Ok , first of all thanks to all you who have still visited the site while i had this transition period and didnt feel like writing , the hits and unique users has hardly dropped.

After ending my sponsorship deal with UK Betting i came very close to securing another and in fact there is a strong possibility this company will sponsor me for the WSOP , also another Cryptologic site has said they are interested in putting me in the main event . As those who read my blog will know i was also up for the role of co commentator on a new celebrity show but after initially wanting a Simon Cowell style aggressive interviewer they decided to go for my good friend Carlo Citrone who i am sure has done a fantastic job.

Last year i spoke briefly to Rob Yong about a new venture he was commencing , his intention was to open a prestigious licensed card room in England unlike enything else and he wondered if i may be interested in assisting duruing the festival weeks.

For the next few months we talked occasionally but didnt take it any further as he still had to find a suitable property . In November having written a well recieved blog of his trip to the WSOP on Blondepoker.com he started a new thread about his club which has now been named "Dusk Till Dawn " . I like 100's of others read this with interest and when the lease was signed on December 11th was not surprised that Rob followed up his initial enquiries asking me to come to Nottingham to view the premises.

In January i drove up and looked at "Smilin Sams" a pub/pool hall/restaurant/bowling alley of some 15,000 square feet disused for 4 years and set just off the M1 and 15 minutes from the East Midlands airport , it has 226 parking spaces and you can just feel the potential .

Just assisting during major festivals was no longer enough as to make this what Rob wanted would require far more commitment.

A month later we had a final meeting and agreed terms , as part of my contract i will be moving to Nottingham before the club opens . This year i will be involved with all the planning and restructuring , advising on the layout and using my years of experience as a travelling pro to provide the best venue in Europe from a poker players point of view.

Once the club opens as live poker host i will amonst other things be responsible for planning major festivals including structure , payout and rules . I will also assist in the conformity and training of our dealers , provide hosplitality , run corporate events , commentate on the finals in our in house TV studio, have responsibility for attracting TV and online companies looking for a venue in the UK , manage the Dusk Till Dawn pre opening Marketing Tour as well as several other areas.

Rob has the vision and the finances to do this and i am honoured to be part of the team he has put together in helping to create what i am sure will quickly become known as THE place to play poker in Europe . Oh did i mention we can seat 600 players !

As everything starts to come together i will give you an insight into the ideas we have for providing the best poker experience , this is a club built by poker players for poker players and with an initial outlay of £4,000,000 you're going to be impressed !

My decision was easy really , i have played now for 10 years , 6 of which were professional , i have achieved reasonable successs but to date no huge wins , however as a high profile player i secured a £200,000 sponsorship deal and after 2 years travelling the world virtually non stop i feel that this opportunity has come at the right time for me to get back to being in business but doing something i am passionate about , obviously when the club opens i will have to cut back on travelling but i will still have the chance to play representing Dusk Till Dawn between festivals.

This year as the club develops will be exciting and i look forward to updating you , my diaries will continue as i play and the blog will carry the updates on the clubs progress , once open i will write regular entries as the club becomes established.

All the best

ACES

PS If anybody out there happens to work for a company that wants one of the highest profile European players to represent them drop me a mail .