The usual Five things from the week on PokerStars.

As one event concluded this week another got under way, each marking the top of an era within the PokerStars world.

First there has been the last ever Eureka Poker Tour event in Hamburg, won by Dinesh Alt who picked up a primary prize of €69,120. Howard Swains watched all of it and provided live updates from the start, you can read here. You too can jump straight to the overall table report of Alt's win here.

As the doors closed in Germany they were opening in Birmingham, where the last ever UKIPT event was getting under way on the Star Casino. That was yesterday, with Day 1B (and a turbo Day 1C) starting today (and tonight), and with live updates provided by Marc Convey and Nick Wright who've been with the UKIPT from the beginning. They'll have all of the news from Birmingham through to the overall table this weekend. Make amends for yesterday, and tune in today by clicking here.

We say the last UKIPT and the last Eureka event, but only by name before they become PokerStars Festivals. For more on those...

Talking of PokerStars Festivals the primary of them is simply weeks away, and it is a first for brand new Jersey.

As we reported yesterday, October (and the beginning of November) will feature three weeks of without equal poker experience in New Jersey as PokerStars hosts its first major live and online events there in succession.

It starts with the brand new Jersey Championship of Online Poker, 43 events kicking off on October 15 with $1.2 million of prize money guaranteed over the Championship. That's immediately followed by the PokerStars Festival Atlantic City, with a $1,100 buy in Main Event and live updates at the PokerStars Blog. We'll have more details towards the event, but for now read all about it here.

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The world beyond poker featured at the blog this week within the type of interviews with prominent members of alternative pursuits.

First the familiar sight of Fatima Moreira De Melo, a former gold medal winning hockey player turned poker pro who spoke to the blog about her experiences this summer on the Isle of Man TT races, and the way optimisation applies to all aspects of life, whether it's riding a motorcycle at 200 mph around Snaefell Mountain, or teaching hockey to a neighborhood team.

Then on Wednesday we featured a work by Lina Olofsson who in a bid to understand her own son's fascination with eGaming, spoke to 2 members of Team Liquid, about how their lives mirror the poker world and the way eGaming has become a world phenomenon.

While the last UKIPT event plays out in Birmingham plans are afoot for the following and penultimate EPT event in Malta.

The Portomaso casino hosts the Tour from October 18 to 29, with 84 events at the cards for players seeking to ring as much summer out of the year as possible.

The 12 day festival offers something for each more or less poker player, and partners with the Italian Poker Tour to provide a number tournaments including a 10K event, a 25K and the 5K Main Event, that you could qualify for on PokerStars and, as we detailed this week, you are able to do so for €10 in special Spin & Go's now running until October 10. If things spin your way you'll be able to turn that right into a package worth €7,500, details of you could find here.

This week's podcast - with special guest star Kevin Martin - is now live...

"Joe's in Amsterdam, celebrating his 43rd birthday. But he's taken day out from partying for this week's podcast. He and James discuss poker news - including the recently announced partnership between PokerStars and the GPL. The lads also meet up with Kevin Martin from Team Online to speak bromance, TwitchCon, and the pains and tribulations of being a DJ on a Canadian rock station.

"There's a recap of the EPT Malta Spin & Go promotion, plus a very powerful advisory regarding satellites for January's event within the Bahamas (clue: it isn't called the PCA anymore). And Gabe Nagy tests his knowledge of the Ryan Reynolds movie 'Van Wilder' in 'Superfan vs Stapes'."

#EPTNotLive

Listen to this week's podcast here.

This weekend is the second one $1 Million Freeroll on PokerStars, starting this Sunday at 12:04 ET. There's still time to win your seat in a regular All-in Shootout Qualifier, details of you could find here. There's million within the prize pool with $10,000 guaranteed for first place.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog. Follow him on Twitter: @StephenBartley.

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