As I stated in my last column, the Swedish Poker Federation are arranging our national championships in Tallinn, Estonia, since it's illegal to hold poker tournaments in non-casino clubs in Sweden, and all casinos are owned by the state.
The Norwegians had the same problem, and found a very smart solution to it. One person went to the Casino Cosmopol in Gothenburg, Sweden, and bought all 400 seats to a €1150 tournament. It is now officially regarded as the 2007 Norwegian Championships.
This was very practical, and also clever from a political point of view. What they're saying is, "Look, you politicians, we may be poker players but we're not dangerous. All we want is to be able to play our tournaments. If you won't get us casinos, we'll just have to play in Sweden instead."
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