They keep growing, and growing, and growing ...

Harrah's has been hit with more lawsuits this month. Four more harrasment litigations against the company have been filed against the company, including some with issue in the poker room. That's 32 lawsuits filed against Harrah's and its sister properties.

The Bridgeton News has an article (link) showing two complaints, one at Harrah's poker room and the other at Showboat's.

Here's what the article states about the complaints at the Showboat:

Another complaint, which includes new defendants, states a female poker room employee at Showboat had been the victim of derogatorycomments about sexual acts supervisors stated she would perform with others.

Supervisors Kellie DeCelis and Hoon Cho are named, among other management officials, in the complaint.

The complaint continues, noting that the alleged victim was ultimately fired while DeCelis received a promotion.

Here is the complaint involving Harrah's poker room supervisor John Arthur:

"Among other things, John Arthur referred to women as wenches, remarked that he carried a ni - stick and that a certain employee was a pole smoker in describing a homosexual," reads the complaint.

The complaints states a shift manager in the poker room who had, among others, sent written and verbal complaints to Arthur as well as management and human resources officials.

However, the shift manager stated he later had problem taking time off work in anticipation of his wife giving birth to triplets and the care she would require in the months following.

The complaint states: "É John Arthur, among other things, stated at one point when the plaintiff explained that his absence was due to his need to transport his wife to and from the hospital, I don't know why you have to take off work; can't your wife just take a cab?

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.

Showboat to Snowbirds

During the winter, Atlantic City is a tough place to play poker. There's always a game, but in the smaller poker rooms, it can be difficult to find good action.

For poker dealers, it's even tougher to earn tips. Rooms such as the Showboat and Harrah's get much smaller and could have two to five total games running on any given night.

A few Showboat dealers and floor people have decided to not wait out the slow time in Atlantic City and head to a warmer climate. About five employees jumped down to Florida to open a new poker room.

According to a post over on the TwoPlusTwo forum, Rod, Jackie (a floor person), Favio, Don and Sylvia have left the room.

Jackie was a great floor person and didn't take any crap from anyone. I enjoyed having her in the poker room while she was there and I am definitely going to miss her. She was also a good tournament player. Some of those losses will hurt the room.

Good luck to them in Florida. Now, if only we can get some of the Harrah's dealer out of there, we would have something going.

What I learned from Manny Ramirez

I don't talk about my regular job too much because this blog is about poker. But, for those that haven't realized I'm a sports writer and spent much of my time covering different teams. I mostly cover college sports during the season and in the offseason, I do plenty of Phillies work.

This postseason, I was there everyday. It's how I ended up at the Commerce in California and how I didn't get to play cards while I was in Milwaukee. However, there was something that I kept hearing about great players that stuck with me. No matter which great player the common theme was "He's isn't afraid to fail."

Mostly I heard this said about Manny Ramirez. Joe Torre harped on this idea that Ramirez plays the game as though he knows he will succeed. He executes the way he is supposed to because even he the right result doesn't happen, at least he executed. Basically, he isn't afraid to fail.

I kept thinking about this. Mostly, I kept thinking about it applied to poker.

I'm a decent player, not great. I know there are plenty of places of my game that need work. One thing I always envied from other players was their aggressive nature.

I'm great when I have the nuts. I have no problem putting all my money in the middle then, but when I have a mediocre hand (let's not even talk about bluffing), I'm afraid to lose my money. This isn't always the case. I have made moves that I am proud of, but they don't come as often as I would like.

Last night, I played $1-$2 at the Showboat, which was dead because Caesar's bad beat jackpot is up to $211k apparently. I kept telling myself to think of Manny Ramirez, which sucks because as a Yankee fan, I really dislike the guy.

But there I was in a position to either not risk my chips because I was afraid or to make my moves. I finally chose to make my moves. I raised with A-Qd in late position to $10. It's rare that I raise with AQ at all because I don't like the hand. Losing money isn't fun so I just decided to always play it weakly.

I get three callers. The flop comes with two diamonds and all rags. Seat 1 leads into me for $25. I decided to just call because at some point I am going to pop this guy. On the turn he bets $30. Now, this is a shady bet, but one thing about my game is that I can read people. I am not talking about how he scratches his ear or looks away. There are other little things that add up and somehow I can sense where this guy stands. The board is nine-high and he had one of two hand son the flop: a set or medium pair.

On the turn, I decided he didn't have a set. While I should have popped the guy here on the turn. I just called again. On the river (no diamond), he makes it $30. After about three seconds and slowly counting my chips (I see him squirming), I make it $75.

He ended up calling after two minutes and says, "You have aces, right?"

Well, no. He had pocket Jacks.

I wasn't even mad about the hand. Two things that probably could have won me the hand was a raise on the turn or maybe making it $100 on the river. However, I was pleased with taking a shot there. I didn't think about losing my money to him. I was looking to work on my game.

I still ended up winning on the night, so I can't complain. I doubled up through a guy a few hands later. I moved all-in after he re-raised, my re-raise. I had pocket Queens and figured out through his "story telling" that he didn't have aces or kings. He had A-K and didn't catch.

It was a good night. Now, with a week off from work because I worked the last month, I am going to try and get in more poker.

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

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.

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

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.

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 Poker Tournament II

The Showboat is having another $225+$25 poker tournament in January. It’s during the Mike & Mike in the Morning celebrity roast. But that’s not what we care about here, we only care about the tournament.

It’s a two-day event that will conclude with a tournament benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research (which I am strongly support) on Saturday Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. at the Showboat hosted by Mike & Mike.

The last tournament they had was extremely successful and got rave reviews. I expect this tournament to be a success as well.

For those interested in the roast, ESPN’s Trey Wingo and Mark Schlereth will host the event. Comedian Jeffery Ross will MC it while Frank Caliendo from those annoying Frank TV commercials, Dennis Leary and Dick Vitale have agreed to participate.

A limited number of tickets to the roast are available between 100 - $150 and Roast only tickets beginning at $25. All tickets will be available at the House of Blues box office (801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J.), by calling Ticketmaster at 800-736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

This is straight from ESPN’s press release, "that Friday's Mike & Mike in the Morning show (6-10 a.m. ET) will be open to the public and originate from "The Pool at Harrah's" entertainment complex described as an "indoor oasis" and a "lush tropical paradise," with more than 80,000 gallons of sparkling blue water housed under a 90-foot glass dome. The broadcast is simulcast on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPNRadio.com."

Showboat Hostage Standoff

SERIOUSLY? What the hell is going on here? Another article from The Press.


Developing: Maryland man faces charges after peaceful end to standoff
By ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer, 609-272-7215
Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A bomb squad vehicle and dogs were in the area around the brown Harrah's bus at Showboat casino early today.

11:15 a.m. Nov. 14 Update -

ATLANTIC CITY - David Kilkeary, who allegedly boarded a Showboat shuttle bus and demanded money through making bomb threats, is expected to make an first appearance in federal court in Camden this afternoon.

He allegedly held dozens of police at bay early this morning at the entrance to the Showboat Casino Hotel.

A records search indicates Kilkeary may be a Maryland resident with a criminal record that includes a bank robbery.

City Councilman George Tibbitt, who went to the scene, said he was told that a man with a bomb strapped to his body rode the Harrah's Express shuttle to the Showboat porte-cochere at about 10:45 p.m.

Shortly before 1 a.m. today, Acting Mayor William "Speedy" Marsh said the man had a gun and there was a language barrier in trying to communicate with him.

The mayor said he was told a robot had delivered a telephone to the shuttle bus to communicate with the man.

Several popping sounds, similar to gunshots, were heard coming from the porte-cochere at about 11:15 p.m.

Nichole Handwerk, of Allentown, Pa., said she was standing on the roof of the parking garage with her fiance, Sean Libovsky, when they heard a woman scream that a masked man on the shuttle was holding hostages.

From the ledge of the roof, they saw a man let four or five people go and shoved an older man toward a second bus, Handwerk said.

"He went from one bus to the other with a huge duffle bag," she said.

They were watching the situation when police officers ordered them to leave the garage, Handwerk said.

"As soon as I heard there was a bomb, I got out," she said. "It was like watching TV."

A massive law-enforcement team responded to the scene, closed Pacific Avenue from Delaware to Maryland avenues and emptied the casino's bus area.

The Atlantic City Bomb Squad, police in riot gear carrying rifles, K-9 officers, State Police troopers, FBI agents, the Atlantic City Fire Department and ambulances rushed to the area.

There had been reports of a body found in the building, but a medical examiner's van was seen leaving the area with no body inside.

"We're leaving it to the experts to do what they've got to do," Marsh said.

Meanwhile, casino employees, hotel guests and others waited on the west side of Pacific Avenue. Many were in town to attend the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference and were not allowed back into their rooms.

One man, talking to a friend on his cell phone, said, "It's like something out of a movie."

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:

The Showboat Tournament and its rumors

I never got over to the Showboat today, but decided to play cards at Harrah's. However, I did hear how the big tourney at the Showboat went and I got a good laugh out of it.

Apparently, Paulie (Walnuts) from Harrah's got down to the final table. He comes to Harrah's looking stunned. He's in a state of disbelief, glassy-eyed, as though he can't believe what is going on. It could have been the drugs. It was probably a combination of things.

Anyway, he gets knocked out of the tounrey and wins about $2,000 for eighth place. Then, the rest of the table decides to chop the rest of the money for $10,000 a piece. Paul was pissed. It was awesome.

My guess is that Paul was acting his usual jerkface self and the rest of the table waited for him to get bounced to chop the money. That's great.

UPDATE: According to someone who was in the tournament, it was just bad luck for Paul. He just happened to be the guy that got beat before the chopped was finalized. It was fun anyway.

A.C. Bad Beat Jackpots

The Harrah's properties and the Hilton have Bad Beat Jackpots in Atlantic City.

Here is a list of the current jackpots (as of Monday night).

Bally's: ~ 97,000
Caesars (Didn't answer the phone when I called): less than $20,000. It got hit at $130,000 and then $27,000 recently. It was reseeded to $10,000 just last week.
Harrahs: ??? Apparently it's too busy on a Monday to answer the phone. UPDATE: I was told the jackpot is around $53,000 by a reliable source.
Hilton: ~$27,000
Showboat: $30,363

I'm going to try and update the totals every Friday from now on. This way anyone who wants to come down on the week will know the jackpot totals.