Europe Home To A Thriving Poker Scene

The growth of the European Poker Tour is one of the game's great success stories.

Professional poker tours are currently enjoying an unprecedented period of success in Europe, according to an industry expert.

The North America-based World Poker Tour (WPT) has been suffering from a drop in player numbers - and as a result, prize money - in recent times, but Dave Woods, editor-in-chief of PokerPlayer Magazine, said it is a different story on the other side of the Atlantic.

Mr Woods explained: "The big success story at the moment is the European Poker Tour (EPT). Last year when the WPT was on the quiet, the EPT was putting in massive increases."

The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour and Gala Casinos British Poker Tour are also seeing a growth in player numbers, he added.

Season Five of the EPT gets underway in Barcelona on September 10th and then moves on to London on October 1st.

In addition to the standard EPT event, the London leg also includes a special high-rollers tournament, with a £20,000 buy-in and guaranteed £1 million prize pool.