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Recently, fellow photographer, Christophe Mendes, from Luxembourg left to Medyka (Poland) again. This time, with Morpheus. The mission was to fill two cars with animal food and care products for humans and to drive to the Poland/Ukraine border town. From there, they evacuated some pets out of Ukraine and helped giving the animals they were taking care of some care and affection.  © Christophe Mendes
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A few weeks ago, pretty quickly after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we planted the seed of the idea of training and relocation Ukrainian exiled women in order to give them the opportunity to build a new existence in Slovakia - not as refugees, not in shelters but as casino workers to build a new future.   The waiting game is on! For a Poker tournament photographer, the last day of the competition is essentially about patience after a whole week of insane coverage action.
The Banco Casino Masters festival was an opportunity to get back to some live Poker coverage for me. All in all, it's been an intense week full of excitement I had been missing along with stuff I really haven't :-)  I'm back in Bratislava for 5-6 weeks of Banco Casino action before moving on to Las Vegas for a 2-month WSOP 2022 cash game attack and gorgeous photo reports for PokerFirma.   The Kamzik Tower is an almost 200m high architecture feat imagined by Stanislav Majek, Jakub Tomasak, Juraj Kozak, Milan Jurica and Jan Privitzer before being constructed in 1975. Its main purpose is to operate as a radio and TV transmission structure. Since it is standing on a 437-meter hill, the additional 196m of the construction itself offer an observation deck at an altitude of roughly 600m. From up there, you get amazing views over Bratislava but you can also see vast parts of Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The location also seems to be a premium hiking destination since the tower lies within the Bratislava Forest Park ... and, of course, in grand consumerism fashion, there's a restaurant up there. :-)  If you enjoy what you see and read, you can get more since I curate all recent relevant #allineverywhere content of the BLOG and occasionally from other sources via my Scoop.it account. A photo archive is available via the Photos & Coverages section and you might also be interested in checking the social media updates via the links below.
We use #allin4ukraine on social media in case you care to keep up and there is a SOLIDARITY section regrouping my blog posts similar to this one. If you wish to donate equipment, time or money, beam yourself to the CONTACT & INFO section and get in touch or use the following social media links: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter Damiano Nigro Flying drones is a lot of fun and I am really glad I went through the legal and administration hassle in order to become a legal drone pilot. Flying as such is not that difficult - at least not for me because I have had flight training and experience as a glider pilot since I was a young adult. What is a bit more tricky, is understanding where how and when you are allowed to fly your UAV or UAS. Over late 2021 and the beginning of 2022, I went through the processes of studying and passing aviation exams in order to get both my international drone pilot and drone operator licenses.  Las Vegas 2021 - thx to Sven Rahmsdorf for lending me his drone I’ve been a Christophe Mendes follower for a while. For those who don’t know, I was born in Luxembourg and Christophe’s street photography allowed me to follow the evolution of things back in the Grand-Duchy while I am away since I am on the move so much. Turns out, his heart is at least as big as his photo talent and skill.  Christophe shooting a dog at an LUkraine demo in Luxembourg  It looks like the Domink Demcak will not be available to shoot the Banco Masters in late April, so it's very likely I will (at least partially) jump in as the Banco Casino photo reporter for this huge event together with my buddy Denis as a blogger.
A nice comeback ahead after some two weeks away from Slovakia! Check out the POKER TRIPS section for details.  © David Pichler I am spending my past days in Luxembourg while David is still in Ukraine. I'm going to be heading back to Slovakia on Monday. No idea when I will be able to meet again with David who is relentlessly covering the dramatic situation of many civilians in Ukraine. We knew we would come across tough stuff after the Russian retreat. Yet, it's hard to be prepared for these kinds of things.
Lately from Borodvanka, a small town in the Kyiv suburbs: 'Borodyanka is a site of unbelievable destruction brought by the Russians onto a town which was not a military base but a civilian living area.' … 'There is rubble which has not been cleared and it’s almost certainly bodies underneath, Ukrainian bodies, civilian bodies.' … 'We had a team of professional deminers with us, who were photographing evidence that Russia is breaking Geneva convention.' Quotes by Sviatoslav Yurash, Borodyanka April 5th 2022 The Russian retreat from the Kyiv suburbs is leaving Ukrainians with the horrific acknowledgement of what looks like a series of war crimes similar to the ones discovered in Bujah. Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic, member of the parliament and spokesperson for foreign policy, migration, human rights and LGBTIQ+ for the Austrian Green party, is working on the matter and is in touch with David Pichler in Ukraine.   sunset & bombs over Kyiv © David Pichler David is still in Ukraine, still delivering meds, still hardly sleeping, still shooting ... awesome pics. It's hard to tell whether the war will still worsen or if we are on the path to peace these days so while the white males on a power trip with their disproportionate egos are still looking for a way to talk to each other like civilised monkeys, we remain alert and cautious.
I'm so grateful for the awesome life I have and the great partnerships I was able to build over the years. In a few days, I will be flying back to Slovakia where I am setting up a base in a nice flat together with PokerBelgique buddies and we won't be lacking action for sure! Banco Casino is up for a hot Poker April!  Plenty of live Poker action coming up in Slovakia with Banco Casino in Bratislava and Košice. Check out their website for detailed info. I'll be shooting the Spade Poker Day 1A this Wednesday. The photos will be available in the official coverage.  PokerBelgique will be back on the road with new #pbmasters plans for April. Next month's stop will be at Grand Casino Aš in the Czech Republic.  How about playing for 250.000EUR with a 170EUR investment in one of the coolest capitals of Europe? Welcome to Bratislava! 
The 10th Spanish National Poker Circuit enters Season 10 with a first stop to come in a few weeks time in Malaga.
Quick update on what is likely going to be the trip of the year in terms of #allineverywhere . I am working on my U.S. itinerary and I am still looking for potential travel partners in case anybody out there cares to join.
Thanks to Poker Firma who are supporting my plans of never going home, I think I will soon buy a ticket to Florida to cross the Atlantic in late April/early May since I have never been in southern eastern states. It's a bit far from my main Poker destination, Las Vegas, but, on the other hand, it will force me to go places before I reach Vegas and get stuck in the cash game and WSOP reporting grind. 
California, Mojave desert 2021
The CNP Malaga schedule is out. Go check out the CNP Meta page for details and I have also included a link to the CNP Main Event structure below.
Details and booking information is available via the POKER TRIPS section. After the blast of the CNP Gran Final in Torrelodones with its +1500-entry Main Event, all eyes are now on the next stop in Malaga coming up in April.  |
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