Poker In The Park @ Leicester Square

Barely noticeable among the crowds of tourists, "Europe's biggest poker festival" is currently underway in Leicester Square. Poker In The Park involves a series of lectures from poker celebrities and free poker tournaments for you to try your hand at the noughties' socially acceptable gambling addiction. We dropped by yesterday afternoon but due to the large queues to get into the tents and the casual misogyny ("Meet the Nuts girls here!") didn't stick around.

While the festival itself was none too impressive, the large crowd attests to Londoners' appetite for poker, and running a mid-week game must be a canny way for London landlords to pull in a few more people on a quiet night. There are various venues involved in free pub leagues where punters can get a credit-crunch-friendly poker fix.

Poker in the Park is on again today in Leicester Square from 12.30 - 9.30, but you'll need to get there early to see anything.