LONDON, UK - London’s first legal club dedicated solely to poker is to open on 6 August. The Fox Poker Club will be located in Shaftesbury Avenue, close to Soho and Chinatown in the centre of London.

The 6,500 square foot premises can seat up to 200 players and will be a serious threat to the Empire Casino poker room in nearby Leicester Square. Club managers say there will be daily tournaments as well as Texas Hold’em and Omaha cash games. The club’s poker director is Paul Whiting who has run the Empire’s Face to Face cardroom for the past three years and also used to work at the Gutshot poker club and in the Brighton casino’s poker room.

The club is named after an 18th Century politician and gambler Charles Fox. It wll have a bar, food facilities and a smoking deck to cater for nicotine addicts. It will even have a library with a collection of poker books.

Chris North, managing director of the Fox Club, said: “We are a unique poker destination in London focusing on delivering the best table action alongside quality service. It will be a great place to take on some of London’s finest”.

Poker director Whiting said: “No one can doubt the growth of poker in recent years. I firmly believe that London now has the demand for a licensed poker club. The Fox proposition excites me greatly and I share their ambition of the club becoming the premier poker destination in London. We are dedicated to providing the best levels of service and tournament action for poker players of all abilities”.

Investors in the club include Joe Beevers, Barny Boatman and Phil “The Unabomber” Laak. Investors have been told the aim is to create “the world’s premier poker club”.

The Fox Poker Club address is 93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY. The premises is opposite the fire station on Shaftesbury Avenue and is at the end of Soho’s Frith Street.

tags: barny boatman, chris north, empire casino, fox poker club, joe beevers, london, paul whiting, phil “the unabomber” laak, poker, shaftesbury avenue