AC Press: Professional poker players find careers in the cards at Atlantic City gaming tables

Before Joe Simmons sits in on a game at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, before he grabs his chips from the cashier, Simmons scouts out the poker room.

The 45-year-old Brigantine resident looks at chip stacks, pot sizes and familiar faces. He looks for known bad players, those he does not recognize and the least number of headphones. He wants that game.

Simmons doesn’t want to play against decent regulars. He’d rather hit up the tourists. He is one of dozens — possibly hundreds — of professional poker players in the resort.

Simmons doesn’t flaunt his job or talk about the daily grind at the table. Instead, he focuses on the players around him. He makes early assumptions based on a person’s demeanor and the amount of chips a player has.

Does he look mad? Did he just lose a big pot? Did she just say she’s getting sleepy? Did that player just tip the dealer extra money? She sure knows a lot of chip tricks. He played that hand tricky.

All of these thoughts add up as Simmons creates profiles for the other players in the game.

“You don’t know if someone is just lucky or good until you have played with them,” he said. “It’s better to assume they know what they’re doing until you find out they don’t. That’s when you go after them.”

Simmons wakes up never knowing whether he’s going to get paid that day. Unlike most people with “regular” jobs, Simmons and other professional poker players could lose money after a day of work.

“I saw all the money out there, and it seemed like people were just giving it away for awhile,” said Simmons, who has $828,164 in career tournament winnings. “The money can be very good at times, but people don‘t realize how hard it is to do this every day.”

The poker boom began in 2003, when Chris Moneymaker, a regular guy with no pro experience, won the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. He became an instant celebrity and millionaire. His win gave legitimacy to poker as not just a shady back-room card game.

Poker became mainstream almost overnight. It brought housewives, lawyers and college students to the table looking for that same success.

Simmons, who created music and managed bands such as The Roots, got involved right away. He felt poker’s popularity was about to take off, and he didn’t want to miss it even if some family members didn’t agree.

“My mother never liked me playing poker,” Simmons said. “Even when I was making a lot of money, she never agreed with it.”

Poker involves psychology, skill and luck. It combines the rush of gambling with elements of strategy.

And then there’s the money.

“I saw how much money people were making on TV, and I wanted to try it out,” said poker pro Dwyte Pilgrim, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who made his name playing tournaments in Atlantic City. “I saw I was good,” Pilgrim said. “I was the best out of my friends.”

To prove it, Pilgrim won $733,402 on Thursday at the Borgata Poker Open, a World Poker Tour event.

Atlantic City has been the proving ground for popular players such as Phil Ivey, 34, a Roselle, Union County, native who now lives in Las Vegas and is considered one of the best poker players of all time. He got his start at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, which was featured in the poker movie “Rounders.”

But the game also has chased away people who couldn’t handle the lifestyle. So many of them didn’t realize how big the ups and downs could be or how depressing losing feels.

Choosing poker as a career

Most area professional poker players say they started with a dream of winning a huge tournament like the ones they see on television. They all thought about what it would be like to be their own boss. It’s so easy to be caught in the spectacle of poker, with the money and freedom it can afford, but the leap is not easy to make.

Pilgrim made the move after testing his abilities for several months playing poker on the Internet and traveling to Atlantic City from Brooklyn on the weekends. Even though he was winning, he didn’t want to quit his job as a loan officer.

Pilgrim would leave guaranteed money and benefits to go to a world where he wouldn’t have either.

After months of talking to confidantes, he finally made the jump in 2007. He spent six days a week at the Taj Mahal, and on the seventh day he returned to New York. He earned comps and free rooms playing poker, and lived out of a suitcase.

Pilgrim switched to Harrah’s Resort in 2008, when he decided to focus on tournaments over cash games, where each player‘s own money is at stake as opposed to a tournament with a prize pool.

“I was looking for a bigger payday,” said Pilgrim in a phone interview from Indiana. “On a good day in a cash game, you can win a thousand, but in a tournament, if you get hot, you can win thousands.”

Those big scores in a cash game are rare in Atlantic City for most pros. There aren’t many big-stakes games. The resort is littered with $1-$2 and $2-$5 no-limit hold ’em games (the numbers represent the price of the small and big blinds, forced bets by the two players to the left of the dealer position). But the higher the blinds, the fewer games are available because casual players don’t want to put large amounts of money at stake.

If a person thinks about going pro, he or she has to think about losing. Sure, the money is good when you’re winning, but what happens when you’re not?

“The toughest part is the down swings,” Pilgrim said. “Anyone can handle winning, but it’s how you handle the losing that separates the good players.”

Dealing with down swings

Simmons knows about those swings probably better than most.

Since 2003, he has gone broke twice.

He lost his money the first time by playing too big. He sat in on a $150-$300 mixed game (where different games are played in a rotation) at Borgata. He had enough for a buy-in, but the other players just had more money in general.

Simmons played against those with millions of dollars behind them, while he had a bankroll worth a few hundred thousand.

It was easy for his opponents to call bets even if they didn’t have the right odds and Simmons had a favorable hand. Money wasn’t a problem for them.

“These guys were playing bad, and I knew it,” Simmons said. “But there is still some gambling going on. There is still luck, and there was a time when I was just unlucky for a long time. That happens.”

In early 2006, he went broke chasing his money. Eventually, he had to play smaller stakes and grind out another bankroll.

Simmons earned his money back cashing big in tournaments in 2007. He won more than $500,000 in a seven-month span, including $387,709 with a fourth-place finish in the Borgata Poker Open championship.

With all that money rushing into his bank account, he took advantage of the windfall.

He rented a $2,500-per-month apartment in Center City, Philadelphia, invested $50,000 each in two companies and went back to playing the bigger games.

Eventually, Simmons’ savings took a hit and dwindled. The two companies — a music studio and a salon — both failed. The rent ate away at his savings, and he once again hit a bad streak.

“You lose so much money, and you can’t even think straight,” Simmons said.

He was broke again.

“I’m not mad that I didn’t buy a house. So many people told me I should have done that,” Simmons said. “I wished I would have put money away for my kids and my parents.”

Simmons, who has a 13-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter in Philadelphia, moved to a cheaper place in Brigantine to be closer to the casinos. He then borrowed $2,000 each from 10 different poker regulars to get his bankroll back.

He played in smaller games, such as $2-$5 no-limit, and had to deal with questions about why he was playing lower limits.

“I was embarrassed,” he said. “I didn’t know what to tell people at the time. I hated when people asked me that.”

Simmons hit a big share of a bad-beat jackpot at Borgata earlier this year worth more than $80,000. He paid back his loans and is now working on making sure his money isn’t all in one place.

He’s working on a poker website (www.stuckfrompoker.com) and is back to creating music at his home studio.

“These kinds of swings could happen to anyone,” Simmons said. “So many people told me how that happened to them. I learned a lot and not how to do that again.”

Not enough for some

Depending on the stakes, a poker player can average $500 to several thousand dollars a week in cash. There are no tax forms on cash games because there is no way for casinos to determine how much a person won or lost in a single session. However, the casino informs the IRS of tournament winnings and bad-beat jackpots in cash games.

Most poker players go to work for an eight-hour shift and take a food break in the middle. But it’s not all-in moves and a constant barrage of betting throughout the night.

Jason Hague, 30, moved to Atlantic City from Trenton to play poker while he was between jobs. There were nights he sat in on games where he was bored out of his mind — because there are nights when the action is just not there.

Those nights, Hague listened to his iPod or chatted to the person next to him. However, he still had to pay attention or he would have watched his chips slide into someone else’s stack.

This is when he had the advantage.

“Boredom makes a lot of people make mistakes,” said Hague, who normally played after 7 p.m. “I noticed when people got tired, they didn’t think right. Those were times I waited for, to take advantage.”

Hague has a bachelor’s degree from The College of New Jersey and realized there was absolutely nothing he wanted to do with it.

Playing poker wasn’t the dream either, but he was good at it. He moved to Absecon and played poker until he got a job as a poker dealer at the Showboat Casino Hotel.

“It’s too scary to just play cards,” said Hague, who recently moved to Bethlehem, Pa., to take a job as a poker supervisor at the Sands Casino. “While there is a lot of skill involved, there’s just too much luck involved to feel comfortable.”

Hague remembers nights he played at Caesars Atlantic City before he got a job and hoped he would be able to make his rent. He watched chips shuffle between bad players and was frustrated when he couldn’t get a hand to hold up against them or just never got any cards he could play with. There were nights when he lost more than $300 in one hand.

He knew he wanted a steady job and didn’t want to make a living as a poker player. Although before he moved, he often played on his days off to supplement his income.

There was just too much luck involved for his liking.

Good players lose. Good players get unlucky and sometimes make mistakes worth hundreds of dollars. The daily grind of figuring out your next payday is too much for some.

“I’ve seen thousands of people say they want to be professional poker players,” said poker pro Gavin Smith, who was at Borgata for a tournament in June. “Most of them think they have what it takes, but most have no idea.”

The swings get to most players. One week, they may never lose a hand. However, over the next three weeks, the statistical odds go against them and all the money they made during the past two months is gone.

Those times separate the good players from the bad. The good ones are mentally tough enough to ride out a bad run of cards and know they will eventually get back to winning.

The bad ones give up or go broke and never come back.

“The swings are the hardest thing you’re ever going to deal with in poker,” Simmons said. “If people don’t have discipline and can’t handle their money, they aren’t going to make it. There aren’t many people I would tell them it’s a good idea to play poker.”

SOURCE

TNA Stars at the Taj Mahal for Celebrity Poker Tournament

October 22 – 24, 2010 at Trump’s Atlantic City Taj Mahal: The sensational 9th Annual MMA & Sportsfest.

Joining the almost 100 celebrity athletes, fitness guru’s and entertainment phenoms will be Joe Piscopo. He will be kicking off the week-ends red carpet affair on Friday evening prior to joining The Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament for the benefit of autism research.

SCOTT EPSTEIN, owner and talent coordinator of Publicity Management Services (PMS), a talent booking PR firm invites the public to attend this stellar event. Go to www.mmasportsexpo.com for information.

Under the PMS banner see these recognizable TV sports and entertainment stars:

· NBC American Gladiator “Venom” (Beth Horn), NPC Overall Fitness winner, author and personal trainer

· NBC American Gladiator “Fury” (Jamie Kovac), NPC competitor and “Strongman” winner

· TNA Knockout, Playboy Cover-girl, & WWE wrestler Christy Hemme

· TNA Knockout, Playboy model Tracy Brooks

· TNA Knockout & NPC Bill Grant competitor in the Bikini Division Jackie Hass

Also anxious to meet the public are these beautiful models & professional women’s wrestlers:
· Ryan Shamrock (WWE & WCW)

· Mia St. John (WBC Women’s Champion, fitness author & Playboy cover-girl)

· April Hunter (TNA & NPC, Jr. Nationals competitor)

Proving BIGGER is BETTER, PMS is proud to present:
· WWE Superstar & Hall of Famer “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas

· TNA Superstar, Former Global Champion, 5X “Mr. Wales” Rob Terry.

There will be an opportunity to purchase autographed photos and souvenirs at designated times in “The Octagon”. You can even take back to your home or office a trophy of your own. Have a photo taken with your camera or ours with your favorite celeb.

Scott Epstein tells us: “This thrilling EXPO is more than just a nod to MMA’s spider web of connectivity with weight training, body building, sports, and entertainment. It’s a celebration showcasing the best of the best.

SOURCE

NY native Dwyte Pilgrim wins Borgata Poker Open

BROOKLYN NATIVE WINS LARGEST EVER WPT® BORGATA POKER OPEN

Championship Event Attracts Record 1,042 Players; Generates $3.4 Million Prize Pool

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (September 24, 2010) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced today the winner of its record-breaking 2010 WPT Borgata Poker Open which drew 1,042 poker players – the largest turn-out for a Borgata Poker Open championship event and the largest field in the history of the World Poker Tour while generating a prize pool of $3,438,600.

When the dust settled, 28 year-old Brooklyn, NY, native Dwyte Pilgrim emerged as champion, taking down $733,802 and the Borgata Poker Open title. Pilgrim got his start in Atlantic City. He played cash games at the Taj Mahal in 2007 and moved to Harrah's when he focused more on tournaments in 2008.

Pilgrim, who has 20 World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes for over $450,000 and three gold rings faced a strong field that featured two former WSOP Main Event Champions in Jerry Yang (2007) and Robert Varkonyi (2002), a WSOP Runner-up in Steve Dannenmann (2005) and the third place finisher from 2006 in Michael Binger. Other participants included WSOP Bracelet winners Gavin Smith, Steve Zolotow and Jason Young, as well as actor James Woods.

“It feels surreal right now, a lifetime of hard work was set in stone today,” said the poker pro, who outlasted the record-breaking field, including runner-up, Kia Mohajeri for the win. “I felt I was in a good spot at all times. Even when I was behind, I felt this guy was going to have to get lucky to beat me.”

On the final hand, Pilgrim’s king-high straight trumped Mohajeri’s two pair to give the visibly emotional competitor the title.

“I feel like Babe Ruth,” said Pilgrim, who fell to the floor in tears after he clinched the title. “He struck out a lot, but he also hit a lot of home runs.”

The WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship event will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

To view a recap of the event and results visit www.theborgata.com and follow all of the action on Twitter @BorgataPoker.

Borgata Poker Open starts off well

The Borgata Poker Open started Wednesday with a $400 Deep Stack Tournament.

As much as people have talked about recessions and bad economies, Borgata poker tournaments never really took a hit. To combat the slow economy, the Borgata lowered the buy-in for the main event over a year ago to $2,000. The main event drew well and so did the other tournaments.

This session is no different. The first event drew 964 players contending for a $73,638 top prize.

MT did get in the event, but was knocked out nine hours into event. AA and KK cracked twice, which we all know leaves a sour taste in your mouth. The hand that got him knocked out was prettier.

MT had pocket Kings. Under the gun open raised to $3,500 with $3,000 worth of ante and blinds in the middle. MT pushed for his remaining $19K. The button called and UTG folded.

MT went heads up against A-10. As the button shows, UTG says he folded AQ and another player mentions how he folded an ace. MT is feeling OK thinking he would be able to double with those odds.

The flop: 10-10-9.

The end.

---

As always, you can follow the action of the Borgata tournament at The Borgata’s Poker blog.

Borgata Poker Open starts this week

The Borgata Poker open begins Wednesday with a $400 buy-in for a Deep Stack No-Limit Hold ‘Em.

The main event is Sept. 18-23.

MT will be playing in the first event, which seems good based on the buy-in and structure. He doesn’t play in tourneys often, but the last time he played in a deep stack, he lasted unto the second day, but did not cash.

We’re hoping it’s going to be different this time, especially since I am going to be paying his action for half. So, let’s wish him a little luck because a girl like me could definitely use some extra cash.

Anyone else playing in the tournament?

Here's a schedule of the tournament in a pdf file.

Where have I been?

The blog was in some kind of purgatory for the last two months. I couldn't access the blog, but now it is back. For the most part, I've been putting news up on the Twitter account (@pokerinac) because I didn't have any place to put it.

Hopefully, the blog stays in this world and doesn't go over to the next.

Final results Borgata Poker Open: championship event

Here are the final results of the championship tournament of the Borgata Poker Open as posted on the Borgata Summer Poker Open blog.




Entries: 321 Total Buy-In: $642,000

FINAL RESULTS
1. WILLIAM ONEIL (COLLAGE PARK, MD): $180,595
2. MIRZA NAGJI (NEW YORK, NY): $104,620
3. TODD GEDDIS (ASTORIA, NY): $51,687
4. MICHAEL MELKERSEN (NEW MARKET, VA): $43,592
5. STEVEN CURTIN (INDIAN TRAIL, NC): $37,364
6. JOHN BORZIO (ROBBINSVILLE, NJ): $31,137
7. FRANK DELLARIA (BURGETTSTOWN, PA): $24,910
8. DEAN POTASHNER (MORRISTOWN, NJ): $18,683
9. EDWARD CORRADO (NAPLES, FL): $12,456
10. JOSHUA HAKAKIAN (WARFORDSBURG, PA): $8,096
11. ALEX KUCHIK (BROOKLYN, NY): $8,096
12. JAY JOHNSON (PHILADELPHIA, PA): $8,096
13. LARRY NELSON (HARLEYSVILLE, PA): $6,227
14. JAMES OSTRANDER (SOUTHERN PINES, NC): $6,227
15. FLORENTINO DELEON JR (JOPPA, MD): $6,227
16. MARK HNATOV (HUNTINGTON, NY): $4,359
17. ANTHONY BALLETTA (SANIBEL, FL): $4,359
18. JIA LIU (BROOKLYN, NY): $4,359
19. TYNG LOW (FLUSHING, NY): $3,736
20. DANIEL LEE (RICHMOND, VA): $3,736
21. AZIZ WEHBEY (WHITEHALL, PA): $3,736
22. EDIP AYAZ (NEW MILFORD, NJ): $3,736
23. DANIEL FISCHER (GLASSBORO, NJ): $3,736
24. BEHROOZ JAMSHIDI (ELLICOTT CITY, MD): $3,736
25. JOSEPH DADDARIO (CHESTERLAND, OH): $3,736
26. ARBEN KUPI (ELMHURST, NY): $3,736
27. SEAN KNITTER (FOX CHASE MNR, PA): $3,736
28. MICHAEL BUTTACAVOLI (VENTNOR, NJ): $3,114
29. JOHN DORAN (WOOLWICH TWP, NJ): $3,114
30. RICHARD MISKO (HOBOKEN, NJ): $3,114
31. BRYAN GREELEY (MASTIC BEACH, NY): $3,114
32. JOANNE MONTEAVARO (BRONX, NY): $3,114
33. MICHAEL CONTESSA (ROCHELLE PARK, NJ): $3,114
34. BENJAMIN LUDWIG (SCHWENKSVILLE, PA): $3,114
35. JOSH SPIEGELMAN (PRINCETON, NJ): $3,114
36. CARL RESTIFO (WARETOWN, NJ): $3,114

Billy O'Neil wins Borgata Poker Open

Billy O'Neil won the Borgata Summer Poker Open main championship event just a few minutes ago, the Borgata poker reporters tweeted.

O'Neil won a bracelet, trophy and $180K.

I'll update more later as more information becomes available.

Borgata Summer Poker Open championship final table today

The final table of the championship tournament will conclude today at the Borgata.

Ten players remain to try and collect the $180,595 first place prize.

Here are the chip counts, according tot he Summer Poker Open blog:

Position-Name-Chip Count

1. Steven Curtin 1.459 million
2. Ed Corrado 1.349 million
3. Todd Geddis 1.324 million
4. Billy O'Neil 1.247 million
5. Mirza Nagji 1.136 million
6. Dean Potashner 1.09 million
7. Frank Dellaria 756k
8. John Borzio 686k
9. Michael Melkersen 429k
10. Joshua Hakakian 243k

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?

The men are at it again

Back in September, a man beat out a field of 260 women in the Borgata Poker Open to win the ladies tournament (link).

The current version of ladies tourney is going on right now at the Borgata and two men have entered the field.

This is nothing new. During the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, men also entered the field in the ladies tournament. It was a huge debate that many professional gave their opinion on.

Here two blog posts by Annie Duke on the topic: post 1 (where she also links to other posts) and post 2.

What are your thoughts on men playing in events that are geared for women?

Last Chance WSOP Super Satellite at Harrah's tomorrow

Still trying to get into the WSOP Main Event that beings July 5? Harrah's Resorts in Atlantic City is running "Last Chance" satellites to win a seat into the Main Event.

The last super satellites is tomorrow June 19. You can buy straight into the event for $512+$44.

Check here for more information from Harrah's.

Largest Borgata bad beat hit on Thursday

LARGEST BAD BEAT JACKPOT IN BORGATA HISTORY

HITS FOR $332,544

Bad Beat Has Hit 52 Times, Paying Out 455 Winners Over $6.7 Million in Prize Money


Atlantic City, NJ (June 17, 2010) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa paid out the largest Bad Beat jackpot in its history this morning, awarding eight players a total of $332,654.

At exactly 10:00AM on a $1-$2 No Limit Hold’em game, Do Hien’s quad 2’s lost to Blackwood, NJ native Carlo Santos’ straight flush. Santos won the hand and the $66,509 share of the Bad Beat pot; however, it was Do who hit the jackpot, as he collected forty percent of the record-breaking $332,544 Bad Beat prize money. Each of the remaining players who were dealt into the hand received $22,170.

Do Hien, who’s been playing poker since 2003, just had a hunch that something great would happen this morning. “I played yesterday into this morning for twenty hours and was up $1500. I was sitting in my car and had a feeling to go back inside and play some more.”

The winner of today’s record-breaking hand, Carlo Santos, was just trying to win enough money for his buy in to today’s Borgata Summer Poker Open Deep Stack event which began at noon.

Borgata Summer Poken Open results - Event #1

Event 1: $200 + $30 No Limit Hold'em
June 11

Entries: 508 Total Buy-In: $101,600

FINAL RESULTS
1. GILBERT SACKS (BALA CYNWYD, PA): $28,077
2. KENNETH JACOBY (ROSLYN HTS, NY): $14,783
3. CHRISTOPH LYON (BRICK, NJ): $7,638
4. ADAM COOK (ANNAPOLIS, MD): $6,652
5. CHRISTIAN AGUILERA (HICKSVILLE, NY): $5,667
6. MICHAEL MATRONE (MORGANVILLE, NJ): $4,681
7. KERRY SMALL (VENTNOR CITY, NJ): $3,696
8. DAO BUI (STERLING, VA): $2,710
9. SAED RABAH (STATEN ISLAND, NY): $1,971
10. VICTOR STOVER (HUMMELSTOWN, PA): $1,281
11. ANTHONY CALDEIRA (WEST BABYLON, NY): $1,281
12. TREVOR SAVAGE (MANTUA, NJ): $1,281
13. MILTON AMARANTE (CHERRY HILL, NJ): $936
14. JAY JOHNSON (PHILADELPHIA, PA): $936
15. DONG ZHOU (JERSEY CITY, NJ): $936
16. SAUNDRA GRACE HAMPSON (PHILADELPHIA, PA): $641
17. FRANK MARTINELLI JR (DELRAY, FL): $641
18. KEVIN DOYLE (HARLEYSVILLE, PA): $641
19. CHRISTOPHER ACKERMAN (CHATHAM, NJ): $512
20. GEORGE REID (ROBBINSVILLE, NJ): $512
21. DON HUANG (LEESBURG, VA): $512
22. JOHN MYERS (CARMEL, NY): $512
23. MARK DIKKER (MORGANVILLE, NJ): $512
24. RENAN BESIDO (PORT READING, NJ): $512
25. ENGIN CETIN (BELLWOOD, NY): $512
26. KEVIN TRAN (CENTER VALLEY, PA): $512
27. MICHAEL TOBACK (ELKRIDGE, MD): $512
28. HARRY PIACITELLI (PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA): $414
29. FRANK RICHARDONE (STATEN ISLAND, NY): $414
30. JOSEPH BROOKS (EGG HBR TWP, NJ): $414
31. OREN KLEIN (MONTCLAIR, NJ): $414
32. JOHN SYKES (BROOKLYN, NY): $414
33. ROBERT FRONCZAK (STEWARTSVILLE, NJ): $414
34. LARRY ZHANG (JERSEY CITY, NJ): $414
35. JOSEPH LOBIANCO (LUTHERVILLE, MD): $414
36. EDWARD ABENDSCHEIN (MTN LKS, NJ): $414
37. MAKSIM SHCHETKOVSKIY (BELLEVILLE, NJ): $345
38. MARK STOLLINGS (NEWARK, DE): $345
39. RAMIN AZIZOGHLI (FREEHOLD, NJ): $345
40. MICHAEL RADUTMAN (BROOKLYN, NY): $345
41. CHRISTOPHER LIM (BRONX, NY): $345
42. BRIAN ECKSTROM (MARLTON, NJ): $345
43. JAMES BAXTER (WESTPORT, CT): $345
44. JOSEPH ALTOMONTE (WEST PATERSON, NJ): $345
45. THOMAS CHILLEMI (MANASSAS, VA): $345
46. YUL SOO PARK (LONG ISLAND CITY, NY): $296
47. MATTHEW LOPE (GLOUCESTER, NJ): $296
48. WILLIAM LAU (SEWELL, NJ): $296
49. JONATHAN GAIGE (HARRISBURG, PA): $296
50. JAMES BOYLE (HAVRE DE GRACE, MD): $296
51. SHAUN GONZALES (BUSHKILL, PA): $296
52. ANDREW ROSNER (GARDEN CITY, NY): $296
53. FRANK CHARLES MOLINARI II (MOONACHIE, NJ): $296
54. BARRY JAY KANDEL (ROLAND PARK, MD): $296

Borgata Poker Summer Open

The Borgata Summer Poker Open started Sunday and will run through June 30.

The Borgata always does a great job with updating tournament information and getting results as quickly as possible if you're not at the Borgata.

The Summer Poker Open blog is up and running with updates nearly every few minutes.

Check out the blog here for results and news.

Last Chance WSOP Super Satellite at Harrah's tomorrow

Still trying to get into the WSOP Main Event that beings July 5? Harrah's Resorts in Atlantic City is running "Last Chance" satellites to win a seat into the Main Event.

Harrah's will run daily $58+$12 satellites for three seats into the super satellite, which awards two seats into the Main Event.

The next super satellites is tomorrow June 12. The remaining super satellites is June 19. You can buy straight into the event for $512+$44.

Check here for more information from Harrah's.

Still not done talking about the Taj Bad Beat

When a poker bad beat jackpot is hit, it's immediately reset and starts over again waiting for the next lucky table to claim the prize.

When a bad beat gets to a certain point, the resetting process doesn't hurt that much. For most casinos, 10 percent of the drop is taken out for for reseeding purposes. When the Trump Taj Mahal bad beat opened today - two days after it hit for a record amount - it's still at a respectable amount. The Taj bad beat is at $167,818.

That's not the highest of the casinos. Borgata is at $277,358 and most of the others are in the 100K territory as well.

I wonder what the bad beat chasers are going to do now.

He even got a big check!

The Trump Taj Mahal bad beat was hit on Sunday night ending the largest bad beat in Atlantic City history.

The Press of Atlantic City has an article with a photo of the man holding a large check inside the poker room. I hope he left with it.

The bad beat was quad sevens beat by quad aces in a $2/$4 limit game.

Congratulations to John Bazela who won.

However, the part that struck me was the last paragraph.

But every gambling story has to have one loser, and everyone knows it's not the house.

Shortly before Bazela struck the untraditional jackpot, Beverly Joskowitz, of Bayonne, Hudson County, left her spot at the table to grab a quick bite to eat. Twenty minutes later, she returned to the mob scene around her table. She had missed being a part of history, and more importantly, she was out more than $24,000.

"My stomach went to the floor," she said upon hearing the news. "It's still there. I haven't picked it up yet."

I feel sick for her. That's a terrible way to find out that you lost your share of roughly $24,000. Imagine sitting there for hours on end and then that happened.

I know someone who was sitting on this game and I intend to find out if Joskowitz was given any money by the other players on the game. There have been tables that make a pact with each other that if someone is in the bathroom or grabbing food, they are still going to get their share of the money.

From the sounds of it, this was not that kind of table.

Bad beat finally hit at the Taj

The bad beat jackpot got hit at the Taj Mahal tonight.

I don't have all the details, but I do know it's finally in the books. I'll try to get more info on Monday.

What if you were this guy?

Imagine sitting in the Taj Mahal poker rooms for hours. Bathroom breaks are kept to a minimum and eating only happens when you know what you have time to make a phone call for takeout. You don't want to leave the game for the possibility of that table hitting the bad beat.

Sadly, this story is true and was told by the dealer on the game.

On Saturday, the bad beat jackpot could have been hit for over $650,000 at the Taj Mahal. It probably should have been hit.

We'll call this man Bob (because Bob is a nice name). Bob had pocket 8's in a $1/$2 no-limit game. While I don't know the exact flop, it's not going to matter. The flop came down with an 8 and two cards to a flush.

Bob bet with his set and was called. The turn brought the third flush card and also created a straight. Bob bet and Player A moved all-in against him. Looking at the board, Bob sees the flush and the straight and decided he doesn't want to lose all his stack with one card to come.

Bob folds.

Player A shows he had straight flush.

Bob says to the dealer: "Let me the next card. Let me see a rabbit."

Dealer: "No rabbit-hunting."
Bob: You don't understand. I had three 8s, I have to see if I would have hit the bad beat."

The dealer relents.

She flips the last card over .... 8.

Poor Bob. that would have $325,000 that would have been all his if he just called on the turn.

Bob went home angry as I am sure the rest of that table did since they missed on a pay day of more than $20,000.

Online poker rooms for NJ residents could be here by the fall

Online gaming portals for New Jersey residents came one step closer on Thursday, The Press of Atlantic City reports.

State senators released a bill that would dictate how intrastate Internet-based gaming would work, including poker. For many New Jersey residents who love to play poker, this would eliminate them from having to drive to Atlantic City taking away potential business from the city's other venues.

Advocates for the bill claim it could generate as much as $250 million a year for the casinos, The Press reports.

Considering this sounds like found money, it's interesting casino officials did not speak on the matter. With the construction of casinos in Delaware and Pennsylvania, Atlantic City is losing customers to those outlying states. This bill has the potential of losing customers within its own state borders.

Some poker rooms that are barely hanging on - Showboat and Bally's - would have a tougher time if they lost more of its regulars from New Jersey.

How do you think this would effect gaming in Atlantic City?

Last Chance WSOP satellite at Harrah's tomorrow

Still trying to get into the WSOP Main Event that beings July 5? Harrah's Resorts in Atlantic City is running "Last Chance" satellites to win a seat into the Main Event.

Harrah's will run daily $58+$12 satellites for three seats into the super satellite, which awards two seats into the Main Event.

The next super satellites is tomorrow June 5. The remaining super satellites are June 12 and 19. You can buy straight into the event for $512+$44.

Check here for more information from Harrah's.

Taj bad beat sets a new record

This morning the Taj Mahal bad beat poker jackpot set a new record when it hit $633,121. According to an official from the casino, it's an American casino record.

The room has been at capacity during peak hours and about 2/3 full at other times. One of the most astonishing things about this bad beat is I heard the wait times aren't very long.

This was unlike Caesars when that grew to over $500K. Wait times were going into the hours rather than the minutes.

Taj bad beat update

As of 9:37 a.m. Thursday morning, the Taj Mahal bad beat jackpot is at $619,758.

Here's an article The Press of Atlantic City did on the the record jackpot.

Is Taj too dangerous to play?

The Taj Mahal has been packed with poker players over the last few weeks trying to hit the bad beat jackpot, which grows by $10,000 or more a day at this point.

But, for regular players in Atlantic City, some just wish the bad beat would already go away. They don't like going to the Taj, but this opportunity is too much to pass up. Over the last two years, there have been major incidents that have made national news at the Taj Mahal.

First, there was the stabbing that happened in the valet after the there was a verbal argument in the poker room over a seat.

Then, there was the shooting of Ray Kot, which was a targeting attack, but scary nevetheless.

Recently, there was the terrible tragedy of Martin Caballero being kidnapped and carjacked from the Taj parking lot and then killed.

These are just the matters that make the news.

Last night, there was another incident at the Taj where an elderly Asian man was assaulted. He was thrown head-first into the podium where he was knocked out until paramedics arrived on the scene, a witness said. The assailant ran out of the room and through the front doors. There was no word if he was caught.

In light of these problems, is a chance at claiming some of the Taj bad beat worth it?

Wanna know the Taj Bad Beat? See for yourself

As of 9 a.m. this morning (Wednesday)

Taj Bad Beat Approaching 600K

The Taj Bad Beat jackpot still has not hit. The bad beat is up for $595K as of 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

This poker bad beat has consumed us here at AC Poker Happenings. The in-house poker player has been there as much as possible ... well, MT is there whenever MT plays. MT doesn't just sit at the Taj in what was called a "zombie horde" last night.

When MT left about 6 a.m. (after starting 9, MT's regular shift), he just shook his head and laughed. MT wants to win the BBJ, but it's about playing the game and taking the winnings you can off the game as well.

Any trip reports from the weekend?

Almost through Memorial Day with bad beat still intact at Taj

Just got word from the Taj Mahal that the bad beat poker jackpot is at $580K, which sets a new Atlantic City record. The room was bombarded all weekend with nearly all 70 of the poker tables filled with those trying to collect bad beat winnings.

With the Memorial Day weekend getaways nearly over, no one was lucky enough to hit that large sum.

To make more money, the Taj should start a pool as to when the bad beat is going to hit.

How much do you want it?

As of 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, the bad beat is at $548,000-plus at the Taj Mahal.

I want in.

Taj bad beat jackpot not yet hit - you still have time

The Taj Mahal bad beat jackpot is up to $526,967 as of 11 a.m. Friday morning.

If this sucker is not hit by tonight, I may head over there myself and check it out.

Who's going this weekend?

Harrington Raceway to start table games today

Here's an article from The Press of Atlantic City. Delaware's Harrington Raceway will begin table games this morning at 10 a.m.

Harrington is the first of the racetrack casinos in Delaware to introduce table games. According to reports, Harrington has a 10-table poker room. Rake is 10 percent up to $5 with a $1 bad beat drop.

Delaware Park (June 19) and Dover Downs are expected to follow soon and some things might be different there. I've heard Delaware Park's rake is 10 percent up for $4. Still, a $1/hand is probably cheaper than gas and tolls heading to AC for Delaware and Maryland players.

The question becomes, how is thing going to effect Atlantic City - and especially the poker rooms since that's what we focus on here. It will take some time to tell.

Last chance to qualify for WSOP at Harrah's

Still trying to get into the WSOP Main Event that beings July 5, Harrah;s Resorts in Atlantic City is running "Last Chance" satellites to win a seat into the Main Event starting May 28.

Harrah's will run daily $58+$12 satellites for three seats into the super satellite, which awards two seats into the Main Event.

The super satellites are June 5, 12 and 19. You can buy straight into the event for $512+$44.

Check here for more information from Harrah's.

You still have a shot at the bad beat

Just a friendly reminder, the Taj Mahal bad beat is at $516,753 as of 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Anyone trying to take a shot?

By the way, the Borgata is at $196,227.

Borgata announces Summer Poker Open Schedule

The Borgata released its Summer Poker Open schedule, which runs June 11-30 (But it's not summer yet!).

The Borgata doesn't always have the same schedule for every open. They tweak it based on what the trends are and the customers want. In the last Open, they did away with straight 7-card stud and threw it mixed games. The old-time favorite did make a return this time either. The only time you will see a stud game is during the game HOSE game on June 22.

The tournament now has three Deep Stack events, including a turbo (June 15).

The main event, which starts June 25, is now a $2,000+$20 buy-in, which is a $1,000 less than the Spring Poker Open.

Click here for more information regarding on-site registration and for room rates. Click here for the main event schedule.

We have crossed the 500K threshold

For just the second time in Atlantic City poker history, a bad beat jackpot is at least a half-million dollars.

That's A LOT of scratch.

As of noon on Wednesday, the bad beat at the Taj Mahal is $505,879, growing more than $10,000 since yesterday.

Any one who has gone to play, I would love to hear your trip reports. Either email me or throw them in the comments.

Stu Ungar memorabilia (with your Taj bad beat update)

I still collect baseball cards. That might make you want to stop reading, but I fully admit my enjoyable hobby. Occasionally, I'll pick up other types of trading cards and recently 2010 Razor Poker caught my interest.

For the first time that I can recall, Stu Ungar memorabilia cards are included in this set. It's a piece of a jacket he wore in a tournament. In addition, there is a one cut signature in the whole set. Ungar is considered one of the greatest natural poker geniuses.

A box costs roughly $65, depending on where you purchase it from, which includes five packs and one card per pack. Every card in the box is autographed or one of the Ungar memorabilia cards.

Click here and here for the sell sheets for the product.

TAJ BAD BEAT UPDATE: As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Taj Bad Beat jackpot is up to $494,335.

I knew people playing their last night and I still heard complaints about bad games. I quote: "Every nit is in town trying to hit this thing."

Taj Mahal bad beat still up there

As of 11 a.m. Monday morning (I have to keep putting the time), the Taj Mahal bad beat jackpot is at $483,816, which is the largest in that casino's history.

The biggest in Atlantic City history was hit at Caesars in January for $553,958.

Will the Taj get closer to the record or will someone finally end the madness?

Press of AC article on Annie Duke

Just wanted to link you guys to the article from The Press of Atlantic City on Annie Duke.

It was a pretty good read. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Poker pro Annie Duke hit Harrah's for satellite tournament

Taj Bad Beat tops 470K

MT is at the Taj Mahal and has texted me.

As of 9:27 p.m. on Sunday night, the Taj Mahal bad beat jackpot is at $470,015.

He said last night every table was full. The midnight tournament was held in that side room next to the bathroom (Anyone playing in that tourney at this time is crazy). Surprisingly, he said there were a few stud games going last night as well.

The part that struck me interesting was his actual game. Taj has been known to do this, but he was playing his $1-$2 NL hold 'em on a stud game, which meant they could only fit nine people on the game. Additionally, the table was all the way in the back of the room behind the pit, so whenever the game fell a player or two short, they wouldn't get a new player for some time.

While that is normally annoying, it would have worked out if for the other players on the game if the bad beat got hit on the game, which it almost did.

One card away - again.

Limped hand. Flop came A-3-4 of spades. All-in, all-in.

One guy turns over 2-5 spades, the other turns over pocket 4. They needed the four of hearts for their payday.

Stars at Harrah's tonight

MT went to Harrah's tonight after taking a break from the Taj Mahal, where the bad beat is up to 441K (as of Friday afternoon).

He said Annie Duke was playing in the poker room, but left around the time he got there, which was around 9 p.m. Accoring to Duke's twitter, she was hitting the low-limit tables.

"Just had a great time playing $2/4 limit hold'em in Harrah's poker room," Duke tweeted. "Lost every hand but most fun I have had playing poker in a while."

MT also said that Allan Meltzer was playing an action-filled $5/$5 no-limit at Harrah's. Meltzer appeared on Season 6 of GSN's High Stakes Poker.

Get to play with Annie Duke this weekend

Harrah's Resort is having its super satellite this weekend and famed poker player Annie Duke will be around for the next two days and players will get an opportunity to play with her.

She will open with remarks for the 6 p.m. satellite (though, I'm not sure she will make it on time from her flight) and host a question and answer session at 8 p.m. in the Harrah's poker room.

On Saturday starting at 11 a.m., Duke will play in cash games in Harrah's poker room. That means any regular folk who play Saturday morning (that does not include me) will get a chance to watch her up close.

This is a rare appearance for Duke on the East Coast. She is based out of Los Angeles and has four kids to raise, so she doesn't get the opportunity to come out.

If you follow Annie Duke on Twitter, you would have seen she almost didn't make it for tonight's events. Around 10 a.m., she wrote: "I may be totally screwed. My flight to Philly is oversold and I think they might not have a seat for me. FML. I have to be to Philly by 6."

Luckily for poker fans, just a few minutes later she wrote: "I got literally the last seat on the plane. Two people got screwd (sic) because there weren't enough volunteers. How do you oversell a plane?" 

Here's the complete Harrah's schedule for the WSOP satellite events.

Bad beat means bad games?

MT was at the Taj last night, trying to get a little taste of the bad beat jackpot, which is above 430K on Thursday. The fun part was the two text messages MT sent me saying two times his table was one card away from the bad beat on the flop. So, with two cards to come, the entire table held their breath hoping, praying and willing to get paid the massive sum.

Obviously, it didn't happen.

One thing MT did note was just how boring the games were. Most of the no limit games were full of nits and there was not a lot of action.

I remember when the Bad Beat got ridiculously high at Caesars, the action was still crazy. Caesars has an action-filled room by nature.

The Taj is a good mix. Even as MT walked the room last night looking for a better game, he just couldn't find any.

"There were no big pots on any game," MT said. "Some people had stacks, but you never saw that money moving around."

Perhaps that is just the norm for a Wednesday night, but it should make a poker player question. Hitting a huge jackpot as the one the Taj has going right now would be amazing, but there is still is poker to be played. So, is it worth going to a poker room where the action isn't good?

Taj bad beat getting up there

As of Monday morning, the Taj Mahal poker bad beat jackpot is up to $405,169.

When Caesars was up there, I remember what a madhouse. Being the Taj Mahal it's probably only crazier.

Anyone hit the Taj Mahal this weekend? Got any stories on the craziness of the room?

Tropicana changes bad beat requirments

When Caesars’ bad beat jackpot went off $553,958 in January, Atlantic City was in fervor over the heights of the highest bad beat jackpot pay out in the city. It literally took hours for players to get a seat on the games at Caesars while the jackpot grew and people wanted a shot at that money.

Other casinos in the area took notice and have changed the rules to the jackpot in order to grow the jackpot.

Recently, the Tropicana changed the minimum required hand from quad deuces to quad eights. Even though the jackpot recently hit under those requirements, it seems as though the Trop is trying to cash in on the excitement a large bad beat brings in.

Though this isn’t a terrible idea, there are different thoughts here poker players can have.

1. With the requirement so high, why bother playing there when the bad beat could hit at the other casinos with a lesser requirement?

2. Players who dislike the bad beat may enjoy playing at the Tropicana more often because the bad beat has less of an outcome on the hands with bad beat chasers staying out of hands pre-flop.

What do you think of new minimum requirement? Will it change you mind on playing at the Tropicana?

Borgata Deep Stack starts Sunday

Borgata's ever-popular $500,000 Deep Stack Poker Tournament is back. The tourney has a $1.2 million prize pool and begins Sunday and will run through May 19.

Buy in: $1,500 +$150

There will be a $330+$50 qualifier Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Two big bad beats in Atlantic City

At last check, the bad beat at the Taj Mahal is over 315K and Caesars is at 202K.

George Stephanopoulos living it up in Atlantic City

George Stephanopoulos recently spent some time at Harrah's in Atlantic City playing against some of the top poker pros. Even though he is the anchor of Good Morning America, Stephanopoulos wanted something else.

As part of the Living the Dream series, Stephanopoulos went to Atlantic City and played poker with Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth Jr., and other pros.

You can see a video of the segment here.

Alex Queen wins Borgata Spring Poker Open

Alex Queen won the Borgata Spring Poker Open main event just a little while ago, according to the Borgata Poker blog.

The Bethlehem, Penn., resident took down two players with As-7h and won $355K and a Borgata championship bracelet.

WSOP Satellite today at Harrah's

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.


Check out Harrah's site for more information.

WSOP Satellite this weekend at Harrah's

Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City is hosting a satellite tournaments for the World Series of Poker this weekend.

The $516+$44 satellite on April 24 starts at 4:15 p.m., with two guaranteed heading to the main event.

Players can 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.

Sorel Mizzi wins East Coast champion at Borgata

ESPN.com has a recap of the East Coast championship held this week at the Borgata.

First event of Borgata Spring Open is a big draw

The Borgata Spring Poker Open kicked off the event with a $560 deep Stack NLHE with 1,214 entrants. The large field in the Borgata Poker Room.

Next up is the East Coast Championship, a $7,500 buy-in with a guaranteed $500K prize pool.


You can follow all the action on the Borgata's official poker blog. They do a great job of updating throughout the day.

Wynn pulls out of Philadelphia casino project

An article moved earlier today that Steve Wynn is pulling out of the Philadelphia-waterfront casino project.

Here's an article on The Press of Atlantic City website.

WSOP Satellite today at Harrah's

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 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.

Photo: Revel on the rise

Here's a photo of the Revel Casino rising up. This was taken a few weeks ago before the storm blew out some of the windows.

Don't forget WSOP satellite tourney this weekend

Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City is hosting a satellite tournaments for the World Series of Poker this weekend.

The $516+$44 satellite on March. 27 starts at 4:15 p.m., with two guaranteed heading to the main event.

Players can 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.

Another satellite will also be held April 24.

Check out Harrah's site for more information.

Release: Borgata Spring Poker Open with $1 Million Event

FIRST ANNUAL BORGATA SPRING POKER OPEN


FEATURES $1 MILLION CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

60-Event Tournament Running April 10 – 30

Atlantic City, NJ (March 16, 2010) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced today details of its first annual Borgata Spring Poker Open to be held Saturday, April 10 through Friday, April 30, 2010. The Borgata Poker Room will feature 110 poker tables for both live action and tournament play throughout the 21-day competition. The sixty-event tournament series will culminate with the $3,500 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event (April 25–30), which features two starting dates, 30,000 in tournament chips and offers a guaranteed $1 million prize pool.

The inaugural Borgata Spring Poker Open will feature 26 main events, including Texas Hold’Em No Limit, 6-Hand Max No Limit, H.O.S.E., Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha Stud events. The tournament will also be filled with super satellites, survivor, no limit hold’em, and Seniors-only and Ladies-only events.

Borgata will offer online reservations for main events, beginning Monday, March 22 through Wednesday, April 7. On-site registration for all Borgata Spring Poker Open events begins Friday, April 9, in the poker room. To view the event schedule and for more information, please visit www.theborgata.com or twitter.com/BorgataPoker.

Borgata has made it convenient for poker players to view a list of current live poker games in action through the online Live Game Report. In addition, Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot continues to flourish, having hit five times last week alone. Since its inception in December of 2008, Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot has hit 44 times, paying 386 players a total or $5,735,500.

Latest WSOP Circuit events results from Caesars

For news on the circuit event, check out Poker Player's news here.

Borgata Deep Stack Tourney on Wednesday

Borgata's ever-popular Deep Stack Tournament is on Wednesday, March 10.

It's a $1,500 Buy-In + $150 Entry with a $30,000 starting chip stack.

Qualifiers ranging from $330+$50 to $165+$35 start Sunday.

Check out the original post we did on the tourney.

More competition for Atlantic City card rooms

Delaware Park is getting table games ready for this summer. The casino executives hope to get moving and have hired Susan Ciboldi as Director of Tables Games.

In the press release announcing the appointment, COO Andrew Gentile said: "Initially, we expect to feature approximately 40 table games and a 20-table poker room."

He said other things in the release, but this was the only part I focused on. With Philadelphia and Delaware competing for poker players, Atlantic City will have stiff competition. The summertime won't be terrible because I still feel this is an area people will want to enjoy during the peak months.

But what will happen to rooms like the Showboat and Bally's on a Monday in February?

ATLARGE coming back to Atlantic City

The Atlantic City Annual Rec.Gambling Excursion is back in Atlantic City once again from March 12-14 at the Taj Mahal. By the way, that's ATLARGE to you.

ATLARGE originated between friends and Internet users who met on the newsgroup rec.gambling.poker since 1996. The first event was held at Resorts.

For more info on how you can be part of the event, or look at photos from past events, go to AtLargePoker.com

WSOP Circuit at Caesars starting Wednesday

The World Series Poker Circuit tour will make a stop at Caesars Atlantic City starting Wednesday.

The tournament will feature 12 no-limit hold 'em events, including a deep stack, two turbo, a ladies-only and the main event.

Here's a link to the schedule.

There will be two satellites running nearly every day. Starting March 3, an 8-p.m Super Satellite ($560) will run through March 11. On March 8, a Super Satellite ($340) will begin at 4 p.m. until March 11.

Let us know how it goes and leave us any trip reports.

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. 

Bad beat hit at Caesars

Check it out.

The Press of Atlantic City is reporting the bad beat jackpot of over a half million dollars was hit today at Caesars (link).

Atlantic City Press catches bad beat fever

The Press of Atlantic City had a recent article about the bad beat jackpot at Caesars.

The reporter caught on to the fact that there are many people in the room, but missed some key element to describe the craziness of the room.

The reporter doesn't describe how long the wait list or the fact that there are only $1/$2 no-limit games available. In addition, it doesn't say how long players are waiting for a game.

"It's a circus," said a less-than-thrilled Greg Rudolph, also of New York City, still waiting for a table. "It really is."

In that quote, it merely says Rudolph is still waiting. But how long? 10 minutes? One hour? Three hours? A day?

Nice to see the Atlantic City paper get a poker story in, but just needed a little something extra.

Where have the limit games gone?

At Caesars, while the bad beat jackpot raged around $500,000, there were no limit games being played. Just no-limit all the time.

It's unusual practice, but was done because of a group of players who were coming in and playing on the same game, according to a few sources.

The group of eight or nine players would open a new game or somehow end up on the same game on a $2/$4 limit. They would play just bad beat hands such as a quads or suited connectors. When the flop came down, if it was a potential bad beat hand, they would ensure there was at least $20 in the pot to qualify for the jackpot.

If not, they would just check it down.

And, they always tipped the dealer. That's an important component because, in my experience, as long as most dealers are being tipped, they don't care what's going on. That's most, but not all. Not the good ones.

Someone got wind of the collusion and shut down all limit games at Caesars while the BBJ is incredibly high.

Normally, I agree with the Borgata's practices ...

... but why did you get rid of 7-card stud from the Winter Poker Open?

Sigh.

The Borgata's winter tourney begins on Jan. 20 with a deep stack no limit, which has proved to be extremely popular (tournament schedule). There are all kings of games in the tournament, including a H.O.S.E. and Omaha/7-card stud rotation tourney.

However, there is no straight stud tournament, which I find incredibly disappointing. I understand that NL is every one's game of choice now and that the action players love Omaha, but what happened to all the stud love.

I'm not some old fogey either wishing for the days when stud reigned the card rooms. I'm not even 30 and love stud appreciate the game more than most people my age.

Borgata Poker Open is going to be successful regardless, but I just wish they would have kept the event.

Poker tourneys going on at the Taj

The Taj Mahal is kicking off 2010 with the New Year's Classic, which runs through the 18th. You can book your seats at www.ptseats.com

By clicking on the above link, you will also see what tournaments the Taj is running. There is a good mix of games from the popular NL Hold 'em to my personal favorite 7-card stud.

Most of the events will run you $300+$40, but the daily tournaments are about $50 and the Taj still has the midnight tourneys going on.

Release: First day of Harrahs's WSOP Circuit a success

The first day of the World Series of Poker circuit event in Atlantic City was a success, according to a release from Harrah's Resort.

Over 1,000 players came in for the $300 $40 NL event. Dante Magtoto won the event and $61,459.

Here's some play-by-play of the final table:

The final three players were seasoned poker veteran Massoud Nikjouian, 2009 Rincon Circuit Champion Dwyte Pilgrim and Dante Magtoto, a 28-year-old IT consultant who has been moonlighting on the felt for the past few years.

Pilgrim, the short-stack of the three, fell short of earning his third WSOP Circuit ring after his Ac-5c did not improve against the pocket queens of Magtoto.

Heads-up was between Magtoto and Nikjouian. Magtoto, with about a million chip lead, proposed a deal with his opponent to split the remaining $90,000 of the prize pool 50/40 with the ring going to Magtoto. Nikjouian suggested the two step outside of the ballroom to further discuss the deal. A few minutes later, both players to the table visibly upset.

Apparently, negotiations had fallen through and the two decided to play it out. The final hand of the night saw both players all-in pre-flop; Nikjouian's A-6 off vs. the Qh-9h of Magtoto. The flop came 2s-7h-ks. A queen on the turn gave Magtoto the lead, which held after a seven hit the river, earning him $61,459 for first place and a WSOP Circuit Event ring.

There was a little more than just the Circuit events going on. Harrah's took advantage of the rivalry between New York and Philadelphia to pit poker players from those cities against each other.

Alongside event #1, a battle for east coast supremacy brewed at the feature
table where the annual Philly vs. New York World Series of Poker Showdown was
being held. The event, sponsored by ESPN Radio 950 Philadelphia and ESPN Radio
1050 New York pits poker players from the two cities against one another, adding
to a long list of cross-town rivalries. Philadelphia, whose Phillies lost the
MLB Championship to the New York Yankees in 6 games of the World Series, saw
their hopes for redemption shattered when Robert Ricci, a divorce lawyer
representing New York took down the event.

The WSOP Circuit event runs through Dec. 20.

The worst dealers in Atlantic City

It's difficult to condemn an entire group for the actions of one person. However, when it comes to the poker dealers at Caesars, it's more than that. As a whole, they are some of the most unprofessional, sloppy dealers I have ever witnessed.

And, this was two years ago when I stopped playing there because of that reason.

Recently, a close friend of mine, MT, has started playing there. He went twice last week and each time was worse than the last. If it wasn't MT telling me the story, I would have had a difficult time of believing it happened.

MT sat on a $1-$2 NL game at Caesars where the bad beat was around $270K. He's playing, wins a pot and when he was about to throw Barbara (that's her real name) a tip, she says to him "nice hand."

There are massive pet peeves I have and when it comes to poker, a dealer saying 'nice hand' is one of mine. The dealer is supposed to remain neutral. This isn't blackjack where you are playing against the house. Big pet peeve of MT's too.

Instead of throwing her the chip, he just stacks it on top of his pile and says, 'What about that was nice for him?" referring to the man who lost the hand. She looks at him with a blank stare and according to MT, started to look visibly flustered.

About three hands later, Barbara decides the game is over even though a new player is being brought to the table. She tells a floor person and says, the game is over and that they should find six seats around the room. MT says, how is the game breaking? We didn't ask for it. She said, this game is over.

Barbara splits the deck and then starts suiting while the players are left to find six seats around the room.

So MT ends up on another game. About an hour later Barbara is now the dealer on this eight-handed game. She's using her usual tactics of 'nice hand' and 'nice call' to pump players for tips and subsequently is getting stiffed, especially by MT who has won three pots with her.

Remember, this is an eight-handed game. Because MT stiffs her, she starts short-pitching the cards to him as he is sitting on the end.

MT wins another pot and now plays the game back. Rather than throw his cards toward the much, he just slides them over to seat 4, so she has to come and reach for them.

MT says: "I knew you could do it."
Barbara" I have no idea what you're talking about.
MT: Sure, you don't.

As a floor person is walking by, Barbara says to the floor, "Hey, do you have seats around the room, this game is breaking."

MT wasn't going to allow this to happen again. 1. it's an eight-handed game and 2. it's 6 a.m. and no one wants to move.

So, MT pipes up, "We're good right here. No one wants to move. Don't worry about the game breaking."

After she gets off the game, a few players voice their displeasure about her. One woman said, she was surprised the dealer tried to break up the game. Another asked about the little games going on between Barbara and MT.

Long story short: Nothing has changed at Caesars and I won't go there any time soon.

Nice call by me.

Lots of Atlantic City casino news

Over the past week, plenty of news has been dribbling in about some of the Atlantic City casinos and ventures that affect them.

- Latest update on high stakes poker player Andy Beal's attempts to gain control of the three Trump casinos (link).

- ACES, the direct train from New York City to Atlantic City will have less trains during the winter season because of low ridership (link).

- Atlantic City makes plans for Revel's tax payments (link).

Article from The Press of Atlantic City on the U.S. Poker Championships

ATLANTIC CITY - A Rumson man won the United States Poker Championship at
the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, besting 153 other contestants in the four-day
tournament to be televised on the Spike Network, a casino official said
Wednesday.

William Brindise took home $261,800 for his efforts, after beating Men
"The Master" van Nyungen in head-to-head play at the final table, poker director
Tom Gitto said. Nyungen won $138,600, and third-place finisher Eric Ladny, of
Mercerville, pocketed $77,000.

The final table of the event will air on the Spike network in January,
Gitto said. The Taj Mahal has a five-year contract with Compass Entertainment of
Las Vegas to produce and air the broadcast of the U.S. Poker Championship.

Looking for a little help

I'm working on an article for a newspaper about poker players. I am looking for someone who made the attempt to be a professional poker player for some reason or another, it didn't work out.

This isn't me trying to point and laugh. I'm working on a story on how difficult it is to become a poker player and dealing with hardships that you didn't think about before.

If you get a chance, email me at pokerinac at gmail (dot) com

Thanks.

U.S. Poker Championship main event tomorrow

There's still time to make it down to Atlantic City to the 5K main event at the U.S. Poker Championships at the Taj Mahal.

It's a great structure. Start with 30K in chips and many, many levels.

The TV final table will be on Tuesday, which will eventually air on Spike TV.

So, whose going down?

U.S. Poker Championships back on T.V.

After a one-year absence, the United States Poker Championship at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort is returning to national television.

The Taj Mahal signed a five-year deal with Las Vegas-based Compass Entertainment LLC to produce and broadcast the poker tournament on the Spike Network, the casino announced.

The tournament began Monday and runs through Nov. 24. The event culminates with a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em Championship starting Nov. 20.

What a bad night at the Trop

It's been months since I sat down at a poker table in Atlantic City. Not like one or two months, probably something in the six to nine months range.

I've been waiting for a few things to come together, namely paying off my credit card bill. Well, I'm officially out of debt and I didn't waste of second to get back to playing poker.

I probably should have waited.

I'm not one to bore people with hand-by-hand analysis. I don't normally read other posts about the same sort of thing, but I lost $400 last night at the Tropicana.

Ouch is right. That was how I felt driving back home after that bath.

First hand I went broke with, I raised black Kings to $15 under the gun in a $1/$2 no limit game. The guy to my immediate left calls and so do three other behind him. The flop comes down queen high, all clubs.

I can't remember the exact breakdown of the flop bet, but my chips went all-in on the turn when a red card peeled off. I was the aggressor the whole way. One guy was all-in for $47 on the flop.

When I moved all-in on the turn against the guy to my left, I knew he didn't have the flush or the ace-high draw. He took too long to call me, which he did. He turned over red aces.

The river didn't help and I lost my first buy-in.

The second hand I chose to go broke with was with another draw. I played it wrong two ways. The first mistake was not raising the initial bettor pre-flop. From under the gun, he made it $7. I looked down to AQ clubs and just call. It was a terrible call, but it happened because I hate AQ. It's my least favorite hand to play and I let that get the better of me.

There were a few other callers. The flop with A-4-7 with two diamonds and one club. It gets checked to me and I bet, two people call, including the initial bettor.

Turn: 2 clubs

Now, I have top pair with the nut flush draw. It's checked to me, I bet $35. Folds to the initial raiser and he min-raise me to $70.

I have $110 in front of me. The right play (now that I think about it) should have calling the $35 and getting a peek at the river for cheap. Instead, I push all-in for my last bit of money.

He calls the $110 because he has a monster stack behind him.

He turns over 3-5 of diamonds. He turned a straight.

He raised 3-5 of diamonds from under the gun to start the hand. I never put him on that.

River didn't help and there went the rest of my money.

I was too aggressive. My play seemed more suited for tournament poker than a cash game. But as I get to play more, I will remember some of these lessons.

By the way, the bad beat was up to 101K at the Tropicana.

Lessons of the night:
1. Play your hand and don't be scared of AQ.
2. Dont' go broke on a draw
3. There is no folding equity in $1-$2 NL
4. Tropicana ain't what it used to be.

Borgata announces another tournament

Fresh off its record setting Borgata Poker Open, featuring 1,018 participants, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa introduces the $250,000 Guaranteed Double Play Poker Tournament, Sunday, October 18 -21 in the Borgata Poker Room.

For the first time in Borgata's history, players who participate in day 1A of the Double Play Tournament and bust out will have a second chance at the guaranteed $250,000 prize pool by having the opportunity to register and play in day 1B. Entry into the tournament is $500 + $60.

Qualifiers are Saturday, October 17 at 11 AM and Sunday, October 18 at 4 PM.
--------------------------------
Borgata is doing it again. People don't like busting out of tournaments, so they are letting players back in - for a free, of course.

However, with the way Borgata runs the room, I am sure there are plenty of players who will dig into their wallets a second time for a chance at the prize pool.

Also, with the way the economy is, players are getting more value on their money by entering tournaments.