"That's Poker"

Damn, when I heard those words uttered yesterday, I wanted to ring someone’s neck. I am not mad that I didn’t cash, a little frustrated is more like it. I played in the stud tournament for nine hours – NINE HOURS – to only walk away with a sore ass for sitting down for so long.

It was a good experience for me and I actually enjoyed myself for the most part. The people were nice and there wasn’t the attitude you normally get while playing Texas Hold ‘Em. I am not big in recounting hands just for the sake of saying what happened.

I know I played well. I made the right moves when I should and I just got unlucky in the end. My second to last hand, I raised with split Kings. The guy to my left just calls with an ace showing. I bet into him a couple of times until I realized that he actually had another ace the whole time. I lost enough money in that pot because the levels were up to 1,500-3,000. My very last hand, I’m the bring-in with a 4 showing and I have queens in the hole. I complete the bet to $1,500 and it mucks around to the guy to right, who has an ace showing.

By the way, there are already two dead aces. Wouldn’t you know that he has the case ace underneath. Honestly, I didn’t have enough chips at that point to try to hold on. I put my final 1,200 or so in the middle and I never improved. That was my tournament.

Someone I know pretty well took down fourth. I was very happy for him. It was something that he needed as he has a string of bad luck lately, and it has nothing to do with poker. Glad to see something good happen.

Borgata Poker Open

Today is the first day of the Borgata Poker Open. I guess the East Coasters that didn't make out to Vegas are going to be playing in these events. I am going to play in the 7-card stud tourney on Wednesday. This is my first big tournament and I am looking forward to it.

I don't know how many people are going to enter this tournament. Stud isn't what it used to be and not many people play it. However, I know two people playing in it, me and my friend. I am going to try and keep notes throughout the tournament. This is going to be a unique experience for me.

Wish me luck.

Taj Stabber Will Be Sentenced to 5 Years

Vincente Perez pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter today and will be sentenced to about five years in prision. All over a poker seat. Well, we have an end to this case, here is the news in The Press of Atlantic City.

However, I am sure this isn't going to end what a hole the Taj Mahal is. I haven't been to the room since the incident and, frankly, I have no desire to even go there. The Taj is a dump, and though it has great games when it comes to stuff other than hold 'em, it's not enough for me to want to go there.

I never went to the bathroom by myself. I never went to the bathroom by the parking lot. I am sure people who have been to the Taj know exactly what I am talking about.

Trump Marina to Be Bought and Renamed

Since Trump Marina doesn't have poker, this doesn't really belong here, however, there are many people who find the goings on in Atlantic City interesting, including myself. This article is from The Press of Atlantic City and I am sure it will have more information regarding the sale starting tomorrow.

10 a.m. Update - ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — A New York gambling company is buying Atlantic City’s Trump Marina Hotel Casino for $316 million, and will rename it “Margaritaville,” the companies said Thursday.
Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, is buying the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump Entertainment is the casino company founded by real estate magnate Donald Trump. After the sale, the company will have two remaining casinos in Atlantic City: The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

“They are buying a wonderful building in a great location,” Trump said in a statement. “It has been an important part of our company with a loyal customer base and a dedicated team.”

Richard T. Fields, chairman of Coastal Marina, said the casino will take on a new identity once the sale closes. No timetable was given.

For more coverage, check for updates here and look in Friday's edition of The Press of Atlantic City.

PokerTek Press Release

Scouring the Internet, I came across the official press release from PokerTek announcing the wonderful PokerPro machines that are going to be in the Trump Plaza on June 12. They sound awfully excited, I for one can't wait. This will just give me another reason not to go into Trump Plaza to begin with.

I am sure I will eventually check it out and I bet there are plenty of people who enjoy this type of gaming. However, I never play poker on the Internet because I don't like the idea of a computer controlling the outcome of hands. Obviouisly online poker is a huge business, so it doens't bother some people. That's their call and not mine.

However, I can't do it. I tried online poker once (maybe twice) and didn't like it. So, I am sure I will give this a nice go. Then, I will walk over to the Trop for some real poker.

PokerTek Announces Contract for First PokerPro Installation in Atlantic City, New Jersey

MATTHEWS, N.C. — PokerTek, Inc., the industry pioneer and worldwide leader in automated poker tables and related software, announced today that they have signed a contract with Trump Plaza Casino to offer PokerPro(R) for field trial. The 12 table PokerPro poker room at Trump Plaza will open pending final approval by the State of New Jersey Casino Control Commission, and will be the first automated poker room in the state.

Poker is a new gaming addition at Trump Plaza Casino and their 100% PokerPro poker room will be just steps from the Boardwalk.

"The poker room at Trump Plaza is going to be a poker player's paradise," said Jim Rigot, General Manager for Trump Plaza Casino. "In addition to opening with a reduced $3 rake, our state-of-the-art poker room will have competitive game offerings, flat screens throughout, a comfortable lounge with convenient food and beverage offerings and blackjack tables. And when you consider the increased hands per hour and mistake-free play, it becomes an obvious choice for even the most seasoned players."

"We are delighted to enter field trial in New Jersey and are particularly excited to partner with such a prominent operator like Trump Plaza," said Chris Halligan, CEO of PokerTek. "PokerPro is a great game for both operators and players and entering the prestigious Atlantic City market is a significant milestone for our Company."

Harrah's Bad Beat Jackpot Hit

I know there have been people coming around looking for information on the Harrah's bad beat, well I am here to tell you that the bad beat was hit on Wednesday around 4 p.m.

I don't know exact details, but I don't think it really matters because that means the bad beat is less than 200K. Probably settled in around 35K or so. I guess that just leave Bally's as the only bad beat over 100K.

More Bad Beat News

Showboat and Caesar's have both hit since the last time I wrote, but Harrahs and Bally's are still going strong.

Harrah's is now pushing 200K. For those that dont know, it's aces full of jacks or better beaten, but you have to have a pocket pair in that situation, the same with quads.

At Bally's, it's quads or better beaten and the whole room gets a slice of the bad beat.

Atlantic City Bad Beat Jackpots

As far as I know, the bad beat jackpots at the Harrah's casinos are all above 100K with the Harrah's being the largest right now. Harrah's is around 180K last I heard.

I haven't been in any of the rooms in about week. Here are my rough estimates on where the bad beats are. If the bad beat is important to you , call each room. Some of the estimates are being conservative.

Harrah's: 180K
Caesars: 105K
Showboat: 123K
Bally's: 105K

And the Winner Is ...

Schuyler Twaddle was crowned winner of the Borgata's deep stack tournament. Here's Bluff Magazine's recap of the tourney. There isn't much play by play, just the final winners posted.

The Borgata had its own press release on the winner of the tournament. You can check it out at All In Magazine.

I don't think I say it enough, the Borgata is so good when it comes to promotion and marketing. Actually, I might say it more than I need to, but they really are good. I know more about the goings on at the Borgata than any other casino and I never even go to the Borgata.

My Bias Shows Through

When people think about gambling on the East Coast, the first inclination is Atlantic City - at least that's what I think of. Sure, I live near the area, but even when I lived two hours away, I always thought of Atlantic City first before heading to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun (that damn tolls are always a problem).

So, naturally, the East Coast Championships for poker would be in Atlantic City, probably at the Taj Mahal or the Borgata.

Guess what?

It's not. The 2008 East Coast Championships is actually held at the Turning Stone in upstate New York. I am not dogging the place. I have actually been there, but I am just curious as to how they can actually get the naming right to call it the East Coast Championship.

My other problem when it comes to this is that there are only no-limit events. NL deep stack and turbo events as well, but no other type of game. If this is going to be an East Coast Champion crowned, shouldn't it be in more than one type of event.

No limit is king and that is all people want to play these days, but I find it hard to believe that for one day out of the year, a casino isn't going to find a good group of Stud and Omaha players. The Borgata Poker Open is coming up in June and I am pretty excited for the seven-card stud tournament. More so because the people I play with plan on competing in the event. Sounds like easy to me.

Poker Pro Coming to A.C. - Not a Fan

I am not even going to get into how I am not a fan. Anyone who doesn't know, check out the Mohegan Sun trip report.

Anyway, here is the release I just saw.

GO ALL IN AT THE PLAZA
A FIRST FOR ATLANTIC CITY!
NOW POKER IS A WHOLE NEW DEALBEGINNING FRIDAY, JUNE 13

Awesome. I can't wait.

About the Borgata Tournament

I had no plans in playing in the Borgata Deep Stack Tournament this weekend, but there are others who did and those who tried to play. As I find posts and blogs about experiences, I will post them in this thread only, so as not to cause to much clutter around the blog.

Here's entry #1: Waiting made this guy lose a spot in the tournament. Showering doesn't pay, apparently, but having an alternate ticket does. This is over at Stoxpoker.com

Entry #2: Buddy Dank also has a little info on the Borgata poker tournament. He also has links to other sites.

Entry #3: Actress Cheryl Hines was in the tournament and busted out early. The Courier Post in N.J. has a story about the Curb Your Enthusiasm star.

Entry #4: Here's a little blurb in Card Player about today's final table.

Straight to the River

Against my better judgement and my last post, I played poker last night at Harrah's. The bad beat was up to 131K at the time and I had that small, itty, bitty hope that perhaps I would be going home with a couple of grand in my pocket. The worst a few hundred after beating the donkeys.

The result: An empty wallet and me shaking my head.

I am not into recounting bad beat hands unless it's the type that is going to get me paid. I wouldn't really call of them bad beats in the sense that I killed by one- or two-outers.

The frustrating part is playing your best poker, doing everything you are supposed to and still losing because the other person got lucky. I know, if it weren't for luck bad players wouldn't play. But the bad beat only invites gamblers to your game, so when you raise a $25 bet to $100 on a flop where you actually raised pre-flop and still get called by a draw that has just six outs AND IT HITS ... that's the frustrating part. Twice, last night the straight hit on the river and I lost. Both for sizable pots.

I still played it the right way, but annoying nevertheless.

There was no chip throwing this time. I tapped the table, smiled, threw my hair back and cried my way to my car.


Thank goodness for the government and their rebates.


(That's not me in that picture, by the way.)

The Dangers of a BBJ

Last night I was at Harrah's and the BBJ was up to $120,000 and if it wasn't hit it today, it is much higher than that. It's so enticing to think about hitting that BBJ, getting about 60K (before taxes) if your aces full of queens loses to four of a kind.

But, really, how often does that happen? I've been playing poker for a little while and have logged a ton of table time. I have never had a royal flush and I have never seen a hand in any casino that would have resulted in winning the bad beat jackpot that is established by Harrah's. I am not saying it's not possible, obviously it happens, but to me the reward just isn't enough of the risk.

The dangers are few when the bad beat gets this high. Suddenly the room is packed with cheap skates, who are only going to call you with hands that can be a bad beat hand. You have to be wary of the 5-7 of diamonds calling your preflop raise. Or a bad pocket pair calling your $100 reraise preflop. That has happened. Playing at the Showboat when the bad beat was pretty high, a guy called with me with pocket 10s after I reraised him to $100. I bet the flop, he mucks and shows his tens and says, "i only called for the bad beat."

Of course, in that situation it worked. But that's not always the story. I have seen Kings get beat by 2-3 suited because the person was calling for the bad beat and flopped two pair. People end up playing out of character and that's not even the least of the problems when it comes to bad beats.

The clientele the bad beat brings is horrible. You would think that Harrah's was located next to the Taj Mahal based on the type of people that show up. There are cheaters, cheapos and people who think they know everything about poker.

My problem is that I enjoy playing at Harrahs and the Showboat, so I don't really want to play in a room that doesn't offer the BBJ, and it has nothing to do with the BBJ. I like the atmosphere, the games and - most of the time - the people that come into the rooms. They are usually pleasant with the occasional wigger.

It's not just the way other people play. Last night, as I played for 20 minutes (I really only sat down for 20 minutes) I played two hands that I normally wouldn't play in hopes of hitting something big. It wasn't for the bad beat, at least I thought so. As I think back, I played 5-7 diamonds and 7-8 hearts, in position and for close to the right odds, but not exactly.

I thought about it and decided last night was not the time to be playing. I shouldn't change my game. Although, sometimes I make a play that is out of character only to change my game up. These two calls were neither of those situations. It was me putting money into the pot and then hoping for the best. There was no reason or logic behind either call.

Bad beats are fun if you hit, but not fun while others are just fishing for the big score.

I won't even get on how cheap the players are that come for the bad beat are toward the dealers. But that's a whole different tirade.

(Sorry if there are any spelling or grammatical errors. I'm working while writing this and not really looking at the screen.)

Big Upcoming Tournament in the Resort

Here's a list of the big upcoming tournaments. The special ones, not the daily tournaments in Atlantic City.

Trump Taj Mahal
April 26 (today): 50K Guaranteed. 7:15 pm. $300+$40.

Borgata
May 4-6: $500,000 Guaranteed, deep stack tournament. $2,000+$150
June 9 and on: Borgata Summer Open

Harrahs
May 3: Ron Jaworski Celebrity Poker Tournament.

Bally's
Jun 18: $150,000 Free Roll. You have to play 60 rated hours in the month of May to qualify.
As a side note, the bad beat at Bally's rewards everyone in the room, not just the table of the occurrence.

Mohegan Sun Trip Report

I recently visited my folks and for some reason whenever I go home, they love, love, love, love to go to Mohegan Sun. Apparently, driving down to see their daughter in Atlantic City isn't enough. They need to take me another two hours north where there is no real poker room.

Mohegan Sun is in the process of building a poker room. The last time I was there, they said the spring of this year, I believe, however, the room still isn't there. Instead there are four Poker Pro machines. I walked over and looked at the machines and thought to myself, this could be interesting. I want to try it out just to say I did so.

I walked over to the cage (in a cranky mood, but that's another story) where it was marked Poker Pro. I tell the man behind the cage that I want to register for a game. Apparently, I have to have my name on the list before I put money into my account. I look back at the impatient people standing the 15-people deep line and back at the Poker Pro machines, where the players just look like zombies.

To me, it just wasn't worth it. Maybe, I shouldn't have much of an opinion, but I was watching the players at the tables and they looked like drones on any slot machine. The players seemed bored, uninterested, which is probably more of a reason for me to sit down. I just don't understand why the casino makes you run around to different areas to get everything done.

It works this way in money Atlantic City casinos, but there are plenty of places where you can buy in at the table. Also, if you go broke, you have to get back up and go to the cage and re-supply your account as opposed to just buying chips from the dealer.

It seems like too much of a hassle for me. I honestly couldn't imagine myself sitting at the poker table for four hours trying to make money off of these people who really didn't seem as though they wanted to play.

My other complaint about the tables was that it was right in the middle of the gaming floor. It was loud, smoke-filled and didn't offer much movement. Another reason not to play.

I read in a Roy West stud book that if you ever have a reason not to play a certain, then don't. You are probably better off. I felt this way about playing poker at Mohegan, where the only games spread were $1-$2 NL and $3-$6 limit.

Perhaps I can talk my parents into taking me to Foxwood next time, where I can sit down and play some real stud.m

24 Indicted in Borgata Sports Betting Ring

This is a news story from The Star Ledger:

Indictments charge 24 in Borgata sports-betting case
by Rick Hepp
Thursday April 10, 2008, 5:22 PM

Two dozen people were indicted today on charges they took part in a sports betting ring run by a reputed Philadelphia mob associate and accepted more than $60 million in illegal wagers on two internet sites and the floor of an Atlantic City casino.

The ring was shut down last November following a 20-month State Police investigation that began with a tip that bets on college and professional football and basketball were being taken on the poker room floor of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

Further investigaiton by the State Police and state Division of Criminal Justice also found the ring was accepting bets at EaglesDP.com and justwagers.com. The Attorney General's Office announced the grand jury indictment today.

Prosecutors said the ring was run by Andrew Micali, 32, of Ventnor and Jack M. Buscemi Jr., 50, of Mullica Hill. Micali has been identified by law enforcement officials and news accounts as an associate of the Bruno crime family, a Philadelphia-based mob organization that has seen its hold over Atlantic City crime wither in the past few decades with increased enforcement.

Other alleged ring leaders include:
- Vincent Procopio, 42, of Philadelphia, charged with acting as Micali's right-hand man; he is identified as a reputed soldier of the Bruno family;
- Anthony Nicodemo, 36, of Philadelphia, who allegedly exercised leadership authority over the ring;
- Joseph Wishnick, 43, of Brigantine, a former Borgata poker room supervisor;
- and Jeffrey Ebert, 45, of Ventnor, a former Tropicana poker room supervisor.

All were indicted by a state grand jury today on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and promoting gambling. Micali is charged with promoting gambling, money laundering and criminal usury. The remaining defendants face similar charges.

"Mr. Micali sought to attract high rollers by setting up shop in the Borgata poker room. He also attracted the attention of the New Jersey State Police," Attorney General Anne Milgram said. "With cooperation from the Borgata, our detectives worked skillfully to uncover the massive scope of this criminal enterprise and build the case we presented to the state grand jury."

What We Know About the Taj Killing

Most of this was taken from Pokerking.com. I changed some things if I know them to be different. Also if there are any updates today I am just going to put them in this thread.

Arthur Prince is playing in a $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em game, and Vicente Perez is on the waiting list

-Arthur Prince loses all of his chips in a hand

-Prince stands up, telling everyone at the table that he is going to get more money from the ATM, and to hold his spot

-the dealer apparently doesn't hear Prince say this, and assumes that Prince is leaving the game. The dealer announces after a short while that a seat is open

-Vicente Perez takes a seat at the table-Prince comes back to reclaim his seat and finds Perez occupying it-Prince and Perez get into an argument. Other players at the table claim that they heard Prince say that he was coming back, while the dealer claims to have never heard this

-after ten minutes or so, Perez gets up from his seat and heads to the valet area outside. He has the dealer hold his spot.

-Prince becomes even more enraged because not only does he feel that Perez unjustly scooped his spot at the table, but now Perez isn't even using it

-Prince follows Perez outside and the argument continues. The argument escalates into violence. Apparently Prince starts beating Perez with either a cane or an umbrella. Some published reports have Prince beating Perez with an umbrella; other reports have Prince beating Perez with Perez's own walking cane.

-Perez has a knife on him and proceeds to pull it out and stab Prince in the cheek. The knife hits an artery and blood is gushing everywhere. Prince is pronounced dead at the AtlantiCare Medical Center about an hour and a half later

-an investigation into the event is currently taking place, and Perez is being held on a $500,000 bond

Update: Perez appeared in court and mostly answered questions about his rights. I am interested in seeing where this is going because if all the above is correct, then it seems as though Prince was defending himself. Honestly, I am really bothered by this.

I know poker is tough especially when you are losing. However, that's now reason to lose your cool. You can't go nutso on someone because you suck at poker or took a bad beat. Really, it's just money and, you're at the Taj, there are a million seats available.

Today, someone cut me (not that kind of cut) on a line that I was waiting for 20 minutes. I didn't knife the guy, I stood there and politely walked in front of him when he got to the head of the line.

Latest Info on Stabbing at the Taj

A little more has come out about the stabbing over a poker seat at the Taj. People I have talked to said it was an argument over a seat. Quite obviously the dumbest thing I have ever heard happening in a poker room.

I'm serious.

The guy who was killed was Arthur Price, 61, from Berkeley in Toms River. What the hell is wrong with people when you have to settle your arguments with violence. Settle it at the poker table. Take the other guy's money. But fighting in front of the poker room in the valet area is just idiotic. Price was stabbed about four to five times. Twice in the stomach and once in the back. His cheek was also cut.

This was a quote from the Asbury Park Press:

"He was just a very nice man,'' said Ida Imbimbo, a next-door neighbor. "This is the first I'm hearing about it. The police were at their house the other day, but no one was home. He was just someone who was nice to talk to. I can't imagine him in a fight.''

Of course, he was a nice guy. They are all nice. But he also went out side to fight with someone. Awesome.

Frankly, I am not surprised. In the years I have been playing poker, I have never gone to the Taj by myself. I have heard way too many stories about people getting and beat up in the bathrooms. I was told on my first visit to the Taj to never use the bathroom that are to right of the poker room near the arena. Those who have played at the Taj know what I am talking about.

Although, there was a woman on Fox News who was shocked because she said there was no place safe anywhere. Apparently, she has never been to the Taj before that. The boardwalk casinos are full of slime and filth. Not that the marina is any different. However, there is so much trash that comes off the Boardwalk.

One Person's Story

Whenever you play in a big tournament for the first time, there could be many different scenarios that arise that you make you scratch your head. You think it would be simple as just sitting down and pushing all in until you double up about three times.

However, tournaments are not that easy. From the moment you walk into the casino to the time you get busted out (or hopefully win) there is so much going on that it could be overwhelming.

Poker is supposed to be fun, so don't let the aggravation of pre-tournament antics get you off your game before you start playing. Once you start playing, the poker takes over and you never have to think about waiting around for hours. I don't have a good story to tell, but take it from Mark Matthews, who wrote this in Dec. at a WSOP event at Harrah's.

Here's the link and here's the story.

[I wrote this over lunch in early December, as an email to a few poker friends. They seemed to like the story, so I thought I'd post it here with a few additional edits.]

On December 8th I went to Atlantic City to participate in the 1st day of the December WSOP circuit events at Harrah's. I had some pretty good success for a first time try!

Getting into the Tourn
These are the WSOP official Circuit events… Harrah’s bought the WSOP tourney, and have been taking it to their casinos around the country. First day event... $300+40 buyin. Start time at 12pm. I get there around 10:15am… they had already sold out the first 704 seats. Then it was wait for “alternate” spot which means they fill in from alt list before consolidating tables.

So I decide to hang out in line and see where this goes. Was constantly thinking about bailing, because if you get your shot too late in the levels the buy-ins will gobble up your chips and its not worth it. Was also very frustrated with myself because I was actually up much earlier in the morning and instead of driving right to AC (about 50 miles from home) I found myself wasting time on stupid tasks around the house.

But I digress.

So I stood in line for about 2 ½ hours total before I got to the register and secured my spot. I was the 150th alternate! In the end there were 901 players total.

After the first 2 levels was a break, and players started dropping like flies… and I finally got a seat a table about 10 mins into the 3rd level. (45 min levels. Breaks every 2)

Tourn was split into 2 rooms… When I finally get my shot I was sent to the “real” poker room downstairs. Looking at the table my late start didn’t handicap me at all as there was not one super-stacked player. I hit a few decent hands… including early on having my pocket jacks turn into a flopped full-house that I got decent chips back for. Not too much significant unique play of note at the table, except for the guy to my right who starts playing "push all-in to steal blinds and antes", and gets caught after the 4th time…. Come on.. how many times ya gonna get away with that?

At one time in the early play I was about 18k. and lost 8k to a guy all-in who proceeded to eat up the table after that... he takes the next 4 hands from the table and is over 60k in the blink of an eye.

With 15 mins to go in the 4th level, my table is moved back upstairs (they want the real poker room free for cash games). My 4,000 start was now around 11,000.

After losing 5 mins to move upstairs, with the remaining 10 mins in the level, I win several hands in a row… including pocket aces that held up against pocket kings, knocking the guy out taking his 10k. In ten mins I went from 11k to close to 40k.

Goofy Side Story #1
The guy from earlier is still with me to my left… and he decides to have one of the complimentary massage professionals come over to loosen him up… “1/2 hour please”. I think this is insane... a half hour? After about 10 mins she starts pounding on the guy's back… he has his head down in a towel and his arms taking up twice as much space as he should… the temporary folding poker table is rocking like the boat on Gilligan’s island with every one of her smashes to his back… I was waiting for her to grab another chair and do an “Andre the Giant” from the top of the turnbuckle onto this guy’s shoulders…… I’m just trying to play frickin poker!!!! This guy knew half the dealers.. so he must be very comfortable and could keep focus.. but this is crazy. The table is polite… we don’t say anything too him… and its finally back to normal.

Goofy Side Story #2
A few dealers were pretty bad. You can tell the regulars dealers from people they pulled in from agencies. 64 tables going... and Harrah's apparently has a rule that they can't use their own dealers from Casinos under the same company (according to dealers in the tourn). Saw many mis-deals... bad counting of chips... not being able to count... The craziest story.. was a guy at my final table telling us a dealer twice in 3 hands dealt the FLOP without dealing cards to players!!! (The dealer had been dealing without getting the antes from the table... which is a no-no... When corrected by a player.. the dealer screws up twice because he was apparently used to dealing the flop after grabbing the antes.)

Blinds are getting bigger… and so are antes. I win just enough hands to keep me around 35k. Everyone is basically in that range until I get moved… sit down across from a 23yr old guy with about 60k in chips… and in my 30 mins sitting with him (before getting moved again..) he gets up close to 100k. When I leave later, the 2 chip leaders are him and another guy at 140k plus.
Anyway… my final table move… end up at a table next to the “featured table”. I can throw a paper ball at the final table. About 150 in the room (from 902) and only 3 women left. I know this because I sit next to one of them… decent player but she didn’t have enough chips to continue long.

So I have 35k… and I am still right in line with everyone at my table.

They announce the payouts. Paying top 90. Winner gets $67,000. Payouts start at around $350, and every 10 players or so bounces up another $70. You really need to hit top 20 or higher for real cash. When they get down to 91 players, they start playing “hand by hand”. Every table starts hands at same time to make sure they know the bubble-person. Play was slow, and players were tight. After the bubble is determined normal play starts again. At this point, all electronics.. radios.. Ipods.. had to be taken off.

Blinds are getting up there… 1500-3000, 400 ante.. and then 2000-4000, 500 ante. I don’t catch anything too exciting… float around 30,000 chips then start dipping lower… about 27k

Goofy Side Story #3
Guy across the table… friendly guy… he slightly out chips me. This guy proudly tells our part of the table that if he wins it all this would be his second time in the spotlight… the first being when he made “a movie you don’t tell mom about” with one of the 3 models that were part of the Spuds McKenzie Budweiser promotion in the 80s. Umm… In other venues I can be a fan of hearing about the oddities that other member's of our society bring into their lives... but I am feeling good about my chances of moving up in the tournament ranks so I'm not interested in his shot at an IMDB entry, and I'm now getting concerned about the germ content on the playing cards. I also don't think the young woman next to me cared either and I was expecting her to say “who is Spuds McKenzie?”. Thankfully, no one asks for details and the story fades.

Actually, he was probably the closest brush with a celebrity I had the whole day.

Nice little surprise bonus: At the dinner break (around 7pm) they give us a $10 food coupon to be used at any of the restaurants in the casino. There is a temporary food stand set-up in the tournament room, but I opt to catch up with a friend of mine and we end up at the new Harrah's Waterfront buffet. Price is $29 minus my $10 food credit... a very reasonable $19. This place is worthy of a blog post of its own, so to make it short... they have an AMAZING variety of very high quality food. Steaks to order. Crab Legs. Asian Food. Pasta. Desserts... I will be coming back with my family, probably in January and I hope to blog about the restaurant then.

Anyway…. on to my demise.... I am big blind. 4,000 + 500 ante already committed. I am dealt A-Q off. Table folds all the way around… till it gets to the position right of the button... to the previously mentioned Spuds McKenzie guy. He doubles the big-blind… 8,000. I think very quickly (one of my traits..) … consider just calling.. but I think he has high connectors, or low-mid pair… standard move for everyone in the tournament up to this point is to go all-in with high pairs... with my stack moving closer to the low side… I push all-in. He calls after 2 mins of thought.

He has Q-Q. (he didn't follow the rules, he should've pushed all in pre-flop!!) I have A-Q. I have straight option.. or mo’ Aces.

Flop comes Q-10-6… He "sets up"… I am toast.

I am out. 69th postion. I cash for $473…. 10 hours into the tourn… So I made a cool $13 per hour. Woo-hoo. Before taxes. weee. Subtract my $340 buy-in, and... ah, I don't even want to type it.

I beat myself up a little over my push all-in… but then realize if I had just called, the moment I see that Q on the flop (and my Ace kicker) I was pushing all in regardless…

So my fate was set regardless.

UPDATE!
I am listed in the event winners...
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/event.asp?tourneyID=4318&groupID=363

And I now have a player profile page at the official World Series of Poker website.
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/playerprofile.asp?playerID=39155

Damn... I hope that doesn't count as my 15 minutes of fame.

Tropicana's Bad Beat Jackpot

I got a phone call around 11 a.m. on Saturday informing me that there was a BBJ at the Tropicana. The difference from the other casinos around town is the BBJ is for tournaments only. It's a company-funded jackpot that starts at $500 and $2 is entered for every person that enters their tournaments.

It's thrilling I'm sure.

That's just my little update.

What The *%$# is Wrong With People

Last night sitting at Harrah's I heard the most disturbing story. Two men fought over a poker seat at the Taj Mahal. They decided to go outside to settle who is going to get the seat. One guy beat up the other. Then, the one that got messed up decided it was in his best interest to stab the other and kill him.

Awesome. Because I am sure it was worth a poker seat.

Although, the way I heard the story was that the man got his throat slit at the poker table.

Here is the write up that was in The Press of Atlantic City. There are some disturbing photos on The Press' website of the man who got stabbed. He was walking fine it seemed before he got into the ambulance. Although, now he is dead.:

An argument at a poker table Saturday at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort escalated into a stabbing in the parking garage, leaving one man dead and another in custody, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
The incident took place at 2:46 p.m. Saturday, spokeswoman Madelaine Vitale said.

Vicente Perez, 57, of Georgia, began arguing with another man at a Taj poker table, Vitale said. They stepped out of the casino and into the valet parking area of the garage near the Virginia Avenue entrance, where the argument descended into violence.

The victim, whose identity was not released pending the notification of his family, was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m. at AtlantiCare Medical Center in Atlantic City, Vitale said.

Perez was taken into the custody of the Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, Vitale said, and was expected to be charged with aggravated manslaughter and two weapons charges, as the knife was recovered at the scene.

Textbook Poker

Since my last post, I've actually played poker twice. I had an itch, I kept on scratching. There is a good shot that I am going to play tonight as well.

In two sessions (at the Showboat and Harrahs), I can honestly say there are no hands that I am going to remember come next week. I really just played textbook poker. I raised with good hands, bet with strong hands and folded when I had nothing. I came out on top.

I think this is just a way for me to get back on track. Eventually, I will get back into trying to bluffs, but right now the people I have played against are so bad that it doesn't matter.

Atlantic City is a great place to play poker, I wonder why I wasn't in the mood all these months. Now, I just want to play everyday (probably until I lose again).

My current quest is to get MT to quit his job and play poker for a living. He is really the best player I know. He came out one night with me while I played cards and he won, but not a lot. I think, however, if I wasn't there he would have played longer and probably had a much better session.

I really think he is good enough to play for a living and he hates his job. I think it's a no brainer.

When It's Been Too Long

I haven't played real poker since last year, literally. It's been that long. At first, the reasoning behind it was because I just wasn't in the mood to play. Anyone who plays poker knows you should never play when you aren't in the mood. You make goofy plays and don't play the way you are supposed to, which is what I did the last time I was at a table.

Then, poker became an incentive. If I lost a certain amount of weight then I would be able to go play poker again (I'm a girl and this is the stupid way I think).

Last week, I was in Tampa for spring training. One of the night I ventured over to the Hard Rock Casino and went in to the poker room. I looked around and watched one hand. Just one and the itch was back. I know poker in Florida is slightly different, but I want to play now.

I need the feel of those chips in my hands and the satisfaction of picking off someone's bluff. I want to throw down my chips and cut them out so deliberately so that someone has to call me.

Of course, many will think that's easy. You live right in Atlantic City!

I'm in Greensboro, N.C. where the closest legal card room is the Borgata. The one time I want to play cards, I am stuck in the middle of a state where there is no where to play.

I have the chance to go to Tampa next week (though it's looking doubtful) and I am definitely going back to the Hard Rock if I do.

However, I have a feeling that come Wednesday, MT and I will be in a cardroom. The two of us have the itch. He actually hasn't played either, but him for different reasons. He has gotten sick of the game, the attitude of many players and just couldn't handle the scene, which includes many reasons that I can't list on the blog.

Despite that MT wants to play again. I am rooting for him.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct? And they say poker isn't a sport

Check out this story from the Baltimore Sun about the WSOP poker event going on Caesar's this week. This is pretty funny.

We have news of what may be a poker first -- at least for organized tournament poker. Yesterday, at a World Series of Poker circuit event at Caesars Atlantic City, the chip leader at the final table of a major event was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The player, who is identified in the WSOP press release as a general contractor from Richmond, Va., was thrown out of the game and "forcefully removed from the tournament room" at a point when five players remained in the opening event of the WSOP Circuit tournament that had a $300 buy-in and started with more than 1,000 players.
At the point the Richmond man, Lesley Thornburg, was disqualified, he had earned about $19,000 for his fifth-place standing. The winner, a 76-year-old retiree from Brick, N.J., collected a little more than $76,000.
According to the official tournament report, Thornburg had been given two warnings for unsportmanlike behavior the previous day. The behavior was described thusly: "Ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours."
The final straw came when Thornburg was actually the beneficiary of great luck twice. On one all-in, his ace-7 was dominated by an opponent's ace-queen, but Thornburg caught a 7 to grab the chip lead. Then, two hands later, he knocked out a player in sixth place when Thornburg had 4-4 against 7-7 and caught a 4.
But then Thornburg lost control, the report said, and he "began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon." He was warned by tournament officials and finally, when he shoved half his stack into the pot and announced "all in," officials ejected him for the "annoying and confusing antics."
Thronburg may consider himself lucky. In the Old West, all this would have ended much differently.

Here is the recount from Bluff Magazine.

5th Place Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone's patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, all in. Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg's immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, VA earned $19,026 in prize money.

Poker Players Can't Hide From the Tax Man

Here's a story from the AP. Poker players are going to have to start reporting winnings. blah blah blah. It's something to put up.

Starting Tuesday, it's going to get harder for poker tournament winners to bluff the tax man.
Casinos will be required to report winnings of $5,000 or more to the Internal Revenue Service, and will hand gamblers a tax form to record the payout.
It's actually a compromise from an original IRS proposal that would have made casinos withhold 25 percent of tournament winnings for tax purposes.
"There was such an outrage and outcry from the community, to suck all that money out" that the government changed its mind, Marissa Chien, a gambling tax expert in Las Vegas, told The Press of Atlantic City for Monday's newspapers.
"It allows the IRS to keep track of poker players, because poker is real big now," said Chien, who is co-author of the book "Tax Help For Gamblers."
Kevin Lillo, a shift manager at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, said the new rule will be little more than "a slight inconvenience."
"It's always been the law" to report winnings, he said. "All they're doing is making the casino enforce it. They're seeing money that's falling through the cracks."
Bruce Kramer of Voorhees has never won $5,000 in a single tournament, but he could see how it would be a problem for serious players.
Gamblers across the country are already required to report all their winnings, whether it's from tournaments, slot machines or table games.
"If you're already reporting your income and being truthful and honest, this shouldn't affect you one bit," Chien said. "But for those who try to stay off the radar, this is going to make it that much harder."

Pinnacle May Not Come To AC After All

I found this out pretty early in the day, but I was busy talking about Cecil Fielder becoming to the new Atlantic City Surf manager to put up a post about this. However, it's 4:30 a.m. and sleeping is just overrated.

Pinnable may not be coming to Atlantic City after all. You can't drive anywhere in the area without seeing the silly billboards:

"You know what this town could use?"

Apparently, the answer is another empty lot. Pinnacle has pushed back the date of building the casino to sometime late next year. But .. and there is a but .. but, they could pull out of the deal altogether if the market doesn't improve.

"I've been asked by a number of people, 'How the hell are you going to build in Atlantic City?' The answer is, if the credit markets don't improve, we won't build," Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee said during a conference call with gaming analysts to The Press of Atlantic City.

Awesome. So you buy a casino, take jobs away and then tear it down. Savvy business move on their part. I can't wait to see what else they have in store.

Too Busy to Play, Too Busy to Blog, Too Busy for Life

That's been me for the past month. I've been extremely busy with work and other things going on in my life, my blog had to take a little break. There has been news though, I just haven't had the time to bring it to you.

Let's see if I can fill you in quickly.

Revel has gotten final approval to go on with the project next to the Showboat. That should be exciting. I am looking forward to all of the new casinos coming about here in the next few years.

Borgata had to give money for the first time out of its own pocket for the Wednesday guaranteed tournaments. It was five people shy of the minimum they need not to pay out. The weather was awful that and it was midweek. Borgata paid up though. Good for them.

Harrah's BBJ is over $100,000 (last time I heard). I don't know if it's been hit in two days. All the talk I've heard about the type of people BBJs bring in, I didn't understand until now. I haven't played, but, gosh, the stories I've heard from dealers about the people they are dealing with is incredible. If I were playing on those games, there is a good shot I would have gotten kicked out.

That's all I got for now. Sorry, for the lack of updates. I'll try to get some more time in between those phone calls to update the blog.

If you've heard anything, let me know.

Women Are Making Their Mark (cactus i.v.)

Women are making a bigger mark in the poker world everyday and don't think Binion's, home of Poker Hall of Fame, hasn't noticed the softer side of the game.

Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHOF) will debut Saturday at Binion’s Casino in Las Vegas. The inaugural inductees include Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, and Marsha Waggoner.

Only members of the WiPHOF are invited to attend, but anyone (man or woman) can gain membership. A membership is $75 (20 percent is donated to the Breast Cancer Angels Foundation).

After the ceremony, there will be a $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament at 2 p.m., which is open to the public.On Monday, members of the WiPHOF are invited back to Binion’s for a freeroll to win $1,000 in cash and prizes donated. The winner will also get a pass to a World Poker Tour Boot Camp.

Candidates for the WiPHOF must meet a certain criteria.

• A woman must have been active as a player or industry leader at some time during a period beginning at least 15 years prior to election.

• She must have contributed to the world of poker in some significant way, either by wins/cashes in major tournaments or by making significant contributions to the poker industry.

• She must be a proponent of women’s poker. While she is not required to play in women-only events, she must support its existence.

Enright was the first woman inducted in the Poker Hall of Fame. She is the first woman to win a major open World Series of Poker event (pot-limit Omaha in 1996), the only woman to make a WSOP main event final table and has won two WSOP ladies championships.

Isaacs has been playing poker since 1986. She won back-to0back ladies championships at the World Series of Poker in 1996 and 1997.

Johnson is known as the First Lady in Poker. She is a former publisher of Card Player magazine and current World Poker Tour announcer. She won a WSOP bracelet in 1997 in the $1,500 seven-card Razz event. She was a co-founder of the World Poker Industry Conference, the World Poker Players Conference and the Tournament Directors Association. She was the original chairperson for the Poker Players Alliance and still serves on its board of directors.

Waggoner, an Australian native who now lives in Los Angeles, has cashed in over 100 major tournaments, including 18 times in the WSOP. The Aussie moved to L.A. to support her family by playing poker.



Check out my othr cactus i.v. columns here.

PTSeats.com Announces 90K Tourney at the Taj

I'm pretty busy right now to paraphrase this press release, so I am just going to post it in its entirety. The important stuff is up top anyway.

Online Ticketing Agency for Poker Seats Offers Extra Prizes Exclusively to Users at Event

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Jan. 28 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- As the first and only online poker tournament seat reservation system, PTseats.com proudly presents the inaugural $90K event to be held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on February 16, 2008.

PTseats.com offers avid poker players the opportunity to securely reserve their seats in advance using any major credit card. The convenience of PTseats.com allows players to claim their reserved seat and arrive to the tournament with ease, without the hassle of waiting in line.

Players who register and purchase their poker tournament seats for the February 16 event through PTseats.com will be eligible for the chance to win various sponsor-added prizes, including a professional poker table. The overall winner of the tournament will win a seat at the World Series of Poker Academy at the Caesars Indiana on March 29, 2008, a $1700 value.

"We want to encourage poker players to visit PTseats.com and see how easy it is to reserve a poker tournament seat online," said the company founder, Fabricio Schaffrath. "Unregistered players at the $90K event will certainly regret missing out on the chance to win these exclusive prizes."

Since the launch of PTseats.com in August of 2007, the website has been flooded with an array of positive feedback and has even been referred to as the "Ticketmaster(R) for poker tournaments."Tom Gitto, the director of Poker Operations at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, is a fond supporter of the service.

"PTseats.com has presented a ground-breaking convenience to the world of poker tournament registration," he commented. "It has truly transformed the efficiency of the casino during our poker tournaments."

For additional information: www.ptseats.com or contact at 1.866.766.8922.

MGM's Grand Plans

Forbes article on MGM AC Project

All I read was the casino is going to have a poker room. I am sure there is more to this story, but that's all I needed to read.

Here's the link to the article. It also states to facility plans to open by 2012.

Live Borgata Poker Results

Yeah, I am not providing live results. (For a nominal fee, I would). However, there are people who are doing this for you and I will gladly point you in their direction.

It's easy to find - Borgata Poker

Tell them I sent you. You'll get nothing out of it and I will get even less.

Trip Reports from Showboat Tournament II

I didn't go out to the Showboat Poker Tournament II, but there are a couple of trip reports over at the Two Plus Two forums, where I am a big fan. It's a great forum with lots of experienced poker players.

One of the reports of from a guy who ended up at the final table and did extremely. Congratulations to him.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=102961

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=102992

No more Borgata midnight madness

I heard from a Borgata dealer last night that it was ending the midnight tournaments after the World Poker Tour stop is over. Apparently, the Borgata isn't making enough money off of these tournaments, so they are just getting rid of it.

The Taj's midnight madness has been popular, so the Borgata thought it would use that idea and just make it better. While the buy-in is slightly fairer and the structure is a little better, it just isn't doing well enough for the Borgata to want to keep it around.

I have never played in it, so I couldn't give you any personalized view on the tourney. I'm not a fan of the turbo tournaments, which this one was. The Borgata's rounds were 15 minutes long, only slightly better than the Taj's 12-minute rounds.

Revel casino project may hit a snag

Here's a story from The Press of Atlantic City yesterday that shows a possible problem for the Revel casino project. I was pretty excited about this casino after I saw the plans for this casino. It was different for Atlantic City and definitely a place I would check out as I am just dieing for a good poker room with great dealers.

Atlantic City Housing Authority questions financing for $2B. Revel casino

By MAYA RAO Staff Writer, 609-272-7221
Published: Friday, January 11, 2008

ATLANTIC CITY - The head of the Housing Authority raised questions in an interview Friday about whether Revel Entertainment Group has sufficient financing to follow through on its proposal for a $2 billion casino on which construction has just begun in the South Inlet.

Dennis Ricci's remarks followed a controversial decision the authority made at a special meeting Thursday night that will hamper Revel's access to $53 million its financers are holding in escrow until it has a so-called reverter clause stricken from its agreement with the authority. The casino, slated to open in 2010, would be the biggest and most expensive in the resort.

"The question that needs to be asked is why this is undercapitalized," Ricci said. "Everyone knew going in that the reverter was in place. (Revel CEO and Chairman Kevin DeSanctis) knew it was in place. That was their business decision."

The authority maintains that all of its redevelopment agreements have carried such a clause, under which developers must complete construction within a specified period - among other requirements - or the land "reverts" to the Housing Authority. The measure was implemented to hold developers accountable after the resort in decades past saw a slew of failed promises resulting in vacant lots; the authority only removes it from agreements once construction is complete.

An agreement from a previous developer bearing the clause was carried over to Revel in 2006 once the company, backed by Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley, purchased five acres of authority-owned land as part of its 20-acre beachfront site. Revel only recently submitted papers seeking 20 different amendments, one of them a request to drop the reverter clause.

The Housing Authority approved the majority of the amendments sought. And it offered to meet Revel halfway, said Ricci, by agreeing to remove the clause once the company secured permanent financing. So far, Revel is operating on $160 million in interim financing in an effort to start construction quickly even though permanent financing was difficult to obtain because of problems in the credit markets. Revel expects to secure permanent financing in three or four months.

"We will bend over and do something we have never done for anyone else before by taking out the reverter prior to completion," Ricci said.

The unanimous vote has prompted threats and criticism from Revel, which said it was counting on tapping into its $53 million in escrow by the end of the month to proceed with the project. Revel officials met with Mayor Scott Evans in City Hall on Friday to press the issue, and several City Council members are backing an ordinance for next Wednesday's meeting that would eliminate the authority's redevelopment powers.

Escrow money aside, just $68.3 million of Revel's interim financing is allotted for construction improvements; $52 million is going to pay off existing debts, authority documents show.

"That's (the construction improvements) less than 3 percent of project," Ricci said. "That's a very small amount of money."

"The reverter is the only control or remedy the public sector has in case there are any defaults along the way," he added.

Revel attorney Lloyd Levenson raised sharp questions about the Housing Authority's motivations, claiming the authority asked Revel during the course of their negotiations for money in exchange for dropping the clause.

"They know as well as everyone else knows that this is a partnership between Morgan Stanley and Revel, and we have done more in a year than any other developer has done on that site in 40 years," DeSanctis said.

Levenson, who said the company has spent more than $250 million overall on the project - including the cost of the land - also noted that the authority would only have the power to "revert" five acres of land, which would be useless because it is too small for a hotel or casino.

Among the other concessions the authority granted to Revel, according to documents, was extending the term required for completion from three years to four - with the option of extending that term by paying $250,000 for every six-month interval after. The Housing Authority balked at an additional request from Revel to change the period the authority has to approve its permanent financing to just 10 days. The authority is pushing for a 30-day period.

The Housing Authority is also asking Revel to increase its hiring goals for unemployed and under-employed resort residents from 20 to 30 percent, a proposal that Revel rejected, according to Ricci.

City Council passed a resolution Dec. 28 ordering the authority to approve the amendments Revel was seeking, but Ricci claims he did not find out until later and had to call the Clerk's Office for the documents. Evans said he met with Ricci on Friday.

"The city is very concerned about this issue and the city intends to see that everything can be done in an amicable way to see that the Revel project continues without any disruption," Evans said.

The mayor has a seldom-invoked veto power over authority meeting minutes, according to the city code, which says that no action taken by the authority is effective until approved by the mayor or 10 days after a copy of the minutes is delivered to his office.

Evans, who was unaware of that power, said he would consult with the city solicitor on it and that he believed the issue could be resolved within the next few days.

Councilman Tim Mancuso said he thought the authority had acted with good intentions, though some miscommunication may have occurred, and suggested that all parties could sit down without having to "go to war."

State Sen. James Whelan, D-Atlantic, a former resort mayor and frequent critic of the government's interference here with attracting what he believes is much-needed development, had this to say: "Frankly, this is the kind of snag that comes up that developers look at and kind of say geez, what's going on?"

To e-mail Maya Rao at The Press:

mrao@pressofac.com

Call Your Hairstylist ...

I know I am a little late on this, but sometimes even the real job gets in the way of things.

On Wednesday, the World Poker Tour announced the creation of the World Poker Tour Ladies League. The WPT is incorporating a title into the events it was previously holding.

I bet all the women out there are asking, well how can I play? Easy. Come to the Borgata on Jan. 20. It’s the first stop of the five-date tour. I have every intention of playing in this tournament. I actually had planned on it before it was given this prestigious title. This is part of my lesson in becoming a better tournament player. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Women are a growing demographic in the game. In every poker room, you can find a handful of women, not all are good, but they are there.

However, the men still seem enamored by the fact women are playing in their game. Some even get scared. One time I sat in a cash game at the Taj and the man to my immediate left got up and said he couldn’t play with women on the game because they take all his money and suck out.
Well, except for that silly Showboat tourney I played in recently, I don’t suck out. I think he just plays badly.

But it’s comments like that that scare women away from the game. It’s relative to high school where there have been studies done showing girls are intimidated by boys. That was never my problem, which is probably why I enjoy sitting at a poker table so much.

These women’s tournaments and women’s events are great for these other types of women though. It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere and they get a chance to enjoy a social game with women of the same interests.

As much as there are other women playing poker now, I find it hard to find another woman I can actually enjoy poker with. Either they think they are better than they really are and don’t want to listen to advice when they ship it, or the women just love the social aspect of the game.

I plan on being at the Borgata for my first major tournament. And as I’ve learned, you have to play bad to win these things. Just kidding.

Here’s the rest of the schedule:
• January 20 – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa – Atlantic City, NJ – $300+$50
• Feb 2-3 – Commerce Casino* – Los Angeles, CA – $970+$95
• March 16 – Bay 101** – San Jose, Ca. – $300+$30
• March 29 – Foxwoods Resort and Casino – Mashantucket, CT – $530+70
WPT Ladies’ Championship
• April 13-14 – Bellagio – Las Vegas, Nevada – $1500+$90
• April 25 – Final Table

Colony Offers $850M for Trop

Check out the latest article from The Press of Atlantic City on the selling of the Tropicana.

LATEST NEWS: Colony Capital makes $850M. offer for Tropicana
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, 609-272-7258
Published: Wednesday, January 9, 2008

ATLANTIC CITY - Colony Capital LLC, a private real estate investment firm that already owns two Atlantic City gaming halls, has made an $850 million cash offer for the troubled Tropicana Casino and Resort.

Los Angeles-based Colony expressed its interest in a letter to Gary S. Stein, a former New Jersey Supreme Court justice who is overseeing Tropicana's sale in his role as a state-appointed conservator.

Colony spokeswoman Lisa Baker declined to comment Wednesday night. Other company representatives in Los Angeles and New York could not be reached. The Press of Atlantic City learned of the offer from people familiar with Colony's letter.

The Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and sister property Resorts Atlantic City are owned by Colony affiliates. Colony tried to acquire Tropicana in 2006 but was outbid by Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex Corp. in a $2.75 billion takeover of Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas formerly owned by Aztar Corp.

Columbia Sussex, in turn, was denied a new gaming license Dec. 12 by the state Casino Control Commission following a disastrous 11-month reign that included mass job cuts, regulatory violations and complaints of unsanitary conditions and poor customer service. The commission appointed Stein to take charge until the casino is sold.

Interest in Tropicana has intensified in the last two weeks as potential bidders have begun jockeying for position. Connecticut's Mohegan Sun casino is looking at Tropicana as part of its East Coast expansion plans. In addition, a private investment group headed by New Jersey real estate developer Curtis Bashaw and former Atlantic City gaming executive Wallace R. Barr has confirmed it may make a bid for Tropicana.

As owner of two of Atlantic City's smaller casinos, Colony Capital reportedly has been shopping for a large property that would transform it into a major player in the country's second-largest gaming market.

The sprawling Tropicana has 2,129 hotel rooms, 3,400 slot machines and about 150,000 square feet of casino space. However, the aging casino floor and hotel towers are badly in need of renovation to complement Tropicana's tourist-friendly retail and entertainment complex known as The Quarter.

Gaming analysts have estimated Tropicana will fetch between $800 million and $1 billion in an auction. Colony's offer suggests a minimum of $850 million. The buyer likely will have to spend a few hundred million dollars more to refurbish the 27-year-old property.

Other possible bidders include Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., Ameristar Casinos, Penn National Gaming and Crown Ltd., a gaming company headed by billionaire James Packer, Australia's richest man, according to analysts.

One private group seen as a likely bidder is Gomes + Cordish Gaming Management LLC, a newly formed partnership between Dennis Gomes and Baltimore-based retail developer Cordish Co. Gomes was Tropicana's chief executive when it was owned by Aztar, while Cordish is the developer of an Atlantic City shopping and entertainment district known as The Walk.

Founded in 1991 by Thomas J. Barrack Jr., Colony Capital has about $36 billion in real estate and casino holdings worldwide. Colony bought Resorts Atlantic City in 2001 for $140 million. It acquired the Hilton in 2005 as part of a $1.24 billion deal with Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. for four casinos in New Jersey, Mississippi and Indiana.

To e-mail Donald Wittkowski at The Press:

DWittkowski@pressofac.com

Calling All Business Tycoons

This year’s installment of the Executive Poker Tour kicks off Jan. 11-14 at the Trump Taj Mahal. It’s a busy month for major poker tournaments in Atlantic City as the World Poker Tour starts on Jan. 15 at the Borgata.

Steve Dannenmann, Rhett Butler, Victor Ramdin and Lee Childs are all confirmed for the event.

Part of what makes the Executive Poker Tour intriguing is the lucrative cash game that is played during the event. This cash game isn’t for meager bankrolls. The minimum buy-in is $100,000, which puts at least $1 million on the table for Saturday’s side game.

The tournaments are a little more affordable.

Schedule:
Friday – 9 a.m. $65 turbo satellite for $500 event.
11:15 a.m. $500 NLHE Trophy Event
2 p.m. $150 Super Satellite for main event
5 p.m. $150 Super Satellite for main event
9 p.m. $250 Super Satellite for main event.

Saturday – 9 a.m. $140 Turbo super satellite for $1,000 event
11:15 a.m. $1,000 NLHE Trophy Event
2 p.m. $150 Super Satellite for main event
5 p.m. $150 Super Satellite for main event
9 p.m. $250 Super Satellite for main event

Sunday – 9 a.m. $300 Turbo Super Satellite for main TV event
11:15 a.m. - $2,500 NLHE Main TV Event

Monday – 11:15 a.m. $500 NLHE Second Change Trophy Event
3 p.m. – Main event final table

I was Robbed!

I know there are people who move to the Atlantic City area for a numbers of reasons. I moved down here three years ago after living in New York my whole life.

The first place I lived was not The Landings, but unfortunately I did live there for some time. This post is my warning for anyone considering heading down to the area perhaps to get a job as a dealer or to grind it out in A.C.

DO NOT LIVE IN THE LANDINGS IN ABSECON!

They are nice apartments, modestly priced, which is why I moved there. However, that's when the trouble started. When I moved into The Landings, they weren't even ready for me. The cleaners came while I was in the process of moving even after the complex pushed my move in date back a month. Everything was dirty and wasn't that much better after I moved in.

So, I lived there for a few months and then there was a leak in my bathroom above the shower. I called for it to get fixed, but at least two weeks went by before someone came. They ripped open the ceiling, fixed the leak and then left the hole saying they would come back within the next two days.

Two days turned into THREE MONTHS! It was three months and lots of complaining before someone fixed the hole. By this point it was December and knew I didn't want to live there anymore. Once my lease was up I was moving.

This is where the fun begins. It's about two months before my lease is up and I still haven't received a letter asking if I planned to renew, so I went to the leasing office and told them and they said they would take care of it. I move out.

Almost three months after I left, I realized I still hadn't received my security deposit. I called and called, but got no response. it wasn't until I went down there and pretty much raised hell that anything got done and I got my deposit at the end of August. Only it was a partial deposit. Over $900 was missing for rent for the month of June.

I moved out in May. You see my dilemma. Since then, I have called, visited, called the management company, sent copies of my lease, sent emails and still I have not received my money even though Stacey, the property manager, said I would have it in two weeks after I received the initial deposit.

It's now 2008, I moved out last May and still don't have my money. I am making one last phone call tomorrow to the mysterious Stacey who has seemingly disappeared over the last two months. If I don't talk to her because she has left for the day, not come in yet or she is in a meeting (all excuses I have been given over the last two to three months), my next stop is Atlantic County Court in Atlantic City.

Small Claims Court, here I come.

I have read similar if not worse complaints on rental sites over the Internet. Don't trust me, do the search yourself.

As you can see, this place is a waste. So don't even look there if you plan on moving down here.

When You Play Bad, You Win

(This wasn't for the picture I wanted to use, but the only that didn't make me throw up. The pic comes from All In Poker Blog. Check out it. ... Notice the straight flush. If you can't read the picture, just click on it to make it larger.)

In my first foray into tournament poker this year, I learned that playing badly nets you big pots. It's not the way I like to win, but, unfortunately, it's the only way I won at the Showboat 7 p.m. tournament on Thursday.

I played so poorly, it wasn't even funny and I even felt uncomfortable winning that way. I am not very good at winning what I consider the wrong way. It's a strange feeling for me to get my money in when I am way behind. It happened three times on Thursday that I put my money in moments of desperation only to come away with a massive pile of chips.

I am not very good at recounting hands, which is why there isn't much of it in my posts. I also don't want to bore people with replaying hands because there is nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about them.

The short story, I have J-9 and go all-in with less than 10 big blinds left. Two people call with K-Q and K-10. Jack hits the flop and holds up, so I triple up. Another hand, I raise with Q-J of diamonds. I get a caller, then min-raised (the guy also moved all-in). I call and so does the other. The flop comes with a K and one diamond. Check, check. The turn is a 9D, so I bet. The guy pushes all-in, I feel desperate and I call. He has pocket 9's. The guy who was all in has pocket K's. So I'm up against two sets and I hit the 10 on the river for a straight. I win again and I felt sick about it.

The other hand I sucked out on was when it folded to me and I raised on the button with AH-10D. The big blind moves all-in for a little less than a min.-raise. I call and he has pocket 10's. Two hearts hit the flop and the board flushes out and I take home that pot as well.

The one hand I actually played properly with the math and everything is the one where I got snapped off. I have Q-3c in the big blind and the blinds are $1,000/$2,000. There are two callers and the small blind min.-raises it $4,000. So I just need to call $2,000 to win $16,000 because I know the other people are calling. I am getting 8-1 on my money, I have to call.

I don't watch the flop and pay attention to the man to my right. He leads out for $10,000. I look at the flop and it's 8-Q-3 (no clubs). I make it $30,000. The others fold and now the bettor goes into the tank. He questions if I flop a set, I don't respond. He starts counting his money and says to himself that if he calls and loses, he still has enough money left over, which was wrong because I had him covered.

So he pushes all-in and I call. He has A-Q, which is the exact hand I put him on.

Turn K
River 8
I get negated.

He takes down the pot with two pair, aces and eights. I had just $1,500 left, enough for the small blind on the next hand and go down, but not even swinging. I get knocked out 28th out of 84 people.

First lesson of the year: When you play bad, you win and you play good, you lose.

Just kidding. I have to play better. The last hand I would have played the same way every time. The hands before that, not so much.

Shady Poker at Its Finest

I go through poker sites daily to see if there is anything new or fascinating I need to know about. Eh, mostly because I get bored at work and need something to entertain myself.

So, here I am on the Harrah's poker site, where you can get a daily update on the Bad Beat Jackpot. Next to Bally's (the shadiest card room in Atlantic City) is an asterisk. We all know what asterisks mean -- problems.

This is what it says in the fine print though:

"*Bally's Bad Beat Jackpot is paid when a hand of Four Deuces or better, loses to a bigger hand at showdown. Both of the hole cards of the winning hand and losing hand must be in play. 30% of the jackpot is paid to the loser of the hand, 20% paid to the winner of the hand, and 50% is divided between all other qualified players in the room."

Every other Harrah's property is Aces Full of Jacks or better is beaten. The loser of the hand gets 50 percent, the winner gets 25 percent and the rest of the table gets the other 25 percent.

Why do the same rules not apply at Bally's? Is it because all of the shadiness that went on with this room when the bad beat was brought in. I think the bad beat was hit about four times in a week. I might be slightly off on that count, but I think I am fairly close.

I know for a while the Bally's dealers had to use shufflers and shuffle the cards once they took it out. Honestly, I haven't played in months. Ever since a dealer told me to muck my hand in another language.

I get he was being nice to me and trying to help out, but I like to hold up the integrity of the game and I am not trying to win with an unfair advantage.

My first mistake

I ended up at Harrah’s last night thinking I could hit its 7:15 p.m. tournament. It’s similar to Showboat’s and I enjoy Harrah’s poker room, so that’s where my car headed. It really has a mind of its own.

However, when I got to Harrah’s there was no tournament starting at 7:15 p.m., it moved to 8:15 p.m. and, AND, the tournament is now $80 ($68+$12). Honestly, I could only shake my head at this. It seems whenever I walked into Harrah’s things just change for the worse. I really like Harrah’s, I want to like Harrah’s, but why, oh why, do they make it so difficult.

I guess I’ll be sticking to the Showboat tournament after all. I’m going to try and get there on Thursday night.

I ended up playing $1-$5 stud, which was uneventful. I made a whole $4.

For the record, if anyone asks, I have not gone off to become a nun. I don’t where people hear these things.

A New Year's Resolution

My New Year's resolution this year isn't to lose weight or stop smoking (I don't even smoke). I have a real goal in mind. I want to become a better tournament player.

I play cash games exclusively. I play while tournaments are going on because I like to wait for the those that bust out to come to a cash game. They usually have a hard time getting back into cash-game mode.

On the other hand, I have the other problem. When I play a tournament, I have problems switching from cash-game modes. So, my New Year's resolution is to become a better tournament player. I haven't been playing much poker lately so I think tournaments would probably fit my situation better.

If I play once a week, I am only risking a little amount of money for a big profit. I'm so set on this idea that tonight I am going to play in my first tournament. Showboat, here I come.

The Borgata Winter Poker Open Sked

Here are live results from the Winter Poker Open.

EVENT TOURNAMENT DATE TIME BUY-IN ENTRY 1 No Limit Hold’Em Tue, 1/15 11am $300 $50 2 No Limit Hold’Em Wed, 1/16 11am $500 $60 3 No Limit Hold’Em Thu, 1/17 11am $750 $60 4 No Limit Hold’Em Fri, 1/18 11am $1,000 $80 5 No Limit Hold’Em Sat, 1/19 11am $1,500 $100 6 WPT Ladies No Limit Hold’Em Sun, 1/20 11am $300 $50 7 Limit Hold'Em Sun, 1/20 12pm $300 $50 8 Modified Shoot Out Mon, 1/21 11am $300 $50 9 No Limit Hold'Em Tue, 1/22 11am $500 $60 10 No Limit Hold'Em Wed, 1/23 11am $2,500 $150 11 No Limit Hold'Em Thu, 1/24 11am $500 $60 12 No Limit Hold'Em Fri, 1/25 11am $5,000 $200 SUPER SATELLITE DAY Sat, 1/26 10am 13 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Championship Day 1 Sun 1/27 11am $9,700 $300 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Championship Day 2 Mon, 1/28 11am $9,700 $300 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Championship Day 3 Tue, 1/29 11am $9,700 $300 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Championship Day 4 Wed, 1/30 11am $9,700 $300 WPT Borgata Poker Classic Championship Final Event Thu, 1/31 5pm $9,700 $300 14 No Limit Hold'Em Sun, 1/27 12pm $1,000 $80 15 No Limit Hold'Em Mon, 1/28 12pm $500 $60 16 No Limit Hold'Em Tue, 1/29 12pm $300 $50