I found out that the first mention of what is now known as Bridgnorth was in A.D. 895. The place was called Bridgnorth by the Vikings, who used it as a winter camp. Bridgnorth became an extremely busy port on the River Severn, and in 1157 it became the first market town in Shropshire with a cliff railway that would bring people from the low town to the high town. But this is not a history lesson. Secretly, I think the Vikings have returned, because on Monday nights, the place gets invaded by scores of poker players, who come from Bristol, Liverpool, and over the Welsh border as far away as Pontypridd. Painters, landlords, landladies, and hairdressers, they all come to the famous corner public house called the Black Horse for Spivver Bonnet's famous one-table satellites.
The satellites are being run for a poker tournament in support of the Simon Community, which is a charity run for homeless people in Ireland, and all proceeds from the tournament go to this worthy cause. Padraig Parkinson approached Spivver for some help with the tournament, and Spivver was happy to oblige. If you win a £50 one-table satellite in Bridgnorth, you get flights, transport, two nights' accommodations in Dublin, and entry into the €330 charity event. The tournament will be held in Dublin's fair city at the RDS on the same day as the final table of the
European Poker Tour. I'm proud to say that this year we will be taking more than 40 Bridgnorth and British players across the Irish sea.
Last year we took 32 runners to Dublin and the Simon tournament, where Mickey Pearce, alias Pat Murray from Only Fools and Horses, and I ran "Win With Wilson" and "Play Your Cards Right." At night while the players enjoyed their evening meal, Pat and I auctioned off famous footballers' shirts and different raffle prizes that had been donated from different sources. That way, we raised €4,000 for the homeless, and two of the Bridgnorth boys actually made the prize money. It's incredible how all the guys who live in a little fishing village on the River Severn have their annual weekend abroad in Ireland in support of the homeless. This is their idea of a vacation. But what a great vacation; I can honestly say that nobody ever complains. Most of our qualifiers can't afford to play in the main
EPT event, but they come to spur on others from England who might make the final table. That's their buzz. And if you come to the Black Horse Pub in Bridgnorth, you will see how dedicated they are to poker, with one room chock-full of pictures of famous poker players.
Dublin holds many fine memories for me. I think of the good times I've shared there with Irish poker player Aidan Bennett. A lot of people don't know about Bennett, but he was the first-ever European champion, and I used to travel all over Europe and share a room with him. The first time I ever ran into him was in London at the main event about 15 years ago, when we both got to the final table. He invited me over to Dublin, and I remember when he picked up a cat off the road that had been run over and he threw it over the counter of the local takeaway, expressing that they wouldn't have any more until they'd paid for the others. This was my first experience ever on Irish soil, and despite that, we went on to become firm friends. I've been to Ireland to play poker 15 times since then, and have enjoyed every minute of it.
Cox Not Bull
I must take a moment to write about a poker player whom you might not know but should. How well is Ian Cox going? This player from Poole in Dorset has reached nine final tables out of 25 major European events played in the last two years, finishing as high as third in the
World Open. The man is becoming a TV-event demon.
I first met Ian Cox at the Rio in Las Vegas when he was playing in the
World Series of Poker. He said he wanted to play in a couple of television events. And since then, his record in the TV events is second to none. He has never not made it through a first heat, whether it be the
World Open or the
UK Open or the
European Open. This has got to be by far the highest strike rate in Europe. Ian is the least talked about player on the circuit, but he's done more than anybody else, and it is my pleasure to say that he will be traveling with the Bridgnorth boys to play in the
EPT event in Dublin and Parkinson's Simon Community charity event. Hope to see you there, too!
