[ The Festival ] From Nottingham to Malta

​Competing at anything won't harm true companionship.

I have been in touch with Martin von Zweigbergk aka "Franke" for years and we regularly exchange about poker topics, but our only physical meeting was in Berlin during the WSOP Europe stop. Almost 10 years have passed since then and we have chosen Nottingham for a reunion. I had missed the Autumn 2022 stop of the festival in Bratislava as it coincided with my trip to Colombia, but we agreed that a reunion at Dusk Till Dawn should be a sure thing.

Original German content on PokerFirma.com

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On this occasion, I also visited Rob Young's legendary poker club for the first time. My first visit to the Dusk Till Dawn Club was a good experience. The games are good and the staff efficient. The only unpleasant thing about the poker room is its location in Nottingham. The city itself is a very nice place, but there is no major international airport connecting it to Europe. Birmingham or East Midlands airports are not too far away, but don't offer many international travel options.

I flew in from Bucharest via Manchester after covering the Vamos Poker Tour in Romania and took a train from there for a two-hour journey to Nottingham. After the event, I had a flight from London Stansted, which is 3.5 hours away.

THE FESTIVAL is one of the cool events when it comes to live poker events in Europe. First of all, it's a mixed-game festival, offering many other poker variants on top the often dull NLH games, which makes me very pleased as a PLO player. Besides, the blackjack tournament, the roulette event and the sports betting challenge are very entertaining competitions, but we also participated in an axe throwing event, hosted a bowling tournament and enjoyed afternoon tea together as part of the exquisite hospitality package, drank morning beers in the oldest pub of England, ate delicious fish'n'chips, partied late into the night on weekends and much more.

I was warmly welcomed as an additional member of the external media team and we agreed that I would continue to promote the brand as an ambassador and as a media partner through PokerFirma.com in the coming months. The next target will be Malta in May 2023. The full schedule was released during the Nottingham stop in February, so it's time to travel and. Book your stay.

Numerous satellites are running on various online platforms, and the official website has detailed summaries and updates, including a dedicated section for my photos of the week. Generally speaking, the media crew at THE FESTIVAL is great and I am happy to be surrounded by such great, friendly and creative minds.

Anyone who would like to join us in Malta is welcome to contact me via the contact section on my blog for more details.

My stop in Nottingham was a good reminder of what an incredible effort it is to put on a show like The Festival for a whole week. Much is taken care of by Martin Franke von Zweigbergk , the show's founder, when it comes to public relations or promotion and waiters, cashiers, dealers and floors are the obvious protagonists amongst the staff from a player's point of view, but there is so much more going on behind the curtains and closed doors!

Additionally to the photographers and cameramen buzzing around, a dozen people work day and night on the administration, promotion and documentation of the event - completely invisible to the visitors. Chip counts, summaries, blog updates, image editing ... these things take up a lot of time and concentration. Every night, an army of cleaners also makes sure that everything is in order in and around the club. The cooking teams in the kitchens are tirelessly challenged, especially in a club that is open around the clock.

"In expressing our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not in making words, but in living them." (John F. Kennedy)


We are fortunate to have dedicated staff-hire members at so many events who enable us to enjoy our passion for poker.

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Damiano Nigro