Emerald Poker Tour to Visit the PokerBaazi LIVE in Goa From Sep 25-29, Bryn Kenney Invited as Special Guest

The Emerald Poker Tour has established itself as the premier cash game festival for Indian poker players, and the good news is that the EPT is now all set to make its debut on Indian soil! Starting on September 25, the festival will be hosted at the brand-new PokerBaazi LIVE poker room onboard the luxurious Casino Pride 2 and following five days of non-stop action, the festival will wrap up on September 29.

The brainchild of the husband-wife duo, Gokul Krishna and Suni Sunder, along with Vikram Kumar, the Emerald Poker Tour has already hosted three successful editions in the island-country of Sri Lanka. Now, for the first time ever, the festival will be making its way to the poker capital of India – Goa.

Along with coming to India for the first time, the festival has also roped in another long-time poker operator and passionate poker player Bhuvan Bansal as a partner.

But that’s not all. International poker superstar Bryn Kenney, on the invitation of his close friends, PokerStars India Team pro Aditya Agarwal and Emerald Poker Tour co-partner Vikram Kumar, will also be attending the cash game festival!

Emerald Poker Tour – September 25-29

A well-loved cash game festival, Emerald Poker Tour, will be hosting its upcoming fourth edition for the very first time in Goa from September 25 to 29. Helmed by a competent management team comprising of long-time operators like Gokul Krishna, Suni Sunder, Vikram Kumar, the cash game festival will take place onboard the PokerBaazi LIVE poker room at Casino Pride 2.

The past three editions of the festival were all hosted at Casino Bellagio in Sri Lanka. However, with live poker booming in India, it was a logical decision for the management team to shift base to the coastal state of Goa. Additionally, with the political environment not having completely recovered from the terror blasts that shook Sri Lanka in April 2019, Goa seemed like an obvious choice.

Talking to PokerGuru, Gokul commented on the management’s decision to move the festival to Goa, saying, “We hosted three events in Colombo so far. Colombo is a good destination for poker, but there were some limitations there. A major limitation was the number of available tables. We had access to 4 or 5 tables only, which meant that we had to limit the number of players who wanted to come for the event. In Goa Baazi Live Poker Room in Pride 2 is a beautiful poker room. With access to a higher number of tables and Goa being so easily accessible from any part in India, we are now able to increase the number of players for the event. We are looking at around 80 players who will be coming down for the cash fest.”

Suni, who is in charge of marketing and hospitality activities, shared her views regarding the upcoming festival. “Emerald Poker Tour is going to focus on mid-stakes cash games. Within the next 18 months, our focus is on becoming the number one cash game festival in all of Asia. With the kind of response we are getting in every event, I am sure we are well and truly on our way to achieving that sooner rather than later. We also plan to have a low to mid stakes open for all events very soon.”

Newest Addition – Bhuvan Bansal

As the Emerald Poker Tour prepares to make its India debut, the festival has also roped in Bhuvan Bansal. A well-known poker operator and experienced cash game player, Bansal is a much-welcome addition to the team.

Talking about Bansal’s addition to the management team, Gokul said, “Emerald Poker Tour has come a long way since its inaugural event a year back in Colombo. Numbers have constantly been increasing, and people look forward to playing in it. Bhuvan Bansal has been an operator for a while now. We roped him into the festival because his vision as an operator matches the festival’s vision and his active participation in organizing the event will make sure that the Emerald Poker Tour lives up to its expectation even when handling a higher number of players. We want players to have access to the best cash games possible with top-notch hospitality along with personalized attention to each and every player.”

Bansal, too, expressed his delight on becoming a part of the cash game festival and said, “I am thankful to Suni [Suni Sunder], Vikram [Vikram Kumar] and Gokul [Gokul Krishna] for giving me this opportunity. The Emerald Poker Tour has already conducted three successful editions, and all of them have been a wonderful experience for players and organizers alike. I am glad to be a part of this venture. My focus will be to make the mid-stakes games more attractive and enjoyable for the players. We promise to make the festival a fun-filled experience for mid-stakes players which previously only high stakes players used to enjoy.”

Bryn Kenney to Attend the Emerald Poker Tour

Over the past few years, the Indian poker market has increased in leaps and bounds, and this has not escaped international attention. From Patrik Antonius attending Delta Corp’s 10^th-anniversary celebrations, onboard Casino Deltin Royale to the self-proclaimed ‘King of Instagram’ Dan Bilzerian participating in private high stakes cash games during the recently concluded India Poker Championship (IPC), India has been attracting some of the biggest names in the business lately.

So, it was about time that the poker legend, Bryn Kenney, came to India. Kenney needs no introduction. The US-based pro is the undisputed topper of the prestigious All-Time MTT Money List. Kenney is the king of the super high rollers and had famously won back-to-back titles at the Triton Poker High Roller Series in Montenegro in May 2019, namely, Event #2: HK$500,000 NLHE 6-Handed for HK$11,230,000 and Event #5: HK$1M NLHE Main Event for HK$21.30 Million. He also finished runner-up in the most expensive live poker tournament in history – the ‘Triton Million – A Helping Hand For Charity,’ banking a jaw-dropping payday of £16,890,509! Kenney’s present total live earnings stand tall at an astronomical $55,505,630.

Vikram, on whose invitation Kenney has agreed to attend the festival, shared his excitement stating, “To have a player of Bryn’s stature visit the Emerald Poker Tour is a dream come true moment…Hoping for some fun-filled weekend at PokerBaazi LIVE in Goa….Onion fritters with Bryn.”

Gokul also shared his views on Kenney’s upcoming visit, saying, “Bryn is a very close friend of Vikram and Adi. Interacting with someone like Bryn would be like a dream come true for poker players. In our constant endeavor towards providing the players with the best, we thought it would be nice we ask Bryn to come for the event. I’m sure players are going to have a lot of fun interacting with a legend like him. Time permitting we are also planning to have a small get together for players with Bryn post-event depending on schedules.”

Here is what Kenney had to say about visiting the Emerald Poker Tour.

With the Emerald Poker Tour now being hosted in Goa, the management team is confident that this edition’s attendance will be even better than the previous festivals. Gokul believes that apart from the festival regulars, a lot of new players who do not generally travel abroad for poker will also be able to participate in the festival.

“It’s always exciting to see new faces travel for poker, which is an indication that poker is growing as a sport,” added Gokul.

Keep following PokerGuru for more updates on the Emerald Poker Tour!