Norway to Host First Legal Poker Event: 2016 Norwegian Championship

ONCHAN, Isle of Man – Global Poker Tours Ltd, an Amaya Inc (TSX: AYA; Nasdaq: AYA) brand and the world’s largest live poker operator, today announced the first ever legal live poker event to be held in Norway. The 2016 Norwegian Championships will host five regional championships around the country before embarking on the nation’s capital, Oslo, for the Championship Main Event.

The Norwegian Championships has a rich history of “unofficial” events held at overseas locations for the past 13 years, including Dublin, Ireland; Nottingham, England; and Riga, Latvia. These events were always well-attended, so expectations are high for the first event on home soil. More than 100 players registered for the event on the first day of pre-registrations, showing strong local interest and appetite.

The final number is expected to exceed 2,000, which will be a new record for a closed National Championship, surpassing the last iteration of the Norwegian Championships in Dublin, which had 1,274 players.

Johnny Lodden, one of the most successful and respected Norwegian poker players of all time, said: “It’s been a long time coming, and I’m incredibly excited to finally play a major poker tournament on home soil. No matter what sport you play, there’s always something extra special about competing at home, and this is no exception.”

Norwegian charity Blodkreftforeningen, which translates to The Leukemia Foundation, specialize in leukemia and bone marrow cancer research, and are the official charity partner of the Norwegian Championships. 5% of all buy-ins from the Regional and Norwegian Championships will be donated to the cause.

SCHEDULE

Event

Location

Date

Østlands Championships

Oslod

October 10-11

Sørland Championships

Kristiansand

October 17-18

North Championships

Bodø

October 24-25

Central Championships

Trondheim

October 31 - November 1

Western Championships

Bergen  

November 7-8

Norwegian Championships     

Oslo

November 18-24