The Venetian Poker Room officially opened on Sunday evening and an Invitational Grand Opening Tournament found a crowd of 284 players taking their seats for an opportunity to drive home in your very own new Lotus. Expecting about 200 players and having closer to 300 show up proved to be no problem for this inaugural event. The shuffle up and deal command went out a little after 9:00 PM and 7 hours later Beatrice Stranzinger scooped the remainder of Carlos Mortensen's chips to claim the keys to the exotic sports car.

This crowd of players included some of the top names in professional poker gathering for the upcoming major tournaments. Beatric outlasted a blue ribbon field to lay claim to the first ever tournament at the Venetian's new poker room. Carlos Mortensen finished in second place after the two went heads up and traded chips. Beatrice overcame almost going out when she had four chips left and was all-in. She won the pot and then went on an unanswered run to amass enough checks to become a contender, eliminating two players in one hand after eliminating another final table player on the hand before. Two hands dealt, three players headed for the door. Carlos went into the heads up match with an approximate 3-1 chip lead, then dominated table and collected the blinds when Beatrice folded hand after hand to his raise. The momentum turned when Beatrice moved all-in and doubled through Carlos, then a few hands later she doubled through again to pull almost even. A few hands later Beatrice moved into the lead after Carlos folded hands to her raises. Carlos didn't go down without a good fight forcing Beatrice to win the chips.

I noticed both Carlos and Beatrice often intently studying each other when the final table of ten players was first seated. Both would scrutinize the other even when they were not in the hand, as if they were collecting data for the heads-up duel to come. Maybe Beatrice got a read on Carlos and that provided the winning edge but it doesn't take anything away from the win. Beatrice played a tough, aggressive game and she had to beat a former WSOP world champion to claim the title. Congratulations on the victory and here's hoping you drive as well as you play, a Lotus can be two or three handfuls of power and speed.

The Grand Opening was a great success from the moment Robin Leach declared the poker room officially open following a champagne toast by hundreds of fans and players. The crowds for the opening day events were massive and most stayed throughout the night. Even at 3 o'clock on a Monday morning the fans were crowded on the rail until the final river card was dealt and Carlos shoved all of his chips to Beatric. The Venetian Poker Room staff did a superb job of handling the unknowns of an opening day and our highest congratulations are in order. Director of Poker Operations, Kathy Redmond, and her entire staff made this one fun party for everyone. Watching the room come to life from behind the scenes was a great experience. I will post some observations, thoughts and additional opening day photos later. Stop by the new room for first look at the new sdtandard in Las Vegas Poker Rooms and get a take a seat great playing experience. Photos are in the Proker Prof's Gallery for the Venetian Grand Opening.