Game players

His daughter turned 6 months old and Neymar celebrated by playing poker

Following a change to tax laws in 2014, operating casinos has become a considerably more profitable endeavour and gambling is an increasingly popular past-time among tourists and wealthy Bulgarians.

If the word 'poker' is mentioned, many will assume that it is a game for winning big money, or it is only played in mafia-backed casinos and smoke-filled basements. However, the reality is that poker is a favorite pastime of so many people with very different backgrounds, ages, and occupations.

What you may find interesting if you play poker in Bulgaria, is that some of the top players in that part of the world that have won huge fortunes in poker tournaments across the globe also playing at online poker sites, as well as in land based poker rooms.

Known for its remixes of Greek songs from the 1940s, 50s and 50s, local act Imam Baildi joins forces with Greek-Ugandan singer Idra Kayne, for a high-energy show at the Bolivar Beach Bar on Friday, September 7. The show starts at 9 p.m. and tickets cost 10 euros in advance at www.viva.gr or 13 euros at the door on the night.

Mevlüt Bengi (C) and his children

Greek-Ugandan Idra Kayne performs a mix of soul and funk at the Numismatic Museum Cafe in central Athens on Thursday, September 29. The open-air show is set to start at 9 p.m. Admission is free but there is a minimum one-drink consumption requirement.

Numismatic Museum Cafe, 12 Panepistimiou, tel 210.361.0067, www.mna.gr

Greek George Sotiropoulos ran away as the winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe, taking home the golden bracelet. He is the third golden bracelet winner from Greece within a week. The trio of wins is impressive for Greece, one of the smaller poker nations that broke records at the WSOP this year.

By Marianna Kakaounaki & Theodora Vassilopoulou