by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Feb 1, 2024 | Updated on Feb 1, 2024
Summary:
- The first leg of the 2024 EPT kicks-off with a stop in Paris, France
- EPT Paris will take place in a new venue as the previous location encountered issues
- Every EPT tournament table will now have its own CCTV camera to maintain game integrity
PokerStars is gearing up for the latest season of the European Poker Tour (EPT) which gets underway in two weeks’ time.
The tour heads to Paris this February for its first stop of 2024, with four more stops planned out throughout the year.
The operator recently gave out a few more details about upcoming EPT events, the improvements they’ve made, and what players can look forward to as the tour returns.
EPT Paris Gets New Home
Launched in 2004, EPT has grown to become one of the world’s most popular live poker tours, and its growth and popularity are mainly driven by the relentless effort by PokerStars, organizers, and their partners, to elevate the European poker experience each year. In 2023, two new stops were added to the schedule, to the delight of EPT players and fans around the world.
The tour finally visited Paris in 2023 after previous failed attempts due to regulatory issues. The inaugural EPT Paris took place at Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile and was a huge success. But the event did not come without problems. The venue struggled to accommodate the large number of players participating, and the situation was made even worse by the complicated registration system.
PokerStars Associate Director of Live Events Operations Cedric Billot acknowledged the flaws of the first-ever EPT Paris and now they have come up with a new plan to prevent the same scenario from happening again. EPT Paris will now have a new home – the Palais des Congrès conference center – located in the heart of the city. The new venue offers a much bigger space, ensuring a quick and smooth registration process.
PokerStars Boosts Investment in Game Security
Sharing details regarding further improvements to the tour, Billot unveiled that PokerStars has boosted its investment in the security of the game to ensure its integrity is maintained. For each stop in 2024 and beyond, there will be new CCTV cameras installed at every table. No other live real money poker operator has done this before.
The 2024 schedule mirrors that of the past year which includes stops in Barcelona, Monte-Carlo, Prague, and Cyprus, and Billot indicated things would remain that way in the foreseeable future as the existing line-up has delivered positive results so far. But Billot isn’t discounting the possibility of adding more stops in the years ahead.
