With Kolkata Based Poker Entrepreneur Shashwat Agarwal on His Latest Venture – BG Poker Room

Shashwat Agarwal
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  • PG News July 26, 2015
  • 3 Minutes Read

It is impossible to leave out Kolkata, when talking about poker, primarily because of India’s pioneering player Aditya ‘Intervention’ Agarwal, who is today a member of the elite international PokerStars pro lineup and hails from this historic city.

Kolkata got its first official poker room with the Amator, when Vipin Choudhary discovered an old law that allowed organizing live poker games in the state. While, the poker room did not last long, two of Choudhary’s partners at the Amator went on to start their own ventures, with Shashwat Agarwal (cover image) opening the BG poker room and Diddy Thacker starting the Turn ‘N’ Riva poker room.

Soon, the IPA with KN Suresh and partner Aditya ‘bitti’ Agarwal started another poker room, which faced interruption from the local police. Suresh filed a plea in the Kolkata High Court and in a historic directive, got the presiding Judge to allow his poker room to operate without any hindrance; a judgement that automatically affected Kolkata`s poker industry.

The stage is now set for poker in Kolkata and is sure to give poker-entrepreneurs an impetus to launch poker ventures in the city and make it as attractive as Bengaluru`s poker scene is for players today.

One such entrepreneur is Shashwat Agarwal, who has been an active participant in the industry for the past many years and is well-known in the city’s close-knit circuit for his dedication to the game. Shashwat is now once again devoting his efforts to his latest baby, the BG Poker room.

PokerGuru met up with Shashwat for a tete a tete and here we narrate his views and experiences for our readers.

Shashwat starts by talking about the beginning of his poker journey and says, “My room was one of the first poker room’s in Kolkata to host the game and is synonymous with poker in Kolkata. I was hooked the moment I was introduced to the game and it’s been more than six years now. I knew I would be involved in this sport for the rest of my life. Since then I have been involved in several partnerships over the years including Amator Poker room.”

Speaking about the break-up of Amator and the start of the BG poker room, he explains, “I have always enjoyed promoting the sport with or without partners, sometimes people’s ideologies differ. That being said, it has always been a dream of mine to run a club of my own and to run a club in the direction I wish to see it go. This dream was realized in April 2015 when I finally got a chance to start BG poker room and run it the way I have always wished.”

Quizzing Shashwat about the name “BG” and what it means, he retorts, “Brindaban Gardens is where I started my poker journey five years back and is the place where I have been nurtured since childhood. Being my place of residence and the poker room being in the same complex, goes hand in hand with the name BG.”

A venture like a poker room cannot function without adequate infrastructure, a solid team and patrons. Discussing this Shashwat tells us, “I have an efficient crew consisting of dealers and staff, which make sure players are provided the best amenities.”

The room would not be able to operate without the loyal patrons, which includes few notables like Shawn Chatterton, Jai Lohia, Mayank Agarwal, Sailesh Lohia and Varun Agarwal. Their constant support, advice and guidance have helped me turn the room into success,” he adds.

Even if I am not around the game goes on,” he confidently sums up.

Cash Game at BG Poker Room
Cash Game at BG Poker Room

Shashwat then describes the various promotions at the room and says, “I have opened this club with the intention of promoting poker in general and as such BG poker room is the first of its kind in Kolkata which offers all regs upto 30% rake back. We also organize weekly Sit N Go tournaments to help players sharpen their skills apart from Cash Games.”

Expanding on the club’s other tie-ups, he informs, “BG Room has also been a part of the cash games organized at Casino Mahjong, Sikkim and in Nepal.”

The recent positive High Court directive in the Suresh case comes up in the conversation and Shashwat immediately acknowledges the importance of it to the city’s poker scene. He comments that, “Firstly, I would like to congratulate KN Suresh for the hard work he has put in to give justice to the game of skill. The HC verdict has just declared what poker players knew all along ‘Poker is a Skill Game’ and because of this people who were previously unsure about the legality of the game can now be approached easily and brought into the fold.”

Remarking about the overall effect, he says, “It will be great for players. Some more new clubs are being opened shortly which will be great for promoting such a beautiful game.”

Finally, we discuss the situation now and Shashwat informs that, “The poker circuit in Kolkata is a very close knit one. I feel that as an organizer and now with the HC verdict coming we have the momentum to go forward and introduce a lot more people to this beautiful game.”

That being said, I think it is the responsibility of all organizers to ensure that the game does not dry up. I have tried to reach out to as many people in the east as well as north-east to ensure the promotion of this sport and to make sure that when anyone is travelling or stopping by in Kolkata, he has a game waiting!!!” he ends the conversation, revealing his love and determination to promote the game.

We wish Shashwat all the best in his new venture and hope to catch a game at the BG Poker Room, whenever we hit Kolkata!

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