At the minute, I cannot book a train to Manchester. There is only 1 train an hour from London to Manchester, instead of the usual 4. And they are not yet accepting bookings.
Nothing to do with the strikes (although that might also come into play)-Avanti don't have enough drivers.
This may be resolved in time. But Avanti think it likely that all discounted fares from London to Manchester will be unavailable. Which would make my train fare £182.10. Add that to the rising costs of hotels, the need to pay extra for the ability to cancel, etc. I can't financially justify forking out an extra £400 (hotel/train, before alcohol) to buy in to a £200 Tournament.
Which is a shame. Because I enjoy SPTs more than any other tournament.
Not 1 person has commented on this. To my mind, this is a significant problem. My quoted fare to Manchester remains at £182.10. The only progress is that the Avanti West Coast boss has now quit.
The 1 inaccuracy in that article. Train services London-Manchester have been cut by 75%.
I look forward to attending future SPTs, once the Railways can be bothered running trains.
I booked a train from London after your original post, for £103 open return. Seems reasonable. Shame you can’t make it.
I live 50 miles North of London. For the last 3 years, Sunday services are replaced with buses, meaning travelling from Euston to Manningtree in Essex will take longer than Euston to Manchester. For me, £182.10 remains the cheapest fare.
At the minute, I cannot book a train to Manchester. There is only 1 train an hour from London to Manchester, instead of the usual 4. And they are not yet accepting bookings.
Nothing to do with the strikes (although that might also come into play)-Avanti don't have enough drivers.
This may be resolved in time. But Avanti think it likely that all discounted fares from London to Manchester will be unavailable. Which would make my train fare £182.10. Add that to the rising costs of hotels, the need to pay extra for the ability to cancel, etc. I can't financially justify forking out an extra £400 (hotel/train, before alcohol) to buy in to a £200 Tournament.
Which is a shame. Because I enjoy SPTs more than any other tournament.
Sadly I have not been reading this thread and have only just noticed the rail fares. Ouch. Perhaps I was a bit silly not expecting the prices to have risen quite so much. I booked my hotel room as soon as the date was announced, took the cheapest option of not being able to cancel. Now wondering if I’ve made a big error. Might have to bite the bullet and take the loss on the hotel room if I can’t find a cheaper alternative travel.
Very sad you won't be at SPT Manchester Phil. I know we're of a similar age, and I qualify for a Senior railcard , which gives a nice discount on train fares. Definitely worth considering for the future, as you usually save more than the £30 yearly cost of the railcard, on the first trip you book. I think 3year railcards are £70, which if you use the train regularly, will save you even more money
At the minute, I cannot book a train to Manchester. There is only 1 train an hour from London to Manchester, instead of the usual 4. And they are not yet accepting bookings.
Nothing to do with the strikes (although that might also come into play)-Avanti don't have enough drivers.
This may be resolved in time. But Avanti think it likely that all discounted fares from London to Manchester will be unavailable. Which would make my train fare £182.10. Add that to the rising costs of hotels, the need to pay extra for the ability to cancel, etc. I can't financially justify forking out an extra £400 (hotel/train, before alcohol) to buy in to a £200 Tournament.
Which is a shame. Because I enjoy SPTs more than any other tournament.
Not 1 person has commented on this. To my mind, this is a significant problem. My quoted fare to Manchester remains at £182.10. The only progress is that the Avanti West Coast boss has now quit.
The 1 inaccuracy in that article. Train services London-Manchester have been cut by 75%.
I look forward to attending future SPTs, once the Railways can be bothered running trains.
I booked a train from London after your original post, for £103 open return. Seems reasonable. Shame you can’t make it.
I live 50 miles North of London. For the last 3 years, Sunday services are replaced with buses, meaning travelling from Euston to Manningtree in Essex will take longer than Euston to Manchester. For me, £182.10 remains the cheapest fare.
Good luck in Manchester.
me and my partner are coming from down south and getting the coach up. We found the train would cost similar numbers to what you mentioned but found the coach much cheaper its £70 return though we are looking at between 9 and ten hours journey each way. We have a change at London dont know if that is any help but may be viable for you.
Very sad you won't be at SPT Manchester Phil. I know we're of a similar age, and I qualify for a Senior railcard , which gives a nice discount on train fares. Definitely worth considering for the future, as you usually save more than the £30 yearly cost of the railcard, on the first trip you book. I think 3year railcards are £70, which if you use the train regularly, will save you even more money
Hope to see you at the next SPT Phil
I must be younger than you-just
I qualify for a Senior Railcard in 3 months' time. Good idea, though. Look forward to seeing you at the next SPT after Manchester
At the minute, I cannot book a train to Manchester. There is only 1 train an hour from London to Manchester, instead of the usual 4. And they are not yet accepting bookings.
Nothing to do with the strikes (although that might also come into play)-Avanti don't have enough drivers.
This may be resolved in time. But Avanti think it likely that all discounted fares from London to Manchester will be unavailable. Which would make my train fare £182.10. Add that to the rising costs of hotels, the need to pay extra for the ability to cancel, etc. I can't financially justify forking out an extra £400 (hotel/train, before alcohol) to buy in to a £200 Tournament.
Which is a shame. Because I enjoy SPTs more than any other tournament.
Not 1 person has commented on this. To my mind, this is a significant problem. My quoted fare to Manchester remains at £182.10. The only progress is that the Avanti West Coast boss has now quit.
The 1 inaccuracy in that article. Train services London-Manchester have been cut by 75%.
I look forward to attending future SPTs, once the Railways can be bothered running trains.
I booked a train from London after your original post, for £103 open return. Seems reasonable. Shame you can’t make it.
I live 50 miles North of London. For the last 3 years, Sunday services are replaced with buses, meaning travelling from Euston to Manningtree in Essex will take longer than Euston to Manchester. For me, £182.10 remains the cheapest fare.
Good luck in Manchester.
me and my partner are coming from down south and getting the coach up. We found the train would cost similar numbers to what you mentioned but found the coach much cheaper its £70 return though we are looking at between 9 and ten hours journey each way. We have a change at London dont know if that is any help but may be viable for you.
Made other plans for next weekend-my youngest is back for a week before returning to Uni.
Hope you have a lovely time. There will be several forum members there, nearly all of which are splendid people.
At the minute, I cannot book a train to Manchester. There is only 1 train an hour from London to Manchester, instead of the usual 4. And they are not yet accepting bookings.
Nothing to do with the strikes (although that might also come into play)-Avanti don't have enough drivers.
This may be resolved in time. But Avanti think it likely that all discounted fares from London to Manchester will be unavailable. Which would make my train fare £182.10. Add that to the rising costs of hotels, the need to pay extra for the ability to cancel, etc. I can't financially justify forking out an extra £400 (hotel/train, before alcohol) to buy in to a £200 Tournament.
Which is a shame. Because I enjoy SPTs more than any other tournament.
Not 1 person has commented on this. To my mind, this is a significant problem. My quoted fare to Manchester remains at £182.10. The only progress is that the Avanti West Coast boss has now quit.
The 1 inaccuracy in that article. Train services London-Manchester have been cut by 75%.
I look forward to attending future SPTs, once the Railways can be bothered running trains.
I booked a train from London after your original post, for £103 open return. Seems reasonable. Shame you can’t make it.
I live 50 miles North of London. For the last 3 years, Sunday services are replaced with buses, meaning travelling from Euston to Manningtree in Essex will take longer than Euston to Manchester. For me, £182.10 remains the cheapest fare.
Good luck in Manchester.
me and my partner are coming from down south and getting the coach up. We found the train would cost similar numbers to what you mentioned but found the coach much cheaper its £70 return though we are looking at between 9 and ten hours journey each way. We have a change at London dont know if that is any help but may be viable for you.
Does the number 9 bus still go from Preston direct to the Casino.
It's fair to say the satellites have been underwhelming this time around. I thought about moving it down to 2 seats GTD to reduce overlay but I gambled on them picking up. I would also hope that the odd player would see the value in the sats and perhaps try and qualify for the first time. Putting people in qtrs or semis for free would just cause a headache when most winners wouldn't have any intention of going. For the same reason I didn't supplement the Vegas sats with freerolls this year and we just took the hit on overlay.
The buy in has been £220 since we relaunched in 2017 so definitely a case for a increase to make it more worthwhile to travel to. Moving to something like a £330 £75k GTD has been discussed but this would of course bump up the cost of the already struggling satellites and the casino takes all the tournament rake anyway.
It's fair to say the satellites have been underwhelming this time around. I thought about moving it down to 2 seats GTD to reduce overlay but I gambled on them picking up. I would also hope that the odd player would see the value in the sats and perhaps try and qualify for the first time. Putting people in qtrs or semis for free would just cause a headache when most winners wouldn't have any intention of going. For the same reason I didn't supplement the Vegas sats with freerolls this year and we just took the hit on overlay.
The buy in has been £220 since we relaunched in 2017 so definitely a case for a increase to make it more worthwhile to travel to. Moving to something like a £330 £75k GTD has been discussed but this would of course bump up the cost of the already struggling satellites and the casino takes all the tournament rake anyway.
A few questions have arisen on my Twitch stream tonight with regards SPT Manchester.
1. When does the direct buy in window open and close on the the SkyPoker site. 2. Is there any benefit in regging through the SkyPoker site. 3. If regged / qualified through the SkyPoker site are you guaranteed to be seated immediately on your arrival. 4. Apparently at last SPT Manchester the queue was horrendous and some people ended up getting seated with only 10BB's. Is this likely to happen again?
It's fair to say the satellites have been underwhelming this time around. I thought about moving it down to 2 seats GTD to reduce overlay but I gambled on them picking up. I would also hope that the odd player would see the value in the sats and perhaps try and qualify for the first time. Putting people in qtrs or semis for free would just cause a headache when most winners wouldn't have any intention of going. For the same reason I didn't supplement the Vegas sats with freerolls this year and we just took the hit on overlay.
The buy in has been £220 since we relaunched in 2017 so definitely a case for a increase to make it more worthwhile to travel to. Moving to something like a £330 £75k GTD has been discussed but this would of course bump up the cost of the already struggling satellites and the casino takes all the tournament rake anyway.
Seems fair enough.
Perhaps addressing the software issues would boost the number of people wishing to play the sats?
A few questions have arisen on my Twitch stream tonight with regards SPT Manchester.
1. When does the direct buy in window open and close on the the SkyPoker site. 2. Is there any benefit in regging through the SkyPoker site. 3. If regged / qualified through the SkyPoker site are you guaranteed to be seated immediately on your arrival. 4. Apparently at last SPT Manchester the queue was horrendous and some people ended up getting seated with only 10BB's. Is this likely to happen again?
1) DBI will likely be available from Wednesday & close late Thursday or early Friday.
2) Well buying it online is just a click. Financially, it makes no difference either to the player or Sky Poker.
3) No. Even if you have won or purchased a seat, you STILL need to register with the Tournament Desk when you arrive at the venue.
4) Yes, that was true on the Manchester SPT before last. No idea if it will happen again, but if you arrive 30 to 45 minutes before it starts & get registered t he desk you should be fine. Definitely advise arriving a little early & getting regged. Then you can relax, enjoy a free drink from the coffee/tea machine, & chill with the players before it starts.
A few questions have arisen on my Twitch stream tonight with regards SPT Manchester.
1. When does the direct buy in window open and close on the the SkyPoker site. 2. Is there any benefit in regging through the SkyPoker site. 3. If regged / qualified through the SkyPoker site are you guaranteed to be seated immediately on your arrival. 4. Apparently at last SPT Manchester the queue was horrendous and some people ended up getting seated with only 10BB's. Is this likely to happen again?
1) DBI will likely be available from Wednesday & close late Thursday or early Friday.
2) Well buying it online is just a click. Financially, it makes no difference either to the player or Sky Poker.
3) No. Even if you have won or purchased a seat, you STILL need to register with the Tournament Desk when you arrive at the venue.
4) Yes, that was true on the Manchester SPT before last. No idea if it will happen again, but if you arrive 30 to 45 minutes before it starts & get registered t he desk you should be fine. Definitely advise arriving a little early & getting regged. Then you can relax, enjoy a free drink from the coffee/tea machine, & chill with the players before it starts.
Look forward to seeing you at the weekend.
Cheers for the swift reply @Tikay10 see you Saturday.
It's fair to say the satellites have been underwhelming this time around. I thought about moving it down to 2 seats GTD to reduce overlay but I gambled on them picking up. I would also hope that the odd player would see the value in the sats and perhaps try and qualify for the first time. Putting people in qtrs or semis for free would just cause a headache when most winners wouldn't have any intention of going. For the same reason I didn't supplement the Vegas sats with freerolls this year and we just took the hit on overlay.
The buy in has been £220 since we relaunched in 2017 so definitely a case for a increase to make it more worthwhile to travel to. Moving to something like a £330 £75k GTD has been discussed but this would of course bump up the cost of the already struggling satellites and the casino takes all the tournament rake anyway.
Seems fair enough.
Perhaps addressing the software issues would boost the number of people wishing to play the sats?
A few questions have arisen on my Twitch stream tonight with regards SPT Manchester.
1. When does the direct buy in window open and close on the the SkyPoker site. 2. Is there any benefit in regging through the SkyPoker site. 3. If regged / qualified through the SkyPoker site are you guaranteed to be seated immediately on your arrival. 4. Apparently at last SPT Manchester the queue was horrendous and some people ended up getting seated with only 10BB's. Is this likely to happen again?
Noticed the following in T&C's on the promotion page for the M/cr SPT....
5. Satellite qualifiers will be contacted within 14 days of the event to confirm details. Please ensure all contact information is up to date. If the winner(s) cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period or are not able or available to accept the prize for any reason which is beyond the Promoter's reasonable control, then the Promoter reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant or not at all.
I've had an email to confirm SPT seats won in previous years but not this time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really bothered either way as 1) I've been to plenty of previous SPTs (so I know the drill) and 2) my two seats won are showing in the SPT lobby. But I'm just curious to know whether email confirmations were sent out this time around?
Noticed the following in T&C's on the promotion page for the M/cr SPT....
5. Satellite qualifiers will be contacted within 14 days of the event to confirm details. Please ensure all contact information is up to date. If the winner(s) cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period or are not able or available to accept the prize for any reason which is beyond the Promoter's reasonable control, then the Promoter reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant or not at all.
I've had an email to confirm SPT seats won in previous years but not this time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really bothered either way as 1) I've been to plenty of previous SPTs (so I know the drill) and 2) my two seats won are showing in the SPT lobby. But I'm just curious to know whether email confirmations were sent out this time around?
I always send the qualifiers email the day before the event so all the details such as number of seats won is accurate.
Comments
Good luck in Manchester.
I booked my hotel room as soon as the date was announced, took the cheapest option of not being able to cancel. Now wondering if I’ve made a big error. Might have to bite the bullet and take the loss on the hotel room if I can’t find a cheaper alternative travel.
Hope to see you at the next SPT Phil
I qualify for a Senior Railcard in 3 months' time. Good idea, though. Look forward to seeing you at the next SPT after Manchester
Phil
Hope you have a lovely time. There will be several forum members there, nearly all of which are splendid people.
The buy in has been £220 since we relaunched in 2017 so definitely a case for a increase to make it more worthwhile to travel to. Moving to something like a £330 £75k GTD has been discussed but this would of course bump up the cost of the already struggling satellites and the casino takes all the tournament rake anyway.
.......though I would only ever satellite in, unless I won the Lottery....or a Tourney or two
A few questions have arisen on my Twitch stream tonight with regards SPT Manchester.
1. When does the direct buy in window open and close on the the SkyPoker site.
2. Is there any benefit in regging through the SkyPoker site.
3. If regged / qualified through the SkyPoker site are you guaranteed to be seated immediately on your arrival.
4. Apparently at last SPT Manchester the queue was horrendous and some people ended up getting seated with only 10BB's. Is this likely to happen again?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Perhaps addressing the software issues would boost the number of people wishing to play the sats?
1) DBI will likely be available from Wednesday & close late Thursday or early Friday.
2) Well buying it online is just a click. Financially, it makes no difference either to the player or Sky Poker.
3) No. Even if you have won or purchased a seat, you STILL need to register with the Tournament Desk when you arrive at the venue.
4) Yes, that was true on the Manchester SPT before last. No idea if it will happen again, but if you arrive 30 to 45 minutes before it starts & get registered t he desk you should be fine. Definitely advise arriving a little early & getting regged. Then you can relax, enjoy a free drink from the coffee/tea machine, & chill with the players before it starts.
Look forward to seeing you at the weekend.
Cheers for the swift reply @Tikay10 see you Saturday.
Update on Q1 - DBI will open on THURSDAY, not Wednesday as I intimated.
5. Satellite qualifiers will be contacted within 14 days of the event to confirm details. Please ensure all contact information is up to date. If the winner(s) cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period or are not able or available to accept the prize for any reason which is beyond the Promoter's reasonable control, then the Promoter reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant or not at all.
I've had an email to confirm SPT seats won in previous years but not this time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not really bothered either way as 1) I've been to plenty of previous SPTs (so I know the drill) and 2) my two seats won are showing in the SPT lobby. But I'm just curious to know whether email confirmations were sent out this time around?