casino memberships?

[pokertunities]

Hi All

I"m new to the apat and their live events.  I didn"t realise places for the live events were so tight, and already booked flight & hotel down to cardiff after registering with APAT.  I missed out on the clickfest and will have to turn up on the day and hope or enjoy a weekend in a cold january cardiff.

Ive just sundenly realised that you probably have to be a member of the casino as well to enter to events.  Can anyone confirm this.  If so how do I do this from Scotland.  Can I phone the casino before hand, can i join a casino of the same group etc.

Any info or help for a newbie appreciated.

AJ

[HaworthBantam]

Joining the casino isn"t a problem. This can be done on the day of the National or Regional event that you"re playing.

All you need do is turn up with some form of identification - picture driving license or passport.

As for the popularity of the events, yes they generally sell out within minutes. Well worth trying to get into one though, you"ll have a great experience.

Ian

[pokertunities]

Thanks for the prompt reply Ian - much appreciated.  Im booked to go to cardiff anyway so will turn up and hope for the best.

[HaworthBantam]

If you get there early, and I mean well before the casino opens, you may have the chance of getting on the reserve list that"s created on the day.

I must stress though, that this doesn"t guarantee anything. It would give you your best chance of playing though.

Good luck.

[kinboshi]

As Ian said, the reserve list on the day is created on a first-come-first-served basis - and last year a friend of mine got to the casino in Cardiff for 9:30am, and was second on the reserve list!  

He got in, but this season it"s even harder to get in as the law in the UK now allows alternates (and this means fewer people dropping out on the day as players don"t have to be in their seats at the start of the tournament any more).

If you didn"t want to travel to Cardiff now you know you"re not guaranteed a place, it should be possible to cancel most hotel bookings before the day of your stay without any charge (or maybe a very small admin fee).

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

[pokertunities]

Thanks for the update Ian.  Unfortunately my tickets are non-refundable as I booked them through lastminute.com and got a deal for holiday and flights together.  But I"ll just need to make sure I"m first on the reserve list and hope for the best.

Does the APAT have any plans on changing the rules on their entry system to the live events or is the clickfest the likely way for the forseeable future?

Cheers
Allan

[HaworthBantam]

There are three methods of entry into most of the National events, these are:

1. Regional Qualifiers/Championship.
These take place approximately 1 month prior to the National event, where the top 10% qualify for a seat. The schedule of Regional events can be found at this link http://www.apat.com/schedule_S2_Regional.php

2. Online Qualifiers.
These take place a day or so after the Regional Qualifiers via BlueSquare. Again, the top 10% qualify for a seat. The schedule for the satelites can be found at this link http://www.apat.com/schedule_S2_National.php

3. ClickFest
The remaining seats will then go on general sale at a cost of £75 via the website. Again, details can be found at http://www.apat.com/schedule_S2_National.php

Hope this clarifies a few things.

Ian

[kinboshi]

...and the 4th method of entry of course - get there early on the day and queue!!