A successful casino night takes more than good equipment: it takes a team that knows how to get 50, 200 or 500 guests playing when they have never touched a chip. Since 2008, Esprit Poker has been running casino nights and poker tournaments for events for companies and private clients all over France. Here is an introduction to our partner, its packages and the reasons to trust it with your next event.
Esprit Poker at a glance
Esprit Poker (EP Events) is an events agency based in Caluire-et-Cuire, in the Lyon metropolitan area. Its business: setting up real gaming tables, staffing them with professional croupiers and turning any reception venue into a casino floor for one evening. Everything is played with fake dollar bills: no real money changes hands, just the fun of the game and some friendly competition.
- Founded: 2008, more than 18 years of experience
- Events run: more than 2,000
- Venues: more than 1,000 (hotels, chateaux, country estates, river barges, conference centres, chalets)
- Coverage: the whole of France, from Lyon to Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Annecy, Dijon and Valence, right up to the Alpine resorts (Courchevel, Megève, Val d'Isère, La Plagne)
- Poker credentials: supplier for the live stages of the Winamax Poker Tour since 2011 (tournament direction, croupiers, logistics)
Casino nights: the core business
This is Esprit Poker's flagship package. Around ten games are on offer, each on its own table with its own croupier:
- Roulette, with genuine casino wheels
- Blackjack, the game where players are most involved
- Poker in free play
- Set Poker (3-Card Poker), for a fast pace and a high turnover of players
- French Boule
- Dice of Fortune: Sic Bo and 421, the latter an in-house creation adapted from the bar game
- Wheel of Fortune, inspired by the Las Vegas Big Six Wheel
- Casino War, with no rules to learn at all
How an evening unfolds, in 3 stages
- Welcome: every guest receives $1,000 in fake bills on arrival.
- Table play: for around two hours, alongside the cocktail dinner or around the meal, guests move freely between the tables. The croupier explains the rules in a few minutes: nobody needs to know how to play.
- Auction: the grand finale. Players bid their winnings to win prizes, under the direction of an “auctioneer”. It is often the liveliest moment of the evening, with alliances and negotiations between participants.
Poker tournaments for events
Poker is the game Esprit Poker was built on. The tournament package is designed for team-building days, sales seminars and executive committees, from small groups of fewer than 10 people to several hundred players. After a 20-minute introduction, everyone is able to play. The tournament is managed by software displayed on a big screen (blind levels, clock, players remaining) and each table is run by a croupier-host.
The tables used are professional poker tables made in France. Esprit Poker's references include several editions of the OL Business Team tournament at the Groupama Stadium (150 players, 18 tables), tournaments for the partner networks of sports clubs, and works councils that have turned it into an annual fixture.
Why poker works in a corporate setting: it calls on decision-making, risk management and reading other people, while bringing together colleagues who do not work side by side every day.
The Casino des Vins: wine meets gaming
This is the most original package in the catalogue. The Casino des Vins blends wine tasting with gaming mechanics, through a series of workshops:
- Blind tasting: wines are served in opaque glasses and players bet on the colour, the region and the grape variety.
- Aroma workshop: identify fruits, spices and notes among some thirty aromas, with no alcohol consumed.
- Interactive quiz: wine culture, challenges and chip betting, with a final ranking.
The activity works as an individual challenge or in teams, as a single table within a casino night or as the main attraction. It is available in English for international groups and is a particularly good fit for wine estates, chateaux or the reception drinks at a wedding.
Themed evenings and extras
To go beyond the classic casino night, Esprit Poker dresses the event in a complete theme: croupiers in costume, accessories for guests, music, lighting and decor. The themes on offer:
- Gatsby / Roaring Twenties
- Prohibition, speakeasy atmosphere
- Peaky Blinders, a 1920s underground gambling den
- Las Vegas
- James Bond Casino Royale, with a large-format photocall
As for extras: a vintage wooden photobooth (custom frames, themed photocalls, 400 prints included), a close-up magician, a caricaturist, lighting design, sound system and fake bills customised in your company colours.
Which events is it for?
| Type of event | Examples | Suitable package |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate, internal | Seminar, executive committee, team building, end-of-year party, works council | Poker tournament, casino night, team Casino des Vins |
| Corporate, external | Client and partner evening, New Year reception, product launch, opening, trade show | Casino night with customised bills, themed evening |
| Private | Birthday, wedding, stag or hen party, bar mitzvah | Casino night, Las Vegas, Casino des Vins at the reception drinks |
| Networks and associations | Rotary, Lions Club, business clubs, charity galas, sports clubs | Casino night with auction, poker tournament |
Hire a professional or buy your own equipment?
The two approaches complement each other, and that is precisely why we recommend Esprit Poker.
- For a one-off event with more than 30 people, a client evening or a seminar: call on Esprit Poker. The croupiers, the logistics, the set-up and the closing auction make all the difference, and your team gets to enjoy the evening instead of running it.
- For regular use (club, association, home game, fun casino, hire): buy your own equipment. Our poker and casino tables, our poker and casino chips and our poker mats are built to last.
To choose your equipment wisely, see our casino mat guide and our guide to choosing a casino table.
Contact Esprit Poker
- Website: www.espritpoker.fr
- Request a quote: contact form
- Telephone: 04 78 68 25 18
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 152 Grande Rue de Saint-Clair, 69300 Caluire-et-Cuire
- Social media: Instagram · LinkedIn
Frequently asked questions
Is real money used at an Esprit Poker casino night?
No. All activities are played with fake dollar bills handed out on arrival. Winnings are used solely to bid for prizes at the closing auction.
Do you need to know how to play poker or roulette to take part?
No. Every table is run by a professional croupier who explains the rules in a few minutes. For a poker tournament, a 20-minute introduction is scheduled before the start.
Where does Esprit Poker operate?
All over France. The team is based near Lyon and travels with all the equipment, to major cities (Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Grenoble) as well as to the ski resorts of the Alps.
How long does a casino night last?
Around two hours of table play, followed by the auction. The activity is timed to fit around the cocktail dinner or the meal.
What is the Casino des Vins?
A wine-and-games activity combining blind tasting, an aroma workshop and a wine quiz, with a betting mechanic. It can round off a casino night or be the main attraction.