First of all I was invited at the end of May to the opening of the Poker Card Casinos Café Bistro Livello in Innsbruck, where I made a whole range of new acquaintances. Later, I turned again to my own projects. Once the City Championships had become established in Baden-Baden, I tried to implement the first German Championships of Seven Card Stud (at that time the most popular variation) outside of casinos. That was at the time an absolute novelty as in German there had never been anything like it.
The Championship tournament took place in Echterdingen was played as free roll and attracted 200 players. The qualification rounds lasted a week with up to five tables simultaneously in use which were sometimes occupied from 8 am onwards. At that time in the region there was a really relaxed feeling towards games and even the mayor dropped by to award the prizes. Poker was then so unfamiliar that we had to import a dealer from Austria. As a result of its success directly afterwards I organized another larger tournament, which was announced as a “World Championship” because such superlatives are much loved in poker circles. It was held in September at Stuttgart Airport and 400 players ensured a full house. In the meantime the media had also become interested. Two TV stations, 2 magazines and a large number of newspapers sent media representatives to report on the event.
The Championship tournament took place in Echterdingen was played as free roll and attracted 200 players. The qualification rounds lasted a week with up to five tables simultaneously in use which were sometimes occupied from 8 am onwards. At that time in the region there was a really relaxed feeling towards games and even the mayor dropped by to award the prizes. Poker was then so unfamiliar that we had to import a dealer from Austria. As a result of its success directly afterwards I organized another larger tournament, which was announced as a “World Championship” because such superlatives are much loved in poker circles. It was held in September at Stuttgart Airport and 400 players ensured a full house. In the meantime the media had also become interested. Two TV stations, 2 magazines and a large number of newspapers sent media representatives to report on the event.
However, it was also the most expensive venue that I have ever used: the whole lark set me back 6,400 marks for 10 hours. In addition the rooms had to be cleared by midnight so there was no future for this venue. After this experience, an idea developed of putting more emphasis on non-cash tournaments outside of casinos. Of course, it was impossible to foresee the consequences in Germany, which this development initiated. Now began the age of ‘recreational tournaments’ as I like to call the events for hobby players. We received active support from the authorities then, venues were placed at our disposal, sometimes free of charge, amongst the players were prominent footballers but also policemen who in no way came into conflict with their consciences. It only became a problem when increasing numbers of organizers began to flood the market adopting our system and wanting to compete with us.
 |
 |
 |