Norway to host its first legal poker event

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Global Poker Tours Ltd, an Amaya brand and the world’s largest live poker operator, today announced the first ever legal live poker event to be held in Norway. The 2015 Norwegian Championships will host five regional championships around the country before embarking on the nation’s capital, Oslo, for the Championship Main Event.

The Norwegian Championships has a rich history of “unofficial” events held at overseas locations for the past 13 years, including Dublin, Ireland; Nottingham, England; and Riga, Latvia. These events were always well-attended, so expectations are high for the first event on home soil. More than 100 players registered for the event on the first day of pre-registrations, showing strong local interest and appetite.

The final number is expected to exceed 2,000, which will be a new record for a closed National Championship, surpassing the last iteration of the Norwegian Championships in Dublin, which had 1,274 players.

Johnny Lodden, one of the most successful and respected Norwegian poker players of all time, said, “It’s been a long time coming, and I’m incredibly excited to finally play a major poker tournament on home soil. No matter what sport you play, there’s always something extra special about competing at home, and this is no exception.”

Norwegian charity Blodkreftforeningen, which translates to The Leukemia Foundation, specialize in leukemia and bone marrow cancer research, and are the official charity partner of the Norwegian Championships. Five percent of all buy-ins from the Regional and Norwegian Championships will be donated to the cause.

SCHEDULE
Event — Location — Date

Østlands Championships — Oslo — October 10-11
Sørland Championships — Kristiansand — October 17-18
North Championships — Bodø — October 24-25
Central Championships — Trondheim — October 31 - November 1
Western Championships — Bergen — November 7-8
Norwegian Championships — Oslo — November 18-24

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The buy-in for each of the five Regional Championships is 1,500 NOK (approximately US$180), and these events will act as satellites to the Championship Main Event in Oslo. No cash prizes will be awarded.

MAIN EVENT
The Championship Main Event will feature three scheduled tournaments, highlighted by the 5,000 NOK (approximately US$600) buy-in Main Event.

For the complete Norwegian Championship tournament schedule, and for more information on the events, including locations, please visit: http://www.pokernorge.no/ (Norwegian only).

For press enquiries, please contact: info@gptl.com.