The World Poker Tour recently announced its first Italian tournament in partnership with bwin poker. WPT Venice will be held in early May at Casino di Venezia, which sounds strangely familiar… Oh yes, I was there in October! While I was barely able to enter the lobby without a paid casino membership and almost had my camera confiscated by security guards for taking pictures of the entry courtyard, it did look like an amazing European casino tucked away between cobblestone streets and the Grand Canal.

Shockingly, WPT Venice organizers have yet to extend a personal invitation to me. I’m predominantly Italian and I do speak about five words of the language, people! C’mon…

Anyway, here’s the pertinent info:

World Poker Tour Offers First Italian Event: WPT Venice, Powered by bwin

Vienna, March 9 — Bringing the coveted World Poker Tour® to the beautiful city of Venice, WPT Enterprises and bwin have partnered to create the first ever WPT tournament in Italy: WPT Veniceâ„¢, Powered by bwin. The tournament will combine the legacy and fierce competitiveness of the World Poker Tour and the stunning Casino di Venezia, situated right on the east bank of the Grand Canal. The main event is scheduled to take place May 6 through May 10. The event, final table and crowning of the first WPT Venice Champion will be filmed for broadcast via Web-TV on www.bwin.com.

“We’re thrilled to launch our first ever brick-and-mortar WPT tournament offering in Italy,” said WPT Founder, President and CEO, Steve Lipscomb. “bwin is a strong partner with the right market position in the region. We look forward to working with them to bring this event and the WPT brand to poker players in Italy and Europe.”

“Partnering with the World Poker Tour illustrates our dedication to establishing bwin as the premier gaming destination for poker players eager to live the dream of participating in multi-million brick and mortar poker tournaments. Location was also very important to us, and Casino di Venezia is truly a location worthy of the players, the poker media as well as the bwin and WPT brands.”

“We are delighted to be working with WPT on this spectacular tournament. This event will bring together the excitement and interactivity that only bwin can offer – people will be able to bet on the players of the final table while watching the action on their screen.” added Manfred Bodner, Co-CEO of bwin.

The main event will feature a buy-in of €4,000+400. In addition to world-class player hospitality, there will be cash games and side events available throughout the tournament. The winner will receive an official WPT Venice™ bracelet as well and a $25,000 seat in the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship.

It turns out that poker is as hard to find in Italy as an eBay bidder for spots on the November Nine’s clothing.

My much-needed vacation in Italy was relatively pokerless, though I tried to find some casinos to check out the scene in the country that has been progressive in legalizing online poker. But casinos are rare, with none to be found in Rome or the Tuscany region whatsoever. A hot Italian man guy we met at the Trevi Fountain noted that there were some backroom poker games if I was interested, but I thought it might not be the brightest idea to venture off to locate them.

There were some casinos in Venice, though the only one that was accessible without a very long boat ride had no poker, only roulette, slots, blackjack, and a few other table games. Casino Di Venezia was located directly on the canal and could be accessed by private water taxi or through the back streets of the Venice streets. I found it and snapped some photos from the street as well as in the courtyard…until the security guard made me put my camera away. When I entered the lobby, which was shared by a museum, it was obvious that it was a classy joint. And as I tried to peek into the casino itself where I heard the sound of slot machines, four – yes, four – security guards stopped me. Without being a member, I wasn’t allowed to even look at the casino rooms. With only a day and a half in Venice to see as many sights as possible, I chose not to take the time to lose the rest of my Euros at the Italian blackjack tables become a member.

With two weeks of incredible memories under my belt, not to mention a break from work, I’m back in California with a bit of renewed energy and tons of pics. Some of the casino entrance are after the break:

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