The Festival Bratislava: Hospitality Package
So, you find yourself at a poker festival, sitting at the table, perhaps feeling a bit deflated after an earlier bad beat, trying to breathe life into your dwindling stack. The best hole cards you’ve seen in ages come along and you end up shoving, only to lose. You’re in a city you know little or nothing about, not sure what to do about food so settle for a forgettable quick bite and, at a loss for something to do, retreat to your hotel room, twiddling your thumbs until it’s time to play some more poker. Rinse and repeat for a week or so, and eventually you leave for whom, the whole trip quickly becoming a distant, uneventful memory…
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Alternatively, poker is just one of many things you get up to during the week thanks to a bunch of people who have prepared a tailor-made series of activities that mean you sample all manner of delights this fascinating place has to offer, from wine-tasting to great food to a guided city tour to name but a few. This great touch is the brainchild of Martin “Franke” von Zweigbergk, the indefatigable founder of The Festival Series, the latest edition being The Festival Bratislava 2022, October 10th - 16th (which boasts a €500,000 GTD Main Event).
Franke came up with the idea of creating a special Hospitality Package so that players can enjoy a full-on holiday experience at these events. The result is that, once you’ve tasted all the fun that The Festival offers, you’ll immediately be looking forward to the next stop (and hitting the tables for the many qualifiers as soon as they appear!). ‘Hospitality’ is the perfect name for this Series extra. To paraphrase the classic - but misattributed - Star Trek line: It’s poker, Jim, but not as we know it!
Note that it’s not only package winners who have won their way to Bratislava via one of our many qualifiers who get to enjoy the delights of The Festival Hospitality Package - you can also get your hands on them for €200 which, given what’s on offer during the packed period of activities is tremendous value. For information on how to get your hands on a Hospitality Package, and anything else you might want to ask about The Festival Bratislava and future events, just get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.
It should be pointed out that your writer speaks from experience in recommending taking advantage of the Hospitality Package, having been fortunate enough over the years to have been the recipient of Franke’s ‘host with the most’ approach to poker festivals. As Ylva Thorsrud emphasised in her interview with The Festival, the social aspect of poker events is paramount. By recognising this poker truth, The Festival’s organising a range of activities is a great way to enhance the overall experience. Poker is a fascinating game, but it makes such a big difference for players to be able to return home from an event with memories forged away from the tables.
Here’s the Hospitality Schedule for The Festival Bratislava:
| Date | Day | What | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 10 | Monday | Welcome Drinks casino (standing area) | 20:00 - 21:00 |
| Oct. 11 | Tuesday | Welcome beers! And food | 13:00 - 15:30 |
| Oct. 12 | Wednesday | Pool Tournament | 11:30 - 14:30 |
| Oct. 12 | Wednesday | Dinner - First Seating | 18:30 - 20:30 |
| Oct. 12 | Wednesday | Dinner - Second Seating | 21:00 - 23:00 |
| Oct. 13 | Thursday | Wine Tasting | 18:00 - 21:00 |
| Oct. 14 | Friday | Private Warm-Up Party | 21:00 -23:00 |
| Oct. 14 | Friday | Player Party at Great Bratislava | 23:00 - 04:00 |
| Oct. 15 | Saturday | Player Party at Great Bratislava | 23:00 - 04:00 |
| Oct. 16 | Sunday | Goodbye lunch and guided tour | 12:00 - 14:00 |
| *All activities meet up at Crowne Plaza Reception |
Note that anything can happen when Franke is involved! Wine tasting, for example, might end up being wine making, and the word ‘pool’ has more than one meaning...
So, there you have it. There’s so much more to The Festival Bratislava than a fantastic tournament schedule and round-the-clock cash games! We’ll see you there...
