Week in Review for 01.30.04
Iggy's tournament on Poker Stars is in two days, the buy-in is only $20 and it will be quite a gathering. This week is dedicated to the cool bloggers I had a chance to hang out with yesterday while covering the LA poker Classic at the Commerce Casino. Top props go to StudioGlyphic for organizing the impromptu gathering and Al Can't Hang for getting us space at the bar, not to mention the SoCo. The dinner was a hoot with old friends Felicia, Glenn, Grubby, Hank (he has a great new post up), Bill and, of course, Al "The Party" leading the party. I had a chance to meet some very cool members of the blogger community for the first time as well, Glyphic, F. Howard H., Joe and Jeff. If I missed anyone shoot me an e-mail and blame it on the SoCo.
I didn't have a chance to play since I spent most of my scant few hours chatting with fellow bloggers and checking out the $300 No Limit Hold'em poker event upstairs. I planned on having more time but the last 60 miles of the drive down were brutal. I thought we were taking I-10 to I-605. It turns out we were taking the "Miserable Dead-Stop Traffic" freeway to the "Avoid it like the Plague" freeway.
In other news, if you're reading this you're looking at the new server.
Although the facility is large and crowded it lacks the sparkle and shine of a Vegas casino. The facility definitely shows the wear and tear from the daily multitudes of patrons. Housekeeping could certainly do a more through job of maintaining the property. Another problem was parking. Being accustomed to the accommodating multi-story parking garages here in Vegas I was somewhat surprised to find the surface parking lots full with many cars waiting for someone to leave.
Unlimited rebuys were allowed for the first three levels and you could also get an add-on at the end of the rebuy period. Rebuys numbered 955 and 458 players took the optional add-on. The prize pool totaled $667,554 and paid 45 places with the winner receiving $240,319.
We had a great time photographing and visiting with the professional players. Many of the poker bloggers were there so dinner became a large gathering in the bar. 
We should have everything up and running sometime this weekend. Apparently I will also have to continue posting since there will be no downtime.
I visited with the Poker Prof's grandfather today. He lives in Vegas and plays poker everyday even though he is approaching ninety. He is living proof that living in Las Vegas and playing casino poker everyday assures one's longevity and good health. Frank has been playing poker in Las Vegas since they invented the game and shows no outward ill effects. He tells some great stories about seeing and associating with many of the legends of the game way back in the "good ole' days." I will collect some of the tales into an article and share this slice of first person poker history with our readers. I guess the Prof, being a fourth generation poker player, was just destined to become a part of the poker industry. Even though he collected a number of advanced degrees and tried his hand in the entertainment production business as well as the law, poker was in his blood.
Many of our readers have probably noticed an apparent lack of bandwidth resulting in some visitors seeing a "try again in five minutes" page instead of the latest post. This problem is not only apparent, but real. We have outgrown our current web hosting and, as such, we began looking for new digs for the Poker Prof's Blog. A new home has been located and I'm happy to report that the entire operation is being moved to a state-of-the-art dedicated server with more than ample bandwidth and, of course, everything is scalable so those annoying 'try-again-later' screens will be gone forever. The move is almost complete with a few small details to be worked out and we will then repoint. Being the cautious types we will spend the next week closely monitoring everything and doing the final tweaking to ensure your visits are trouble free. 
During the rerouting we may not have the ability to do a daily post; but, this should only be for one day, if at all. Now is a good time to thank everyone for finding the blog interesting enough to continue coming back. You are the reason we need a new, bigger and better web host solution. We thank you for your time and we will continue to earn your visits by offering Las Vegas news, most everything poker and our trademark 'in-your-face' poker tournament photographs. In addition to everything we currently offer we will continue to develop and expand our content with added writers, expanded tournament coverage and cutting edge technological features. We may even buy J. Santos some crayons so he can do the "Muckit" cartoon in full color.
The eventual winner was John Stolzmann. The WPT moves on to the 
Last night these guys and girls were snowboarding on the specially built mountain in the 
I must look that place up when I visit the Commerce next month.
From my vantage point the players seemed to be taking the game seriously and why not as the winner received a seat in this years WSOP main event and $10,000 in cash.
Those receiving a citation can pay the $183 fine and forget it or they may choose to go to court instead; so today, seventy-eight people were scheduled to appear in Texas City's municipal court to answer the charges. Owner, Frank Skaggs has maintained that he cleared dthe event with local police and they were OK with the tournament since the bar did not receive a cut of the prize pool. Of course, the police now say the conversation never took place. I am assuming that it is OK to hold a poker tournament in Texas if you do not profit from the event and clear it with the poker police first; but you had better get it in writing. Now, let me do some simple arithmetic: 78 entries, each with a $183 citations would be equal to $14,274. That's a lot of donuts.
I would wander around the historic old Strand district of the city and shoot photos while visiting with many of the retired, long term locals. I was especially interested in some of restaurants located in refurbished older building. Some of them had what appeared to be a cashier cage very much like Vegas casinos with windows and security bars. One of these restaurants, the Balinese Room, was built on a peer jutting out into the Gulf where you have to walk a considerable distance out to the building, then all the way around the building to get to the entrance. One of the older local natives told me the building originally housed one of the Sam Maceo family owned casinos. The long walk was by design. By the time the police, at full gallup, could get into the building the gaming tables had been miraculously transformed into a restaurant, complete with patrons enjoying food and drink. 
This same elder historian also told me that when the Maceo family ran the island in the 1920's and 30'ds the roads didn't have any potholes, a black person could find respectable employment and crime was practically non-existent.
First of all I did enjoy the Battle of the Sexes. This is the sort of programme you could force guests with no interest in poker to watch and they would find it entertaining. Not as dumbed down as Celebrity Poker but certainly not high brow. I have heard of editing but they even switched players on me. Evelyn will be on next week alongside Kristy Gazes and Jen Harman, I suppose; but, my result sheet doesn't show these three playing together. I know 
A bit like playing a round with Tiger Woods. I have not signed a deal to shop at the 99c store although it seems that way.
A smattering of culture, strategy, trip reports and upcoming events comprise the bulk of this week's post. Maudie and Iggy both have literary poker related jewels, Maudie with an 
Cruising around the Internet I ran across this article, 
The author of the article reports that this new mass threat of addiction is the results of televised poker. Millions of people see the game on TV and want to be like the Poker Pros. A reference is made to the 'seemingly' rebirth of other casino games. Does this mean poker is the 'gateway' game? I have lived in Las Vegas for three decades and through my association with the poker industry I follow the trends in gaming. I have not noticed a resurgence in any of the other casino games with the exception of poker. The comment that, "Las Vegas is once again a preferred vacation destination," is highly questionable. When was it not been a preferred vacation destination? We have continued to grow and prosper as a result of our millions of visitors that come, even when the rest of the world and the economy are in a nose dive. The only question asked about Las Vegas visitor numbers? What rate is it growing, not whether it is ascending or descending.
When I was 6 perhaps I could have better spent my leisure time throwing rocks at the neighbor's dogs. Maybe that would have led to a big league baseball career where I could be on TV in a wholesome environment above all the drug and gambling addicts.
Each player has to play three times with the winner scoring six points, the sixth place one point. The overall points winning team (Male or Female) collects $30K. The winning player receives $40K.
The UK Register reported that the top UK poker site operators made $200 million or more this year. Two years ago the Brits were betting approximately $100K per day, today the Brits bet more than $200 million a day in online poker games. Considering the gross numbers reported for the Industry as a whole; this represents a rather small piece of the action, so the majority of profits are taken by other than British operators so I have to assume the majority must be US players and operators. Currently, the Brits make up 80% of the poker players considered to be the European market. This translates to an Internet poker market that is no where near saturation. Europe will continue to discover online poker and provide the fuel for long term growth. Another interesting stat is the high percentage of online poker female players. Approximately 40% of online players are women compared to 5% of live game players. The number is probably even higher since many females register as males to avoid the all-to-common gender abuse.
It was almost a record seventy degrees here in Vegas today. I am not sure of the exact figure as Channel 13 had to fire weatherman Rob Blair. Bonehead Rob, the racist, gave his forecast for 
Tilt is being touted all over town on taxicabs. This was repeated on ESPN Sunday. It portrays the people involved in poker as being seedy. I know this is not the case from my years of observing the top players.
Las Vegas turns one hundred on May 15, 2005. The city will be celebrating the 
Prior to the railroad coming to town in 1904 and the city becoming official in 1905, the Las Vegas valley was a Mormon farming community beginning about 1855. The history of the water rich valley goes back much further with the discovery of pre-history Native Americans that roamed the valley thousands of years ago. 
Fly in on an airliner and all you see below is hundreds of square miles of barren, empty land. Land shortage or political gambit? What better way to “create” a land shortage than to legislate restrictions and impose selective, dynamic zoning? What better way to maximize the profit per square foot then to build high rise style due to the shortage of dirt? Lower construction cost per foot and the greatest return on the investment. High density living in one of the last great empty spaces in the country. I believe this is a wonderful idea and am constantly amazed at the daily changes in the skyline. Las Vegas continually re-invents itself and doesn’t hesitate to blow up the old and build the new. It is one of the primary ingredients of our success, the prime directive for our existence and continuing to flourish.
I noticed that one of the old off-strip joints is closing forever tomorrow. The Key Largo hotel on Flamingo will close to make room for?... Yup, you guessed it, high rise condominiums. Why? Because of the land shortage, of course! The developer told the on-camera reporter that any of the “old” neighbors in Vegas are fair game and will be dozed and replaced. I probably live in one of those target neighborhoods and know that sooner or later (probably sooner, reps are already canvassing the area) I’ll have to pack up and go. And if I refuse to sell my piece of the Las Vegas desert I’ll have a first hand opportunity to learn the absolute power of Nevada’s eminent domain law. Will I be sad to depart from my neighbor of more than two decades? Hell no! I think I’ll like high rise life. Given a long enough lens I’ll never have to leave the house to shoot photos of Vegas and the empty desert surrounding the city.
Let me start off by mentioning 
1. Alan Schein, N. Miami, Fl. $90,000
A three day weekend here in Las Vegas is always an event. The streets are crowded with visitors, hotel parking is difficult and long lines at most of the restaurants. Always a great time for the poker rooms, teeming with schools of phish, money in hand waiting for a seat to lighten the wallet. Many of today’s poker newbies are highly skilled in watching tournament poker on television, selecting the coolest looking shades and doing the Hollywood chip shuffling, decision making drama of whether to call another four bucks in the 2-4 hold’em game. Every hand an opportunity to hold the other players hostage while showboating for the table before mucking the hand.
The nouveau poker crowd will produce very few stars with the overall talent to survive long term or even short term in the high stakes world of tournament poker. Playing in a $4-$8 hold’em cash game is as similar to playing in a WSOP event as the family sedan is to an Indy race car. Both cars have four wheels and both poker games are played with a standard deck of playing cards; but, the similarities end right there. What does it take to be a top-shelf poker professional?
The cards eventually turned and you gloated with satisfaction while watching them gave it all back. But, how about the few players that seem to have more rushes than most and they rarely give anything back? I think of them as card magnets. They seem to have a knack for catching the cards they need. Is their rush just a straight stretch on the luck road or the benefits from having that card magnet knack? Some of you may recognize a direction here that 
Either you have the magic or you don’t. The few players that can conjure up some magic and convince the cards to rearrange themselves to supply the needed case card will quickly rise to the top and join the others that have a knack for calling the cards.
The crowds have dwindled to a few spectators and tournament staff. The last few survivors are battling out for the big prize money in an almost empty room late in the evening and a feeling of desolation permeates the environment. This is typical of the end of a non-televised tournament. 
The purse for the $1000 entry + one $300 re-buy event was just over $120,000 with a top prize of $30,000 and change. The Make-A-Wish Foundation was the big winner from the event, with a sizable portion of the proceeds going to aid this worthy cause. Kevin Manley from the 
A silent auction offered up a host of goodies for the avid collector, from an autographed Tiger Wood's golf ball to a signed Paris Hilton photo. As Matt Savage said, “You can take Paris Hilton home tonight for only $200.” Well, you can’t beat that, a shame I didn’t get this item as I can think of nothing more fitting for a 
Event #5 No-Limit Texas Hold’em Buy-In: $1500 + $80 
For a start, Kennedy announces she is a republican, even sporting an elephant tattoo on her hip. MTV reinvents itself and fires everyone. Kennedy takes an early showbiz bath at the age of 24.
The real reason for my visit to Fremont St was to watch GSN poker champ, James Van Alstyne, pick out five envelopes from fifty-two laid out on the stage. If he made a full house, he and a mystery viewer would share $200,000. The lucky viewer was an equine masseuse from Georgia. Kevin Nealon of SNL fame asked her, "So you massage horses?" She laughed a high pitch laugh. Kevin quipped, "Was that you or the horse?" The GSN people loved that. Robert Williamson III was on hand to determine what poker hand James had made from his five picks. His picks netted the two $20,000.
Downtown San Diego seemed awful quiet on this Sunday evening. I don't mind sitting, listening to the waves crashing inland but my friend had spotted the I-15 sign and remembered this was the road to Vegas from SoCal. Thirty minutes later and he is tired so I suggest Lake Elsinore. I remember they used to have free rooms for players. Luckily the casino is right by the freeway. Unluckily they had rooms available and they are now $55 with a reduction, if OK'd by the poker room shift manager, down to $25. To be honest, this could be used as a halfway house for 
Next morning, I am pleased to see four tables full of players and a fifth filling up with latecomers. The tournament starts promptly; but, players can jump in anytime during the first hour. Hours later and $75 richer we set out for the return to Vegas after seeing the I-5 N of LA closed by snow. That means no last minute reprieve for my hopes of visiting 
Another rainy day in Vegas and more on the way. With all of the major poker action somewhere else and the weather doing an impression of Minneapolis in the winter, I thought it a good time to catch up on reading. Sorting through the growing pile of books, download prints, newspapers and magazines I ran across the latest issue (January 2005) of 
David and his peers’ share some common traits including an above average intellect, a preference for the loner lifestyle and a fierce determination to win. The article focuses on the relationships within his private life and provides the reader with a look at the making of a champion poker player.
A lot is happening in the world of poker this week, none of it in Las Vegas. Over at the Poker Stars' Caribbean Poker Adventure site, Otis is posting the 
Event #1 
Official Results:
Most of the big time tournament action is out of state. Harrah’s Atlantic City is hosting the first ever WSOP Tournament Circuit event. Max Pescatori is at the event sending reports and photos. The 
The technology will provide viewers at home an exact bet size, pot size and chips in any of the player’s stacks. Some forms of cheating, such as a dishonest player slipping previously pocketed chips into their stacks, will become impossible. Apparently, this futuristic technology will become a reality sooner rather than later.
This will provide a real time system of rating players. Today’s card counters will have a hard time practicing their skills when these devices become common place since suspect betting patterns can be accurately determined. Casino chips incorporating RFID technology will be manufactured by long time casino chip manufacturer Paul-Son Gaming Supplies, now renamed 
We are proud to announce that professional poker player, Max “Italian Pirate” Pescatori, has become a contributor to the Poker Prof’s Blog. He is in Atlantic City at Harrah’s Atlantic City resort for the inaugural WSOP Tournament Circuit event. Max has graciously agreed to provide the Poker Prof with timely reports and photos. The action began today, January 7th, and will continue through the 18th. Players accumulate points to play in a $2 million freeroll and to advance to the 2005 World Series of Poker. Harrah’s, the owner of the WSOP, will hold an event in six different locations leading up to the June/July WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The next scheduled WSOP Tournament Circuit meet will be at Harrah’s Rincon in San Diego on February 20th through March 1st. -the Poker Prof
The first report from Max Pescatori in Atlantic City follows:
Note: For the $2,000,000 freeroll event it should be specified that the 100 players will be the top 20 in the standings in each festival.
After another late start we head south along the Pacific Coast Highway stopping for breakfast in Manhattan Beach, again using the lines of people as a guide. This was a 50's style diner with American waitresses and Mexican cooks. Blueberry pancakes and coffee for me today. I am already making a mental note of these places as I hope to return to cover the Commerce later in the month. Maybe Max Pescatori will stay by the Ocean and chauffeur me around in his Mini Cooper. Inland LA is very disappointing. After breakfast we make a small detour to see another Brit import, the Queen Mary at Long Beach. The main Blvd heading towards the Aquarium has been made to look quite acceptable. Parking is overpriced at $22; although we later find a room in a downtown San Diego hotel that prompts us to leave a day early. Its now whale watching season, something that I would like to experience. My friend is paranoid of the sea after what happened in Asia. Four Queen’s best overall player, AD Thoms, lives in Phuket. I hope he is ok. My Friend opts for the Aquarium, I will whale watch next time. I don't seem to be getting my way at all. I should have been born a girl! 
After the Aquarium it is almost dusk so we only drive a short way down the coast to Newport Beach. Finding a room was easy. My friend decides to go back to sleep, so I walk around and find a Second Spin CD store and a Borders. Later, we head towards the Balboa Pier. A little square nearby looked to be the place for restaurants and bars. We headed for the noisiest bar. The noise was coming from some USC Irvine girls playing pool. Nothing cheap around here. Everyone seemed friendly and pleasant, something I am not used to living in Vegas (or England for that matter).
After our organic breakfast at the Urth we drove north a couple of blocks to Hollywood and Highland; where the handprints are in the paving stones. We saw thousands of people wearing Michigan sweaters. Maybe Michael Moore had redistributed his wealth and allowed everyone in Flint to move to Hollywood. In reality, Michigan was in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Amazing how many people had given up their New Years to attend a college ball game. This would not be the case if UNLV had been playing. The reason the people were all gathered here was a rally complete with band, cheerleaders, coach and players.
This is so much better than Vegas. Numerous coffee shops both independent and Starbucks. Guys having their nails manicured. We see an Indian restaurant, always popular with us Brits, and two Irish pubs. The Indian was deserted so I decide on one of the Irish, Finn McCools. Great choice. The bar staff as well as the teak bar imported from deepest Ireland. Our friendly server, skinny Sharon, told us she was from a little village outside of another little village. The Irish have a way with words.
The first work day of the new year and everyone is on the road. Foiledcoup is somewhere in sunny California and the Poker Prof is pursuing one of his editorial projects, while I sit here at the keyboard watching a rare day of rain in Las Vegas. The local poker action is live cash games and regularly scheduled daily and weekly tournaments. The poker tournament action remains on a holiday break, resuming with the ten day run of the Poker Derby scheduled for January 7th through the 16th at Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles. Major tournament action returns to Las Vegas on April 21st when the World Poker Classic kicks off at the downtown Plaza Hotel filling the open time slot that was left when the World Series of Poker moved to the Rio and changed the dates to June 3rd to July 15th. 
This week provided some great content from the poker blog world, and at the top of the list is 