The Maltese live poker infrastructure looks more interesting this morning after the Battle of Malta creator Ivonne Montealegre created the Malta Poker Festival to compete with the Casino Malta’s newly acquired asset.

I see a man standing in the middle of an arena. Sand coagulated in blood leaving it a Monkey-brown. There is a whistle in his mouth. He blows, and the operators charge towards the prize – the Battle of Malta is on.

A few days ago, before I made a pinhole at either end of an egg and blew out the double-yolk so I could decorate it for my daughter, I told you that Net Gaming Europe AB, the owners of Highlight Media, who in turn own PokerListings – were selling the Battle of Malta (BOM) brand name, concept and domain name to Malta Casino Limited for €300,000.

It seems someone smelled the scent of weakness in the sale of the great Maltese poker institution.