I’m really curious, what set everything in motion for you? What was the original spark that led to creating this festival, and why did a festival feel like the right way to bring your vision to life?
Yeah, so my background is… I’ve been organizing events since I was basically a kid. Parties, fun stuff, even football tournaments. Then somewhere along the way, poker entered the picture. I think I played for the first time when I was maybe seven or eight, with my parents. When I was living in Finland in 2004, just as the internet poker boom hit, I started playing more online and also at the live casino in Helsinki. I totally fell in love with the game.
Around the same time, my event-organizing skills had levelled up too, I was running Helsinki Social Club, which was basically Finland’s first ever after work party concept. We did it every Friday for five years, just hanging out, socializing, drinking sparkling water. So when poker really exploded, all these companies like Betsson and others were suddenly trying to reach players, and our parties became the perfect place to connect with that crowd. We started doing launch events for different poker brands in bars.
At the same time, I had friends in Stockholm running this underground poker club called Sviten, and that’s where the idea for the Sweden vs. Finland poker battle was born. It started from friendly rivalry: the Swedes thought they were the best, and we Finns thought we were. So in 2005, I brought 50 Finnish players to Stockholm for a proper showdown.
We took the ferry and, well, let’s just say we drank a lot. By the time we got to the club, we were in no shape to play, sweaty, loud, totally wasted. The Swedes were all sober and ready, while we looked like we’d just come from a sauna party. But somehow… we crushed them. 9 out of 10 players at the final table were Finnish. Total madness. And so Finland won the first ever 'Poker-Finnkampen'.
After that, we decided to do it more often, and this time, legally. We started organizing tournaments in Tallinn — four times a year for several years. Around the same time, we realized players needed help signing deals with poker rooms. So I co-founded a company called Poker Icons, basically a talent agency for poker pros. We represented players like Anette Obrestad, Chris Moorman, even Devilfish and Jamie Gold for a while. We had about 10 pros at Full Tilt and several more at PokerStars.
I was still working at Nokia back then, but eventually I got more involved, especially when we realized some partners were mismanaging funds. We had to kick few people out and clean things up. I became CEO, tried to turn things around and just when it started working, boom — Black Friday hit. Online poker collapsed overnight. That was the end of Poker Icons. But throughout all of this, we kept organizing Nordic tournaments like Finland vs. Sweden and building that community vibe. That’s really where it all started.
So, you had the agency and held poker events?
I co-founded a poker talent agency with six friends, but after uncovering financial issues, we cleaned house, and I became CEO. Then Black Friday hit, collapsing the online poker scene and ending that chapter. Still, we kept organizing live events like Pokerfinnkampen, while I worked full-time at Nokia and ran a film production company. In 2014, I co-launched the Cash Game Festival, taking it across Europe with over 30 stops. It was popular but hard to monetize.
During COVID, I stepped down, but realized I missed poker. I saw that the money had shifted to other games such as blackjack, roulette, slots and got the idea to create a mixed-games poker festival, still centered around poker but open to more formats.
I pitched the idea to PokerListings, we partnered, but due to another COVID wave, the first event in Tallinn got cancelled. We eventually launched in Bratislava, followed by stops in Malta, Nottingham, and King’s Casino. Now, it’s just me running The Festival Series, fully focused on mixed games, even though we quietly run a €500k Texas Hold’em event in the background. I’m proud of what we’ve built. We’ve got big plans ahead. And this is just the beginning.
Was it difficult to make it alone?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur but I’m never alone. This whole thing works because of the people around me. You’re a part of this too. Melvin and Pljuw are full-time. The rest of the team come for the events, but not in between. Still, for the size of our festival, we are by far the smallest little army out there.
And here in Rozvadov this year? We’re doing more activities than last year with two fewer people on the team. I replaced one person 100%, and the rest of us split the other 20% between us. And we’re still alive, drinking tea, having fun.
What keeps you going?
What keeps me going? I love poker. I love meeting people. And I genuinely believe we’re slowly changing the world. No one in Europe has pushed mixed games like I have. Ever. That’s just a fact.
I introduced Europe to the Swedish scene with the Cash Game Festival. And now? I’m fighting to bring back Chinese poker. It was almost dead, but we had 92 players in the Open-Face Chinese event. I mean come on! That’s insane. We even had a Schafkopf tournament, it’s a German card game and 180 people played it. During the festival!
How is The Festival different from other events?
For me, poker isn’t everything. Life is more than poker. And the truth is, 90% of people lose money at the tables. That’s just how it is. So, be gamble aware. Only play at levels where you can afford to lose and still enjoy yourself. Our festival is more than poker. You talk to people, you drink beer, you live.
Poker players are often shy. They’re used to sitting alone at their computers. So we help them open up. That’s why we have the Lounge, the Fun Zone, the football match, the swimming pool - real hospitality. Also, we qualify a crazy number of players online. 130–140 packages for this stop alone. In Malta, maybe 190. That’s PokerStars-level numbers. I know, it’s insane. It’s a dream. Someone wake me up.
But I’m passionate. I love it. Everyone sees it. I have eight companies involved in this and I don’t make real money from it. Maybe a little here and there, but I’m still poor. And I don’t care. I love what I do. Someone told me this was their best festival ever. And I agree. Because we’ve created something different.
We’re in King’s Casino, right? One of the most serious poker rooms in the world. And we had a karaoke party during Day 2 of the Main Event and a High Roller final table. That’s unheard of. And Rozvadov? People say there’s nothing to do. That’s bullshit. Within 40 minutes, you’ve got: 5 golf courses, Europe’s biggest paintball arena and incredible restaurants.
It’s not the middle of nowhere. There’s even a McDonald’s. And they only build where they know people go. People are just lazy they want everything 5 minutes away by foot. But if you’re willing to move a bit, it’s magic here.
So, what’s next?
Next year, we’re aiming for four full festivals, plus weekend events like in Tallinn. Maybe an OFC weekend, maybe a High Roller stop. Maybe something with skiing. We’ll see. We also do online festivals with over €2 million in guarantees. People qualify to win packages to our live events. It’s insane. And yet... most people still don’t know about us. That’s okay. The real ones will find us. This is only the beginning.
Do you plan to go back to UK with The Festival for the next year?
The UK is tricky for poker events right now. Traveling there is complicated, the pound is expensive, and their gaming regulations don’t make it any easier. As a European player, you often can’t pay with a card, you have to bring cash, exchange it to pounds, and then when you win, you’re stuck with pounds that you can’t really use elsewhere. Brexit definitely hasn’t helped poker; it’s made things more complicated, not less. So, yeah, maybe it’s possible, but it’s a tough market.
How's your personality changed during this whole journey?
Nothing.
Nothing? Are you still the same?
I’ve been the same crazy person since I was 16. But yeah, for the last five months, I haven’t been drinking alcohol. I stopped after my trip to Costa Rica with my kids. It was for my health and my well-being. Maybe I was in a bit of a hole in some ways, and I felt it was time to shape up. So, I stopped smoking, stopped using snus (Swedish tobacco), and stopped drinking. The goal is to keep it up for at least a year.
All at once? How was your first week?
It’s definitely not easy. Tough, tough, tough. It’s still tough sometimes. And when you’re at a party, everyone’s like, “Hey, can I have some cheese?” And I’m like, “Yeah… but no.” I’m gonna make it.
Are you planning something new in your life?
Yeah, I’m probably going to open two more companies in totally different businesses, because eight companies just isn’t enough. My goal is to live between the southern and northern hemispheres. I’d like to spend summers in Europe and winters in South America. Last winter, I spent a month in Colombia and a month in Costa Rica. It felt really good - cold here, warm there.
I’ll probably do the same this year and hopefully for the rest of my life. And if I keep doing that, maybe I’ll bring the festival to America too. Brazil’s poker scene is definitely growing, so who knows?
Thanks a lot Franke for your honesty and we wish you all the best!