Atlantic City Restuarant Week

Just a little promo of things going on in Atlantic City this week.

Atlantic City is hosting Restaurant Week starting today and running through March 6.

So, if you're in town to play some cards. You might get a chance to hit up some of the restaurants you haven't had a chance to check out before.

Here's a link with more info and participating restaurants.

WSOP Satellite tournament today

Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City is hosting a satellite tournaments for the World Series of Poker today at 4:15 p.m

The $516+$44 satellite will have two guaranteed heading to the main event in Las Vegas this summer.

There will be other satellites coming up if you cannot make this one on March 27 and April 24. 

Players can also qualify for the satellites with mini-satellites occuring daily. The cost of those tournarments is $58+$12 and go off at 4:15 p.m.

Check out Harrah's site for more information.

Borgata announces Spring Poker Open

There are few details right now on Borgata's website about the Spring Poker Open. However, we have dates, so clear your calendar.

The Spring Poker Open will be from April 10-30 with the main event being another $3,000 + $200 entry fee. There is a  $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

Currently, the Borgata's website is down. So, I can't get much more info.

Karma is a bitch: Winning the bad beat jackpot and still losing

The bad beat jackpot was hit at the Tropicana early Wednesday morning for around 217K.

Quad Qs over Quad 7s.

The person who had the losing hand was described to be a pretty big jerk. On the river when the board was 778QQ and the player with pocket QQ best all, but $3, he asked the dealer for a count.

Three times.

He showboated and finally said, I'm all-in. Making the other person put in their final $3. Pocket QQs guys said, fine, I have a four queens. That's when the table erupted because the other guy had pocket 77s.

However, there is more to the story. Pocket 77s guy was a jerk all night. He threatened to beat up someone who beat him in a pot for about $200. Degraded and mocked people the entire time. He also enjoyed telling everyone how tough he was and lucky he was. He was annoying to say the least.

Here's when the fun starts.

When it was time to get to the cage and collect, pocket 77s walked through the Trop casino floor yelling and screaming: That's right! I won! I told you! God, wants me to be rich. God, wants me to be famous.

He gets to the cashier while two of his friends were with him. A few minutes go by while he is in the credit room and here comes five security guards walking over. They take him out of the credit room without any money. Take him to the poker room to collect his belongings and drop him off at gaming enforcement.

Apparently, pocket 77s guy was in violation of his parole by being in the casino that night. He was not allowed to be there.

His money was seized (all 87K) and he was left with nothing.

Sand Casino in Pa., applies for 89 table games, including 12 poker

The Allentown Morning Call had a breaking news story last night on their website. Sand Casino in Pennsylvania - which is directly competing with Atlantic City's customers - applied for 89 tables games (link).

Almost half of those table games were for blackjack.

Just four tables were for "Texas Hold'em poker tables."

The good news: With just four tables in a casino, customers will deal with long wait lists. Regulars will camp on these games for a while. Anyone who isn't playing poker will want to come to Atlantic City because there are more options, especially on a weekend.

The bad news: Weekday games in Atlantic City will be hurt by these new tables. Four full tables is still 40 people. That's 40 people being taken away from places such as Showboat, Bally's and Harrah's. People who will enjoy this room aren't probably the types that play in big poker rooms. This could certianly hurt some of the smaller rooms in Atlantic City.

Update: After re-reading the article after the first comment left, I think I may be wrong. There is a request for 12 poker tables and I assumed that lumped 3-card, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud and games like that under one umbrella. However, 3-card poker is specifically mentioned.

So, it seems Sands would have a 12-table room, which is actually pretty good. Not the biggest room, but the only rooms in Atlantic City that regularly run 12 or more games are the Borgata and Taj Mahal.

Rumor: Bally's changing Bad Beat Jackpot rules

I've heard a couple of rumors that once the current bad beat jackpot is hit at Bally's (which sits around 220K right now), the casino is changing the requirements.

According to this thread on the Two Plus Two forums, the BBJ will become quad Queens or better to be beat. Then, go down hand-by-hand.

By this account, it seems Bally's is trying to cash in on the craziness that was Caesars a few weeks back. Caesars filled the entire room with NL games and had people waiting on lists for, literally, hours. The BBJ got publicity in the local newspaper and gave some exposure to Caesars.

A high BBJ will draw in a crowd, but with such high requirements, who will be play there?

Need to know now what's happening at the Borgata?

Have you been sitting at home thinking to yourself, I wonder what the Borgata poker room looks like right now?

I often wonder about this for many of the poker rooms and since I am not really a phone person, I don't really care to call up any of the casinos just to ask them how many games they have going. I always feel so weird whenever I ask this question like if the guy at the Showboat gives me bad news then I am going to let him down when he hears the disappointment in my voice.

Borgata has a way to let people know just how their room is doing and the number of going on. They created the digital live game report (link), which is updated throughout the day. Sometimes it take awhile for the latest update to come through, but you get an idea just what you're headed into by the report.

My favorite time is to check it on the weekend. I love looking at the big games.

World Poker Tour Boot Camp hitting the Trop

The Tropicana will host a World Poker Tour Boot Camp on April 9-10 (link)

The boot camp costs $1,895 and pros include Kathy Liebert, Nick Brancato, Rick Fuller and Nick Binger.

WSOP Satellte Tournaments at Harrah's

Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City is hosting a satellite tournaments for the World Series of Poker. Harrah's is sending 30 players to Las Vegas for the event.

The first $516+$44 satellite is Feb. 27 at 4:15 p.m., with two guaranteed heading to the main event.

Players can also qualify for the satellites with mini-satellites occuring daily. The cost of those tournarments is $58+$12 and go off at 4:15 p.m.

Main satellite will also be held March 27 and April 24.

Check out Harrah's site for more information.

Borgata announces new deep stack tournament in March

From Borgata's website:

Borgata presents Atlantic City's $500,000 Guaranteed Poker Tournament, offering players the unique opportunity to experience a championship-style event structure for a total buy-in of only $1,650. Players will start with 30,000 in tournament chips.

QUALIFIERS 
$165 + $35 No Limit Hold'Em
  - Sunday, February 21 at 11AM

$330 + $50 No Limit Hold'Em
  - Sunday, February 28 at 11AM
  - Friday, March 5 at 6PM
  - Saturday, March 6 at 11AM
  - Saturday, March 6 at 5PM
  - Sunday, March 7 at 4PM



$500,000 GUARANTEED DEEP STACK POKER TOURNAMENT$1500 + $150 No Limit Hold'Em

30,000 in Starting Chips
MARCH 7 - 10, 2010
Day 1A - Sunday, March 7 at 11AM
Day 1B - Monday, March 8 at 11AM
Day 2 - Tuesday, March 9 at 11AM
Day 3 - Wednesday, March 10 at 11AM

Going to Harrah's in a handbasket

Harrah's Resort has been hit with a new set of lawsuits. At this point it's only getting comical. Here's a link to the story from The Press of Atlantic City.

In a country where people are innocent until proven guilty, I see the opposite of this.

I knew far too many people who had complaints at Harrah's, spoke to people in human resources and their supervisors, only to see the situation escalate to the point where working conditions were made impossible. I'm not surprised by the latest allegations.

Since this is a blog about poker, I will say this. I've seen the poker room turn from one my favorites to a room I will never walk into again. The majority of the dealers are unprofessional (which reminds of a story I need to tell about my latest trip to Atlantic City), lack any sort of knowledge about poker and do not care about the integrity of the game.

All the good dealers and floor people at Harrah's are slowly leaving. And the ones who were good have given up because they don't see the point in trying anymore.

Snowed in, in AC

Friday afternoon I thought to myself: "Where do I want to spend the blizzard that is going to rip through southern New Jersey?"

I only had one answer - Atlantic City.

So here I am, sitting in the Showboat and it's been interesting 24 hours.

I played at the Taj Mahal last night and for a Friday night, the place was dead. However, there were many people who braves the storm and still showed up to the poker room in the middle of the night. There weren't many, but there were enough people who I thought were either really brave or really crazy. I got to Atlantic City before the snow started to fall.

The Showboat went dark at 5 a.m. this morning to give the dealers and floor people that were already a chance to rest. They got about three to four of sleep and the room is back open.

However, there is no afternoon tournament and they aren't sure if the night tourney is going to go off. All the cashiers have called out, so no one can resgister for tournaments.

Also, the floor people have called in the poker room. Kelly and Julio are here since last night for another 16-hour shift. They will likely go dark at 5 a.m. again tomorrow morning.

Any other news from some other casinos around town?

Pinnacle kills Atlantic City Project (Press of AC)

While not shocked at the The Press of Atlantic City is reporting (link), definitely mad and annoyed.

All I keep thinking about is all those people that lost their jobs because Sands had to be torn down. Pinnacle riddled the city with its ugly billboards and promised a new and grand casino, only to leave an empty pit.

Well, how does Pinnacle answer?

Michael Phelps at the Borgata

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is competing in today's heads up tournament at the Borgata. He's one of the few notable faces in the field, including poker pro Gavin Smith.

Phelps has only won something like 14 gold medals ... but can he win a poker tournament?

Second round of the heads-up double-elimination event begins at 1 p.m.

Check out the Borgata Poker blog for ongoing updates.

Ray Kot tournament prizes won by Taj employees

According to The Press of Atlantic City, the top prizes for the Ray Kot Memorial Fund were won by Taj Mahal employees (link).


Trump Taj Mahal employees swept the top prizes at Sunday night’s Ray Kot Poker Open, which raised money for the family of its namesake, a Taj supervisor shot dead at work last year.

Poker supervisor Victor Chea won first place: a trip to the Super Bowl. Second place, a 50-inch television, went to floor supervisor Frank Fernandez. Dealer Kaylin Vocci won a Super Bowl party for 10 in a Taj luxury suite for finishing third.

Entry fees raised more than $25,000 for the education fund of St. Augustine Prep junior Drew Kot, the only child of Ray and Nancy Kot.

Drunk angle

Last two nights I got a taste of drunks or so-called drunks playing poker in Atlantic City.

On Saturday, there were many more women in the poker rooms because of the women's tournament at the Borgata on Sunday. I started playing at 1 a.m. and left at 4 a.m., and more than doubled up. There were three women on the game, besides myself, at the Showboat.

All drunk.

All looking to give away money.

Sunday was more interesting because there was a guy at Caesars with a cup for over three hours. The entire time he spoke about how drunk he was, meanwhile, his cup of ice turned into sludge as he supposedly drank Hennesey and Red Bull (ugh!).

It was funny though because he kept trying pretend was drunk and looking for a crazy angle.

And, the people on the table believed him.

I love drunks. Real drunks. Not the goofy dudes who try to pretend they are.

Borgata Poker Open updates

If you're interested in checking out what happening throughout the Borgata Poker Open, check their blog (link).

They do a great job updating every event and have great posts about any side events or action. These guys do a heck of a job for the duration of the Borgata Winter Poker Open.

Release: Borgata Poker Winter Open Draw 1,563 Players

FIFTH ANNUAL BORGATA WINTER OPEN DRAWS 1,563 PLAYERS GENERATING OVER $500,000 IN PRIZE MONEY Championship Event, January 31 – February 5 Features Guaranteed $2 Million Prize Pool

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (January 21, 2010) - Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa launched its fifth annual Borgata Winter Open (BWO) yesterday, drawing 1,563 players to the opening event. The 17-day poker tournament series will culminate with the $2 Million Guaranteed Borgata Winter Open Championship Event, January 31 – February 5. The large player turnout brought a number of notable players to Borgata's tournament floor. Pro players Charlie Marchese, Joey Brooks, Kelly Armentrout, Gordan Eng, Jason Young, Al Riccobonno, Matt Stout, David Inselberg, David Zeitlin, Lisa Pickler, Craig Klein, Svetlana Gromenkova, Todd Robello, Eric Siegel, Gordon Eng, Jason Young, Josh Paul, Trevor "tremomey" Savage and Gene Castro took to the felt over the course of the first two flights with their sights set on the champion's trophy and the elusive Borgata Winter Open title.  The first event will award the final nine players at least $10,000, with first place taking home $99,919 and the crystal, engraved trophy. Jason Young, professional poker player and WSOP bracelet winner, is among the remaining players vying for prize money. 'I always come to Borgata for the action.  When it comes to value for your tournament buy-in, it's hard to find another place that compares.  The structures and the staff are the best in the business. They actually take the time to talk to players in order to better the games.  Borgata is the best!" On Thursday, in addition to Event #1 action continuing, the tournament floor will also entertain Event #2, a $500 No Limit tournament that has traditionally experienced strong attendance, and Event #3, a $350 Pot Limit Omaha tournament.  The weekend rounds out with a $1,000 No Limit tournament, a $350 H.O.S.E. mixed event, a $260 Ladies No Limit and a $300 No Limit re-entry tournament.

Ray Kot Poker Open Tournament coming to the Taj

Ray Kot was a Taj Mahal employee that was killed in the casino by a customer. The Taj is holding the Ray Kot Poker Open Tournament from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24 in the casino's poker room.

Jan. 24 was Kot's birthday.

Qualifying satellite tournaments will be held each hour from noon to midnight on Monday, Jan. 23.

Donations from the event will  benefit the Ray Kot Memorial Fund. The memorial fund benefits Kot's only son Drew and will be used for his education and support.

Anyone can play in this tournament, including key-license Atlantic City employees.

The grand prize is an all-expense-paid trip to the 2010 Super Bowl on Feb. 7 in Miami, Fla., or the cash equivalent, which includes airfare, two nights of deluxe hotel accommodations, food credit of $250 per person and two tickets to the game.

Second place receives a 50-inch LCD TV and third gets a Super Bowl party for 10 in the Luxury Suite in the new Chairman Tower at the Taj. Additional prizes will be awarded to anyone that makes the final table of the championship round.

NJ residents may not have to leave house to play poker

Poker News had a story on its website last week about a proposed bill that would allow NJ casinos to run online poker rooms (link).

New Jersey already does something similar with horse racing. NJ residents are allowed to bet on races over the phone with the state taking a little cut, of course.

The bill proposed by Sen. Raymond Lesniak would only consider brick and mortar casinos for licensing. This is likely a way to try and boost Atlantic City's revenues since most of the casinos have been losing money.

However, what does this do for this poker players who like to set on the felt and play the game?

It probably won't change much. While this would be legalized on the state level, poker players who want to play on the Internet, already are. With Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars and all the other available online poker software, NJ residents already have this opportunity waiting for them.

I don't see why Atlantic City casinos would want to keep players at home either.

There are some poker players who pocket their winnings and never spend another dime in the casino. But there are many, many more who cash in and head straight for blackjack or slots to try and get more money, only to lose it all.

There have been many nights where I've seen players win a ton on the poker game, go play blackjack to lose it all and, then, come back to the poker table to recoup their loss. There isn't a huge advantage for the casinos to build up online poker unless they are looking for more branding.

Update: Here's a link to an article in The Press of Atlantic City. Apparently, more than just poker would be offered.