WSOPE 2011 Cannes A Huge Hit With Players

In a change to the first four years of the WSOP Europe, the 2011 tournament series moved from its London setting to Cannes on the French Riviera, instead.
Aside from coming as a blow to UK poker at losing the largest event this side of the Atlantic, the players themselves seemed pleased enough at the idea of a change of locale. Now, with the 2011 WSOPE fully underway in Cannes, this is being backed-up by the number of positive tweets coming from the pros.
In terms of attendance figures, Event 1 in Cannes attracted 360 players up from the 244 last year in London, while Event 2 set a WSOPE record for attendance with the field of 771 way above the 582 field attracted to the equivalent event in London in 2010.
Event 3 was also up from 120 last year in London to 180 in Cannes, adding further confirmation that the WSOPE management team made the right decision in moving the venue to France.
One top player obviously delighted to be currently competitng in Cannes is Canadian pro Terrence Chan, with $829,199 in live earnings to his credit. Singing his praise of the Cote d’Azur resort from his blog, Chan first qualified his bias against the UK capital by explaining:
 
“I’m not really the biggest fan of London either, which I’ve always found expensive, lacking in quality mid-range priced food, and not terribly interesting.”
He then went onto explain that he found the whole pre-event wiring and pre-registering procedure smoother in Cannes, and was pleased to have more local/amateur people playing in the tournaments, reflected in the larger player fields.
Summing up his feeling from the south of France, Chan concluded his lengthy but interesting blog in the following way:
“Cannes is less expensive (though still plenty expensive), prettier, boasts a superior climate, has great food for all budgets, and there’s way more value in the tournament itself. Easy win, n’est-ce pas?”