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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
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 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.
Stuck between Kamanné Námestie Square featuring the abandoned modernist architecture jewel known as 'Hotel Kyjev' and the Old Market Hall, a very interesting building is standing tall since the mid 1930s in the heart of Bratislava just a 5-minute walk away from Banco Casino.  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!   Covid uncertainties are part of the factors that I was able to implement in my #allineverywhere decision taking over the past two years but the evolution of the war in Ukraine is a tricky one to predict and to adapt for since I got involved in a bunch of solidarity actions via this blog. Long story short, I decided to shorten my initial U.S. travel plan and I will 'only' spend two months over there. Less road trips in funky remote places but still a lot of reporting from Las Vegas and its surroundings for some PokerFirma content.
 This is it! The perfect illustration of the direct actions we've been working on with one of my favourite humans on the block, David Pichler, who is still in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, before leaving Slovakia, I got notified that nine Ukrainians from the Kharkiv and Odesa regions were about to start their training in the Kosice and Bratislava casinos and that they were being assisted to find decent homes in order to start a new peaceful and independent life. GG and thank you again, Jan Packa at Banco Casino, for your open mind.  The original plan was to spend 10 days or so in Bratislava ... then shit got really weird in Ukraine so I decided to stay closer to where the action is and I spent almost the whole month in Slovakia to play Poker and to help getting humanitarian projects going.
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.  Over the past weeks, our tightly knitted network of independent reporters and activists wasted no time and resources to enter Ukraine days after the Russian invasion and offer direct help to the most vulnerable while being backed by a series of additional private individuals on the outside that were taking care of communication and logistics support. We are friends, old travel partners and like-minded media buddies believing in quick direct action leaving slow bureaucracy in the hands of bureaucrats.  © David Pichler It has been repeatedly reported that human filth is at work on the Ukrainian borders. Honestly, I'm speechless ... but being speechless is not what is going to keep people safe.  Thank you David Pichler for the photo. 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.  Banco Casino Bratislava usually run Ladies Poker Nights on regular Tuesdays except if other Poker festivals are on with a specific schedule. The events are not exclusively for female players but the lady raisers usually freeroll this super fun low buy-in event.  During my emotionally troubled past in a conflictual existence and through a series of intense ideology soaked cultural projects, I got lost in the violence of some of my thoughts and convictions, a violence that regularly turned into physical roughness. I was able to break some destructive habits some fifteen years ago by getting deep into Poker, into the practice of photography and, at the same time, into my scary self.  Vojtech's Stoic virtue tattoos Banco Casino Bratislava are offering a bunch of promotions to Poker players including catering or rakeback deals for cash game players and there's also the possibility to take part to higher stakes games in their VIP room. I play there sometimes myself, more specifically for PLO games from 5/5 but there are also big NLH running occasionally. Have a sneak peek behind the red curtain with me in this post :-)  Follow me behind the red curtain ;-) My fresh start in Bratislava is very exciting! I'm working on my own plans of setting up a base in Slovakia for the months to come and I am getting involved in various networking and support initiatives in order to assist the still growing flow of Ukrainians seeking a new start too.  Taken from Irina's Meta page. How about playing for 250.000EUR with a 170EUR investment in one of the coolest capitals of Europe? Welcome to Bratislava!   Shot this afternoon, March 2022 Hotel Kyjev is one of the last reminders from the Soviet times in Bratislava. Now that the ghost of former imperialist Russia woke up again in neighbouring Ukraine, I remembered this photo report I did during a visit in 2019.
We're having a lot of fun in Slovakia but it's hard not to talk about the war in Ukraine, especially since both countries share a border of 100km. When discussing the situation with Jan Packa of Banco Casino, he explained: ' We have a hard time calling these people 'refugees'. They are our direct neighbours and are already part of Slovak society. It's a very natural thing for us to assist them where we can in this tragedy since there are already so many links and ties between us anyway.' 
I am using my time in Slovakia to play cards and to shoot Poker photography but I am also doing a lot of networking over here with locals who can provide shelter to UA refugees and I am in touch with various international organisations and private individuals joining us in this colossal effort of handling the war in Ukraine.
Civilians making camouflage nets in Lviv. ©David Pichler
The Poker Belgique Masters has been a great success with a main event of over 1k entries and, once again, Bratislava has confirmed its place in my heart's favourite cities of Europe.
Thank you Banco Casino for having us! 
Every day has been bringing its share of bad news from Ukraine over the last week and it looks like the worst is still to come unfortunately. Support is getting organised outside Ukraine and I'm still in Slovakia building networks of people who are willing and capable to help and trying to stay in touch with and assist all the Ukrainians I know while my dear friend, DaPic (David Pichler), made his way inside Ukraine. He arrived in Lviv yesterday to provide an inside view.
Lviv, Ukraine ©David Pichler
In case you are considering to attend the next Circuito Nacional de Poker event in Seville (June 2022), here is the organisation's hotel suggestion for you.
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