Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/739032
45 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2016 Economist's consulting editor John Andrews is MIGS16 keynote speaker MIGS16, the top iGaming confer- ence in Malta for C-Level man- agement is once again attracting the best crop in the universal ig- aming industry. To date some of the world's top management op- erators, service providers, regu- latory bodies and legal firms have confirmed their participation in this three-day conference, which will be taking place between the 7th and 9th November 2016 at the Grand Masters Suite, Hilton Malta. Together with top notch par- ticipants, the organisers have re- cently confirmed John Andrews, consulting editor of the Econo- mist and author of the bestseller, "The World in Conf lict " as the keynote speaker for this year's event. After the US presidential election, the veteran political journalist will be examining the challenges that await the new leader of the world's superpower and the political, social and eco- nomic pressures that will test governments from post-Brexit Europe to a China-dominated Asia. Mark Blandford, Founder of Sportingbet plc and speaker on the panel "Century of Gaming" at MIGS last year said: "I'm look- ing forward to this year's MiGs. I attended this seminar for the first time in 2015 and found it really useful both for networking with Malta based suppliers and also from other suppliers world- wide." This year's agenda has been compressed into two full days, together with a wel- come reception during the Battle of Malta Poker tour- nament on the eve, several other networking opportu- nities including the first ever iGaming Awards for employees entitled iGaming idol and the popular closing party on the fi- nal night. The Malta Gaming Authority and Malta Tourism Authority have also confirmed their sup- port towards this premium event. Mr Joseph Cuschieri, Executive Chairman of the MGA recently endorsed MIGS as one of the top events he has attended in Europe in terms of quality speakers, con- tent as well as participants. He said that "MIGS has been instru- mental in placing Malta on the map as a destination for a quality iGaming conference. Their con- sistent contribution to the indus- try in delivering valuable con- tent, networking opportunities through their high caliber speak- ers and attendees is one of the best platforms for international executives to network, learn and share relevant information and knowledge." The Hon Chris Cardona, Minis- ter for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, Anatoliy Kn- yazev, Founder of BitCoin, Joseph Cuschieri, Executive Chairman of MGA, Martin Dreymann, Co-Founder of Ebettle, Mark Blandford, Founder of Sport- ingbet plc, Martha Sabol, Co- Chair Gaming Practice and Tim Rehder, CEO of Cubits, amongst others, will provide their insights into this year's theme entitled "Navigating Un- chartered Waters". The topics being debated are growing costs from regulators, taxation, virtual currencies, player reactivation, eSports, Brexit and an IMGL Master Class that will cover new and changing markets amongst others. Day 1 will be chaired by world iGaming expert Michael Caselli, while Day 2 will be chaired by iGaming Veteran AJ Thompson. Sue Schneider, conference chair and iGaming veteran said that "MIGS16 was developed by professionals for professionals, it stands alone in terms of qual- ity of content, speakers and net- working. Anyone serious about moving the industry or their op- eration forward will materially benefit from attending". The MIGS16 conference agenda evolves and improves every year utilizing input from trusted au- thorities, feedback from past at- tendees and the global industry at large. One of the major ele- ments that attract delegates to MIGS is the ability of the organ- isers to be innovative with their content delivery and networking, whilst the event annually retains the same high calibre of exper- tise and experience. For more information about at- tending MIGS16 go to www.mal- taigamingseminar.com or send an email to info@maltaigaming- seminar.com. MSV Life hosts Simon Schembri at Manoel Theatre M ALTESE classical guitarist Simon Schembri will be per- forming with the Parisii Quar- tet in a concert being held at the Manoel Theatre on Octo- ber 15. During this concert, the acclaimed virtuoso and the Paris-based quartet will also be launching a CD called The Maltese Touch - featuring a number of important guitar pieces by Marchelie, Giuliani and Boccherini - which has been released on Austrian re- cord label Gramola, one of the oldest classical music record labels in Europe. MSV Life, a leading provider of life insurance protection, long-term savings and retire- ment planning in Malta was instrumental in assisting Si- mon Schembri and the Parisii Quartet in finding an inter- national record label. In 2014, to celebrate its 20th anniver- sary, MSV Life organised an evening of Spanish music at the Manoel Theatre, featur- ing Paris-based Schembri and the Malta Philharmonic Or- chestra. It so happened that Schembri caught the eye of a reinsurance executive who travelled purposely to attend the MSV concert. The Austri- an gentleman, a regular visitor to Malta, is a connoisseur of classical music and had good connections with the Gramola record label. One year later, back in Paris, Schembri re- corded a number of important guitar pieces with the Parisii Quartet and was looking to release these recordings on an international record label. "After being introduced to Gramola, Simon Schembri 's repertoire hit the right chords with the record label, who were truly impressed," said MSV Life CEO David G. Cur- mi. "The rest is a success story for the guitarist himself and for Malta with a CD that puts the country's talent and stand- ards on the world map in more ways than one." Founded by four students from the Conservatory of Par- is, all first prize laureates in both instrument and chamber music, the Parisii Quartet re- cently celebrated its 30th an- niversary. Made up of Arnaud Vallin, first violin, Dorian Ga- ble, second violin, Dominique Lobet, viola, and Jean-Philippe Martignioni, cello, the quar- tet now performs regularly throughout Europe and Amer- ica and has also toured in the Far East. Their repertoire en- compasses all the major clas- sical and romantic works for string quartet. Simon Schembri gives nu- merous recitals in France, his adopted country, and abroad, showing a constant interest in guitar evolution. He is in the line of the guitar technic founded by Tarrega in the 19th century, which inspired the fa- mous Ida Presti and Alexandre Lagoya. Critics recognised the strong but nevertheless noble and mellow sonority, as well as richness of musical expression. Alexandre Lagoya considered him to have "virtuosity at the service of a high spiritual sen- sitivity" and Simon Schembri enjoyed the rare privilege of sharing several guitar duets with the Master. MSV Life sponsored Simon Schembri 's CD, which was re- leased on October 7 and will be launched at next Saturday's concert at the Manoel Theatre at 8 pm, with a pre-talk at 7.30 pm. During next Saturday's con- cert Simon Schembri and the Parisii quartet will perform works by Marchelie, Giuliani and Boccherini from the CD The Maltese Touch as well as works by Dyens, Rigney, Al- beniz, Piazzolla, and Barrios. PokerStars European Poker Tour returns to Portomaso Casino THE world's wealthiest and most popular poker tour, the PokerStars Eu- ropean Poker Tour (EPT), returns to Malta's Por- tomaso Casino for the third time in its thirteen consecutive years of suc- cess, from the 18th to the 29th of October, boasting a huge 84-event schedule. Based on past experi- ence, this season's festi- val is set to attract huge numbers of participants by featuring a massive range of tournaments suiting players of all levels, including the flagship €5,300 EPT Main Event and €1,100 Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Main Event, the prestigious €25,000 High Roller drawing some of the top names of the poker world. Participants will also be allowed to try their luck at a €10,300 EPT High Roller scheduled to feature for the first time as a new event that made its debut at the Pok- erStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT 12 Grand Final. Edgar Stuchly, Pokerstars' Direc- tor of Live Events said: "We're ex- cited to be returning to Malta for our second stop of season 13, Malta is a great location as it provides players with great quality poker in a perfect tourist destination with a wide spread of activities on and off the felt." CEO of Tumas Gaming, Yorgen Fenech, said he was honoured and delighted to announce the contin- ued co-operation between Poker- stars and the Portomaso Casino. "In the previous two editions, the players loved the location and the response was great. Following a complete refurbishment of the Hil- ton and significant investment to modernise and expand our Casino floor we envisage that this year will be our best EPT ever." The EPT sponsored by PokerStars, an Amaya Inc. brand, is the world's most popular poker tour. Portoma- so Casino is eager to host the tour that has paid out over €965 million in tournament prize pools and held successful festivals across Europe. For more information about the event, see http://www.european- pokertour.com/tournaments/mal- ta/. For further information, please contact: press@pokerstars.com The European Poker Tour (EPT) sponsored by PokerStars is the world's richest and most popular poker tour. Since 2004, the EPT has paid out over €965 million in tour- nament prize pools and hosted suc- cessful festivals across Europe. The EPT also incorporates the Poker- Stars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which takes place every January in The Bahamas, one of the richest poker festivals in the world. Season 13 of the EPT has one re- maining stop in 2016: Prague in December. This season builds on the success of more than a decade of world-class live poker events across Europe. John Andrews The Parisii Quartet