Live Updates European Amateur Poker Champ Sat 7/Sun 8 Dec 2013

[Chipaccrual]

Well done to Tom and Presty for making it through the four days.

Deserve a beer I reckon.  Do they do beers in Prague ?    

[Paulie_D]

Deserve a beer I reckon.  Do they do beers in Prague ?    

Tom and Neil have discovered that Prague DOES, in fact, have beer.

Later they are hoping to check for recreational establishments.

Expect carnage.

[fandango]

Congratulations to all those who ran deep and cashed especially Curly, Ger and luckbox Murray  

Congratulations to the three medalists, and the teams who walked away with the spoils.. Germany a class side who all played great poker for the two days, fully deserving the Gold.. Belgium who where a breath of fresh air the whole team where absolute gents and skipper Tom was good to meet him at last safe drive home guys. A great performance by the scots in the MTT to get 3 players in the points and 2 on to the final table deserved to snatch bronze from us..
Have to mention Tony sharing 2nd place in the individual points table with Duffy the guy played awesome the two days and the table banter although at some times was close to the skin was all meant in good Trippier style and fun was had by all (I think).. DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS???

And last but by no means least a huge huge thankyou to Tom and Neil..

Never met either before Wendsday, but have to say they guys are bloody class!! Have played lots of APAT events and all the guys who have updated in the past Tighty, Leigh, Matt Mark etc etc have been worth their salts..

Tom IMO will be a invaluable addition to the APAT team, can"t praise him enough not just the updating the social side of the experience will benefit immensely!!  On a personal note the experience at the start was a nightmare, the casino facilities for me where a hurdle that I thought would spoil my experience, but Tom rallied around to make sure everything was done to help to make my stay manageable.. Thankyou sir.

Great few days of poker.. Immense people around to make the whole experience special, had so much fun and so many laughs <3 APAT!!

Counting the days to WCOAP  

[LombBomb]

Well that came and gone pretty quickly!  Massive contgraulations to Germany who bossed the team event apart from a shaky start to day 2, you guys are all great players and a totally deserved win. 

Well done also to Belgium on their silver medals and what a great bunch of lads, and to Tom and Jerry, well done on your deep run in the main event!  I hope to see all you guys again real soon!

Delighted we got 3rd and a bronze medal, my own performance was a disappointment but Duffy was a colossus throughout for us.  Along with her, Gimac and Herbie scoring good points in the MTT saw us safely to a medal.  I had a good feeling before the event that we"d be bringing back a medal so it"s nice to do it.

To the rest of the APAT regs - thanks once again for contributing towards a fantastic trip.  Too many names to mention so I don"t know where to start.  Prague is an amazing city and spent in amazing company too.

Finally, special mention to Tom & Presty.  You both done an amazing job over the weekend and you"ll both be an invaluable addition to the APAT team.  Hope you enjoyed your beers on Sunday night, you certainly deserved them.

Much love
Tom/LombBomb

[Curlarge]

Just wanted to echo the previous comments really, and add a couple of my own.

Prague was a very nice place to visit for the first time and certainly lived up to the pre-match billing.

Tom and Presty, both of whom I had never met before, did an excellent job, not only as tournament hosts, but also as APAT Ambassadors.

I understand that they"re stye is not the same as Tighty"s or Leigh's, but it"s just different. They intend to get out amongst the members more than we have seen in the past and as a result the updates will not be as comprehensive as some that have gone before, but we should not forget that these guys knew almost none of us before this event and as such should be commended for the way they conducted themselves. They"re enthusiasm, which has so obviously been lacking recently, was infectious and we are in good hands if these 2 gents are allowed to carry out they"re plans for the future.

That said there was one glaring operational mis-step.

How was it that this casino held an event of this importance, when the impact of it upon England Captain so clearly was not considered.

It was a completely unsatisfactory to have to "transport" Carl up and down a flight of stairs every day, where clearly no thought had gone into the impact upon him whatsoever. Food was also an issue, as there were no facilities in the casino itself and only by a lot of cajoling did we manage to get the restaurant above the casino to send food down for him.

It appears on the surface that tagging onto a prestigious european festival was more important than the considerations of one on the team captains. Carl as always took it in stride, and tried to smile it off, but the fact remains that this was a "disabled hostile" casino and following his selection, this event should not have been held here, however good it was for the rest of us.

I would hate to think that prestige was put before member consideration, but I fear that this may have been the case here.

[Des]

Just wanted to echo the previous comments really, and add a couple of my own.

Prague was a very nice place to visit for the first time and certainly lived up to the pre-match billing.

Tom and Presty, both of whom I had never met before, did an excellent job, not only as tournament hosts, but also as APAT Ambassadors.

I understand that they"re stye is not the same as Tighty"s or Leigh's, but it"s just different. They intend to get out amongst the members more than we have seen in the past and as a result the updates will not be as comprehensive as some that have gone before, but we should not forget that these guys knew almost none of us before this event and as such should be commended for the way they conducted themselves. They"re enthusiasm, which has so obviously been lacking recently, was infectious and we are in good hands if these 2 gents are allowed to carry out they"re plans for the future.

That said there was one glaring operational mis-step.

How was it that this casino held an event of this importance, when the impact of it upon England Captain so clearly was not considered.

It was a completely unsatisfactory to have to "transport" Carl up and down a flight of stairs every day, where clearly no thought had gone into the impact upon him whatsoever. Food was also an issue, as there were no facilities in the casino itself and only by a lot of cajoling did we manage to get the restaurant above the casino to send food down for him.

It appears on the surface that tagging onto a prestigious european festival was more important than the considerations of one on the team captains. Carl as always took it in stride, and tried to smile it off, but the fact remains that this was a "disabled hostile" casino and following his selection, this event should not have been held here, however good it was for the rest of us.

I would hate to think that prestige was put before member consideration, but I fear that this may have been the case here.

Do you REALLY think that this was the case Richard???  

[Curlarge]

Just wanted to echo the previous comments really, and add a couple of my own.

Prague was a very nice place to visit for the first time and certainly lived up to the pre-match billing.

Tom and Presty, both of whom I had never met before, did an excellent job, not only as tournament hosts, but also as APAT Ambassadors.

I understand that they"re stye is not the same as Tighty"s or Leigh's, but it"s just different. They intend to get out amongst the members more than we have seen in the past and as a result the updates will not be as comprehensive as some that have gone before, but we should not forget that these guys knew almost none of us before this event and as such should be commended for the way they conducted themselves. They"re enthusiasm, which has so obviously been lacking recently, was infectious and we are in good hands if these 2 gents are allowed to carry out they"re plans for the future.

That said there was one glaring operational mis-step.

How was it that this casino held an event of this importance, when the impact of it upon England Captain so clearly was not considered.

It was a completely unsatisfactory to have to "transport" Carl up and down a flight of stairs every day, where clearly no thought had gone into the impact upon him whatsoever. Food was also an issue, as there were no facilities in the casino itself and only by a lot of cajoling did we manage to get the restaurant above the casino to send food down for him.

It appears on the surface that tagging onto a prestigious european festival was more important than the considerations of one on the team captains. Carl as always took it in stride, and tried to smile it off, but the fact remains that this was a "disabled hostile" casino and following his selection, this event should not have been held here, however good it was for the rest of us.

I would hate to think that prestige was put before member consideration, but I fear that this may have been the case here.

Do you REALLY think that this was the case Richard???  

Well the obstacles were so glaringly apparent for all to see, it left us all wondering how could it have happened.

[Matt D]

Well the obstacles were so glaringly apparent for all to see, it left us all wondering how could it have happened.

I"m not involved in the arrangement of live events, but I"m pretty sure this was an oversight (admittedly a regrettable one) rather than a deliberate "stitch up". It"s actually inconceivable to me that a venue would not have suitable disabled access, and to be honest, it"s probably not something I"d have thought to have checked either. Though, after hearing of the problems here, it certainly would be something I"d check in the future - if I ever became involved in planning the "live" aspect of APAT.

re: the rest of your message. Totally agree with you about Tom + Presty"s enthusiam at these kind of events. Having played previous LPPL/Poker Occassions events in the past where they were present, it was a very enjoyable experience. They are indeed a great asset, making sure everyone feels welcome, and it feels as if nothing is "too much effort" for them too

[Paulie_D]

It appears on the surface that tagging onto a prestigious european festival was more important than the considerations of one on the team captains. Carl as always took it in stride, and tried to smile it off, but the fact remains that this was a "disabled hostile" casino and following his selection, this event should not have been held here, however good it was for the rest of us.

I would hate to think that prestige was put before member consideration, but I fear that this may have been the case here.

Emphasis mine.

I, for one, do not believe that prestige over consideration was a factor, BUT the fact that the casino was not disabled friendly should have been made clear (or at the very least properly investigated) at the start.

Why it was not IS a matter of concern.

For my part, I would admit to a failure regarding hotel recommendations but Carl followed with direct contact with the hotel but the Akcent Hotel (in the same building) effectively lied about how disabled friendly they, so perhaps there was no "failure" as such, more of a communication gap.

I have no reason to think that APAT prioritised one thing over another but a lack of consideration, for want of a better word, (or follow up) is a cause of concern.

Carl, bless him, took it in good heart...as he is the kind to do, but that"s not the point.

[Curlarge]

I"m not suggesting that it was a deliberate "stitch up" or anything of the kind, it clearly wouldn"t have been or ever will be, but the venue was chosen before the players were.

Knowing which venue was being used, and this was no doubt part of the thinking to be part of a larger festival, as was the case with Wembley, the choice of England captain became crucial, for the reasons outlined previously. Carl was an excellent captain, but this was the wrong venue for him and it mustn"t be allowed to happen again.

The point of me raising this is to help ensure that it doesn"t.

[AAroddersAA]

I"m not suggesting that it was a deliberate "stitch up" or anything of the kind, it clearly wouldn"t have been or ever will be, but the venue was chosen before the players were.

Knowing which venue was being used, and this was no doubt part of the thinking to be part of a larger festival, as was the case with Wembley, the choice of England captain became crucial, for the reasons outlined previously. Carl was an excellent captain, but this was the wrong venue for him and it mustn"t be allowed to happen again.

The point of me raising this is to help ensure that it doesn"t.

I would agree with Rich here, he makes an excellent point. It is important that the team take this into consideration for future events. Somehow I don"t think it will be a problem again.

I am really pleased with the great feedback from the members who traveled to Prague. I admit to having been concerned about all the changes to APAT recently and wondered about it future. Reading the feedback here it sounds as though Des has found the right men to step in. Great to here Tom will be involved with the members hope he knows what he is letting himself in for here.

Bring on Stoke and WCOAP imo

[Matt D]

Bad choice of words by me. Apologies. I didn"t mean "stitch up", more that I don"t think the venue choice/prestige was put before member requirements. I think it was just an oversight (and as I say, admittedly a regrettable one). In this day and age, I"m very surprised that venues do not offer full wheelchair access, or at least are very clear about not offering it.

This isn"t really my department, but I"m sure lessons have been learned from this, and that venues will be fully checked in future (if indeed they weren"t checked this time, but misleading information was provided).

[fandango]

Would like to put my own views on what has been mentioned above..

Paulie hit the nail on the head.. i was indeed "lied" to by the hotel, i (Emma) make every effort to ensure where ever we stay the disabled facilities are adequate for my needs.
I was in contact with the Akcent via email a few times regarding the disabled access they had and promised me that access into the hotel was "disabled friendly", this was clearly not the case on arrival with a flight of stairs into reception and then a ramp to get to the reception desk wich was basically a joke!! Emma in fact injured her back trying to push me up the ramp, this put an instant dampner onto the start of the trip. The room was spacious as promised and comfatable for the time i spent in there.

The casino... hmmmm well i "presumed" as the casino was part of the hotel that indeed it would have lifts and disabled facilaties  , so didnt call and confirm that this was the case, and this was a error on my behalf! as stated above i make every effort to check these things in the uk so not checking Prague was a school boy error.
I was mortified on entering the casino and then being faced by a flight of 12 rather steep steps down to cardroom floor, and when asking where the lift was and being told there wasnt one my stress levels rose and Emma was ready to catch the next flight home  .

Now as it happened if i knew the information before hand i would definatly not of agreed to make the trip to Prague, it would of just not been the right thing to do.. But the honour of being England skip and defending my ECOAP title rather i think i would of travelled to Timbukto  .

Im 110% sure this is just a honest oversight on APATs part, Des understood from the word go the upheavle for myself differs from most other members and understood if it was not a viable trip then he would understand my decision not to commit.. Im sure if Des or anyone else had been to the cardroom before hand realised the lack of facilities then i would of been told and not offered the position.. As i have already said it was a error on my behalf to assume the lift would be there  .

Lets not worry about this anymore its the past  .. The support offered to me was bloody incredible!! in true APAT style the guys got together and just simply constructed an awesome "human elevator" of my very own simples.. Kev was amazing and i know from overhearing him speak that he wasnt drinking excessivley because he wanted to make sure i got back up the stairs in one piece   what a true star!!

ECOAP was immense! lets not forget this, apart from the obv dissapointment not winning the team event for me and not defending my title, the poker, fun, people, friends old and new, and all round awsomeness of the few days outweighed the few hurdles put in my path.

Roll on WCOAP !!

[Des]

Would like to put my own views on what has been mentioned above..

Paulie hit the nail on the head.. i was indeed "lied" to by the hotel, i (Emma) make every effort to ensure where ever we stay the disabled facilities are adequate for my needs.
I was in contact with the Akcent via email a few times regarding the disabled access they had and promised me that access into the hotel was "disabled friendly", this was clearly not the case on arrival with a flight of stairs into reception and then a ramp to get to the reception desk wich was basically a joke!! Emma in fact injured her back trying to push me up the ramp, this put an instant dampner onto the start of the trip. The room was spacious as promised and comfatable for the time i spent in there.

The casino... hmmmm well i "presumed" as the casino was part of the hotel that indeed it would have lifts and disabled facilaties  , so didnt call and confirm that this was the case, and this was a error on my behalf! as stated above i make every effort to check these things in the uk so not checking Prague was a school boy error.
I was mortified on entering the casino and then being faced by a flight of 12 rather steep steps down to cardroom floor, and when asking where the lift was and being told there wasnt one my stress levels rose and Emma was ready to catch the next flight home  .

Now as it happened if i knew the information before hand i would definatly not of agreed to make the trip to Prague, it would of just not been the right thing to do.. But the honour of being England skip and defending my ECOAP title rather i think i would of travelled to Timbukto  .

Im 110% sure this is just a honest oversight on APATs part, Des understood from the word go the upheavle for myself differs from most other members and understood if it was not a viable trip then he would understand my decision not to commit.. Im sure if Des or anyone else had been to the cardroom before hand realised the lack of facilities then i would of been told and not offered the position.. As i have already said it was a error on my behalf to assume the lift would be there  .

Lets not worry about this anymore its the past  .. The support offered to me was bloody incredible!! in true APAT style the guys got together and just simply constructed an awesome "human elevator" of my very own simples.. Kev was amazing and i know from overhearing him speak that he wasnt drinking excessivley because he wanted to make sure i got back up the stairs in one piece   what a true star!!

ECOAP was immense! lets not forget this, apart from the obv dissapointment not winning the team event for me and not defending my title, the poker, fun, people, friends old and new, and all round awsomeness of the few days outweighed the few hurdles put in my path.

Roll on WCOAP !!

Absolutely shocked to hear this Carl and you have my heartfelt apologies. 

When I booked this tournament several months ago it was not made clear that the venue was not wheelchair friendly, and had it been made clear I can assure you I wouldn"t have agreed to send APAT there, or indeed Everest Poker.  Similarly Tom has had detailed player briefing discussions with them and again this situation was not identified.  I should have picked it up, so hands up from me, and I"m truly sorry that this impacted your and Emma"s trip.

Two things I"ll say - 1) I"ll be voicing by dissatisfaction in the strongest terms to the festival organiser; who we are dealing with at the highest level.  2) We"ll never go back to this venue unless this disgraceful situation is rectified.  Whether we have any disabled players in the field or not.

Finally, thanks to the community for supporting Carl"s needs in Prague.  That"s a great thing and is what makes this group of people extraordinary.

[fandango]

It appears on the surface that tagging onto a prestigious european festival was more important than the considerations of one on the team captains. Carl as always took it in stride, and tried to smile it off, but the fact remains that this was a "disabled hostile" casino and following his selection,his event should not have been held here, however good it was for the rest of us.

I would hate to think that prestige was put before member consideration, but I fear that this may have been the case here.

Disagree here.. The venue was infact one of the best i have played, the dealers, TD, beer, food (once delivered), tables etc etc cant fault imo.
The event should of been held there 100%, the skipper should not of been me, or i should of investigated the event before booking flights, hotel etc etc..

Also from experience some countries ideas of "disabled friendly" are 1,000,000 miles away from here in the UK and USA