This may be the weekend when poker finally comes to Wembley Stadium but this is not the only major poker event that this taking place in the UK this weekend. Not everyone is too bothered about heading to Wembley to play and this is especially true for Scottish people. Many poker players up North would jump at the chance of playing poker in Hampden or Murrayfield but when it comes to heading down to “that London”, there is no great appeal for them. The Scottish hordes of the Tartan Army will be descending upon Wembley in August when the two football teams clash but it is unlikely the size of numbers of even the frenzied nature of fun of previous jaunts in the 60s and 70s will happen this time around.
So, if Scottish poker players are not too bothered about the idea of rolling down Wembley Way and leaving with the goal-posts, where are they intending on playing poker this weekend? The venue is the Grosvenor Maybury Casino in Edinburgh but for anyone who is concerned about having to spend too much time in Edinburgh, don’t worry, it is close to the main road that takes you to the motorway that gets you through to Glasgow. In less than an hour you can be back in the main city of Scotland where there is a lot more fun to be had!
However, if poker is your game, it is the Nuts Poker League national final weekend and there is a lot on offer. Players from all around the country will be taking part in the event and it seems as though there are 150 players lined to take part. Each regional division and group of the Nuts Poker League is strongly represented with the Dumfries and Galloway section having 17 players playing! There may not even be 17 people in Dumfries and Galloway who have an internet connection so this indicates the strength of poker in many local areas. Online poker is a big thing around the world but the Nuts Poker League is definitely a great way for people to get out of the house and pit their wits against fellow poker players.
Hopefully the winner takes a big amount of cash away
The total prize money on offer at the Maybury Casino will be £7,000 and there is a treat in store for the big winner. This is because they will be taking home more than £2,000 of this prize money, which is going to be a big incentive to keep playing to the death. You know how these things pan out, there may end up being a final table agreement put in place so that players 1 through 3 or 5 all get a nice cut of the total fund but at times you want to see the winner go all out for glory! Have some courage and strength in your conviction and play for the big money, it is the Nuts Poker League after all; show that you have some nuts!
The league has been building up nicely to this grand final with weekly games taking place in pubs all across Scotland. You may be shocked at the news that some Scottish people spend their time in pubs. This style of venue is rarely popular across the country but with the introduction of poker, it has started to pick up in popularity and there have been one or two poker indulging in an alcoholic beverage or two. Who knows, if the popularity of poker maintains, Scottish people may actually start to drink on a fairly regular basis, which could be a boon for the local economy.
With Scottish Independence on the agenda for next year, there is a lot of excitement going on and rumours that Alex Salmond is set to crown the winner of the Nuts Poker League as the new King or Queen of Scotland have yet to be confirmed. This is because the rumours have just been made up and don’t have any chance of coming to fruition but that would certainly make the voting process for an independent Scotland slightly more exciting!