And so London's Fox Poker Club has been sold to Genting Casinos a smidge over a year after it launched.
http://www.foxpokerclub.com/2011/11/23/fox-poker-club-sold-to-genting-casinos-uk-ltd-for-an-undisclosed-sum/
I will be interested to see how this pans out for a number of reasons. Firstly there is a question of how much of what is currently in place will survive. It may not be the greatest of poker venues but it was being run on the floor by people with a love of the game and that generally made up for its other short comings. Casinos are not known for being the biggest fans of poker but Genting do seem to be making the right noises having recently signed up the Hendon Mob and announced their first ever poker tour. Secondly the venue had ties to PKR for its first year and this leaves serious questions about the future of PKR Live and the PKR Social concept.
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| Me and some fish at a PKR Social :) |
When I first heard about the Fox Club I imagined in my head that some one was going to try doing a Dusk Till Dawn in London. If you have not been to Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham then you are missing out. It is the best card room in Britain by a country mile and the only one that matches up to the best Vegas has to offer. It is big and spacious and has good facilities. It is designed by people who love poker for people who love poker with great tournaments and proper respect for the game and the rules. The staff are a cut above the average casino poker dealer. Maybe this is why I never quite fell in love with the Fox. It never feels much more than a big cupboard with some poker tables in it. If you don't hear the sound of a glass being knocked over every couple of hours you have clearly gone on a very quiet night. I also think it is poor for playing major tournaments at as the toilet facilities are woefully inadequate when 120 people go on a break at the same time. The food was also great when it first opened, sadly what was on offer has been pared back and simplified. Eating nice food at a poker table can be quite awkward though and the place lacked table space to act as a proper restaurant. It does have a great location in the heart of Shaftesbury Avenue and is close enough to China Town to bring in the local degenerate gamblers. The acquisition of a full 24 hour license was also very important. Opening without one was a very major set back. The best cash games are always just getting going at 2:00am... not being packed up and shoved out the front door.
PKR Live was already looking an unlikely prospect for next year but this can only add to the chances it does not happen. This would be a shame, but worse would be that the socials that were experimented with this year were not repeated in some way. A lot of people would love to see a return to The Loose Cannon. The early PKR Live events were awesome fun and the venue was perfect. It contained the madness in a way the Fox could never hope to achieve. These are uncertain times however and I think PKR will look to move forwards rather than look back as they generally always do. As to the future of the Fox Club... we shall wait and see.
