Meet Special K
Who the heck is Special K? He is a new contributor to LasVegasVegas.com.
I imagine that my nickname will get me in trouble with the Kellogg's folks, but that is just how I roll, brave until confronted and then I run like crazy. One lawyer letter and I'll be Oatmeal McGrits.
Hi, I'm Special K. I'm an amateur poker player. I'm an amateur photographer. I shoot a pretty mean game of pool sometimes. Other times it looks like I rode a short bus to the pool hall (thus the nickname). Mostly, I'm a friend to Flipchip and the Poker Prof and they have been good friends to me.
Its rumored that Steve Lipscomb, founder and CEO of the WPT, has been trying to work out an agreement that will make the players and the Travel Channel happy. The travel Channel has been adamant in their refusal to allow televised final tables to show any logos, whither worn by players or stenciled on the table, they are not allowed. The players blame this problem on the WPT for not negotiating with the network to allow them to wear sponsor logos. Apparently, Mr. Lipscomb has been negotiating with the network to find a compromise that pleases both sides.
The LVV team hits the road to points south, very soon. I'm trying to make the most of a few days of R&R before returning to my temporary role of acting ( that's acting with a small "a," if you don't know ask a geek) Manager Editor of a major poker print publication, 
Sometimes I'm amazed to realize that many of those years were in places where poker was a crime. Just like today's lopsided morality inspired laws that make online poker a crime anywhere in the US, yesteryear's vice raids of in-your-home poker games could and would land you in the lock-up. Some of the bible belt areas demanded that evil card players do hard time in the "Big House." Thinking back, I don't remember sleeping better knowing that these card addicts were safely locked away. Living in today's turbulent, violence plagued world has me thinking those old laws that made poker playing a crime didn't do one damn thing to make the world a better place to live. The morality Gestapo didn't work then and they don't work now. Let them take away the sport of Poker today and tomorrow they're grabbing baseball, then basketball becomes a crime and is quickly followed by a law banning boxing (OK, that one's not so bad) and finally, Yep, all forms of football becomess a jailable offense. Can you imagine a world that doesn't include some version of football? Can you imagine a Monday Night without football? Hard to imagine, isn't it?
The current version of poker has its' roots in the backrooms and private homes of old. Those olden days when all poker players were type cast as derelicts. Those olden days have now been replaced with a modern version of poker that has little to do with the old poker, this being especially true for the stigmas that have been layered upon the sport. Poker today is one of the largest leisure time industries in the world and certainly the fastest growing. Poker, with roots reaching back to yesterday, has now become the first legitimate industry delivered through the first world-wide delivery system, the Internet. I realize that labeling poker as "legitimate industry" is dancing very close to the rim of truth, especially when considering poker's state of illegality. Legal issues aside, poker is a big business that employees thousands and thousands of workers and best of all poker is one hell of a revenue producer. In locales where it's legal to put a tax bite on the rake the revenue coffers are often brimming over. The profits and associated taxes are flowing away from the US in a wild torrent; but, maybe this is how it should be. Perhaps it's not such a bad thing but more like the Robin Hood effect...from the haves to the have nots.
Ending on a more cheerful note, some new projects are in the works for LasVegasVegas, some of these we hope to unveil in early September. More details soon but I will say that its all for the good of our readers. Now, I will continue to enjoy my leisure time for the next few days hanging out in a strip hotel, eating good food and even playing some good old legal Nevada casino poker. Las Vegas figured it out a long time ago. Quoting 2005 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee, Jack Binion, "People play poker because it is just a fun game to play." You have it nailed, clear and simple, Mr. Binion. Now, that's got me thinking again that maybe the reason some forms of poker are criminal offenses is because the game of poker is just too much fun. Due to my current state of laziness and the fact that the image computer is not accessible from my present location I have illustrated this article with stuff shot out of my hotel window.
What a city. We hit the record highest temperature ever recorded in Vegas; then we set an all-time low temp for August, all within a span of a few days.
We developed a routine that produced an end product of instant, accurate accounts, complete with photographs, of all the 2005 World Series of Poker's forty-four events. We typically worked a twelve hour plus day at the Rio Resort, and then we would head home so Pauly could write the event article and I could process the images for publication in the blog articles and galleries. In addition to all this, Pauly was writing for 
We learned a great deal during the month and a half of the WSOP followed by the Ultimate Poker Challenge and the Bellagio Challenge Cup. We learned that it becomes difficult to continue to provide quality content with no days off and little to no sleep. This is especially true during the latter days of the long tournaments so this will also be an area of future improvement.
The previous post below lists my thoughts on players that I consider having a legitimate shot at winning the 2005 WSOP championship. When I read through the article this morning I realized I left out dozens of working professional players with the skills and demonstrated track record to win. Ron Rose, Charlie Shoten, Scotty Nguyen, Chris Ferguson, Hassan Habib, Men Nguyen, Gus Hansen, Barry Greenstein, Carlos Mortensen, Joe Beever or just a few that have demonstrated their ability to play winning poker. We can't forget that a complete unknown can rise from the huge field, collect all of the chips and go home the 2005 World Champion Poker Player.
I am continuing to catch up on everything poker and today was a read everything poker day. Scanning some of the news feeds I quickly spotted this article from Rolling Stone titled, 
Of course, some of these instant poker celebrities are indeed flash in the pan and just happened to sit in the lucky seat that magic day during the world's greatest poker tournament. Does Moneymaker come to mind? None of the three superstars that are the focus of the article have bagged the big one yet; but, maybe this will be the year that Negreanu, Ivey or Lingdren goes home with the title of world's best and the coveted platinum bracelet. Of the three, my money will be on Phil Ivey outlasting the predicted field of more than six thousand hopefuls at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event. The Poker Prof assured me that the smart money, his included, will be down on Daniel Negreanu.
There is a degree of truth in this ego driven statement since you never see Phil all-in without a winning out, the guy stays out of the traps and is never drawing dead. Phil has no doubts about his poker playing abilities and the motivation to become the first player to hold ten gold bracelets has to be a big contributing factor. I was there in 1989 when he won the WSOP championship event and I have watched him evolve into a most formidable force. Hellmuth's recent win at the NBC National Heads-Up Championship proves he is at the top of his game.
There is also a list of females that have the ability and skill to become the first woman champion in the history of the WSOP. Jennifer Harman can play with anyone at any level. Jennifer is one of the best players, male or female, playing poker today. Annie Duke knows how to win the big ones and could certainly be there at the end.
The slack time I'm enjoying between major poker tournaments here in Las Vegas has allowed me to catch up on the industry buzz. Of course, all the news right now is the opening of the Wynn joint, a $2.8 billion project that originated within the imagination of Steve Wynn. Hiking around the place and listening to the comments of visitors seeing Las Vegas for the first time indicates the place will be a smashing success. Even though the interest on the mortgage would choke a field full of oil wells, the Wynn will suck up a majority share of the tourist dollar, more than ample money to satisfy all those investment bankers; even enough left over spare change to feed the stock holders. This is a given, considering the competition has to play with second best. This is the equivalent of going to the Indy 500 with the only bright, shiny new race car while everyone else has to drive your old, discarded race cars. So who do you think is going to come out on top?
All of this to the delight of stockholders; and remember, for the rest of us it is a damn fine place to buy a Ferrari, eat a thousand dollars worth of foo-foo food, look at $130 million worth of oversize house plants stacked on a steel reinforced concrete Matterhorn, pick up the Hope diamond for the little lady or get so close to a canvas that is so beautiful you can smell the lingering sweat left by the long dead great master. Oh yeah, did I mention that the Wynn is also a great vacation destination? Drink some suds, soak up some rays, fantasize about all that silicone and maybe get lucky.
Today was a day away from the casinos, poker tournaments and professional players after the non-stop three weeks of events at the Five-Star. I almost stopped by the downtown Plaza Hotel this evening but decided to stay in and catch up on Internet related chores so the post will be a collection of odds and ends from the past few days. I was most pleased to find our 
They are mystified as to how an overwhelming chip favorite could loose all of his massive stack of more than $14 million, approximately two thirds of the total chips in play, while the shortest stack, about $100K, went on to win. Haven't they heard the cliche, "A chip an a chair?" I can't offer anything more to this dark tale, except to say that almost every tournament, especially the top money championships, have a group (disgruntled losers?) that questions some or even all of the plays and the outcome. I remind myself that this is poker and, as such, it does not follow the defined statistical path we predict or expect, more like predicting the weather, too many variables to be exact. It was all recorded for national television broadcast so the viewers can watch the show and decide for themselves if there may have been any funny business. More on this later if new information becomes available and can be substantiated.
Every tournament finds more women entering and playing well. Players from all over the globe representing practically every nationality has made today's poker tournaments an international affair. The top European player, Marcel Luske, has been working closely with the 
The 
A huge biomass column that stretched hundreds of feet into the night sky. The sight of this living phenomenon was quite remarkable and just a little un-nerving. This gigantic creature was composed entirely of tiny moths. The very wet spring Las Vegas had this year apparently produced moths in record numbers and all of them are over at the Luxor.
While cruising around the Internet trying to catch up on what's happening in the world of poker I ran across this 
The poker room at the MGM Mirage opened on Monday with 23 tables, a waiting player pager system and special parking for poker players. Patrons visiting the MGM's state of the art poker facility will find a well thought out room designed to provide the utmost in player comfort and convenience. Now, the MGM is not only the largest hotel in the world; but, it can also boost about operating the most technically equipped poker anywhere. Early customer response is quite favorable and the room has done a brisk business. The real test of a poker room is the length of the waiting list. Most players want to sit in full games; especially, those with a good mix of tourists. I will review the room in the near future and fill in more of the details.
I tried to replace it at the Sprint office where I signed up, even offering to pay any difference, since the phone has a nasty habit of randomly turning itself off, a battery that may hold a charge for a couple of days or a couple of hours, you never know; but, I was told I would have to select from one of the sprint service center on the map they handed me complete with a "have a nice day!" Of course, I choose the office closest to my residence, checked the hours of operation and drove there the following day only to be greeted by the "greeter" and informed that their only tech had left early and would not return until Monday morning. I again tried to trade my worthless phone for something that might work and again offering to pay any cost difference; but, to no avail. Nothing could be done until the "Lord God Sprint Techie," had personally verified that I wasn't making this stuff up. I returned on Monday and, yep, no tech. The greeter told me the "tech" was sick and would not be there for the entire week. When I complained, he pointed out the store Manager and told me to take my complaints over there; which, I did. The young manager told me to come back tomorrow. I pointed out that his employee had just told me no tech until the following week so the manager said I could go to another location and they may have a tech. While the the two huddled I quietly slipped out the door. I'm thinking I need to find another carrier so will probably go with 
Saturday odds and ends while I rest from the 12 straight days of long hours at the WSOP Circuit tournament at the Rio. I shot more than a thousand photographs of the event and the best are now available in the 
Poker has officially hit the big time. Proof positive can be found in the following 
A final question and I will move on, will Mr. Whyte's organization be one of the recipients of this windfall of cash and as executive Director is he not the chief fundraiser?
She parted with a considerable pile of money seeking treatment from most of the therapist in her home town. The only improvement any of us ever noticed over the years was she was always happiest when telling us of her latest addition problem that required therapy. One of the shrinks sent her to AA even though she didn't drink. Should anti-compulsion doctors contribute a part of their profits to anti-compulsive therapy advocates? If it works for poker then it has to work for most any other compulsive behavior. If these concerned lawmakers are truly looking out for the kids then how about smoking? What are the percentages with tobacco users? Should all the movies and TV shows that depict actors smoking contribute a part of the profits to the anti-tobacco advocates? After all, tobacco is one of the most damaging addictions a teenager can acquire.
Happy Friday! Sixty-four of poker's best will be at the Golden Nugget today for the first day of the National Poker Heads-Up Championship. NBC television sports will be filming the three day event. This may be NBC's first major effort to jump on the big time poker tournament popularity bandwagon as a prelude to bidding on the WSOP broadcast rights. Harrah's may open the bidding to the rights; which until now, has been the exclusive property of ESPN. 
He hopes many of the off-shore Internet casinos will relocate to the state. Greg Raymer, former attorney and now a full time poker professional, will be conducting demonstrations of Texas Hold'em while in the state. 
People of Minnesota take note and re-elect these people. This 
Finally, a flare for the obvious describes the 
What would the original independent minded citizens of Wyoming think about all this 'much ado about nothing' fuss the politicians are making over poker? My guess would be, "Find a tall tree and bring some rope." How long can we afford to spend our limited tax resources funding holier-than-thou politicians trying to determine if a poker tournament is a game of skill and therefore against the law? Of course it is a game of skill as well as a game of no skill. Like any other sport it depends on each individual's developed abilities. Next, someone will determine that if you read the anti-poker laws backwards it says, "Satan plays poker, Satan plays poker." Maybe John Q. Public should insist on laws that make running for public office against the law for professional politicians. Only unskilled need apply. Hell, if it works for poker it will work for politics; and, after all, is there any activity more morally corrupt and wrought with illegalities than politics?
Continuing with the discussion of no smoking poker rooms, I should have mentioned that the trend setting poker rooms at the Bellagio and Mirage are none smoking. The largest poker room in Las Vegas, the Orleans, is semi-smoke free, since they do allow smoking in the wee hours of the morning until 9:00 am. With all of the major rooms going smokeless the card rooms that continue to allow smoking will now be more polluted than ever as the disgruntled smokers migrate to these bastions of bad health. For those rooms that have taken the opportunity to end this violation of the nonsmoking player's right to breathe smoke free air, we say thanks and hope you enjoy the improved business always realized from such a move.
Many of the old school believe smoking and gambling must go hand-in-hand. With the large population of retired people here in Vegas, the last joints to allow smoking will probably be the neighbor casinos primarily catering to the local gray crowd; but, as the next generation of retirees move in they will almost surely frown on public smoking. What a great day for Las Vegas when every casino worker is provided with a smoke free work place. A final note, you can thank 1983 WSOP Champion, Tom McEvoy, for poker tournaments going smoke free. He staged the first such smoke free tournament years ago here in Las Vegas.
TGIF is the battle cry for many of our readers coming off the work week today and heading into the weekend. Unfortunately for me, covering the poker business from the gaming capitol of the universe is more of a 24/7 kind of job. Weekends in Vegas are the busiest times for the casinos and card rooms. I thought today I would share some of the rumors heard in the streets.
Another rumor that is circulating through the Vegas poker crowd says the 2005 World Series of Poker will cap the entrants for the $10,000 buy-in No limit Hold'em Championship event to 6600. In addition, approximately 40% of the seats have already been sold. The many online poker rooms are buying up entries at a record pace. What are the odds that another Internet satellite winner will be the 2005 WSOP Champion?
And finally, many poker rooms are going smokeless, even here in the nicotine capitol of the world. Station Properties made their card rooms smoke free beginning the 1st of February (not including Boulder or Sunset Station poker rooms, this will come later). The powers that be decided the time was right considering California has a smoking ban and many of Station properties players are from California. The rooms are even busier since the ban went into effect. Counter to Vegas thinking, going smoke free appears to improve business instead of chase it away. Now if we can do something about banning all of those bad beat stories...
It seems like everyday a new poker show is televised on one of the channels. NBC followed last year's successful airing of a pre-Super Bowl Battle of Champions poker game with another one this year. The quality of the poker shows is improving with each season. The WPT is the gold standard of how to film a poker tournament and most of the other production companies are hard pressed to match their level of quality.
He lacked the experience and live game knowledge required to be labeled a true "A" game professional. Chris was blessed by the Poker Gods that day, won his all-ins and made poker history as the first Internet satellite winner to come away with the top prize in pokerdom's "Big One."
All things considered, I would enshrine him in the Poker Hall of Fame right now. The WSOP Championship alone is more than enough justification; but, the primary deciding factor would be his contributions to the sport as a result of his win, however unlikely. Even though it was not his premeditated goal to become the poker poster boy and provide inspiration to the masses of new poker players, he did show up at Binion's Horseshoe with the idea of playing and winning the tournament. We can thank Moneymaker for being a major contributor to the current overwhelming popularity of poker. If Chris can come out of total obscurity and knock off the championship; then, it is easy to believe that everyone has a shot at taking home the coveted platinum bracelet. Moneymaker is a great spokes person for poker. His WSOP win and his name make him instantly popular with the masses and a natural as a guest speaker for the non-poker groups. He shows up, gives a little speech, shakes hands and plays some non-cash poker, all the while telling anecdotes and giving poker tips. I think Chris can be one of the influential poker stars that we need in the organization of legalization efforts of the Internet poker industry. After all, without changes in the gaming statures, Moneymaker is a criminal; since, by definition, he broke the law when he played and won his 2003 WSOP main event seat at an online card room.
Bicycle Racing (i.e. the Tour de France. Those racer guys have the pockets on the back of their jerseys stuffed with more food items than a Vegas buffet and some do indeed drink a bit of the suds during an event). 
First, let's get the game out of the way. Well, Bolton did not play well, but it's another 3 points, Southampton was unlucky also. Ah, FoxSoccer.
Wouldn't it have been great if Charlie Shoten had mimicked him in Charlie's final table appearance? Instead he looked like he had just received his paycheck for a 5000 word article from the Shulmans. Which leads me neatly into my next subject. 
The eve of the Big game, the Super game, the Super Big game or the Big Super Game. Call it what you want; but, if you are in Vegas don't call it the Super Bowl. Las Vegas casinos have been warned that legal action may result if they host parties for the Big Game. In past years fans could pay a charge to watch the game on large screen television, have a constant supply of game day food and hang out with sport's stars and silicone reinforced cheerleaders. Las Vegas is the destination for thousands of Super Bowl party goers; but this year the anticipated 200,000 visitors will not have the option of paying admission for a good seat, a huge screen, food and a crowd of fans mutually enjoying the biggest game of the year. Thank the 
The sport's books can show the game on their banks of monitors; but no parties with paid admission. Some game fans will attend private parties set up for special invited guest. In fact, the casinos are running scared and no where in town can you find the words, "Super Bowl," on a marquee. It's referred to as "The Game" or the "Big Game" or the more daring call it the "Super Game;" but no one is calling it the Super Bowl.
The Fox network has shown an interest in the games and the network may compete heads up with ESPN. The NFC has extended the contracts for the Sunday afternoon games with Fox for the next six years at a cost of $4.3 billion while the AFC has retained CBS for the Sunday afternoon package at a cost of $3.7 billion. Tagliabue indicated that the league is considering games in Mexico and Canada as early as the upcoming 2005 season and might stage some games in China prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The WPBT event on Poker Stars was a total blast, if you missed it you missed out. 
I just have to add my two cents to this. I try to read my ever growing blogroll once a week to catch up with everything everyone is doing, and most of what I read is boring. We have the ability to vote for the blogs worth reading with links, quality begets links, it's that simple. So, avoidng a lengthy philosophical discussion of what defines quality, let me offer a bit of advice to bloggers looking to gather readers. First, reach out to the community. I sent e-mails to a lot of the bloggers when I first started blogging in an effort to get to know the community. Second, and I believe 
There is always room out there for more quality content. There is always room for another poker blog. I want to see this niche group continue to grow and prosper as a community; which brings me to my next point. Communities tend to form a standard bell curve... a few really bad, a few really good, and most falling somewhere in-between. A year from now, providing the community continues to grow, the in-between blogs of today will have the readership of current top blogs and the entire curve will rise up, so all of the efforts that go into a blog are rewarded. When individual blogs are rewarded the community prospers. As a closing thought, I believe any single blog, even the top ones, are a drop of water when compared to the power of the collective voice of the community. The poker blogger community has been empowered with a strong voice. Let's use it to guide the poker industry toward continued growth and health.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 poker industry has reinvented itself and moved out of the smoke-filled backrooms frequented by the stereotyped degenerate gambler. Poker is now a highly respected sport on prime time television. Families watch tournament poker and follow their favorite players from the comfort of their living rooms, thanks in part to Lyle Berman and the World Poker Tour. New poker stars and millionaires are created weekly. The major Las Vegas resorts, that just a few short years ago were closing poker rooms and turning their backs to the players, are now opening new poker facilities and actively competing for players.
When Greg Raymer won the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event and collected a record purse of $5 million he gave hope to the millions of new poker players dreaming of someday winning the big one. Greg, the Fossilman, was the second WSOP Champion to gain his entry to the dance through an Internet satellite tournament. In 2003 Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event even though he had never played in a live game, only on the Internet. Are these two back to back WSOP Internet Champions a fluke? Maybe; but, maybe they are not. Live tournaments now attract record numbers of players. During the nineties a couple of hundred entrants in the WSOP Championship event was the norm. The 2005 WSOP Main Event is expecting more than six thousand entries. Internet players are experienced in playing and surviving tournaments with large numbers of entrants, so the advantage goes to them. This advantage will be short lived as the live tournament professionals adjust their game to take into account the thousands of players vying for a piece of the prize. The most important single thing to remember when playing in a tournament: Survive!
The Las Vegas and Poker Blog had its share of lucky breaks in 2004. The first was being recognized as legitimate media by Nolan Dalla, 2004 WSOP Public Relations Director. He issued press credentials and we were on our way. We attended every WSOP event with camera in hand and we shot thousands of images. The best of the bunch we complied and posted in a permanent gallery. A very big thank you, Nolan, for your confidence. The WSOP gig resulted in our being invited to cover many tournaments including the Hard Rock Pro/Am Celebrity, Four Queens Poker Classic, the Golden Nugget's Touring Comedians Charity tournament, the Final Table Challenge, the Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza, the Bellagio’s Festa Al Lago, Hard Rock's Hot Tex II, Orleans Open 2004, the Game Show Network's Battle of the Sexes at the Plaza and the Bellagio’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic. We also covered the first (and last!) WPPA tournament at the Orleans; but, that’s another story for another day. 
Thanks to everyone that allowed us to come into the tournament pit and document the events and players including Nolan Dalla, Matt Savage, Jack McLelland, Doug Dalton, Garret Okahara, Dave Lamb, the World Poker Tour, the Hard Rock and Bonnie Damiano. I’m sure I will remember many others that invited us in.
And least I forget, I wish to thank Mrs. Flip for her understanding, encouragement and assistance during the long hours I have spent at events and at the computer keyboard. Thanks for proofing the hundreds of articles and correcting the many mistakes.
New Year’s Eve is rapidly approaching, just a few hours left for 2004, then we march into 2005 and begin a new round of poker tournaments. The World Series of Poker will be held in its new digs at the Rio Resort located just off the Las Vegas Strip. Even the dates for the WSOP have changed to later in the year, beginning June 2 instead of mid-April. Will downtown Las Vegas be without a major poker tournament for the first time in more than three decades? Not hardly. Barrick gaming, new owners of the Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas, has stepped up and scheduled 
Beginning on June 3rd, 2005 will be the 
The biggest problem live game players face is waiting for a seat to open up. Hopefully, our learned leaders will decide it isn’t a crime to play online poker and we Americans can join the rest of the civilized world competing in virtual poker rooms without fear of being a law-breaking criminal, having bank accounts frozen and credit cards cancelled.
I met a "snowbird" from England at the Bellagio. More of a bridge player than a poker player. He wisely, unlike the Hendon Mob who waste money on rooms; but, don't pay staff, took my advice and relocated from the Bellagio to a huge suite at the Tuscany for only $59 a night. However, New Years Eve sees the arrival of the $350 a night rate; so, he wisely decided it would be a good idea to leave Las Vegas and see California, especially the Pacific coast. He asked me along for the company. After 10 years in Vegas, I have turned into #1 homeboy, never even left town for a few hours to see the Hoover Dam. A belated seven year itch arrived just in time for me to say yes. As I am the one with computer access and an atlas I am the trip planner.
I liked the idea of a day one drive through Death Valley and somehow finishing the day in Monterey. Day two would include a visit to Bay101 in San Jose on the way to SF. Then, down the coast to Santa Monica, a place I love, and return home to Vegas via Harrah’s Rincon, where I hope to be for the World Series prelim in February.
Day two started for me at 08:30 am.The muffins were better today, bought from Seattle’s Best, rather than the factory ones from the previous day. The Pit Bull was replaced by Red Bull. Evy was back to her usual sweet self. She experimented with different shades of make up from Lee's $5K collection. I suggested a Gene Simmon’s Kiss face. After her session Evy came over for a hug. Obviously she didn't find Mr. Right from the selection of toothless wonders in the Plaza sportsbook. Next up, Jen and Kathy. These three were the 10:00 am girls. With only one round for each player left they realized that not only did they have to play against the men for a team prize of $5K each, they were playing against each other. The top three point scorers of each sex reaching the final with a prize of $40K to the winner.
The players have to keep changing clothes to give the impression the series was filmed over six weeks, not 36 hours. The best dressed male or female was Antonio Esfandiari. 
I sat with the make up girls again. The talk is not of poker but the players appearance,"X needs to cover their ears," "Y should be wearing long sleeves," "Z’s hair is too much," I loved it.
The players were sitting hunched in their seats,
He played every hand never folding a one,
Whilst the rest of you were Christmas shopping or driving to LA, I was blending in backstage at the "Battle of the Sexes," a new seven part poker series, to be on GSN, filmed over two days this week at the run down Plaza. Ceiling tiles either missing or discoloured from water leaks. Players reported mold in the bathtubs. Want to know what Evybabee is like at 08.30 am? What the WSOP champion had for lunch? Then read on.
Karina Jett and Clonie Gowan, both Mothers, are more familiar with the daylight hours. In fact, Karina looked liked she had been up for hours, so perfect was her make up and hair (that’s another plug for Lee). Lee told me she had been up since 05.30 am. Note to TV networks planning on filming a poker event: A 2:00 pm start works better for the players. Chris Moneymaker was the winner of the ‘tired look award’ amongst the dozen players. He has lost a lot of weight since his WSOP triumph.
Jennifer Harman, looking for some TV exposure after missing most of the WSOP because of her well documented health problem, informed me she was still exhausted from her fourth place finish to Daniel Negreanu on Saturday. "I never had chips so I played under pressure for two days."
The Poker Prof and I just returned from a fast trip to the Southland, Los Angeles, that is. We combined some business interest with a holiday visit for Mrs. Flip and made the one day turn around without incidence. Traffic was light to moderate, even our return across LA at evening rush hour on the infamous I-10 was quick. We will have a major announcement in the near future as a result of today’s events, providing everything continues on track. We stopped in at Hollywood Park Casino and looked around hoping to see 
Tables filled with players and floor people constantly calling names from the wait list for any empty seats. The trip was hastily conceived so we had no time to contact OJ in advance, maybe next trip we will not be so rushed.
Jennifer Harman, Evelyn Ng, Karina Jett and Clonie Gowan play against four male professional counterparts. Amazing that Foiledcoup doesn’t seem to know who the guys are. I will be there with the camera and shoot photos of the action, if possible. Of course, I can always take more photos of Foiledcoup and the girls. Seems that every time I look through the view finder there is Foiledcoup and one or more of the babes of poker smiling into the lens.
Foiledcoup will provide a complete report including photos of the WPT Young Guns of Poker Tournament held Sunday evening at the Bellagio. The group of invited players topped out at twenty-four years of age. They competed for a $25,000 + $500 seat in the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in April, 2005. The winner of the tournament and seat was Scott Fischman.
Every holiday season the Las Vegas resorts spend millions to decorate their facilities. Although it is sometimes difficult to see the Christmas lights against a background of neon the town gets caught up in the holiday spirit and puts lights in front of lights. Covering the 
Casinos would be manned by reduced crews and most employees would be out of town visiting family. Locals would joke about our slowest week (Christmas) and busiest week (New Years) coming back-to-back. Not so anymore. The resorts are full of people enjoying the holidays here in Las Vegas. We now offer world class shopping so everyone has an excuse to be here and where else might you get lucky and pay for Christmas in one pull of the handle? From our slowest period to one of our busiest in just a few short years. What a Christmas present for Las Vegas.
I can’t wait to do it again. We are already in the preliminary planning stages for the next one. Hopefully we can offer seating for everyone and even increase the number of professionals and special guest. I will provide updates on our progress and planning.
The Poker Prof and I went to a reception and awards ceremony for one of our favorite charities, 
Steve Wynn owns and exhibits one of the great collections of fine art while the Bellagio continues to show the its’ collection of art. World class art galleries are found in the many shopping resort shopping malls located throughout the city. In fact, some critics think of Las Vegas as the finest example of modern art in the world today. I tend to agree. The city is definitely a work of art. In fact, it is a huge piece of living art that continually renews itself. You must visit Vegas often to see what changed in the last few weeks or you’ll miss an entire phase of the ever changing landscape.
Yesterday Caesars Palace announced the opening of a 15,000 sq. ft. poker room in March. The MGM is already building a 25 table room and I told you of the Hard Rock’s plan to open a 12 table room ASAP. These will join the recently re-opened rooms at the Gold Coast, Aladdin and Ballys. With all these rooms opening you can imagine the demand at dealer schools to learn poker dealing.
Coverage of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic Tournament that started today at the 
The rodeo always brings the hat and boot crowd to the poker tables so the games are plentiful and the action is fast. One of our friends, a local poker room regular, refers to the cowboy poker players as “the cat-fish in the hat.” 
I am pleased to announce the contestants for the first Foiledcoup Fantasy Freeroll Tournament. This is the real reason the PPT has postponed their Bellagio event in January. Mormon missionaries will knock on the player’s doors at 7:00 am. I agreed to this so the programme will be televised on the BYU channel available to Cox digital customers. The players are, (with individual code of conduct):
5) ANDY BLOCH (He must wear a hooded sweatshirt. Full Tilt logo acceptable).
I watched Jennifer Tilley on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno a few days ago; and among other things she mentioned a new boyfriend that she never identified and remains anonymous. Jennifer did say he was a professional poker player she had met on a couple of occasions while attending Celebrity ProAm tournaments. She told an amusing story about telephone numbers and probability odds. The first time they met he gave her his phone number and she promised to call and did not. The second tournament he told her to give him her number since the odds of her calling him were only three percent while the odds of him calling her was ninety-seven percent. Apparently he did call, she answered and they are now a couple. So who is this mystery poker pro? Having been around a couple of ProAm’s with celebrity players including Jennifer I will offer one of my photographs. Of course, I don’t have any confirmation of the identity of Jennifer’s professional poker player boyfriend; but I am offering the photos anyway. You can make your on decision.
This is Thanksgiving week so I thought it is a great time to invite everyone to spend the holiday in Las Vegas. Not only will you have all the usual gaming temptations and mountains of food; but, Las Vgeas now offers world class shopping. As we have stated before the number one reason to visit Vegas is not the gambling; it is the shopping. The Las Vegas Strip shopping malls have expanded and added hundreds of new stores offering thousands of items in every price range from free to “bring your Visa card since you can’t wheelbarrow in enough money.” Whatever is your shopping pleasure you will find it in Las Vegas and what better day to start than the Friday after Thanksgiving. The shops located within the resorts at the Bellagio, Mirage, Venetian, Aladdin or the MGM are a great place to begin. The expanded Forum Shops at Caesars and the recently opened levels at the Fashion Show Mall offer a cornucopia of gift ideas and choices. What better way to work off all those calories than spending a few days hiking the miles of Vegas shopping malls.
I finally remembered to look up his 
I notice Mike Matusow is on the 1 year list of players eligible to participate in the PPT Freerolls. To requalify players must play in at least 2 of the first year freerolls. Someone has a sense of humour. Maybe Karina Jett and Max Pescatori do not see the funny side as they are not invited to play. I noticed subs were played at Foxwoods (Andy Glazer hagiographer Wendeen Eolis was one). So, Karina and Max, just be there on the day. 
That will be followed by 3 weeks at the Bellagio "Can you spare $5.50 for a latte?" With a bloggers tournament at Sam's Town somewhere in the mix; its a good thing we have prolific blogger, Charlie Shoten, on board to help!
The 
Las Vegas will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city on May 15, 2005. Many of the things that have made the city the gambling Mecca in the desert are still around; while others have been discarded or replaced with newer versions. The old reel type slot machines are now electronically controlled devices; even those that have retained the spinning mechanical reels are controlled by a state-of-the-art computer. Some of the traditional table games have survived relatively unchanged; but now share the casino space with a multitude of newly invented pit games. Many of the old casino names are nothing more than a fading memory; while some, the Las Vegas Flamingo comes to mind, have not only survived but prosper and grow. The old days of a ‘money tree town’ under the tight control of organized crime has become a who’s who list of well known corporations run by lawyers and MBA’s. The bent nose casino floor bosses have been replaced by young, upwardly mobile men and women with business degrees and strict P & L responsibility. The days of crowds waiting to have their picture taken in front of a million dollars in cash are now crowds waiting on the Las Vegas strip sidewalks to have their picture taken in front of a volcano erupting, sailing ships sinking and fountains dancing. Billion dollar projects with names like Mirage, Bellagio, Paris, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, New York New York, Venetian and Wynn’s line the strip like a gold plated, lifesize monopoly set. 
Do I miss the “Old Vegas?” Not much. I am a product of the Las Vegas influence and have evolved into a personality that craves change. Instead of becoming upset that the history of the town is destroyed everyday I am happy to see it replaced with the next attraction. I have become quite comfortable with measuring history in months instead of centuries. Las Vegas must continually reinvent it’s self and replace the present with a bigger, better, brighter future. I must admit that I do miss the mob stewardship of the city’s infrastructure, especially when I’m driving because we had far less potholes in our roads. 
Yesterday’s Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza ended when Kenna James beat Karina Jett for the win. Paul Malgriel, X-22, completed the top three with his third place finish. We will have a detailed article and photos later from FailedCoup, our newest staff writer.
So much fear that the masses respond to the threat by avoiding the ‘offending’ activity, in this case, we are now talking about on-line poker. As with the music sharing, all of us that play on-line may be asking ourselves if sitting in a 0.50/1.00 hold’em game is worth our freedom, both financial and personal. Although I can’t name anyone that is in jail for playing on-line (I can’t name anyone that was sued as a result of the music files, either), I’m sure that sometime in the future I will probably know more than one.
As such, we bloggers have a built in avenue to influence large groups that vote. One thing the political community understands, other than money, is votes. Demographic studies have shown the online poker community to be spread across many age groups and income levels. The one common thread is a love for the game and the ability to cast a vote in an election. Raising the funds to begin the lobbying efforts to legalize America’s favorite past time should begin now. Professional on-line gaming lobby experts will require large war chests to successfully take our fight to the source of the problem. Although the individual players can make a contribution to this effort, and will, the bulk of the money must come from the on-line site owners. On-line sites have the deep pockets to provide the means to win this one. 
The WPPA Main Event is down to 27 players after today’s action with many of the professional poker players remaining in the hunt for the final table and the $125,000 first prize money. The WPPA tournament format as described in yesterday’s post does allow the pros to play their game. The chip leader is Paul Wolfe with $105,150, followed by Amir Vahedi at $60,150 and Carlos Mortensen sitting in third with $44,825. Scott Fischman remains but is short stacked at $6,650 while Bill Carrol, Miami John Cernuto, Charlie Shoten and Terry Meyers are in the middle of the pack. Kathy Liebert, considered to be the number one female poker player in the world, played well today and has $20,275 in chips after eliminating always popular Scotty Nguyen. I had an opportunity to visit with Kathy for a few minutes after today’s session. This soft spoken, tough as nails poker playing lady is a good representative for the sport and I am sure we will be seeing much of her on future televised tournaments. Speaking of which, I enjoyed watching Kathy win the Ultimate Poker Challenge event that was televised this evening. Congratulations Kathy! The WPPA takes tomorrow off and returns on Monday, 10/11/04, for the third day of play. Nine of the twenty-seven players will make the final table to be filmed from the arena at the Orleans on Tuesday.
Colony Capital can certainly afford most any asking price with their very deep pockets. They are already buying four casinos from the $9 + billion Caesars Entertainment sales of properties to Harrahs. The asking price for the Rio is speculated to be in the billion dollar range. Harrah’s Entertainment Company would probably be interested in such a deal although they are not expected to have any antitrust problems as a result of their recent gaming property buying spree. The sale would be strictly for the high margin, short term profits and not a condition of doing business here in the Las Vegas casino market.
Nothing really new in the article, apparently a filler, but certainly another take on the world wide poker craze. An interesting stat is the Las Vegas poker industry growth quoted as 33% over the past year. The author, Robert Lusetich, further stated that the other traditional Vegas games have remained relatively unchanged showing little to no growth (not true). The comparison of poker to all things illegal and immoral is not a fair one for the sport. Poker probably has been America’s favorite pastime for a long time and now it has become America’s TV darling. Everyone with a television can watch poker around the clock and dream of the day they are there winning millions in a major tournament. What other leisure time activity offers so much fun and a profit too?
Action all over Vegas this weekend. Satellites for the WPPA at the Orleans begin on Sunday with the first tournament event on Monday. The No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Binion’s Horseshoe is running daily events with another $1,000 Buy-in Ho-Limit Hold’em contest on Saturday. Super Satellites are scheduled every evening at 7:00 pm with a buy-in of $225. The Plaza continues to host the Ultimate Poker Challenge with another tournament this Saturday. All of this plus the regular scheduled offerings of poker tournaments at many of the Las Vegas Casinos. I can’t imagine being involved in the poker industry and living anywhere but Vegas. I can hop in the car and within fifteen minutes be in any of a dozen casino poker rooms. Damn, am I ever the lucky one!
I am typical of most Las Vegas residents and believe that the city is rarely portrayed accurately in the movies. Hopefully, this production will make a serious effort to offer the real Vegas instead of the Hollywood version. The latest TV shows mostly dwell on the stereotyped, negatively conceived characters that make most of us natives head for the channel changer. The rumor says the project will be handled by Insomnia Entertainment, a Las Vegas based film Company. A little research revealed the Chairman and CEO of this production Company is Mr. Breitling (Yes that Breitling, as in Poster and Brietling, owners of the Golden Nugget). I am hoping that Mark Burnett, reality TV giant and producer of the really bad 
The Prof is writing all of the back-end code so expect much in the way of bells, whistles and user friendliness. The section will feature each player’s personal information, a player’s past performance record and photos we have taken of the player. You will have available all of a particular player’s photos we currently have in our galleries simply by clicking on the thumb. A gigantic effort that should debut in the next few days. I have finally sorted the Final Table Challenge photos and they will be available in a separate gallery. Tournament action all over town ensures I will not have much time for playing, sleeping or eating. Managing this blog effort is beyond a full time job (I thought I was retired); but, I will press on so our growing readership will continue to have a direct Las Vegas and Vegas Poker connection.
What about the bots that may be created and operated by those on the other side of the table. The Internet casino employees or even highly placed management and site owners? A few months ago, I was discussing this very topic with an individual that works within the poker industry. I had observed first hand some very suspicious multiple coincidences during play at an online site. I watched a “player” come into the table and make hand after improbable hand then quickly lose all of his bankroll to another newcomer that only played him. The first player quickly left the table once the money was transferred and the second player left in a few more minutes without playing another hand. I theorized that the lucky player was a bot and the second player that took his money was a harvester bot. No one would suspect that anything was really going on after the first “lucky player” also lost all of his winnings (winnings composed of all of the other player’s money) to a third party, in fact, I remember being happy to watch the person no longer make the impossible draws and lose all of his stack. After thinking about the situation, I realized it could be a very slick method of cheating. My insider friend believes that the online casinos would not risk the discovery of doing something so blatant, especially considering the incredible profits the online casinos reap. I think my friend forgot to add in the “greed factor.” I had the unfortunate luck to work for a guy whose wealth is measured with the big “B.” He has more money than most third world countries and yet he would lie, cheat, threaten and even steal from his employees if it represented a financial gain, however small. He had no compassion for anything other than money. Would the casinos run player bots to increase their profits? I already have my opinion. What’s yours?
The poker rooms here in Las Vegas are responding to the current popularity of poker with innovative additions to spread games intended to attract the newbie poker players fresh from their computers and television. Some of the rooms now offer ring game no-limit hold’em for the players on a limited budget. The money is controlled by limiting the buy-in to a small number, usually $100 or less, and allowing a rebuy only when your chips total less than the buy-in. All other rules and strategies of no-limit hold’em apply. This provides the amateur player an opportunity to gain no-limit hold’em experience in a casino atmosphere without having to mortgage the farm. Since this is not a tournament you do not have to worry about increasing antes and blinds; in fact, think of it as a no-limit hold’em tournament with unlimited rebuys forever. Next trip to Vegas you may want to give the limited, no-limit hold’em games a go. Although there is a limit on your buy-in, there is no-limit on your winnings.
During my trip downtown yesterday to cover the Four Queens Poker Classic final event I noticed a row of limos parked at the curb below where I parked in the Queen’s garage. After a few minutes I realized that these rolling hotel suites were bringing a continuous stream of happy wedding parties to the court house across the street for the prerequisite marriage license. During the few minutes I watched a half dozen of the limos pull in and out. This week’s Nine List follows.
The ESPN WSOP Main Event has generated much interest in the Greg “Fossilman” Raymer cat eye glasses. The unique to the poker table, novelty glasses were purchased from Disneyworld by Greg when he and his family were there on vacation. They are laser holographic images that appear to be a set of feline eyes that typically change to iridescent greens and yellows. The glasses had the effect of unnerving some of the players and probably distracted many more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a table full of players with wild and crazy eyewear at the next WSOP, maybe even some of the glow on demand contacts lenses. I have heard rumors that some of the people in charge of the events want to ban sunglasses in any form unless the player can produce a valid prescription. I believe this to be another bad “micro-manage” effort by those non-player rules-makers; similar to the no decals or visible logos rule that prevents players from collecting any sponsor money. Although I have not found a local source for the Fossil Man glasses; apparently, Poker Puff, our Main Coon, has.
The main Event of the Four Queens Poker Classic, $5000+150 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em, got underway today at noon with a small field of 39 players. Someone should have checked the schedule before committing to this date for other poker tournaments around the country that would be a draw for the professionals. The 39 seated entrants did include the three touring pros of the Hendon Mob. I will continue coverage of this event to the final hand. Tomorrow the Ultimate Poker Challenge will be filming another episode at the Plaza and I will be there. I’m off to check out the No-Limit Hold’em tournament at Sam’s Town tonight. I may enter the event and test my skills. The ST tournaments usually attract a mixed crowd of tough locals and hopeful visitors so the play can be tricky and difficult. I have to continue to remind myaelf of Mike Matusow's one word advice, “Survive, survive, survive.” The tournaments typically sell out quickly and have a long alternate list so have to get going. Results later.
What a day for poker. I was at the Four Queens Poker Classic this afternoon and watched the $1000+60 Limit Hold’em event for a couple of hours. The tournament was down to two tables and all three 
Tomorrow, Friday 09/16/04, is the first day of the $5000+150 No-Limit Hold’em Championship event. Satellites will continue right up to the noon start time. The main Event will run for three days with the last nine players for the final table decided on Saturday. The final table will be played on Sunday starting at 4:00 pm and action will continue until a single player is crowned the Four Queens Poker Classic Champion. Many of the professional players are expected to compete in the final event. I will be there to cover all the action and provide results with photos of the event. We will post the play-by-play from Debbie Burkhead once available. The evening events, $100+20 No-Limit Hold’em, will be offered on Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00 pm. The popular evening tournaments are limited to entrants so you may want to register early. 
The Bubble free roll tournament for everyone that finished one out of the money will be played on Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 pm. The Best All-Around Player will be announced at the close of the main event tournament. The winner will receive an all expense paid trip to the Caribbean Poker Classic and a trophy. Second place will receive $750 and a five night stay at the Four Queen Poker Classic 2005, while third place will pick up a five night stay at the Four Queens Hotel during the ‘05 tournament.
Everyone got lucky at least once and even though Greg Raymer had a run of great hole cards and seem to catch every flop I was pleased to see him win. I thought Williams had considerable beginners luck and I salute him for giving much of the credit to Marcel Luske. Throughout the event Marcel provided great coaching and encouragement to the young player. I was quite disappointed with Josh and his lack of consideration for the other players and the TV audience. I guess the sport needs its bad boys and this year’s WSOP was provided with exactly that ”crew.” Josh’s behavior during the final event was the window dressing for this group of “everything bad that happens to me after I make a stupid decision is the fault of someone else.” Most of us go to sporting events to see the great players do great things while others go to see the adversarial players be adversarial. Tonight I got a plenty of both.
Today is the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy so I thought it would be a good time to share a couple of J. Santos’ cats. He painted the wooden cravings shortly after 9-11, left them on my table then headed for somewhere in Mexico. I didn’t realize how much that day had affected and depressed him until he recently returned and we talked while he was drawing our first “Muck It” cartoon. J and I offer the Santos'cats, 9 & 11, to honor and remember those that fell victim to the evilness of mankind.
Everywhere we look today there are poker players in tournaments being filmed by Hollywood camera crews making a television show. Is it poker or is it showbiz? Will the new breed of super player we discussed earlier come with a SAG card? This Tuesday at 
Anyone with an extra $1000 can take a hike down Fremont to the Plaza Hotel and enter the 
Downtown is full of hundreds of poker players this holiday weekend. All of the poker rooms are packed with tournament and ring game players vying for a piece of the prize pie. The daily $60 No-Limit tournament at the Horseshoe was in full swing with 142 paid entries. The Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza was entertaining 55 players that paid the $1000+60 buy-in into the No-Limit Hold’em qualifier. The Four Queens Poker Classic had the room full of hopefuls playing in the $200+30 Limit Hold’em contest. Both the Four Queens and the Plaza run daily satellites for their respective tournaments. The Poker Classic at the 4 Queens continues through September 19th while the Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza runs twenty-three two-day qualifers, then two semi-finals and the final table event. The Ultimate Poker Challenge has the distinction of being the first nationally syndicated poker series ever.
The Four Queens Classic continues to attract many known players to the downtown casino. The low dollar buy-in for these initital events gives everyone an opportunity to play and perhaps sit next to a poker star. The Labor Day holiday guarantees a large field and a worthwhile prize pool. The Horseshoe daily tournaments remain popular with players and offer poker players another downtown opportunity for No-Limit Hold'em tournament experience. The experienced staff runs a smooth operation at the historic Binion's Horseshoe. We will continue to offer results and Debbie Burkhead's play-by-play from the Poker Classic at the Four Queens. 
Update: The 
The wheels came off. That’s right, a wheel fell off one of the new monorail trains (read our earlier 
I watched the latest installment of the WSOP Main Event on ESPN tonight and thought it was the most entertaining to date. As expected, the WSOP brodcasts make me nostalgic for the old Horseshoe. Even though the Rio is a much more fitting location for the incredibly popular WSOP I will miss all those great years at Binion’s. I am happy to know that I have a good collection of WSOP photographs taken over the years and an even better collection of memories. Thanks to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman’s negotiating skills (honed razor sharp during his years as the mob’s lawyer man and mouth piece) and next year’s Las Vegas Centennial Celebration, Harrahs has agreed to hold the final table for the 2005 main event at the Horseshoe one last time. When the final hand of the 2005 tournament is dealt it will really be the last WSOP at the historic downtown joint. I am sure that many of us will shed a few tears of sadness for the end of a great poker era. Of course, many of us will also be cheering for the continuation of the biggest event in tournament poker and welcome the next era in it’s new, modern, spacious home, the Rio.
The magic of Las Vegas keeps visitors coming in record numbers. McCarran International Airport will handle record passenger traffic this month. More people than any previous month in history. The massive problems 9-11 created for the tourism industry and the slowdown in air travel are no longer an issue here in Las Vegas. Vegas continues to evolve and prosper independently of national or world economy problems. When Asimov wrote his classic “Foundation Trilogy” he must have researched and developed the model for the fictional pleasure Planet, Kalgan, from Las Vegas. Kalgan’s sole existence was to provide entertainment and pleasure to everyone. Kalgan was the place where enemies came to party together before returning to the reality of killing each other. Throughout the thousand years of the trilogy the planet was independent of problems and catastrophes of other worlds, everyone respected Kalgan and had no desire to cause harm to their favorite place in the Foundation universe. I can’t help but think this logic has to apply to Las Vegas. A dark fact of the 9-11 tragedy happened right here in Las Vegas. The hijackers came here in the final days before 9-11 and spent some time acting like any other vacationing tourist. They stayed in hotels, rented cars, went to shows, ate some great meals, gambled and saw the sights. Enemies partying among enemies before going out to kill each other. The only apparent reason for the terrorist visits was to party in the city that parties for a living. Las Vegas, just like Kardan, offers something for everyone.
Just like Kalgan, why would anyone dare to destroy the place they consider their most favorite just-for-fun destination? Las Vegas is the city the world associates with excitement, fun and pleasure. Just thinking about going to Las Vegas can drive your blood pressure up. Some of the doomsday naysayers preach the line of Las Vegas being the center of sin and evil. After all, it is referred to as “Sin City,” so it just stands to reason it would be at the top of every religious fanatic terrorist list, right? Well, yes and no. Las Vegas was at the top of some really evil people’s list; but, not as a target, rather, a place to hold that final fun fling. Every time the threat level is raised or a warning is issued I just don’t take it very seriously. I keep remembering that other place, Kardan, and get some comfort in knowing that no harm ever came to them and probably no harm will come to Vegas. It’s where the world prefers to party, regardless of your definition of good and bad or right and wrong we all seem to agree on the preferred place for fun.