The early €1/€2 televised feature table just ended. However, some of the players will be sticking around when streaming resumes in less than an hour for the final feature table of the 2016 Cash Game Festival Bulgaria at Platinum Casino.
While the stakes will be increasing to €2/€5, many players on the lower limit table will be returning for action, including Sweden's "Pani" and Jimmy Lundemo. Additionally it is confirmed that Guts pro Kalle Fagerstrom and Omar Eljach will also be under the spotlight and on the live stream.
Sunday isn't known to be a huge day in the cash tables. However, thanks to the Cash Game Festival being in town, the poker room at Platinum Casino is bustling with action with a few new tables just opening up in the last 20 minutes.
Other than the nine-game heads-up game, which we just learned includes a game called Pyramid, the rest of the action today is either no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha.
Platinum Casino poker room manager Miroslav Iliev has been on hand throughout the entire festival helping organizers, players, and the media.
He shared with PokerNews that the festival has been an overall success. Part of the reason had to do with new players experiencing the casino from other parts of Europe as well as local players getting hyped up beforehand and attending in big numbers.
"I think the Cash Game Festival has been going very well with many players enjoying themselves," explained Iliev. "Also, so many local players got an opportunity to play on the televised feature table and are very excited about it."
"We reached more than a dozen tables and were ready for more, but it was good," continued Iliev. "Also, we reached a different player based as we never attract Scandinavian poker players to our poker room."
Local players were excited about the festival. They saw many good reviews and videos. I estimate we tripled the count of local players that would normally come thanks to the festival. Usually we get around 30 local players, and this week we got around 80.
Iliev also added that the feature table added a new twist to what local players normally expect when attending Platinum Casino.
"This is the first time we have had a feature table at Platinum Casino in Sunny Beach, however, our partner casino has hosted them. It was about time for it to happen," Miroslav explained.
The final televised feature table of the Cash Game Festival just kicked off with stakes at €2/€5. Many familiar faces are on the table including Peter La Terra, e-sports superstar "Pani", and Jimmy Lundemo.
Also on the table is Guts player Kalle Fagerstrom, who was the lead commentator earlier in the day for the €1/€2 feature table.
Meanwhile, at the same time the heads-up match between Cash Game Festival co-founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk and Janar Kokk is continuing. The loser of the best of three matches may be going home to a new location as the stakes are bigger than just money with the winner deciding where in Europe the loser will move to for a year.
The Cash Game Festival was in London in March at Aspers Casino. The event was a huge success with over two dozen ring game tables running in a wide variety of poker formats including no-limit hold'em, dealer's choice pot-limit Omaha, open-face Chinese poker, Sviten Special, and dealer's choice mixed games to name a few.
Last week it was announced that the Cash Game Festival will be returning to Aspers Casino from September 28 to October 3. Head to the Cash Game Festival website to reserve your spot. Additionally, you can inquire from any of the partners of Cash Game Festival listed on the website about what promotions they are running for the festival.
This afternoon, many players at the 2016 Cash Game Festival Bulgaria took a break from the felts for a guided city tour of Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. While walking was an option, motorized tricycle riding is even better.
Here is a look compliments of Natalie Pastakeda / Vita Pictura Productions.
Elora Kask joined Brandon Allen in the commentary booth for the televised feature table. Earlier, she was busy railing her husband, Janar Kokk, who is playing for more than just money. Depending on how Kokk performs on his heads-up match against Cash Game Festival co-founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk, she might be moving to a new home. The winner of the heads-up marathon will be claiming the lion's share of the winnings and also be able to determine what country the loser lives in for a year.
Elsewhere around the room there are eight tables running, currently all in no-limit hold'em format. There is a small waiting list for pot-limit Omaha with a table expected to open within the hour.
The first heads-up match between janar Kokk and Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk is now in the books. After almost five hours of play, "Franke" is victorious and screamed, "Off to Finland" to Kokk.
Obviously von Zweigbergk is just having fun as Kokk can exclude some countries from his list. He is still in great spirits and is about to have dinner with his wife Elora Kask and his opponent before they head into the second match of the best of three.
