Pokerblog – 2007 October
October 31, 2007
POKER ROOM REVIEW…SAM’S TOWN LAS VEGAS
Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall is one of the Boyd Gaming Corporation’s 18 properties that includes the Borgata. Sam’s Town represents the first major Las Vegas casino project to be directed specifically toward the local Las Vegas market. Crowded with locals from day 1 the resort quickly grabbed the attention of Vegas tourists to the Boulder Highway at Flamingo Road location. Sam’s Town’s wild west style of hospitality has kept the locals and tourists returning for more since it opened the doors in 1978.The 646 room hotel offers recently renovated oversized guest rooms outfitted in a colorful southwest earth tone decor. Suites include a luxury apartment-style two bedroom home away from home. The hotel tower surrounds a fully enclosed, glass roofed atrium with a live forest, meandering brook and dynamic waterfall. Aptly named the Mystic Falls Indoor Park, it is a great place to enjoy a drink or just some quiet time away from the gaming. A free laser light and water show, Sunset Stampede, begins every evening at 6:00 pm and goes hourly until 10:00 pm, 11:00 pm on weekends. Book your stay online here for the best rate o0r call 1.800.897.8696 for a reservation specialist.Entertainment at Sam’s Town comes in a variety of offerings. An eighteen screen theater provides the latest from Hollywood offerings in state-of-the-art luxurious surroundings with full THX certified digital sound systems. Live entertainment featuring top name celebrities and groups is routinely scheduled in the Sam’s Town Live! Showroom. Roxy’s saloon has live music and a dance floor. Bowling in the basement with 55 modern lanes, automatic scoring, separate snack bar, cocktail lounge, and child care center.
Dining options are numerous and all delicious. Delectable steaks and fresh seafood are found at Billy Bob’s Steak House & Saloon. Traditional Mexican fare from fajitas to flan is served at Willy & Jose’s Cantina. Fine dining in an elegant setting from a selection of Italian specialties is available nightly at Fellini’s. Dine in or sit out in the open atrium with a ringside table to the Laser Light Show. The Firelight Buffet features rotisserie specialties in an open, spacious dining room. Standard Vegas coffee shop fare is available twenty-four hours at the Fresh Harvest Cafe. A food court provides a selection of fast food from national brands.
Sam’s Town shops include a Shepler’s Western Wear, considered to be the place to find everything in western clothing and accessories. Whether you need a pair of Levis 501’s or a pair of exotic high-end alligator boots, Sheplers is the place.
Sam’s Town casino is 150,000 square feet filled with all of your favorite table games, bingo, keno and one of the world’s largest collections of modern slot machines. Prime Rewards player’s card offers guest discounts on rooms, food and merchandise plus real cash back. The 300 plus seat Sam’s Town Race and Sports book recently opened it’s all new facility with state-of-the-art technology. The Race and Sports book is the home of the very popular, totally free NFL weekly football handicap contest. Thousands of dollars are distributed each week for savvy handicappers.
Sam’s Town Poker Room is a comfortable, non-smoking nine table room located at the north entrance of the casino. Poker operations are managed by Dick Gatewood, a Vegas poker industry veteran with more than two decades of experience including managing some large tournaments and hosting the “Big Game.” Dick understands the details of the business and he’s also a poker player. He listens and responds to the player’s needs.
Limit Texas Hold’em comes in $2-$4 and $4-$8 blinds with a player optional half kill. No-limit Hold’em with a $1-$2 blind structure and a $100-$300 buy-in is also spread. The poker room also offers $1-$5 Seven Card Stud and $4-$8 Omaha High with a half kill. Sam’s Town poker room is known for offering some of the best moderate limit action in Las Vegas and will deal any poker game or limits with sufficient player interest. This has included the “Big Game” where millions of dollars are pushed across the green felt of a Sam’s Town poker table by some of the legends of the game.
Sam’s Town tournament director, Jason Wyckoff, offers No-limit Texas Hold’em tournaments every day at 7 PM and 11 PM. Conditions for all events are a $45 buy-in for $1,500 in play money and an optional $5 dealer add-on nets another $500. One $20 rebuy anytime during the first hour delivers another $3K in tournament chips. Registration begins at 4:00 pm and seating is usually filled with an alternate’s list. A H.O.R.S.E. Tournament with a $120.00 Buy-In is scheduled every Sunday at 2 PM and provides an affordable venue to gain some valuable H.O.R.S.E. tournament experience.
Sam’s Town Poker Room has sent dozens of players to the WSOP with a seat they won in a qualifying tournament. Plans are in the works to offer even more 2008 World Series of Poker seats. Poker players can qualify now through November 11th for five seats in the 2007 Bellagio Five Diamond Tournament plus one $15,000 WPT Five Diamond Final Event. Complete details are available in the Poker Room or by phoning the poker room direct at 702.454.8092.
Easy parking and a short walk from valet or the parking garage makes for convenient access. Poker players are eligible for a casino rate on guest rooms. Food comps are offered at the rate of $4 per 3 hours of play with time tracked through your Prime Rewards card. Get the player’s card before you play. High hand cash payouts are always a great bonus and frequent players qualify for a monthly Free Roll.
Sam’s Town Poker Room provides poker players a friendly atmosphere in a comfortable setting designed to make your poker playing experience a pleasure. Visit one of the best local poker rooms in Las Vegas.
5111 Boulder Hwy.
Las Vegas, NV 89122
Toll free: 1.800.897.8696
Local: 702.456.7777
www.samstownlv.com
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October 30, 2007
2007 WSOP $50K HORSE FINAL TABLE TONIGHT ON ESPN
Tonight brings the final installment of original programming from ESPN of the 2007 World Series of Poker. The final table of the $50,000 HORSE event #39. Like most of the poker establishment I believe this is the true contest for the annual world championship poker player. Unlike the WSOP $10K Main Event this one involves serious buy-in money and the $50K acts as a filter to eliminate most of the luckbox players. Instead of a final table with a bunch of one-trick no-names you’ll recognize most of these players.
The following list the event 39 HORSE final table players, their order of finish and payouts received:
1. Freddy Deeb – $2,276,832
2. Bruno Fitoussi – $1,278,720
3. John Hansen – $852,480
4. Amnon Filippi – $586,080
5. Kenny Tran – $444,000
6. David Singer – $337,440
7. Barry Greenstein – $259,296
8. Thor Hansen – $188,256
Those interested in the small talk that went on after Freddy Deeb won will be happy to hear he credited his lucky shirt for his victory. Freddy joins the first ever $50K HORSE Champion, Chip Reese, who won the event in 2006. Players must be skilled in Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Eight or Better to survive the early rounds and progress to the final table. Whereas the Main Event requires players to be adept at only one poker game, No-Limit Texas Hold’em, and as we have seen over the years, luck alone can carry a totally naive player to the winner’s circle. HORSE on the other hand has a way of eliminating much of the luck factor to reward the more experienced skilled player.
Tune the TV to ESPN Sports tonight at 8 PM ET/PT for all the action of the season’s final hours of WSOP poker premier; although, if you miss it or any of the episodes they will be repeated throughout the year until we gather for the 2008 WSOP next June. Even if you have watched them once try to see the shows again and take notes. You’re watching the best poker players in the world playing their “A” game and that provides an unmatched opportunity to learn and improve your tournament game. Free poker lessons for the taking. Maybe someday I’ll be taking your photo at a WSOP final table. Oh yeah, don’t forget to check local listings for exact broadcast times in your area.
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October 29, 2007
THIS WEEK IN LAS VEGAS
There’s a must read interview with our own Dr. Pauly, poker’s foremost contemporary writer, aptly titled Tao of Poker Creator, Pauly, Is a Stud. Pauly was interviewed by poker blogger, Michele Lewis, a self described mother, wife, volunteer, writer and poker player. I suggest you take a look since the Doc mentions yours truly in a rare positive light.
More Vegas poker news and Flipchip photos of some of the NHRA drag racing stars playing in a charity poker event at the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas after the jump…
Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas continues the Binion’s Poker Open through Wednesday. Today’s action features a $150 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event at 2PM in the Binion’s Poker and Tournament complex. One player for every fifty entrants will receive a seat in the Championship event scheduled for Noon Tuesday. The 2PM event has a guaranteed $10,000 minimum purse.
In addition to Monday’s event at 2PM there is a 5PM Super Satellite with a $150 buy-in awarding seats to Tuesday’s $1,000 buy-in Championship tournament. The Championship is a No Limit Hold’em event that starts at Noon Tuesday. In addition, there is a second chance tournament each evening at 8PM with a $100 buy-in.
Poker rooms all around Las Vegas are enjoying good crowds for cash games and daily tournaments. Many of the players are in town for some early holiday shopping at the exclusive shops on the Las Vegas strip.
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October 26, 2007
ONLINE POKER LEGAL AND POLITICAL OPPONENTS…PART 1
This is the first of a multi-part examination of the issues on-line poker faces in the US. LasVegasVegas investigative journalist Gene Bromberg has spent countless hours researching the problems and uncovering the truths, half-truths, and outright lies employed by the opposition to the legalization of on-line poker.–Editor
This past week the Poker Players Alliance engaged in a major lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill. Over 100 members of the PPA, including such well-known players as Chris Moneymaker, Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, spoke to lawmakers in the hopes that Congress will take steps to legalize and regulate online gaming. But even though the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act was passed thanks to some parliamentary sleight-of-hand by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, reversing that law will be a tall order. As Lederer said in answer to a question about getting a new law passed, “I think it’s very difficult to unring a bell.”
Poker players not only have to deal with resistance and inertia in Congress–there are also powerful forces arrayed against the game. And in the media coverage of the PPA’s lobbying efforts, we find that little things like facts, honest analysis, and logic don’t seem to matter to poker’s opponents.
In the Marketplace piece where Lederer was quoted, there’s also a quote from David Robertson, who belongs to a group called the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. Robertson’s quote is rather to the point: “It (internet gambling) is the most addictive form of gambling ever invented.”
Robertson gives no evidence to support this claim, and perhaps the Marketplace reporter didn’t bother to ask. So I visited the website for the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion to see what info they’ve posted there. After clicking the “Internet Gambling” tab on their home page you find a series of articles and studies gathered together under the headline “The Perfect Storm of Harm”. In the opening paragraph is a sentence that says, “(Internet gambling) brings together all of gambling’s addictive power and mixes in the greatest potential for crime, corruption, and economic instability”.
The thing is, if you click the tab on the NCAGE home page for “Internet gambling”, you get a lot of links for articles and studies arguing against slots and other machines you’d find in a casino. NOT online poker (or any other online gaming). According to the NCAGE, your home computer and a slot machine are the same sort of gizmo: “Internet games have the ability to provide all the sights, sounds and scenarios of traditional slot and video poker devices, and do so at the stroke of a key.”
To say that there is no difference between playing a slot machine in a casino and playing poker in your living room is somewhat ridiculous. It’s also a stretch to say that gambling and drug abuse are equivalent, but the NCAGE goes out of its way to equate gambling addiction to drug addiction, and ends up tying itself into rhetorical knots. One of the opening sentences of the “Perfect Storm” article says, “Gambling machines addict victims much faster than other forms of wagering, earning electronic gambling machines the title of the ‘cracked (sic) cocaine’ of gambling.” The NCAGE home page itself rotates a serious of quotes from anti-gambling people and one of those quotes comes from Dr. Robert Breen, a clinical psychiatrist. Dr. Breen is quoted on the NCAGE site as saying, “The crack cocaine of gambling is the Video Lottery Terminal…(in reality) a video slot machine. It’s not your grandfather’s slot machine. It’s not a mechanical slot machine. This is a 21st century computerized predator…the most addictive form of gambling in the history of man.”
Thing is, one of the studies that the NCAGE uses to support their anti-gambling stance was conducted by Dr. Breen (and Mark Zimmerman), and that study says nothing of the kind. In fact, of the gambling-crack analogy, the study says the following:
“Concerned parties have been quoted in the media, referring to gambling machines as the “crack cocaine” of gambling, because people develop gambling problems so rapidly following initiation to machine gambling…(W)hile the juxtaposition of crack cocaine and gambling-machine addiction makes for a sensational sound-byte, there has never been any empirical data presented to support the idea that machine gambling is more rapidly addicting than other forms of gambling.”
Their study was conducted to determine if machine gaming was indeed more rapidly addicting to people who are pathological gamblers. Not to the average person, mind you, but people who sought treatment for gambling problems on their own. What did the researchers determine in the end?
“The data presented are limited in several ways. First, our subject sample is limited to patients seeking treatment, and thus not representative of PG’s (pathological gamblers) in general. Second, although we attempted to maximize the validity and reliability of the data by confirming self-reported information with an interview, we still had to rely on retrospective recall. Third, the data merely shows the hypothesized association between gambling forms and the latency of PG-onset. The causal contributions of the features of the machines, the psychological features of those who choose machines, or the convenience, availability, or social acceptability of different forms of gambling cannot be specified.” (italics mine)
There is some interesting analysis in the Brown study that is worth considering (that gambling machines provide an unthreatening way to play, that they reinforce gambling behavior by providing small wins with corresponding flashing lights and noise that encourages more play). But in no way can it be said from this study that gambling machines are as addictive as crack cocaine. The NCAGE itself says that the number of gambling addicts is around 1.5 to 2.5 percent of the population. If those numbers were indeed correct, that means that between 97.5 and 98.5 of people could drop some money in a slot machine (or play a few hands of online poker) without developing a gambling problem. Contrast those numbers to the expected number of people who would become addicted if they tried crack cocaine a few times.
The Brown study also explicitly states that some forms of gambling actually involve the forbidden “s” word–skill:
“It is a mistake to conceptualize gambling as a homogenous activity,” the study says. “Different forms of gambling vary importantly in terms of stimuli and features that contribute to the experience of the players. For example, many slots players describe the machines as reassuringly hypnotic. The visual stimuli, the repetitive pattern of betting and outcome, and the chance to withdraw into one’s own world are features that may contribute to this perception…
“In contrast, the cards or sports bettor may view betting as an activity that can be intellectually mastered. A sports bettor may spend much of his/her time exchanging opinions with other players, or poring over statistics. In this case, the activity may be seen (rationally or not) as a means to an end, i.e., winning money…(E)lements of skill can affect some of the more traditional forms of gambling (e.g., card games, handicapping horses or sporting events).”
I could spend a month digging into claims made by anti-gaming organizations (and I may do just that), but I have one last example to bring up. A minor quibble in the big scheme of things, but still–one of the quotes posted on the NCAGE page is from George Washington. The Father of our Country writes to his nephew that he should “avoid Gaming”, which is “the child of Avarice, the brother of inequity, the father of Mischief.” Washington, in addition to his other talents, had a fantastic writing style. But according to the NCAGE page, Washington said this on January 15, 1873. When, of course, our first President died in 1799. Like I said, no big deal, but when you’re off by THAT MUCH…it doesn’t look good.
I want to stress that I’m not arguing that gambling addiction doesn’t exist, nor that it isn’t a serious problem. But I am arguing that banning an activity that can be safely enjoyed by the vast majority of the population isn’t the way to address that problem. A prohibition on gambling isn’t likely to eliminate problem gambling, not when you can buy lottery tickets at any supermarket or gas station in the country, and when every state seems to be turning to gaming as a way to resolve budget shortfalls. Gambling is part of the fabric of our culture–we need to abandon the hypocrisy of the status quo, stop trying to legislate morality, and honestly address what problems gambling causes in our society.
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October 25, 2007
BUY YOUR WAY INTO THE BIGGEST ONLINE POKER TOURNAMENTS THE EASY WAY: TOURNAMENT CREDITS
Not everyone has fistfuls of spare cash to throw down on big online poker tournaments, but chances are there are plenty of poker players out there who have been hoarding enough tournament credits to buy their way into next year’s WSOP.Tournament credits are great – if you use them. Just as good as cash, they can be used to buy into any regularly scheduled tourney. You can find great value in tournaments like Bodog’s Player’s Choice PTS Quarterfinals and Player’s Choice Semifinals, and then of course there’s the Sunday $100K Guaranteed Tournament.It’s easy to forget that you’ve got all these tournament credits socked away, but not all that difficult to put them to good use.
Check out all the big online tournaments going on in the Bodog Poker Room this weekend.
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October 24, 2007
PPA TAKES ONLINE POKER FIGHT TO THE HILL
This is the week the Poker Players Alliance sends about a hundred known poker players into the nation’s capitol to lobby for the return of online poker as a legal past time. An estimated 25-30 million online poker players in the US have been denied the right to play their favorite game since the passage of the Frist bill that made it a crime to process payments to online poker rooms. This group of hand picked card carrying gamblers will make the rounds of Congress in a united front intent on convincing lawmakers to support a bill that will return legal online poker to America.
Hopefully this bunch will try a different tactic since their last foray into DC was a dismal failure. Maybe they’ll try a different dog and pony show, something that doesn’t feature playing cards as vegetable choppers. Maybe a good opening line could feature the current cheat problems with online poker over at Absolute Poker. They can tout the virtues of their newly proposed legislation and how it would help to clean up this sorry mess. Maybe add a line or two about giving online poker room owners an opportunity to ‘honest up’ their act and embrace a fair deal for players. We all know how much US politicians want an honest deal: after all, they are our upstanding citizen leaders that embrace the good of the whole while self-sacrificing their own personal gain.
Hey, it was a defeated Republican Congress that attached the anti-poker bill to a must-pass port security bill at the eleventh hour before they turned out the lights for the last time. Now we have a Democratic Congress that is determined to make things right. Have you not noticed how aggressively the Democrats are attaching and correcting the issues of Iraq, Iran, North Korea, children’s health care, education, collapsed housing market, poverty, stem cell research, abortion, military veterans care…even a memorial to the great Woodstock Music Fest. So where do you think online poker will place on the priority list of a member of Congress? What page of that priority list will online poker be on? Page 1 or 2? Page 23? Page 512? None?
Do I think this week’s DC trek will have any impact on online poker? In one word, No! Do I think it will change even one vote…again, No! Do I know something better to do? Maybe.
Two things come to mind. Give the PPA lobbyist duffle bags stuffed full of bricks of Franklins. Have them invade the halls of Congress tossing cash about like Santas throwing candy in a Christmas parade. Remember, graft is about the only logic our illustrious leaders subscribe to. The second thing that comes to mind is ‘we the people’ take back the power by NOT voting for a single incumbent running for re-election in 2008. Send them all home to spend their remaining years sulking in their mansions.
Oh yeah, there is also another way out of the online poker debacle. Simply reverse engineer the Frist bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist attached the bill and rammed it through using his political clout combined with the fortitude of a greed driven power broker. Bingo! Online poker is down for the count. We have now empowered a new Senate Majority Leader that claims to be smarter and have even more political moxy, Senator Harry Reid, D-NV. Of course there is a problem; Harry doesn’t appear to have the balls to do much of anything. His expertise appears to be cashing the checks without much ability beyond that. Maybe the boys carrying the duffels full of cash should throw a whole bag through Harry’s door because that’s the kind of lobbying he understands. Shovel enough cash through enough doors and the legalization of online poker is a done deal even though the religious fundamentalist say poker players are all going straight to hell.
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October 23, 2007
TUESDAY NIGHT POKER ON ESPN $50,000 HORSE
Tonight brings us another two hours of poker from the 2007 WSOP. Not only is the $50K HORSE the most prestigious poker event but the most interesting from a strictly poker view. The star studded field was so top heavy that three former WSOP World champions found themselves sitting side by side. Everyone that is anyone in the world of poker took a seat in WSOP Event #39, considered by many to be the true championship event. Players must be skilled at all of the currently popular poker games–Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud and Eight or Better.
Defending HORSE champion and probably the best all around poker player in the world, Chip Reese, was there along with 147 other players that could come up with the $50K buy-in. This one is most certainly the one to watch if you enjoy good poker combined with massive egos running head on. Every table loaded with well known pros playing their best game and sharp wit. Unlike the WSOP Main Event where a pro player is usually seated with nine dead money people this event requires mistake free poker from the go. The intimidation factor just doesn’t work well here.
Another interesting fact of this tournament…Only seven women entered. My pre-event pick to win it all was Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. I had been following Mike’s play throughout the year and the Series and believed he could go the distance. He made it to 16th and collected $88,000 after he was out carded, but not out played. Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP WORLD Champion was eliminated in 14th place after once again demonstrating his poker playing abilities. The fun starts at 8PM ET/PT tonight on ESPN Sports but check oput your local listings for exact time. Tune in for some of the best poker you’ll see from the 2007 WSOP.
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October 21, 2007
LAS VEGAS POKER THIS WEEK
This online can of worms appears to be growing ever larger and involving what might be a well organized groups operating both inside and out that are stealing huge sums of money from unsuspecting online players. Worse yet, what will be the impact on our legalization of online efforts in the US? This is exactly the dirt the do-gooders need to keep online poker off line for a long time. Perhaps its time you re-evaluated your online poker play. Maybe its time to move to an online poker room that isn’t in the news as a hotbed of cheats and crooks. At least now you know why everyone folds everytime you get pocket rockets. Forget about those poker playing bots, shoot the people running the crooked online poker rooms scams.
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2007 WSOP MAIN EVENT DAY 6 PHOTOS IN GALLERY
Photos from Day 6 of the 2007 WSOP Main Event have been posted in the LasVegasVegas Flipchip Poker and Las Vegas Photo Gallery. Close up in your face pics of the 36 players remaining in the quest for a seat at the world’s most famous poker table, the final table of the World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event. This is also the day the monster WSOP Poker Room at the Rio Pavilion is packed up to disappear for another year.Poker’s premier writer Dr Pauly of Tao of Poker posted his original Main Event Day 6 Recap here.
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October 20, 2007
FLIPCHIP’S LAS VEGAS STRIP CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS
Flipchip took a stroll down the Las Vegas strip and recorded the progress of the billions of dollars of construction projects currently coming to life on the famous boulvevard. Check out the views of the new joints where you’ll be playing poker in the not too distant future here on the Prof’s Las Vegas Blog.
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