The third live edition of The Festival is taking place in the Slovak capital of Bratislava this October. The Festival is a hugely entertaining, week-long event which offers players the chance to compete in a €500,000 guarantee Main Event. some two dozen other poker tournaments, plus a whole lot more besides.
The Festival, which takes place from October 10 to October 16, is being held at the Banco Casino – a fabulous venue housed in the luxurious Crowne Plaza Hotel and located in the heart of Bratislava’s picturesque Old Town
The Festival Series was launched by Cash Game Festival founder Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk last year and aims to combine the very best of poker, casino games and sports betting – all in one event. The main ethos of The Festival Series is that players of all kinds have a great time and a chance to really enjoy themselves in a great location. In addition to the packed poker schedule, players at The Festival will also be able to take part in a Roulette Tournament, a competitive Blackjack Tournament and a Sports Betting Tournament. There will also be slots events and a ton of other activities – both at the tables and out and about in Bratislava. Winning big cash prizes is certainly a key part of it all, but the side events, casino games and activities away from the felt are a central part of the experience.
For die-hard poker enthusiasts, there will still be plenty of tournament and cash game action at The Festival Bratislava with around two dozen different events to choose from. In addition to the €500,000 guarantee Main Event, the schedule will include deep stack side events, a High Roller, PLO tournaments, an 8-Game event, Knockout tournaments and – just maybe – Sviten Special (Drawmaha) and Open Face Chinese as well. Cash games will also be running 24/7.
The inaugural The Festival event was also in Bratislava and took place last September. The €550 Main Event attracted a whopping 621 entries to generate a €294,975 prize pool. Former EPT Dealer Martin Mauthner took it down for €47,600 after cutting a three-way deal with eventual runner-up Adi Rajkovic and third-placed David Vedral. Poker commentators George Sandford and JJ Hazan both won side events with Sandford triumphing in the two-day €220 Sviten Special for €2,870 and Hazan shipping the shipped the two-day €220 PokerListings Cup for €7,375.
Since then, there has been an event in the Estonian capital of Tallinn and The Festival also teamed up with 888poker for an online event last month.
This year’s The Festival Bratislava Main Event is guaranteed to be at least 40% bigger than last year as – for the first time – The Festival Series has slapped a mouth-watering €500,000 guarantee on the prize pool while keeping the buy-in the same at €550.
Getting to Bratislava
Regarding travel to Bratislava, there are direct flights from all over Europe to Bratislava Airport which is just 15 minutes by taxi from Banco Casino. However, it’s worth noting that Vienna Airport is also pretty close and offers even more budget flight choices. It’s only 45 minutes to Bratislava city center by taxi and will cost around €40 - €50.
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