Aviation Club de France closes permanently

Local authorities opted not to renew the famous Parisian venue's license, and to put its assets into judicial liquidation.

We all feared the worst for the future of the Aviation Club de France (ACF) when it was raided by police back in September, and now five months on from a day which saw 12 of its employees arrested, the century-old casino's grim fate has been confirmed.

Despite campaigns to bring the ACF back after its initial closure - management of the club even sent a personal letter to France's president François Hollande - local authorities eventually opted not to renew the venue's license, and to put it into judicial liquidation.

As a result, 213 former employees (pictured above campaigning) have lost their jobs, the international poker community has lost one of its most loved venues, and a 107-year old tenure has come to an all too abrupt end.

Thanks for the memories

The ACF was the home of the first ever WPT event on European soil - the Grand Prix de Paris - from 2004 until 2013, and saw millions of euros in prize money awarded over the course of a memorable era.

Arguably the most memorable moments of all though were produced in the tournament's debut year, when a young, fired up Tony G announced himself to the poker world with a rambunctious display at the final table.

He may not have won the event in the end, but his hilarious on-camera antics marked the birth of one of the game's biggest personalities during the post-Moneymaker boom: