdam, the total prize pool for tournaments in 2002 was more than € 2 275 000 in the Aviation Club, while it was € 1 433 000 for Holland Casino. Entries may be down in the Aviation's tournaments, but there is no danger to call on to. The ACF is always leading the overall prize pool in Europe.

Needless to say the Aviation Club is well-known for its cash game action. The biggest tables can be found in Paris, and this for all year long. Even on smaller stakes tables, the ACF is very appreciated by cash games players and this simply because we don't break those tables when our tournaments start. By opposition, in Amsterdam, Baden, London and almost every casino / club that offer tournaments, all cash games action is stopped when tournaments start. So you really have two choices; play the tournament or don't play at all.

Many foreign players come to the Aviation Club, and this doesn't show on our tournament entries because they're simply not playing the tournaments! They are coming to Paris because of the value and quality of our cash games tables. Our reputation precedes us. During this Winter Festival, we had at least a € 200, a € 500, a € 1 000 and a € 5 000 table running at all times, including tournament's times.

Finally, I'm happy to see you mentioned the World Poker Tour event that will be held in Paris from February 12th to 15th, 2003, and for which the first prize is guaranteed to be at least € 500 000! It is no surprise that Mister Lyle Berman and Steve Lipscomb choose the Aviation Club de France as the only location in Europe to hold their event. They know it's an elegant club, with a prestigious past and prestigious tournaments.

The Euro Finals of Poker are an immense success every year, and promise to be even bigger this year. Our promotional brochure has been to casinos all over Europe and America, and I hope many people got the opportunity to see it. Anyone interested in receiving the brochure is welcome to send us postal coordinates at aviaclub@club-internet.fr

I hope this clear things up a little, and would be glad to answer anymore questions concerning the Aviation Club. For more details on the Club, please visit our web site at www.aviationclubdefrance.com or feel free to contact us at your convenience.

Isabelle MERCIER