Hippodrome Casino (London) - 2021 All You Need to Know ...

Rant incoming: Every major casino in London takes money out of MTT prizepools over and above what is described in the headline BI.
1) Empire Casino takes 5% out of the prizepool of their daily tournaments. For example, a daily £30+8 is really £28.50 + 9.50. They take the 5% out to run a league where someone wins a trip to the WSOP. You have basically no chance to win entry into the final unless you are a reg who plays a lot of volume.
2) Aspers take 15% out of their daily tournament prizepools to fund a freeroll every Sunday for people who have played in their tournaments each week. They claim there are no registration fees in their daily tournaments but if I play a comp with no registration fees but 15% of the prizepool disappears then this seems a bit suspect. This also makes it sound like the fee is lower than it is. A £100 tournament is really a £85+£15.
3) Hippodrome take 3% out of prizepools 'to cover staffing costs'. So a £400+40 is actually £388+52. This isn't given back to the players it is just kept. IDK if Hippo staff get extra for dealing tournaments or if they just get normal pay and the casino keeps the 3% (I'm guessing the second thing).
4) Vic takes 2% of prizepools from GUKPT events for a national league to reward people who play loads of their GUKPT events. Unless you travel the live circuit a lot its impossible to do well in this league, the guys who win are playing almost every event in the country. A £500+60 is actually a £490+70.
The casinos NEVER tell you about this, it is hidden deep in the terms and conditions and if you ask about it live the staff don't really want to tell you. I also strongly suspect that some of the money taken isn't redistributed to staff / for the promo, it is taken as an 'admin fee' of some kind. I play full time and am somewhat on the ball with regarding this sort of thing and even I took a while to find out all of this. I would guess there are tournaments running where <5% of the field is aware of the casino taking money out of the prize pool.
I have a few issues with this:
1) It is fundamentally dishonest to advertise a tournament as £400+40 if it is actually £388+52. If the receipt for the tournament says '£400 + £40' and less than £400 goes into the prizepool then this is just a lie. The casinos KNOW that people would balk at the rake being this high so they just hide it and know most people won't realise.
2) There is zero transparency for what happens to the missing funds. None of the accounting is disclosed so you have no clue where exactly the missing funds go. I think it is quite likely that there is an 'admin fee' that is taken for running the promotions, but obviously everything is secret so there is no way for us to know.
3) If nobody says anything about this I think the % 'withheld' will inevitably creep up and every casino will find a reason to take more. I recall someone telling me they played a £1K overseas w 8% withheld which is insanity. IMO if nobody says anything about it then in a few years every casino will take 10% out of the prizepool because why not.
4) Every time I consider playing a tournament I have to read the fine print to see what the hidden rake is. This is a massive pain in the ass, if I wanted to spend my time reading the terms and conditions I would have gone to law school.

Since there was a lot of positive response to my comment on the KD thread about The Garden, I floated the idea of a thread, and you all asked for it, so here it is! Here at reddit, there can be a lot of LOL this (Knicks) and LOL that (Knicks again), and while MSG certainly has its own shortcomings to say the least, there is a true story to be told about the buildings and how it came to be where it is today.
Known as ‘The Worlds Most Famous Arena’, MSG played a direct roll in making sports in America what it is today, and while many people criticize the current incarnation of the building, most people don’t know the full story - or that the current one is actually the 4th version (and 3rd location) of the building. The college basketball history at MSG, which I won’t give away yet, is one of if not THE main reason we have our beloved NBA and professional basketball in general today. This is going to be a very long read, like, very very long. But I’m going to try and throw all the really juicy facts in there that I picked up along my years of research from working in the tour department. I thought of splitting it up, but I wanted this post to be a comprehensive history of The World’s Most Famous Arena!
If you’re only concerned with the history of the joint once basketball enters into the picture, skip to MSG III.
If you want the juicy details on the controversy of tearing down old Penn Station then skip to MSG IIII.
If you have any questions on anything or want me to elaborate on anything that I only mention briefly, please feel free to ask! MSG’s history is full of not only amazing moments, but vengeful murders, and a whole lot of sketchy stuff. This is the story of how a small train station on the north east corner of Madison Square Park eventually led to the demolition of an iconic NYC train station some 100 years later. It’s not on Madison Avenue, it’s not square, and it’s not a garden, but there is a good reason for all of this - or at least a good explanation - I promise!
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN I
Ironically, just how this story’s climax involves tearing an iconic train station down to build the current arena, the beginning starts in much the same way. Just with a significantly less iconic train station. In the mid 1800’s there was a small railroad depot on the north east corner of Madison Square Park, occupied by New York and Harlem Railroad on East 26th street and Madison Ave and owned by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. For those of you not familiar with the city (yes, we call it ‘the city’) that location is pretty central and throughout time has had a lot of important events happen there, which is a thread for another time. The park was named for president James Madison, just like the street, which was very common at the time. People loved that guy.
The railroad opened up another location you may have heard of, by the name of ‘Grand Central Station’ in 1871, therefor leaving the smaller rail depot on 26th street abandoned. After a few vacant years, the building was leased to PT Barnum, who converted it into what he called the ‘Great Roman Hippodrome’. This place was a big open air oval ‘arena’ where he did exactly what you’d expect. Circuses etc. What happens next is where things start getting interesting.
Then the building was leased to a band leader named Patrick Gilmore. Some historians in that field feel like Gilmore is a forgotten guy compared to the likes of John Phillips Sousa, who is really the only person we common modern folk recognize in terms of old timey band leaders. But Gilmore was a very important figure of his day. Gilmore purchased the building and…wait for it…called it Gilmore’s Concert GARDEN. ‘Garden’ was a semi-popular add on to entertainment centers in NY during that era, starting with what I can tell from my research when Castle Clinton (aka, the old fort turned venue turned place you buy your tickets to go out to the Statue of Liberty now) was converted into a venue called Castle garden in the 1820s.
The other notable contributions Gilmore made to The Garden are holding the first Westminster Kennel Club dog show, the longest running garden event obviously still held there today, and even doing the first boxing matches there. I always found this bit fascinating, because boxing matches were technically illegal at the time. He called them ‘illustrated lectures’ and as any good New Yorker trying to make a buck does, found a way around the rules and got away with it. This is a common theme within the history of The Garden as you will see.
The arena changed hands a few more times, first to an administrator with the dog show, who also started to do more sporty things like tennis and installing one of the first ‘indoor’ ice rinks in the US.
The building went back into Vanderbilt control when Commodore died, by his grandson William Vanderbilt. He was the one who decided, the ‘garden’ part was cool, but since it wasn’t leased by Gilmore anymore, he would rename it after the park which it shared a border. Hence the name, Madison Square Garden. He expanded the range of events that were held there including adding bicycle racing. This would be by far the most widely beloved event held at the Garden, including a long running race called ‘Six Days of New York’ where an insane SIX day bike race would be held. These were basically just endurance contests, with a single bicyclist doing as many laps as possible, they could sleep whenever and join back in whenever. This was all the rage, but also dangerous for not only the participants but the spectators. People who wanted to soak up all the action were easy targets for crooks who were also in attendance. These events were so popular nationwide however, that there is even a bicycle discipline called ‘Madison’ named after the OG garden.
The building however ran its course, because of its lack of roof and decaying infrastructure.
What I mean by decaying can probably best be summed up by the disaster which many people now a days don’t know of, when part of the building collapsed falling outward into the street and some of the roof also caving in with 800 people inside. Apparently it was chaos, and 20 something people were killed or injured. It’s pretty brutal, and if you want to know more about that incident you can read the newspaper article from the time here.
Vanderbilt sold the spot to who's who collection of rich white men. JP Morgan, Carnegie, Astor etc. So they decided to tear it down and build a new extremely extravagant arena on the same spot. They got renowned architect Stanford White (more on him later) and they demolished the building in 1889. After spending more than half a million dollars, MSG II was built.
Madison Square Garden II
By this point, MSG was still not the household name it would become in the future. This building was supposed to change that narrative, which is why these rich guys went all in on it. You’ll see, that they were maybe in over their heads. However, this might be the most fascinating of all the MSGs for several reasons.
Firstly, the building was extremely extravagant. That can not be overstated. I would encourage you all to just google pictures of the building, it was massive and you’ll see all the features I’m describing here. It featured a huge 32 story tall bell tower, which was good for the 2nd tallest building in the city at the time. The bellower was topped by a sculpture of the goddess Diana the huntress, which was sculpted by famous artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and was gilt in copper. They moved the statue not soon after, and you can see it today at the Philly Museum of art! It spun around in the wind, and their original brilliant idea was to have an actual cloth scarf draped on it, but since wind exists, it got blown away not too long after its installation.
Its main hall was the largest in the world. It had not only the main hall which sat 8,000 but just like today’s garden, had a small theater which sat 1200, and even another concert hall which sat 1500. Of course they also had the largest restaurant in the city, because why not. And because it is ‘The Garden’ they decided there should be a roof garden cabaret. They thought this would be a landmark the likes of central park, and it was certainly grandiose enough. They had the same kind of events that the first garden did, including sports, concerts, and all the random stuff they found fun before the invention of TV (not to mention radio, or at least the widespread broadcast of radio). But the problem was, the building was so damn extra, that they had a hard time making enough money to upkeep the place.
Now let’s talk about the architect. Stanford White is probably best remembered for designing the Triumphal arch in Washington square, but then closely followed by being murdered in his own building, MSG II, in a lovers quarrel. This was huge news at the time, and so was the trial that ensued, they called it ‘The Trial of The Century’. The building, being as ridiculous as it was, of course housed an apartment for White, and millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw was not too happy with White who apparently had an affair with his actress wife when she was 16. So he came through, and shot him dead in his own building. It’s all incredibly sketchy and simultaneously intriguing, involving major names of the day, which is probably why the trial was so juicy and gripping in the eyes of the general public.
Anyways, the building was ultimately a failure, and didn’t last very long in retrospect. Everyone knew what Madison Square Garden was, and it was a landmark from 1890-1926, but the building failed to live up to expectations, much less make money. A 36 year run is really nothing to write home about, especially with the illusions (or better yet delusions) of grandeur its rich owners had in mind. There were some important sporting events that happened there, but what would happen in the next building would be the reason The Garden is now known as, The Worlds most Famous Arena. Interestingly the building there today, the New York Life Insurance Company, was built on that plot directly after MSG II was demolished. They owned the mortgage on the building, so they just built their headquarters there. It’s an iconic building in its own right, and if you’re on the NE corner of the park, there’s a plaque on the building which notes that it was the location of the first 2 Gardens.
The only thing MSG still had was, well, the name. And in walked Tex Rickard, to seize an opportunity that proved to be golden.
Madison Square Garden III
If you’ve never heard of Tex Rickard, think PT Barnum, Don King, etc. He was the leading boxing (and more) promoter of the day, and was a very successful businessman, operating saloons, hotels, casinos, and the like. He was a country boy, born in Missouri and raised in Texas, but had a knack for business and promotion. Tex saw the opportunity to buy the name, and incorporated the ‘New Madison Square Garden Corporation’ in 1923. It was smart, although MSG II didn't make money, it was still a household name in NYC. The purpose was to build a less extravagant arena, but a place that would be iconic in its own right and host major sporting events, including NHL games. This is where MSG started to make a name for itself as a major player in venues, and eventually THE most famous arena in the world. So Tex bought a big block of land quite a bit of a ways away from the original site of The Garden, on 8th avenue between 49th and 50th street. He basically built a big box, designed by theater architect Thomas Lamb, at the cost of almost 5 million dollars and in a remarkable 249 days. I think it’s sufficient to say that ol’ Tex knew how to get things done. He had a bunch of rich backers, plenty of clout, and he threw his arena up in sharp contrast to the old garden. It did however have a very iconic marquee, and if you talk to anyone who was around at the time they will note that the marquee was the distinguishing feature of the building. The main draw originally was boxing, as that was Tex’s bag. They had major fights, and drew much larger crowds than the older gardens, mostly because they could cram almost 20,000 people in there. The site lines were apparently terrible, but by all accounts the energy that still haunts the current garden, was the main draw.
Then, hockey happened. This was the idea from the start, as fellow sports promoter Thomas Duggan had options on three expansion teams for the NHL, to be established in the US. One became the Bruins, and then one was arranged to be given to NYC’s most-celebrated prohibition bootlegger Bill Dwyer, who arranged with Tex to have the team play at MSG III. Tex had an agreement with the first team they started, The New York Americans, aka The Amerks (ever heard of them?), that they would be the only hockey team to ever play at The Garden. Although there was a clause in the contract that Tex claimed he would never exercise, that claimed if Tex and MSG ever made a bid for a team, the Amerks would support it. Tex kept his word for approximately one year, when due to the American’s success, he went out and got himself a hockey team. The tabloids dubbed this team Tex’s Rangers, an obvious play on words, and you can guess what that team that became today. The Rangers soon eclipsed the Amerks in success, and The Garden’s lore began to grow as the place to be in NYC.
One more note on Tex, and maybe the most important in my biased Knicks ‘no other arena is THE GARDEN’ mind. he started 7 other Madison Square Garden’s around the country. Including ‘Boston Madison Square Garden’ which as you may guess, became known as Boston Garden. Thats right Celtics fans, your building was named after ours. Thanks Tex, for unknowingly providing another iconic building, that the future inhabitants of your NYC building would lose in over and over again! Anyways…now is where basketball becomes the star - so you can all start paying attention!
At the time, nobody thought professional basketball was a viable way of making money. Rickard passed away in 1929, and during the great depression things stayed somewhat status quo, but also there were now a lot of days where the giant arena wasn’t being used at all. Then, in walked Ned Irish, a successful sports journalist who quit his job covering basketball games for the World-Telegram, to start promoting basketball games at MSG III. The Garden let him promote and hold games there, as long as he would just cover the rent, that’s how bad things were economically. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the college games became a lot more financially successful than anyone had anticipated. Along with making money, these college games were probably the number one factor in growing the game nationwide in general. College ball became the marquee (pun intended) event at MSG III, especially the double headers. This was a time, before the infamous point shaving scandals, that NYC college basketball was a force in the college game. It’s hard to believe now, but teams like NYU and CCNY were the equivalent of today’s Duke and UNC. By 1946, they were selling out the arena, and the city (and country) had fallen in love with the game of basketball. The NIT was started during this time, and even the first televised basketball game happened there in the form of a Fordham-Pitt / Georgetown-NYU doubleheader. The previously mentioned point shaving scandal involving the NYC schools hamstrung Irish’s ability to put on marquee matchups at MSG III, as a lot of the major teams were banned from playing there, and the NCAA reduced its use of the arena as a result.
Ned, being the promoter genius that he was, saw the success of the college game, knew his limitations with that now, and thought…Why can’t we do this with professional athletes and start a league? There had technically been professional basketball being played at MSG III since its inception, but it was traveling teams like the original Celtics, which weren’t associated with a league. People just didn’t think there was enough money in it, or a means and arenas to have such a league. So with other owners of hockey arenas around the US (and Canada!) They started the NBA in 1946. It wasn’t instantly as popular as the college game as you may suspect, with the Knicks even having to play at the 69th (nice) regiment armory when a college game was on that took priority over the NBA. Ironically, the armory was a few blocks away from the original location of MSG I and II, on Lexington between 25th and 26th, it’s still there for those NYers who happen to walk by and notice the building.
There were other major nationally news worth events that happened at MSG III, including a host of politically themed ventures including both a packed Nazi rally (really, and people were NOT happy about it as you may imagine) and an anti-nazi rally. There are some very famous photos and press about the pro Nazi rally, which happened in 1939 and was organized by the ‘German American Bund’. As Nazi's were wont to do, they recorded the thing, and for what it's worth, its some of the best and most crisp footage of the old garden although the Nazi's really spoil it - Here are the receipts. If only they put their efforts into making beautiful videos of basketball games instead of hate. Too bad the guy who charged the stage didn't do any damage, and I hate to think of what they did to him. Anyways before I get too riled up, a few years later this group would be banned, but MSG certainly took some heat for allowing this to go down, and deservedly so. The tradition of MSG doing anything for a buck holds strong!
Probably the most noteworthy event ever held in that venue was also somewhat a political event. The most famous version of ‘Happy Birthday’ ever sung took place at JFK’s birthday party, sung of course by Marilyn Monroe, at MSG III. Most people probably had no idea where this took place, and it may be realistically the most famous moment from any of the incarnations of MSG.
Another one of my favorite stories from that time is when they had first built MSG III there was a boxer, who’s name escapes me but this is the NBA sub so you all don’t care, that didn’t realize there was a new venue, so he showed up at the site of MSG II only to see that it had been demolished. He scooted uptown as quickly as he could, and won his fight. There is a whole host of boxing history that went down there, but I won’t bore you all with the details, just go look it up if you’re interested! The boxing events most of you have heard of, such as The Fight of the Century, would happen at the building that stands today, MSG IIII.
Now, on to the controversy.
Madison Square Garden IIII (current arena)
This is all just fact, and I won’t get into my biased opinion on why or why not this was the right thing to do. I’m going to lay out the full controversy before I get into some fun facts about the current arena…So here goes…
Yes, there was an above ground Penn Station. It was thought of as one of the most iconic and beautiful landmarks in NYC. Look up some pictures, it’s very cool.
In 1959, Graham-Paige bought a 40% stake in MSG for $4 million. Then, in 1960, Graham-Paige president Irving Felt (old NYers will recognize the name, the Felt Forum, which was the original name for the theater under the arena floor) bought the right to Penn Station. The idea was always that he would tear the old station down, and build the sports complex. The Pennsylvania Railroad company sold the air rights to the property because passenger traffic was on the decline after WW2, and they weren’t making enough money to upkeep the station. I’m sure the Penn Railroad company wasn’t too keen on tearing the building down, but Felt made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. In exchange for the rights of a building they couldn’t support anymore, the Penn Railroad company got a brand new, smaller station completely below the street at no cost, and also a 25% stake in the new MSG complex. That probably worked out ok for them. People tried to save the old station, as it was a beautiful and a lot of people were outraged that the city would let this happen. At the end of the day, the city voted to demolish the building in 1963. A lot went into this, it was simply too much for the railroad company to upkeep, and like I said, they got a pretty great offer. Also, they had at first optioned the air rights to William Zeckendorf in 1954, and he had some plans which would reconfigure the train station into several different things including a ‘world trade center’ and a ‘Palace of Progress’. These things didn’t come to pass, again, this was a MASSIVE building. Now it should be noted, if NYC wanted to save the building, they could have saved the building. It would not have been cheap, but they could have done it. However the city thought that since it was originally intended to be a ‘cost-effective and functional piece of the city’s infrastructure’ it was now mostly just a ‘monument to the past’. Pretty cold, but the city had a history of destroying historic buildings to build even more historic ones. A lot of the criticism from people after MSG4 was built, was that this was not the case in this instance, as opposed to say - tearing down the original Waldorf-Astoria to put up the Empire State Building. That one in retrospect, doesn’t have as much contention. The city thought they were being ‘progressive’ and from what I can gather, people didn’t believe they were actually going to tear the building down until they actually started doing it. When they actually started tearing it down, it sparked international outrage. As another user pointed out on the other thread, this led to the establishment of the NYC landmarks preservation commission, which did in fact save Grand Central from demolition in 1968. So that’s a silver lining to all of this. NYC didn’t step up to save the old Penn Station, but its demolition was not in vain. The outrage that it caused has surely saved plenty of other historic buildings from their demise. Like I said, I’m not trying to say it was right or wrong, this post is simply to state the facts on what happened and why it all happened.
(((I realize that I may have been typing hastily and drunk when I responded with why the old landmark Penn Station building was torn down for the new MSG. Admittedly, my timeline was slightly off, as the ‘no property tax’ thing happened afterwards to keep the Knicks / Rangers / MSG in the city. I went back into my research and wanted to make sure I explained what happened 100% accurately. Even though nobody disputed this in the thread, my post may have been confusing and the timeline in my head was a bit skewed, as I said the threat of moving to NJ was a factor in them originally tearing the train station down. This was the reason for the property tax cut, but not the original demo of the train station, as you've just read. I wanted to make sure the accurate story was told. So this should clear up the timeline, and why and when things happened the way they did.)))
The next big controversy is what I had a little mixed up in my original post, as I clumped it together with the original controversy, and that is the threat of the teams moving to New Jersey. This did happen and this is where it gets very, very, VERY sketchy.
In 1982, when Gulf and Western owned MSG, they threatened to move the teams to NJ, as the Giants and Jets had done, and also the Devils although they didn’t come from Manhattan. NJ had proven a more than viable option for professional sports teams, as it was just a short train ride away to the new Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Garden was in need of renovation, so they made then mayor Ed Koch an ultimatum - give us a tax break to help us renovate the arena and add the new fangled luxury boxes that all the newer arenas had. That led to a full property tax exemption for the next 10 years.
Koch ‘didn’t realize’ that no one put in a sunset date for the tax exemption. Some think he confused the clause that stated the teams would be locked in for at least 10 more years, for a clause that said the tax exemption would only last for 10 more years. The first part of that is true, so interestingly enough the Knicks and Rangers are not allowed to play home games anywhere else but MSG, or they would break the agreement, so things like the NHL winter classic that the Rangers play in, even if in NY they have to be the away team. Knicks in London? Away team. Not that those teams would give up a home games worth of revenue, but still they technically have to be the away team. So the garden has saved somewhere around half a billion dollars, yes BILLION dollars in property tax payments. It’s around $50 Million now, and although there have been bills, most notably in 2014 to try and get this changed, so far it’s fallen on deaf ears.
The argument against this is pretty plain to see, the Knicks and the Rangers are the most profitable teams in their respective sports, and that they don’t need this tax break. Let’s make one thing clear, Jim Dolan definitely does NOT need the tax break. Everyone has to pay property taxes. Except, Dolan and MSG. It’s a hard pill to swallow, even as the most diehard Knicks fan. The City Council almost unanimously voted to take it to state legislature in 2014, which has authority over the cities tax rules. There is sketchy stuff all through this, like state assembly leader at the time Sheldon Silver having his daughter and one of his former top aides on MSG payroll. Oh yeah, Sheldon Silver was convicted of federal fraud and extortion charges sometime after that focused on large payments that Silver received for years from Goldberg & Iryami, a law firm that specialized in seeking reductions of New York City real estate taxes for real estate developers. Silver was alleged to have persuaded developers who had business with the state to use the firm, which in turn generated $700,000 in referral fees to Silver. Totally not sketchy at all.
Here’s where it stands today, as controversy will be back to a fever pitch in a few years.
In 2013, the NYC council voted unanimously to give MSG a ten year permit, as opposed to their current agreement which gave them operating rights in perpetuity. This means that MSG’s operating permit is up in 2023. Penn Station is in dire need of renovation. Like, more-so than the Knicks are in need of talent. Dolan also spent a couple billion on renovating the arena into the state of the art facility it is today. He’s not planning on moving it. If the city wants Dolan to move the garden so they can renovate the station, it would be massively complicated, and the city would be forced to offer huge subsidies to get MSG out of the way. So chances are, everything goes on, status quo. Now I will say, from my time receiving internal emails at MSG, Dolan does not want a fight with the city. They realize that there can potentially be a compromise here. Also, he has a ton of money, and politicians tend to respond to that.
One thing that is a step in the right direction, is the massive building across 8th avenue, the iconic post office, which just like the old Penn Station has gone largely unused but BECAUSE of Penn Stations demolition has been protected itself from demolition. It has already begun to be repurposed for the train station, and by 2021 they are supposed to finish the construction on the inside to a huge, new, modern train hub. This will do a lot honestly in reducing the congestion in the old underground station.
The other internal rumblings, were that Dolan was going to let them build into the theater. Cuomo actually announced this plan, which would leave the arena intact. I will explain the layout of the current building later, but underneath the arena floor up on the 5th floor, sits the 2nd largest theater in all of NYC. In my time there it was being used less and less, mostly because the garden also owns Radio City and The Beacon theater, which are much nicer venues. There have been iconic events down in the theater also, including many NBA drafts, and some epic Eddie Murphy stand up specials, but it is in need of renovation. It is the only area that they didn’t touch during the renovation, because the thought process is that they’d just be competing with themselves in Radio and The Beacon. So The idea is that Dolan will throw the city a bone, and let them build up into the theater, in exchange for keeping the status quo, which would give Penn a much larger footprint. Admittedly, I’m not sure what progress has gone into this plan, and if the Amtrak plan for the post office has changed any of that. Basically, we’re just going to have to wait until 2023 to see what the future really holds for MSG, but knowing a bit about NYC politics, I wouldn’t count on anything changing.
Ok, now that that’s all out of the way, lets talk about the fun side of MSG4, if it hasn’t already left too sour of a taste in your collective mouths.
The new building is actually a pretty fascinating piece of architecture in its own right. Some people think the facade is ugly, and that’s fair, but the inner workings are pretty cool. Charles Luckman was the architect, and he also designed the Forum out in LA, owned now by MSG as well. In my opinion, the most fascinating part of the structure is the cable system which supports it. 48 cables connect from the outer circumference of the building, meeting at the middle in a center tension ring. This allows the arena to not have visual support beams, like the arenas before it all boasted. No visual beams means better sight lines, and less obstructions. This is a cool article from the time about it if you care to know more about the actual construction. If you’re ever at The Garden, look for little circular plaques on the wall, numbered 1-48. These mark where the cables line up in the arena, and security can actually use these to dictate where they are in the building. You’ll probably never notice them, unless you’re looking for them.
The other cool thing about the roof, is that if you look closely you’ll see that the actual ceiling which sits between the cables, you’ll see that it has tiny holes all through it. Thats because the ceiling is designed to absorb sound, its filled with sound absorption material so when the sound passes through the holes it helps deaden the room. Usually arenas are the worst place to see a concert, and the general rule of thumb is - the bigger the room, the louder and boomier it will be. It’s certainly not as good sounding as a smaller concert venue but it is better than any arena you’ll find. As opposed to oracle arena, which has a concrete ceiling meant to amplify sound for sporting events etc. Which makes it even more impressive how loud it gets in there, despite the ceilings best efforts.
When the building was built there was a 48 lane bowling alley, an art gallery, a hall of fame, and a 501 seat cinema. Thats right, a 48 lane bowling alley. It closed in the 80s, but had a lot of bowling events including some sort of bowling TV show apparently. I haven’t been able to confirm this, but this was what I was told by a reliable source! Someone older than myself can probably speak to that.
Unlike most arenas, the arena floor of MSG is actually 5 floors above street level, which allows for the theater underneath the arena floor.
Although the Felt Forum Theater at Madison Square Garden doesn’t have as many events as it used to, they still have events and even at the same time that there are events going on up in the main arena. When I was working there, we had plenty of instances where there were crazy concerts or games going on upstairs, and other events going on in the theater. You would have never known the other was going on, and there is no sound transmitted from one venue to the other. Also if you’re familiar with the theater, the rumor is the lights (probably its defining characteristic) that pattern the theater ceiling, equates exactly to the number of seats in the theater. I never was bored enough to count, so that’ll just have to be a rumor for now!
The floor of the arena itself is pretty cool, and if you’re not familiar with how these multi-sport arenas work, the ice lives underneath the court all through hockey and basketball season. It’s pretty remarkable to watch the ice crew make the ice, and pretty sad when it gets melted. The fun fact here is, not only can they switch over in under 3 hours from one sport to the other, but they WILL do it and have to do it several times a year to do a Knicks and Rangers home game on the same day. All four sides of the arena have expandable seating, think high school gym, which allows for almost 2 thousand more seats during Knicks games as opposed to rangers games. They cover the ice with a fiberglass/plastic compound material, and then the floor fits together like a giant puzzle over top of the material. This current material has been used since the renovation, and the ridiculous thing is before the new material, supposedly they had to melt the ice once during the season - to accommodate for the longest running event in MSG history, the dog show. Apparently the dogs could sense the ice! I wasn’t there at that time, but that was what I was told was the scenario.
Another ridiculous thing is seeing them set up for professional bull riding. It’s insane, they bring in literally 20 something dump trucks of dirt and they do a ‘running of the bulls’ where all the bulls run up the ramp that goes to the street, and into their pens. It’s probably the wildest thing you’ll see being set up there, and also leaves the arena smelling like, well, you know, for several weeks. Not as bad as it smells after Phish comes through for NYE, and no I’m not talking about reefer. That would be one thing, but it just smells…grimy.
As much as we all collectively have some disdain for James Dolan, it hasn’t been all bad. He has hosted 3 of the biggest benifit concerts of all time, for 9/11, Katrina, and Sandy. All the proceeds from these shows went towards victim relief. But what people don’t realize is that the first ever benefit concert happened at MSG, in George Harrison’s ‘The Concert For Bangladesh’.
As for the new renovation, they really did a nice job in a lot of ways. It took 3 years, from 2011-13. First of all, if you’ve never sat on the bridge for a game, do it. It’s truly a one of a kind view. If you’re not familiar with the bridge, they are 2 suspended walkways that were added during the renovation, with several rows of seating that stretch across the arena. One side is the ‘Media bridge’ where there are TV’s with full cable, all kinds of plugs for laptops and internet and all that. They will sell tickets to this side when it’s a game that the media isn’t hogging the whole thing. I like hanging up there during games because there are advanced stats on some of the channels, anything you would need to be covering the game from a journalistic perspective, so it’s pretty cool. Also that’s where the radio, and the hockey TV broadcast booths are, since the vantage point is better up there for hockey than on the glass.
Pro tip - sometimes on stub hub or wherever, those seats can be cheaper than the ones further back not on the bridge. This is because they’re the ‘300’ level, where as the seats all the way up on the sides are the 200 level. However there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. And there are bars INSIDE the seating area, so if you’re up in the top of the 200’s, you can hit the bar without ever leaving the arena bowl and missing a single second of that can’t miss Knicks basketball. The 400 level is cool too, that’s the blue seats, which were the original color of all the 400 level seats.
Back in the day, when there were paper tickets, the seats in the different levels were different colors, and the tickets for those seats would be the same color as your seats!
The suite situation is very insane now a days. There are the event level suites, which are 20 suites located literally on the arena floor, underneath the seating. They have no view of the game, but they come with 8 seats each right in the first few rows. It’s the best of both worlds, so you’ll see the first few rows CLEAR OUT during half time to go into their little luxury caves. There are also suites all through the mid level of the arena, and then a 3rd level of suites up on the 9th floor, facing the stage.
There are also luxury clubs, including the Delta Club, which if you’ve never had a ticket with access to it, and can afford it - I highly recommend it. Everything (minus alcohol of course!) is free, and the food is honestly ridiculous. Further down the hall and down the stairs is the JP Morgan club (throwback!) where an even more elite club (closest 100 or so seats) can hang out. And even more so, there is a place called ‘suite 200’. I never knew about this until I worked there. You can only go there if you’re invited, which means you’re very famous. For some reason, my keycard had access to this, and I explored it a few times. It’s ridiculous. Original trophies, huge original paintings, etc.
Speaking of trophies - everyone used to ask me where the Knicks championship trophies are - and the truth is, back when the Knicks won it was so long ago, that the NBA trophy was like the Stanley cup and changed hands every year. So…no Knicks championship trophies. However if you go to MSG you’ll notice the defining moments collection, the top moments in MSG history that line the walls of the 2 main concourses. There is one dedicated to the 1970 championship, and it has the eastern conference trophy in it. Now this I can confirm is true - if you examine the trophy you’ll notice that the little basketball player on top is a different hue than the rest of the trophy. That’s because apparently when they were compiling these displays a few years ago, they found the trophy in storage with the basketball man broken off the top of it, so they had to replace it. That’s why you can visibly tell that there is a difference between him and the rest of the trophy, if you really examine it.
Obviously there have been so many huge events at The Garden, I don’t really need to get into that here.
Also if you ever get the chance, visit the 9th floor where the signature suites are located. The coolest memorabilia in the building is up there, including one of those signed 50 greatest lithographs, Patrick Ewing and Wayne Gretzky’s locker, and even the statue of Joe Gans, a legendary African American boxer. This statue has the patina pretty much gone from his outstretched left arm is it was tradition for boxers to tap gloves with Joe for good luck before they took the ring. Now it sits up there, right next to the scale that was in use during the time of the fight of the century featuring Frazier and Ali. They also have an old school ice resurfacer up there, which is pretty cool.
Well, I’m sure there’s a ton that I left out - If you made it this far, you’re a champ.
TL;DR - Boston Garden was originally called Boston Madison Square Garden and was named after the arena in NY. There is only one 'The Garden' and it's super duper important. ;)
Edit - I should have mentioned wrestling. It’s intimately tied to MSG, but really deserves its own thread and I have no more characters!

Bit of context: I play 1/2 £ nl at the Hippodrome and the Empire in leicester square in London. Right now I've been on a holiday skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria because I'm "nitty" when it comes to traveling experience and I have been playing 1/3 € nl hold'em at the Platinum Hotel/Casino which is virtually a 5 minute walk from the slopes. However, I cannot attribute the qualities in my approach to travel to my nl game. I normally try to play balanced but fall victim to invariably being one of the shorter stacks. Therefore, my predeliction to open up wider combined without the requisite bankroll to effectively give credence to my playing style often places me in tough spots with grinders who maintain a tight table image and then capitalize by playing a series of massive pre-flop moves after observing the action I like to give.
The point I am trying to make is that I don't want to get nittier, I love table talk and hate to play with grinders but don't have the capital means to effectively play in the style I don't want to give up. For example, I shipped it in with JJs vs KKs against this Ukranian grinder (Ukraine outlaws poker go figure) who happened to be playing PLO on his phone listening to what was probably UK grime music just because I don't have the patience to avoid seeing flops for orbits on end.
How can I better my table selection? How do I identify which grinders are TAGs and which are wannabes with 99+ ranges? What is the best approach to maintaing looser play and therefore having a more stimulating/fun time while not getting torched when a grinder starts to get TAG or begins opening wider?
Any tips?

I sent this is in a message to the mods a little while back after seeing that the existing wiki was a little out of date, really centric to certain areas and tbh, not very neutral when it came to other areas. It's my no means the end of any recommendations, but considering we have a lot of questions about what to do/see/eat/drink and where to stay or live, I thought it might be helpful.
Anyway, I haven't got a response, and I'm not even sure if any of them are even still active here, so I thought I'd just drop it here and maybe somebody can get some use out of it anyway.
I'll clarify that outside of playing for one of the American football teams currently, and having previously played for another, I'm not affiliated with any organisation mentioned herein.

About Birmingham

Birmingham is the second city (don't listen to anything Manchester says!) of the United Kingdom. It is the largest and most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as the centre of the second largest urban area after London, with a population somewhere between 1 and 1.3 million people.
Birmingham boomed from a non-descript market town to a juggernaut of a city during the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s/early 1800s, and is called "the first manufacturing town in the world". Although the steam engine is Birmingham's most famous invention, did you know, that amongst hundreds of other things, we're also responsible for the birth of the modern chemical industry, cotton spinning, the Baskerville typeface, building societies, powdered custard, the modern postal system, medical plaster, lawn tennis, plastic, medical use of x-rays, The Lord of the Rings, and the Football League? Well now you do!
Today, we don't manufacture so much, but we're still an important city on the global stage. We're now a centre for both the public and private service industry, and one of the most important centres of finance in the country.
We form the centre of a metropolitan area, spanning from Solihull in the south east, to Wolverhampton and the Black Country in the north west, and we make up an interesting group of people. We're a city of younger than average people, and are the UK's most ethnically diverse city, with large numbers of immigrants from Ireland, South Asia, the Caribbean and China. This make up has majorly shaped the city we live in today.
Whether you're visiting for a day or two, or you're a born and bred Brummie, Birmingham is still a city that can amaze you.
And yes... it's true. We do have more canals than Venice.

Big Name Attractions

• BBC Birmingham: Visitors can book tours of their working building that take you behind the scenes of their television and radio productions. There is also a visitor centre that doesn't require booking.
• Botanical Gardens: A 15 acre selection of gardens and greenhouses containing some of the world's rarest (and in some cases, entirely unique) plants. There are also a number of exotic birds.
• Cadbury World: The world famous chocolate manufacturer was founded in Bournville. There are exhibits on the history of chocolate, the making of chocolate, the story of the Cadbury family, and if you hadn't guessed by now, a massive Cadbury shop.
• LegoLand Discovery Centre: A newly-opened, kid centric day out based entirely on the world famous, colourful bricks.
• Library of Birmingham: This striking building opened in 2013 is the largest public library in the United Kingdom, and the largest "public cultural space" in Europe and hosts a number of nationally and internationally significant collections.
• National Sea Life Centre: Even with our extensive canal network, perhaps not the most appropriate location, but still... A giant aquarium with a range of sea and river life, from sharks, to penguins, to otters.
• Sarehole Mill: A working water mill that has played a significant park in the history of both the industry and literature of Birmingham. Matthew Boulton, one of the fathers of the industrial revolution performed experiments there, and Lord of the Rings author, J. R. R. Tolkien lived just a stones throw from the mill. It is located in the Shire Country Park, named for its influence on the location of that name in the aforementioned books.
• Thinktank: A family-oriented science experience with a focus on Birmingham's manufacturing and industrial history. You can see real WWII era aircraft, steam trains, and the world's oldest working steam engine. There's also a planetarium.

Smaller Attractions

• Aston Hall: The "leading example of the Jacobean prodigy house" has a storied local history, from the Civil War-era onwards.
• Back to Backs: The "city's last surviving court of back-to-back houses". Get a feel for life amongst the common folk of the city during the population boom of the Industrial Revolution.
• Blakesley Hall: One of the oldest buildings in the city, and an archetypal example of Tudor architecture, originally owned by the famed Smalbroke family.
• Coffin Works: A restored factory that historically manufactured brass fittings, and, you guessed it, coffins, including those of famed statesmen and members of the royal family.
• Museum of the Jewellery Quarter: Step inside a "'time capsule' of a jewellery workshop" and learn about the 200+ year history of the Jewellery Quarter.
• Pen Museum: The only museum dedicated to the pen trade in the UK, learn how Birmingham became the heart of the world pen industry.
• Selly Manor: Originally the manor house of Bournbrook, it was acquired by the Cadbury family in the early 1900s and moved to be the heart of their model village, Bournville.
• Soho House: A large house containing primarily a celebration of the life of famed industrialist Matthew Boulton and his peers in the Lunar Society.
• Winterbourne House & Garden: A seven acre botanic garden of the University of Birmingham.

Food & Drink

Birmingham is a city quickly gaining a world-class reputation for food, with an exploding independent scene backed up by an enviable selection of fine dining options.
Fine Dining You may have heard that Birmingham has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any UK city outside of London, and that's (sort of, if you're including Solihull) true!
With five (strictly four) restaurants boasting a star, Birmingham has plenty for those desiring a fine dining experience.
Purnell's, ran by regular TV face Glyn Purnell, and Adam's are both located in the city centre. Simpsons is just a mile-and-a-bit outside the centre in leafy Edgbaston, and Carters of Moseley is just a little further out, in, well, Moseley. The most recently awarded star goes to Peel's, located in the Hampton Manor hotel in Hampton in Arden, a quick drive from Birmingham Airport.
But it's not all about those famous stars. There's also several restaurants that make the Michelin Guide. Asha's (Indian), Opus (European), The Wilderness (British/European), Lasan (Indian), Waters (European), The Boot Inn (European/Fusion), Opheem (Indian), Folium (British/European), and Harborne Kitchen (British/European) are all places you're almost guaranteed some good eating!
Street Food & Independents While the Michelin-club get all the plaudits, many prefer Birmingham's proud independent food scene for a cheaper, more relaxed meal.
The jewel in the crown is Digbeth Dining Club. The now three-day-a-week event sees an area in Digbeth in the centre of Birmingham closed off and populated by some of the countries finest streetfood vendors for a festival of food, drink and music. Many of the regulars have been crowned winners of something in the various country-wide streetfood competitions in recent years, and you'll get anything from Indian snacks, decadent waffles, slow cooked BBQ, and mouth-watering cheesecakes to award winning burgers. Additionally, in a very similar vein, is the much more recent Hawker Yard.
Looking for a burger? You're in luck. There's Original Patty Men (who are so renowned, Drake opted to miss out on the Brit Awards to eat their burgers) and The Meat Shack both located in the city centre that make some of the best burgers you'll ever taste, and have a great selection of beers to go with them.
Thanks to the city's impressive Chinatown, you're guaranteed some good authentic Chinese food. Our recommendation? Head to Peach Garden or Look In and order a selection of roasted meats (just look for the hanging ducks in the window, you won't miss them!)
Perhaps Birmingham's most world famous offering to the culinary world is the Balti. Named for the thin-pressed steel dish it's served in more than any particular method of cooking, the Balti is a garlic and onion heavy curry that is cooked over high heat, rather than simmering all day. If that sounds enticing to you, then I've got good news.
Birmingham is famed for the Balti Triangle, an area around Sparkbook, Sparkhill and Moseley that has an eye-wateringly high concentration of restaurants serving Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi food, almost all of which serving many variations of the eponymous dish. While the Balti may have spread across the entirety of the UK, it's well known that Birmingham still has the best. Looking for a recommendation? Check out Adil's, the place that lays perhaps the strongest claim to creating the dish in the first place or Al Frash. We're also locked into an ongoing battle with Glasgow as to which city created the creamy, mild curry, the Chicken Tikka Masala. Added bonus? Many of the city's balti houses are BYOB.
Outside of those mentioned, there really is something for those that want something a little different. The Karczma serves authentic Polish food in amazing decor. Bonehead is the place to go for fried chicken. If you're not feeling a full three course balti, Zindiya offers amazing Indian street food. Loaf is a co-operatively ran bakery and cookery school that offer literally the best sausage rolls in the world. Whatever cuisine takes your fancy, you will find a restaurant in Birmingham cooking it to the highest quality.
If there's anything that will force you to make plans to visit Birmingham again, it's the food.
Drinking And what d'you know, it's not just great food here, but great drink too!
In the city centre, you're spoiled for choice. There's a Brewdog bar, serving a range of beers from the eponymous brewery alongside a smorgasbord of guest brewers. Just opposite is Cherry Reds (they also have a location in Kings Heath), serving craft beers in a cafe atmosphere. Located in a former, guess what, the Post Office Vaults invites you to take a look through their "Beer Bible" and select from hundreds of beers from around the world. Purecraft serves beers from the renowned Purity Brewing Company, and the food is amazing too.
Around what was formerly a financial district, you'll find a lot of popular bars in attractive buildings, such as The Old Joint Stock, The Lost and Found and The Cosy Club. In the Jewellery Quarter, you'll find the reasonably priced 1000 Trades (usually with a pop-up dishing out great food) and further afield, the Plough in Harborne.
Cocktails more your thing? You won't miss out. The Alchemist, Fumo, Ginger's and Gas Street Social all serve proper cocktails in trendy atmospheres.
On the same street in Stirchley and Cotteridge, you will find two of the countries highest-rated off-licences. Cotteridge Wines has been voted The Best Bottle Shop in England for five years running, and Stirchley Wines, just a few minutes walk away, is held in similarly high regard. Both have been listed in RateBeer's top four locations in the country.

Sport

Birmingham is famous as a sporting city. The Football League, the world's first league football competition, was founded in 1888 by Birmingham resident, and Aston Villa director William McGregor.
Along with the aforementioned Aston Villa, Birmingham is also home to another of the oldest football teams in the country, Birmingham City. Birmingham City's Ladies play at the top level of Women's football. The football season runs between August and May.
Edgbaston Cricket Ground is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, but is also more prominently used for Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. The County Cricket season runs between April and September. The Twenty20 season runs between July and September.
Birmingham and the nearby areas are home to two PGA standard golf courses; The Belfry, which has hosted the Ryder Cup more than any other venue, and the Forest of Arden, a regular host of tournaments on the PGA European Tour.
Arena Birmingham, formerly known as the National Indoor Arena, has hosted a number of World and European indoor athletics championships, and the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr is the headquarters of UK Athletics, and the home of the Birchfield Harriers, which counts a number of elite international athletes amongst its members.
The first ever game of lawn tennis was played in Birmingham in 1859 and the Birmingham Classic, played annually at the Edgbaston Priory Club is one of only three UK tennis tournaments on the WTA Tour.
There are two professional Rugby Union teams in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. Moseley Rugby Football Club play in the National League 1, and Birmingham & Solihull Pertemps Bees play in the Midlands Premier division. The Rugby Union season typically runs between September and April.
Birmingham is also home to the oldest British American football team, the Birmingham Bulls and the most successful team in University American football, the Birmingham Lions at the University of Birmingham. The Tamworth Phoenix, the current BAFA National League champions, are located in nearby Coleshill, and the Sandwell Steelers are located in the Black Country. The BAFA National Leagues season typically runs between April and August and the University season typically runs between October and January.
The Birmingham Bandits play in the National Baseball League, the top level of competition in the country. The season typically runs between April and August.
Birmingham will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Entertainment

Film For those that want to catch a movie, there is, as you might expect, a range of chain cinemas in dozens of locations across the city in which you can catch the latest release.
But if you're looking for something really special? Why not check out The Electric, the UK's oldest working cinema?
Of course, they show the latest blockbusters, but they also show classic movies and special events throughout the year.
Music Whatever your preference, there's a good bet that Birmingham has had an impact.
We have the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra playing at the Symphony Hall for those with a more refined ear.
There are regular jazz festivals across the city and surroundings through the year.
Perhaps you've heard of the small time bands Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin and Napalm Death? Birmingham is the home to metal, and it's an influence that is still obvious today. You'll find local bands playing the full spectrum of metal at music pubs across the city.
If you want to check out a band on tour, we've got arenas that range in size from the huge (Arena Birmingham, Genting Arena) to the more modest (Hare & Hounds, HMV Institute) and those in-between (O2 Academy).
Theatre The Repertory Theatre is the UK's longest-established "producing theatre" and the Alexandra and Hippodrome are the go-to places to see shows on tour.
Those looking for a particularly classy night out can choose from the Birmingham Royal Ballet, resident at the Hippodrome, or the Birmingham Opera Company, known for their avant garde performances in non-typical spaces.
Museums & Galleries Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is the big one. A notable collection of Pre-Raphaelite work and the Staffordshire Hoard are probably the stand outs that it's known for, but there's a temporary exhibition space that hosts events like student exhibitions from local universities.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is located on the campus of the University of Birmingham, and was one of only five galleries outside London to receive five stars for having "Outstanding collections of international significance", and this relatively modest sized gallery hosts works by the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin and J. M. W. Turner and has one of the world's largest coin collections.
If contemporary art is more your thing, then the Ikon Gallery in Brindley Place is for you, hosting rotating exhibitions throughout the year.
The mac, located in Cannon Hill Park is an art gallery with rotating exhibitions that also hosts plays, concerts and film showings.
For further Museums & Galleries see the "Attractions" section.
Nightlife As a young city, there's plenty of places in the city to while the night away.
Broad Street is Birmingham's most well known area. It's a long street with very popular, relatively "bog-standard" bars and clubs, with large dancefloors and loud, popular music. PRYZM is the largest nightclub in the city, and Grosvenor Casino, open 24 hours, is nearby.
You'll most likely find single 18-25 year olds along this busy street just a few minutes walk from the very centre of the city.
Birmingham's Gay Village is also well established, with Nightingales being arguably the biggest name. Nearby, the Arcadian hosts a number of smaller bars and clubs.
The Jewellery Quarter offers more intimate nightlife options, and you're more likely to find a slightly older clientele sipping cocktails and listening to live bands than on their feet on a dancefloor.
Digbeth is where the cool people go in search of more underground fare. DJs and producers playing House, Techno (including the world famous "Birmingham Sound"), Dubstep, Garage and Drum & Bass congregate in the clubs in this area, catering to those that are happy to go all night. If you want to go even further off the beaten track, check out PST where you're likely to find Listening Sessions, showcasing a range of music from local producers.
Shopping The Bullring is the major shopping centre in Birmingham. It is one of Europe's largest and houses just one of four Selfridges department stores, housed in an iconic building. There are a number of stores selling fashion, cosmetics, toys and gifts and food.
The Bull Ring markets see 140 stallholders offering fresh fruit and vegetables, meats and fish, and basically every non-food item you can think of.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade, which produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK.
The Great Western Arcade is a Grade II listed row of shops that cater almost entirely to independent retailers where you're almost guaranteed to find something unique.

Weather

We're a relatively temperate city, in that it rarely gets super cold, and rarely gets super hot. In the summer months, you can expect a twenty four hour swing from around 11°C(52°F) to 23°C(73°F), and in the winter months, anywhere between 0°C(32°F) and 7°C(45°F).
We get roughly 10-13 rainy days per month throughout the year.
Compared to other UK cities, we are relatively snowy, due to our inland position and high elevation, however, it rarely snows to a degree that it causes problems.

Environment

Birmingham is, perhaps surprisingly given its unfair reputation, an outstandingly green city. We have a stunning 571 parks in the city, more than any other European city.
Sutton Park is the biggest park in the city, and is Europe's largest urban park outside of a capital city. Around a quarter of the former Royal Forest is covered by ancient woodlands, and there are a number of large ponds and pools. It is relatively common to see deer and exmoor ponies in the less busy parts of the park. There are several sporting events held in the park throughout the year.
The Lickey Hills are home to a Green Flag awarded country park that offer picturesque views of the city of Birmingham, and are home to several species of deer, badgers and around ninety bird species, and some believe this favoured haunt of J. R. R. Tolkien formed the inspiration for the Shire in his famed The Lord Of The Rings series.
Cannon Hill Park is a 250 acre area consisting of woodland, grassland and several large ponds. There are areas for soccer, boating, fishing, tennis and mini-golf.

Travel

Due to its centralised location, Birmingham is well placed for transport. It is served by the M5, M6 (famed for the Gravelly Hill Interchange, more commonly known as Spaghetti Junction), M40 and M42 motorways.
Birmingham Airport (actually located in Solihull), is an international airport, with flights to and from to many destinations in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Birmingham New Street is the largest railway station outside of London and serves locations across the country. Snow Hill and Moor Street act as the northern termini for trains coming from London Marylebone.
Buses are mainly administered by National Express, and the West Midlands bus route 11, also known as the Birmingham Outer Circle, is the longest urban bus route in Europe at 27 miles, taking around three hours to complete.
Uber operates within Birmingham.

Living In Birmingham

Many times we're asked here on brum "where should I live", "is area X ok to live in", etc. Much like everything else in Birmingham, there is a lot of variety. Houses can range from cheap as chips to pretty expensive, and each area of the city has its own up and downsides. It's not so easy to divide Birmingham by distinct areas of desirability, and some of the most expensive and sought after suburbs border those that aren't as popular.

Central Birmingham

Living in central Birmingham will be similar to living in the centre of any other big city, if you've ever done that. There will always be something to do on right on your doorstep, the social opportunities are immense, and your commute can be but a short walk to the office. Of course, this is often at the expense of a smaller, more expensive property, greater noise and everywhere is pretty busy 24/7. There are a number of distinct "regions" in the city centre.
Brindley Place & Surrounding Areas Likely the priciest part of the city centre to live in, but there are often more than small flats available. Penthouses, townhouses and large apartments are more common in this area.
Average property price: Anywhere from ~£150,000 to £1m+ Brindley Place on Streetcheck
Digbeth An area still undergoing gentrification, but also a focal point for up and coming independents in business, food, arts and culture. Most, if not all, properties in Digbeth will be flats. Most of Digbeth is a five minute walk to the centre of the city.
Average property price: £158,024 Digbeth on Streetcheck
Jewellery Quarter Great for food and drink, the Jewellery Quarter, while still a stronghold in the UK jewellery industry, is fast becoming one of the "cooler" areas to live in the city. Most, if not all, properties in the Jewellery Quarter will be flats.
Average property price: ~£200,000-250,000 Jewellery Quarter on Streetcheck

North Birmingham

North Birmingham has a large swing in terms of lifestyle. Some areas closer to the city centre are more economically deprived, whereas further away, the likes of Sutton Coldfield can boast some of the most expensive and most desirable locations in the Midlands. The transport links are, to some, an attraction to living in North Birmingham, usually being just minutes from several junctions on the M6 and M5.
Aston Aston as a settlement is very old, and has a real mix of history, ranging from the medieval to Jacobean to early 1900s. Most properties in Aston are terraced houses.
Average property price: £107,137 Aston on Streetcheck
Erdington Lying between the city centre and it's more expensive neighbour, Erdington is fast becoming a desirable location for those priced out of Sutton Coldfield. There is a range of properties from detached housing to flats.
Average property price: £163,075 Erdington on Streetcheck
Handsworth An "on the rise" area that can boast perhaps the longest list of famous residents in the whole city. There are a wide range of properties from detached housing to terraced houses.
Average property price: £144,484 Handsworth on Streetcheck
Sutton Coldfield A "Royal Town" and the fourth-least deprived area in the country, Sutton Coldfield is renowned as a very affluent area with many attractions. There are a range of properties from terraced houses to very large detached houses.
Average property price: £314,808 although houses can and do regularly top £3m+ Sutton Coldfield on Streetcheck

East Birmingham

East Birmingham is home to a diverse population, and a relatively green area stretching from the city centre to neighbouring Solihull, and is quickly finding itself a niche as younger folk priced out of Solihull move to a desirable location between the leafy town and Birmingham's centre.
Bordesley Green Traditionally an area popular with immigrants, and mostly consists of terraced houses.
Average property price: £122,712 Bordesley Green on Streetcheck
Stechford Mostly terraced housing with a tonne of local ameneties and is cut almost in two by the River Cole and has a large nature reserve running through it.
Average property price: £150,085 Stechford on Streetcheck
Yardley & Sheldon An historically old suburb of Birmingham, with a dedicated conservation area and many local ameneties. There are a range of properties from detached houses to a small number of flats and apartments.
Average property price: £162,601 Yardley & Sheldon on Streetcheck

South Birmingham

The south of Birmingham is home to some of the "coolest" suburbs that are quickly gaining popularity, seated between the city centre and what you might call "countryside" towards Warwickshire.
Hall Green Encompassing much of the Tolkien trail, this suburb borders Shirley in Solihull.
Average property price: £209,923 Hall Green on Streetcheck
Kings Heath, Stirchley and Cotteridge These three closely related suburbs are quickly becoming seen as an affordable alternative to Moseley.
Average property price: £211,276 Kings Heath on Streetcheck
Moseley With a real "village" feel, there are many renowned drinking holes and eateries, with a large range of property types.
Average property price: £276,533 Moseley on Streetcheck
Sparkhill Home to a large population of immigrants, it's not surprising that Sparkhill is home to much of the famed "Balti Triangle". Most of the properties are terraced houses.
Average property price: £142,394 Sparkhill on Streetcheck

West Birmingham

As you move away from the city centre towards the Black Country, you'll come across some of the city's most sought-after locations for both young and old alike.
Edgbaston A very affluent suburb that is also home to much of the University of Birmingham campus. There are a number of very large houses, but also a large number of flats and terraced houses. Houses can and do regularly go for £1m+
Average property price: £301,851 Edgbaston on Streetcheck
Harborne A Victorian-era suburb with a large amount of terraced and semi-detached housing, located between Edgbaston and Quinton.
Average property price: £278,266 Harbone on Streetcheck
Selly Oak The majority of residents in this suburb are students at Birmingham's universities. As such, it has many transport links to the city centre. Most of the properties are terraced houses.
Average property price: £221,046 Selly Oak on Streetcheck
Quinton This green suburb basically forms the very western border of the city before you enter Sandwell and Dudley. Most properties are semi-detached.
Average property price: £258,077 Quinton on Streetcheck

Outside the city

Birmingham is part of the greater West Midlands conurbation, so it can be used as a hub for exploring the region easily.
Solihull is situated on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Solihull is an affluent town with a mid-sized town centre, and a number of smaller villages located more rurally.
Coventry can be reached via the M6 or A45, and is roughly a half an hour to fourty minute drive from the city centre.
Stratford-Upon-Avon, famed for being the home of William Shakespeare, is located roughly an hour away from the city centre.
Warwick, the home of Warwick Castle, is located near Royal Leamington Spa, and is about an hour by car from the city centre.
The Cotswolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, can be quickly reached, anywhere from one to two hours away from the city centre.
Worcester and the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, can be reached via the M5, around an hour and a half from the city centre.
On the western edge of the city, the Black Country, consisting of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton can be found.
Further out west, the Shropshire Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty can be found.
To the north of the city, Cannock Chase, a large, heavily wooded Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located.

ITS OFFICIAL – ASIA LIVE TECH IS ONCE AGAIN SHORTLISTED IN THE GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS LONDON 2020
So things for 2020 is heating up faster than we all could imagine, with ICE London looming around the corner and now Asia’s First Cryptocurrencies iGaming Software Provider has made it in the shortlist for the prestigious Global Gaming Awards 2020 in London under the category of Best Online Casino Supplier of the year. The actions kicks of on the 3rd of February 2020 at the one and only Hippodrome Casino in London.
We at Asia Live Tech are truly humbled but also excited for this shortlisting in one of the industries most prestigious awards. This is a recognition for the effort that we are putting forward in creating more innovative solutions within the iGaming industry as well as the gaps that we are trying to bridge.
The year of 2020 itself is regards as very symbolic and important for many cultures be it for development or personal beliefs. However we at Asia Live Tech are working towards making 2020 a very special year indeed with some special stuff that we have been working in 2019.
One of the things that we pride of ourselves since the day of our inception is that we truly stand by our tagline which is to “Own Your Own Brand; Be Your Own Boss”. You may ask why? what makes this so special about Asia Live Tech?. The answer is actually very simple, we allow you to be your own Boss or shall we shall we an iGaming Boss or we can better phrase as your own casino owner.
Now these 3 terms are the dreams of many people in the industry especially affiliates however the fact of the matter in regards to costs and risks always hinder the realization of this dream. On our side, we can’t mitigate the risks involved in running your own casino as all elements are based on luck and chance however we can ensure that you are able to setup your own online casino in a cost effective manner.
From Live Dealer, Slots, Keno, Asian Lotteries all the way to the most favorite game in the market which Sportsbetting, all of these are available on an Asia Live Tech platform which we setup. To take it up a notch, all our games and platform itself supports both fiat as well as any cryptocurrency. Now for the icing on the cake, we have the worlds first progressive baccarat jackpot running for all our live dealer baccarat tables which is fully borne for ALT hence its an awesome feature to give to your players plus our iGaming Revenue Sharing Pool adds more perks for you in the process as an operator.
That being said, we look forward to meeting you at the Hippodrome in London and to all the companies that have made it in the shortlist. Congratulations from all of us at Asia live Tech, as each one of you are winners in your own ways and all the best to all of us.
See you at the Global Gaming Awards in London 2020
​
https://preview.redd.it/7u6qr0jocdc41.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f916bec1dc69a20315cd4acab45c080a6cf2898

ITS OFFICIAL – ASIA LIVE TECH IS ONCE AGAIN SHORTLISTED IN THE GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS LONDON 2020
So things for 2020 is heating up faster than we all could imagine, with ICE London looming around the corner and now Asia’s First Cryptocurrencies iGaming Software Provider has made it in the shortlist for the prestigious Global Gaming Awards 2020 in London under the category of Best Online Casino Supplier of the year. The actions kicks of on the 3rd of February 2020 at the one and only Hippodrome Casino in London.
We at Asia Live Tech are truly humbled but also excited for this shortlisting in one of the industries most prestigious awards. This is a recognition for the effort that we are putting forward in creating more innovative solutions within the iGaming industry as well as the gaps that we are trying to bridge.
The year of 2020 itself is regards as very symbolic and important for many cultures be it for development or personal beliefs. However we at Asia Live Tech are working towards making 2020 a very special year indeed with some special stuff that we have been working in 2019.
One of the things that we pride of ourselves since the day of our inception is that we truly stand by our tagline which is to “Own Your Own Brand; Be Your Own Boss”. You may ask why? what makes this so special about Asia Live Tech?. The answer is actually very simple, we allow you to be your own Boss or shall we shall we an iGaming Boss or we can better phrase as your own casino owner.
Now these 3 terms are the dreams of many people in the industry especially affiliates however the fact of the matter in regards to costs and risks always hinder the realization of this dream. On our side, we can’t mitigate the risks involved in running your own casino as all elements are based on luck and chance however we can ensure that you are able to setup your own online casino in a cost effective manner.
From Live Dealer, Slots, Keno, Asian Lotteries all the way to the most favorite game in the market which Sportsbetting, all of these are available on an Asia Live Tech platform which we setup. To take it up a notch, all our games and platform itself supports both fiat as well as any cryptocurrency. Now for the icing on the cake, we have the worlds first progressive baccarat jackpot running for all our live dealer baccarat tables which is fully borne for ALT hence its an awesome feature to give to your players plus our iGaming Revenue Sharing Pool adds more perks for you in the process as an operator.
That being said, we look forward to meeting you at the Hippodrome in London and to all the companies that have made it in the shortlist. Congratulations from all of us at Asia live Tech, as each one of you are winners in your own ways and all the best to all of us.
See you at the Global Gaming Awards in London 2020
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/izp8zzvww1641.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=623d0fa121587cc4de9af2fd8678fba9872e16f4

Alright, London, help me out. I'm currently on night six of a seven day night shift set and can't wait for Friday morning, 6.30am, to roll round and have an after work pint to start my weekend. Yet for all its metropolitan aspirations, London's just not a 24 hour city when it comes to drinking.
Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations where to get a decent pint in a kinda pub atmosphere around 7am on a Friday morning? I work in Victoria and live near Tooting, so anywhere near a Victoria or Northern Line station would be ideal, but I'm happy for suggestions all over London.
The ones that I'm aware of are:

• The Market Porter at Borough Market, which is alright, nothing to write home about. Went there last month, so ideally would like to try somewhere new.
  
• The Hippodrome Casino at Leicester Square (not sure if you can just have a drink without playing)
  
• Balans Café on Old Compton Street (which might be a bit too high class for what I'm after)
  

And that's about it, really. I think there might be some night clubs that are still open around that time, but not sure that after 14 hours at work I can cope with masses of twenty-somethings who are completely off their face.
And before you say Wetherspoons... well, the one in Victoria Station opens at 6am, but doesn't serve alcohol before 8am (wtf, either make a point about socially accepted drinking hours or not, but what makes 8am any better than 6?). My local one in Tooting opens at 7, but only serves booze from 10! As if people are so damn keen on their Spoons breakfast that they need to set three hours aside for it. They really don't cater as well for the early morning drinker as their reputation would suggest.
Thanks so much for your help. And if anyone wants to join me for a pint Friday morning, the more the merrier.
EDIT (just settled down in the office for my final night): Thank you again so much for all your suggestions and help. I reckon I'll give the Fox & Anchor a go!

ITS OFFICIAL – ASIA LIVE TECH IS ONCE AGAIN SHORTLISTED IN THE GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS LONDON 2020
So things for 2020 is heating up faster than we all could imagine, with ICE London looming around the corner and now Asia’s First Cryptocurrencies iGaming Software Provider has made it in the shortlist for the prestigious Global Gaming Awards 2020 in London under the category of Best Online Casino Supplier of the year. The actions kicks of on the 3rd of February 2020 at the one and only Hippodrome Casino in London.
We at Asia Live Tech are truly humbled but also excited for this shortlisting in one of the industries most prestigious awards. This is a recognition for the effort that we are putting forward in creating more innovative solutions within the iGaming industry as well as the gaps that we are trying to bridge.
The year of 2020 itself is regards as very symbolic and important for many cultures be it for development or personal beliefs. However we at Asia Live Tech are working towards making 2020 a very special year indeed with some special stuff that we have been working in 2019.
One of the things that we pride of ourselves since the day of our inception is that we truly stand by our tagline which is to “Own Your Own Brand; Be Your Own Boss”. You may ask why? what makes this so special about Asia Live Tech?. The answer is actually very simple, we allow you to be your own Boss or shall we shall we an iGaming Boss or we can better phrase as your own casino owner.
Now these 3 terms are the dreams of many people in the industry especially affiliates however the fact of the matter in regards to costs and risks always hinder the realization of this dream. On our side, we can’t mitigate the risks involved in running your own casino as all elements are based on luck and chance however we can ensure that you are able to setup your own online casino in a cost effective manner.
From Live Dealer, Slots, Keno, Asian Lotteries all the way to the most favorite game in the market which Sportsbetting, all of these are available on an Asia Live Tech platform which we setup. To take it up a notch, all our games and platform itself supports both fiat as well as any cryptocurrency. Now for the icing on the cake, we have the worlds first progressive baccarat jackpot running for all our live dealer baccarat tables which is fully borne for ALT hence its an awesome feature to give to your players plus our iGaming Revenue Sharing Pool adds more perks for you in the process as an operator.
That being said, we look forward to meeting you at the Hippodrome in London and to all the companies that have made it in the shortlist. Congratulations from all of us at Asia live Tech, as each one of you are winners in your own ways and all the best to all of us.
See you at the Global Gaming Awards in London 2020
​
https://preview.redd.it/kozn5xejqi141.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=0a7aff7d69aa3e0ff75a23a978508eedf93d1885

Hi all,
There are a few posts about this already but most are over a year old.
I'm wondering what recommendations any of the London-based players on here had for the best Blackjack spots? I saw Napoleon's mentioned a lot on here because they didn't use CSMs and used 4 decks but Napoleons has since disappeared, now replaced by Horizons Casino which exclusively uses CSMs. Golden Nugget has been mentioned but has also shut down as well.
I was in Empire last night and they have £5 blackjack, but exclusively CSM too. Hippodrome has shoe-dealt (6 decks, I think) £10 minimum but I'm looking for alternatives, preferably £5 and without CSMs.
I had heard about Vegas Single Deck Blackjack at the Hippodrome but I've never seen this? I've also never played single deck as I've never seen it anywhere, not even in Vegas!
​
Any ideas? Cheers!

Hey guys, long time lurker here! On a bit of a journey of self discovery since going on holiday with my Dad and his friend who is a life coach and MBTI expert. For the first time in my life I felt completely understood and we talked almost non-stop the entire holiday. She deduced I was an ENFP within about 5 mins of meeting me, which was a nice touch as I often have issues with identity and have been known to have the odd existential crisis whilst bumming around during University.
Anyway last night went out for a few drinks (meant to be 1 but when the hell have we ever been able to say no to more fun) in Central London with a buddy of mine (ESFP) and we were dancing with some girls and generally having a whale of a time. Things got a bit hazy from that point onwards and I don't quite remember leaving the bar but I do recall befriending a bloke on the streets somewhere, chatting away merrily without a care in the world and completely in my element.
Unbeknownst to be the guy had overseen me enter my PIN number whilst withdrawing money (I'm a poker player and was heading to the Hippodrome Casino). I wasn't allowed into the casino as the guy on the door said I was too drunk, so this guy suggested we head back to mine to smoke a dooby and even offered to pay for the cab. Happy days I thought seems like a nice chap, why not! Couple of toke-a-rooksis on a joint, a bucketload of alcohol and 4 hours sleep the previous night and I was out for the count and a sitting duck. I wake up to discover the guy had taken my bank card, phone, back up phone, laptop and bike! The cheeky rascal even gubbed my favourite bloody lighter.
I usually have troubles getting out of bed in the morning, so I'd recommend being mugged the night before for that little sprinkle of urgency! Literally hop out and legged it to the bank and am told that my account has been completely emptied. Once I get in contact with my Mum (also ENFP) she tells me she'd got a message asking for £1k to buy more Litecoin. Fortunately they weren't savvy enough to get into my Coinbase account and transfer the balance to another wallet. I'm terrible with money so leave lumps of cash at home home and we're sending each other money all the time.
The whole experience has really hurt me, the money is a bummer but insured through the bank and to be honest when I woke up and discovered all of this I was on the verge of tears. Not because of the theft but just a sheer disbelief at how someone could do something like that, their situation must be pretty bleak. I've always been exploited by friends (who don't think I know) for money and drinks on nights out etc but I use it as a good indicator of character and generally remove that person from my inner inner circle.
All day my heart has been pounding and I've not been able to sit still for more than 2 mins, so many thoughts and emotions to the point where it's genuinely difficult to convert into words. Most of the internal questions circling start with 'Why?'. I hope this hasn't dented my generous and loving persona, I just feel like a piece of shit and don't want to start being a boring cynical fucker. My Mum is an ENFP like me so naturally her first questions related to how I felt or whether I'd been hurt. My Dad is an ISTJ and called me on the home phone to basically tell me how much of a fucking idiot I am for 10 mins. What value or benefit does he think that is adding to the situation? I guess that's just his way of dealing with it though, guarding his truer, more vulnerable emotions.
Sorry for the ramble, I guess what I'm trying to get to is have any of you been in situations where you've been mercilessly exploited due to placing too much trust in someone? How did you feel afterwards? How did that change your perspective?
tl;dr - Mugged by a guy I met while pissed up on the streets in London, emptied my bank account and nicked some stuff from my flat. Feel completely lost and broken, not because of the money but at how people can be so cruel. Have you experienced anything similar and how did you build/grow from it?

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/mtg5rwcp01a21.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33b2896a48f1b669d27cd49aed699e62ef0d890a

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/hlfejkbv89721.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c295b4fdd04a08db6cc7b6be9a511f0a731062e1

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/bo51c3hr6tc21.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f724c9bf54b90b01b3c55196bf2cb648edf6712e

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/tcrtmwkbl8921.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99ae25c766b038da1b7e682a06d989340d0eb5ac

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/p1zb8hrad8b21.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5757a4826003e0b630f3fbddc3286d5e746c75d1

ASIA LIVE TECH IS SHORTLISTED FOR BEST ONLINE CASINO SUPPLIER CATEGORY IN THE LONDON GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2019.
It has been truly a great 2018 for Asia Live Tech with a series of new features being introduced to the market and at the same time being one of the very few Asian iGaming companies to ever have been shortlisted in the Las Vegas Global Gaming Awards.
Now kicking of 2019, Asia Live Tech has done it once again by being Shortlisted for the London Global Gaming Awards for the category of Best Online Casino Supplier Category. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 4th of February 2019 at the prestigious Hippodrome Casino, London.
Asia Live Tech has begun expanding its offering globally over the last 2 years and these achievements are reflective on the quality and excellence that Asia Live Tech strives to achieve and provide in all its offerings to the market. 2019 is poised to be a feature rich year for Asia Live Tech as part of the product enhancement road-map hence it will be very interesting to wait in anticipation on what will they be bringing out next.
So folks, lets keep our fingers crossed that we may have a chance to win this category nonetheless we wish all the best for all companies that are shortlisted in the awards as well as the similar category with Asia Live Tech, the fact of being shortlisted itself is a great achievement for all. See you soon at the London Global Gaming Awards 2019.
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/ahvmhpuwzf821.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48ff5e8cabb0dd05231cc8f6bddf22766c9e11a7

Before the trip
About 8 weeks ago I was casually scrolling though the EPT/UKIPT schedule. I'd never played a major festival event before, and I wasn't really looking for an event to play, just wanted to see if there were any 2-7 draw games going, unlikely, but that's my thing. As I scrolled past the high rollers and main events something peaked my interest. 9pm, Thursday the 16th of October, a £220 deep stack turbo deuces wild event. At £220 it was within the cheapest band of entry fees and subsequently within my budget. I also considered the fact that 2s wild would appear as "a bit of fun" for a lot of less serious players, making for a weaker player pool. Along with that, the fact that the event was right at the end of the festival and at 9pm made me think that if I could sleep all day and be fresh for the event I'd have another small advantage. The thing with small edges... add them up and they can make a significant advantage. Once I committed to the idea of playing the event, I made my travel and living arrangements and started preparing.
Back at uni I played hundreds of hours of home games. About 25% of those games were the later part of 12 hour sessions when things would get less conventional. 8 card omaha, irish, 3 card holdem and most importantly a lot of wild card games. While I'm sure other people have played wild card games, the previous experience let me go in far less nervous, and as I would come to learn, much more prepared than many players in the field.
Before I even got to London I was doing all that I could to prepare. Unfortunately 2s wild is a very popular form of video poker, so searching anything out online was slim pickings. This article however gave me a decent idea about what to expect. I reached out to Will, a redditor who cashed the same event at a different stop on the EPT and we discussed his experiences. I also spent a reasonable amount of time just dealing flops with a deck of cards at a desk, counting outs for different hands containing a 2. Anything I could do that my opponents weren't doing was to my benefit and I pushed that edge as much as I could.
The day before the event
The day before the event I arrived in London. After checking into my room I walked the route from my hostel to The Grand Connaught Rooms, where all the EPT tournaments were held. I took a look inside to familiarise myself with little things. Where is the bar? Where are the bathrooms? Where is the information desk? Little things I didn't want to be worrying about a half hour before the cards are in the air.
My next stop was The Hippodrome, the official casino of Pokerstars at Leicester Square. They did have a free shuttle car service from the two venues which was an excellent thing to see, because the cash games only ran at the casino and due to some legal issues they could only accept cash buy ins at the Hippodrome, so anything to assist players in registering was a good thing. I walked however as it was dry and I had a lot of time. I knew from the promo information that I would need a Hippodrome card and a Friends of Pokerstars card in order to play. A quick visit to reception and the players lounge and I had everything I needed. I paid for my entry with cash there and then, receiving a receipt which I was to use to get my seat at the Connaught rooms later. I then went about enjoying the rest of my day in London. I did try and stay up extra late though, in order to sleep in later.
The day of the event
I woke up around 11am. Got myself up and ready for the day. Before the event that night I had a few more things to prepare. Going into the event I didn't know how long it would last. I had no real idea of what the number of runners would be or how late I could be up. As such, I went out and bought some aspirin, ibuprofen, bottled water, cereal bars and some emergency caffeine. If I felt a headache coming on at midnight I wanted to be prepared. I wandered the city for a while, went a napped a bit in my room, got diner with a friend and then it was time to go to the event.
I arrived at Connaught rooms about 40 minutes before cards were due to be in the air. As there were several events still in play, I took the time for find my table and seat among the 3 or 4 rooms which had tables set up. Screens mapping out what was where made this very easy. I found the screen with our tournament info on. 20/20 players it said. "Wow" I thought to myself. Really small field then?! One of the dealers pointed out it hadn't been refreshed in a while, so I moved past the thought. I peaked my head into the other rooms, saw a few faces I recognised from TV/Web casts, although names escape me. Before long at was 8.55pm, so I headed to my seat at Green Table 10, Seat 4.
The event I took my seat and the first thing I made sure to do was clarify the unique rules for the event. They were as follows.

• Any deuce in the whole cards or on the board can be played as any card in any suit.
• If a player is dealt pocket deuces, they must open their hand when the action is on them. They win the Blinds, the Antes and THE BUTTON
• 5 of a kind is a legitimate hand. It is ranked higher than a straight flush but not a royal flush.

Oh, blinds were 15 minutes and stacks were 15,000.
With the rules confirmed and the other players in their seats the game began. At this time most of the tables had 4 or 5 players, which I found odd. However over the next 30 minutes most of the tables gained more players until the field hit 70 players. After the first level, the tournament director also made the decision to play the remainder of the game with 8 handed tables, presumable due to the smaller field size, but I'm not too sure.
My opening table consisted of 5 players. A middle eastern guy in seat 3 (I'm in seat 4 remember). I could tell as his phones language wasn't in English. Two women in seats 5 and 7, and a middle ages white guy in seat 9. I was pretty happy to get this table draw. While outside of the poker table I don't discriminate or try to make assumptions, at the tables I will use generalizations and stereotypes until given a reason to think otherwise.
Within the first orbit we quickly got a taste of how easy it can be to make a huge mistake. To be brief, the woman in seat 7 raised, and the man in seat 9 called. The action went bet call flop, bet call turn, bet call river. Seat 7 shows 28o with an 8 on board for trips, seat 9 shows AA and lost about 7k of his 15k stack at 25/50 blind level. Pocket pairs really don't have any weight to them. Only on one occasion after that did i play a pocket pair, when the button shoved for 6bb when I had 50+bb and I held KK. He had JJ and I won.
Very quickly it was established that most players weren't playing hands without a 2. But I saw many spots where people were over playing weak 2s. It felt a lot like omaha, where the nuts often ran into the second nuts. Case and point was this hand I played at level 2. The UTG player in seat 3 raises to 3x, (50/100 level) I call with 8c2x. All other players fold. Flop comes 6c5c2x. I've flopped a 9 high straight flush. He c bets 500 into 750. I raise to 2000. I could have any number of straights, sets, flushes, quads. Which means he can have these hands too. He makes it 6000 and I shove for 13000. In hindsight a call of the 6000 would likely have been ok as I has the nuts unless 5 of a kind comes in. Regardless he calls and shows 4c2x for the bottom end of the straight flush. I double up and he is crippled. Coming in I knew I didn't want to play big bloated pots without the nuts and this is why. In this case, 7c8c9c with a 2 all beat 4c2x. Very strong hands were everywhere. 4h2x on a 4x2xJx board is quads. And that happened a lot. One observation I made after a couple of levels was the value of holding any AKQJ or T with a 2. This is because these hands can all make a royal so long as the board contains a 2 and any 2 of the other 4 broadway cards in your suit. This happened surprisingly frequently, putting those hands at a much higher value than 92 and 82.
By the end of the first hour, our table had gained a couple of player, the field was set at 70 and the prize pool confirmed. 9 places paid. A hair under £4000 up top. At this time our table broke. This is because all EPT events break tables high to low and table 10 was the largest number. I move with around 30k to another table. This table has a lot more young grinder type kids which is no fun, but I have a lot of chips compared to several stacks at the table. Over the next couple of orbits I knocked out 4 players when they shove and I call with a better 2x, (and the kkvjj hand from before). I was up to around 80k, still well over 100bb deep before my next table break. Down to 32 players, average is 33k. My next table has several Norwegians who are drinking and chatting. I made my first 5 of a kind on the river and knocked out a player who made a straight flush which was fun. But then the card dead period began.
In 6 or so orbits I saw 1 deuce and managed to steal the blinds a couple of times making use of my evidently nitty image. While I managed to maintain my stack, the blinds were racing up, the antes even more so. Since my initial double up back in level 2, I had simply been avoiding bad spots and pushing my good ones. Cruising my way along watching the field grow smaller. I knew I was getting more tired though. Finding the nuts at showdowns was getting to be trickier. Although this was usually after and all in and call where all 5 cards appear very quickly, rather than me having time to think and act. The dealers and floor staff did and amazing job of making sure pots were awarded fairly and correctly though. Throughout the whole tournament though, I took all the time I needed to correctly assess where I was in the hand and what I held. This was extra important when making thinner value bets on rivers, where a lot of 2s would call with very bad hands and lose to say a straight or flush.
Eventually we broke to two tables. And I could feel myself edging towards the money. When we broke to two tables, we redrew seats. The loud/drunk Norwegians moved to table 2 and I was on table one. While I had just above average at this time, most of the chips in play were at table 2, so I had most of my table covered and there were several short stacks. We began to see the first instances of multiple pre flop all ins with 2xXx vs 2xXx. Often they just resulted in chop pots as any 4 to a straight would make a straight for both players with the 2. I maintained my stack and then soon we were hand for hand. We would be going to a 9 handed final table and 9 places paid so this was the moment we had been waiting for. There were a few very large all ins on table 2, which the bigger stacks spent 2 or 3 minutes deliberating a fold or not. This really hurt with the blinds at 5k/10k(1k) with 15 minute blinds. A player from table 2 did eventually bust and we redrew onto table 1. Now I'm at seat 2 on the final table. 1 of the shorter stacks busted pretty quickly. Then a very important hand happened. I don't recall exactly the hands that got me there but I had about 200k. In the BB i pick up Qx2x. Action folds to seat 8 who shoves for 30k. Seat 9 shoves for 55k and I call in the BB. The hands were 42, 72 and Q2. The board runs out and 72 makes a straight. Seat 8 is eliminated leaving 7 players and seat 8 wins a 150k pot, which had I have won would have put me in a much better position.
Now the shoves are coming thick and fast. There were 4 or 5 all in and calls but they all ended up in split pots or the smaller stack winning. By this time the blinds are 10k/20k(3k) With 1,050,000 chips in play, that's 50bbs on the whole table. Unfortuanelty I catch no 2s that double me up or help me, the blinds go up again to 12k/24k(3k) and I'm all in for 1bb with KJo vs 82. I don't improve and I get knocked out for 7th place for £670.
Ultimately I'm very happy with how I played. I ran pretty well, didn't do anything stupid and had fun. It's a shame a couple of cards didn't come differently for a much bigger score, but given I can now brag about having a 100% cash rate at the EPT and have a good story to tell I'm not going to complain. If this event remains in the schedule I'll do my damned best to play it again that's for sure.
Thanks very much for reading. I know it's a wall of text but in this instance that's kinda the point.
GothicLord
PS- The /poker championship vids will be going up soon. For some reason (possibly the size/length of the videos) sometimes they crash and I have to start the uploads again.