THANKSGIVING IN LAS VEGAS...PART #1

I stopped by the new Planet Hollywood last evening to check out the place now that the grand opening is days old history (0n the Las Vegas time scale that would be close to a year). The 7:00 PM tournament was in progress and just like the ad states there was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi playing in the $60 buy-in NLHE event. He was knocked out while I was there and the guy that sent him to the rail got the $300 cash bounty. Mizrachi is there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 for a Q & A and the 7 PM Tournament.

This idea of having a well known pro associated with a Vegas poker room is nothing new (Remember Negreanu and the Wynn Poker Room?); but, I think the Planet Hollywood Poker Room hit a home run with the twist they added — you can play against one of the toughest poker pros around today for $60 and as an added bonus pick up the $300 bounty. Playing against Negreanu during his abbreviated stay at the Wynn would require a second mortgage. Sixty bucks wouldn’t even get you a ticket to watch.

Harrah’s WSOP issued a press release in response to the lead in your chips story out of Paulson, the chip manufacturing division of Las Vegas based Gaming Partners International Corporation. They stated they did so because some of follow-up stories in the poker media illustrated their articles with photos of WSOP chips. Many of us did use photos of WSOP chips. They are the most famous poker chips around and they are embossed with the easily recognizable Top Hat and Walking Stick trade mark of Paulson. The release went on to say the Harrah’s is working closely with the regulators to quickly resolve any issues if, indeed, issues even exist.

Happy Thanksgiving…stay safe…come to Las Vegas.