Vegas Trip Thurs

Freemont Street / Binions / Golden Nugget

THURSDAY April 17th

Up at 10am (ridiculously early for me).
Decided we’d head downtown for breakfast
at CALIFORNIA Casino or the El Cortez.
We needed to stop by a Walgreens or
some other drug store to pick up a few
toiletries and a bunch of bottled water.

On our way there, we stopped at The
Gamblers Book Store (630 S. 11th Street)
to pick up the 2008 AMERICAN CASINO
GUIDE (ACG). Paid $15.95. Lots of coupons
inside it, 2 for 1 buffets, $10 free slot plays,
$10 BlackJack match plays, 2 for 1 tickets.
A great value, tonnes of useful coupons
which I will try to note throughout my report.
The kicker is it has a 10% off coupon in it
for the Gamblers Book Store which the
guy tore out and applied to the cost
of the book !

Right next door to the GBS was a
Dollar Store (corner of Charleston & Maryland.)
It had a great selection and some great deals.
I think next time, I will forgo buying and
packing all those little mini bottles of soap,
shampoo, shaving cream, etc and just
hit the dollar store when I get there.
Easier and cheaper.

Got what we needed and headed
downtown to Fremont Street.

The urge for breakfast had passed
by this time and decided it was time
for lunch and strolled over to the
FOUR QUEENS Hotel & Casino and
had lunch at Magnolia’s. Decided on
the full rack of ribs and chicken gumbo
soup - $16.95ea. Had a 2 for 1 appetizer
coupon from the ACG book. Came to $24
for both of us including coffee, pops and
our tip. Food was decent, not amazing.
Very big portions. Signed up for 4Queens
players card and got a deck of playing cards
in a cool metal package.

3pm. Decided to check out CIRCUS CIRCUS,
heard they had a decent poker room.
First impression: Too may kids and the
whole place had some very odd smells.
Kids are great but they don’t belong in a
casino, let alone in vegas. Picked up the
Circus Circus Coupon book that I had heard
good things about (used an ACG coupon
to get it). Garbage, that’s what it was,
and that’s where it ended up. A coupon for a
free fountain pop when I buy a $20 pizza …
Fuck Off. $10 off a $100 spa package… Fuck Off.

The poker room had two Limit tables going,
that’s it. Bathrooms were nasty. Based on
my 20 minutes here, I wouldn’t stay at this
hotel even if they comped my rooms & meals.

4pm. Went to the MGM GRAND knowing
that they would have some good poker going.
Had 7-10 games running while we were there.
Approx 2/3 of the room was $1/2 NL ($200max)
and 1/3 was limit ($2/4 and $3/6). They also had
a $2/5NL going, but it was full and seats were
very slow to open up. MGM has a good
atmosphere, the whole casino does,
but especially the poker room. Its semi-enclosed,
gets some walk by traffic since its right across
from the lions cages. Tables have a marble
racetrack, which I’m not a big fan off.
Room is pretty loud, partly because of
people riffling their chips on the marble racetrack,
but mostly because of the floor guy talking
on the microphone a lot. It did keep the room
organized and draw in lurkers who heard him
announce when they had a seat open.
They also have computerized tracking,
the dealer swipes your player card right at
the table which ensures you get comp credit
for your play. Mostly 21-35 aged males,
not that many drinking or drunk.
Washrooms are relatively close, clean and
have HOT water, who knew that was
even possible.

Poker Action was pretty good.
Ended up ahead a little more than $100.

Vegas Trip Report (STARTS HERE)

view from my room at the Sahara

WEDNESDAY April 16th

Here’s the low down on my latest trip
to Las Vegas. Not entirely comprehensive,
but since no one was paying me to keep
detailed notes, i did the best i could.

Thought I’d be making this one by myself,
but my traveling companion Gina “g-didi” Reed
was able to get some time off work.
She generously offered to be my chaufeur
for the trip.

Left London about 7am and made the
2 hr drive to Detroit Metro Airport.
Only a 5 minute wait in line to cross the
border got us there with time to spare.
Flew SouthWest Airlines this trip
($245 round trip taxes incl.)

I definitely miss flying WestJet.
Despite both using Boeing 737,
the WestJet has individual expressvu
satellite television on the back of the seat
which makes the flight pass by way quicker.
We made a quick hop from DTW to Chicago,
an hour layover and then on to Las Vegas.

Arrived at McCarron Airport around 3:30pm
and picked up our rental car. Used discount
code "TARR" at Dollar.com and got the car
from Wednesday aft to Monday morn for
$116 all included. I recommend not getting
a P/T Cruiser if at all possible. Piece of crap,
and not that good on gas for a 4 cyl.
They didn’t have any mid-sized or larger cars
left, and didn’t feel like waiting around for one
to be returned, so we took the P/T Cruiser.

Renting a car is definitely the way to go.
Gives you the freedom to go to any casino,
restaurant or attraction you want, not just
what’s close to your hotel. Consider that a
cab ride anywhere is $10 and a cab any distance
is gonna run you $20. You can take the "Deuce"
bus for $5 a day, but you can wait a while for one
during prime times and you still end up walking
a fair bit. For the cost of one cab ride a day, you
can rent a car and do things on your own schedule.

We were hungry after a day of traveling
so we stopped by TERRIBLES Casino
(4100 Paradise Rd.) It was International & BBQ
night at the buffet. Decent food selection:
Carved roast beef, shrimp, jerk chicken,
Thai peanut chicken skewers, along with
the usually buffet staples. Used 2 for 1 coupon:
$10.74 Tax Inc for both of us. Food: B Service: C
(didn’t like that the server picked our cutlery
from bulk tubs and brought it with us to the table)

Walked through the casino and was compelled
to play The Price is Right DICE GAME slot machine.
My dog Titus has a favourite toy, his dice and the
TPIR machines were giving good action on the
last trip. Up a few bucks then…Cha-Ching ! + $160.
Cashed out. Seemed to be an older crowd here,
smoky, and very busy every where we went
on the floor, especially on the cheap slots.

Headed over to the SAHARA hotel and
checked into my room. Fast check in, no line up.
Put our valuables in lock box (no in-room safe).
Dumped our bags, had a quick shower then
went down to the casino floor to check it out.
A little smokey, but not unbearable.

Found the poker room. Its generally pretty
slow if there aren’t any tournaments going on.
Tournies get 4-7 tables for their $40 + $20 events.
Dealers are adequate, but their pitch accuracy
and speed could use a bit of work. (doesn’t help
that the cards were beyond their useful life).
Drink service in the poker room was
very slow and the waitresses were old
and/or homely looking.

Sahara poker room spreads $1/3 NoLimit
($300max), but didn’t have one going.
We got them to start a list and within 10 minutes
we were playing. We started with 4 players
and they didnt start taking a rake until we had
7 players (fair I thought). The game was
reasonably soft, passive.

Was dealt: 67 of clubs. Flop: Ad,4c,5c.
Bet out, only g-didi called.
Turn was 8c. Check-check.
I bet $3 on the river. G-didi said she had nothing,
but I think she smelled a rat and folded.
Won $ 150 jackpot for my 4 thru 8 straight flush.
+ the $24 in the pot.

Not long after, Gina had pocket QQ against
3 players (including me). She flopped a set,
played it fairly strong & made Quad Queens
on the river. Unfortunately,Gina's Jackpot
for quads was only $50. I think she won more
than that from the pot.

Played for about 5 hours til 1am and
called it a night, was feeling the effects of
not much sleep the previous few nights
& a long day of travel.

Headed back to the hotel room on the
8th floor of the Alexandria tower. The room
was somewhat dated looking but adequate,
clean, quiet, no smells. It had in room
wi-fi (+$12/day), a small tv and a comfortable
king size bed. Windows opened completely,
not really a balcony, more like a cement perch
you could stand on, although I’m not sure
you were really supposed to.

Room didn’t have independent temperature
control. You could turn the fan on/off, but the
temp is set based on outside temperature.
Wasn’t a problem this trip (avg. temp was 65-70F
at night, 75-80F during day), but I can’t imagine
not having control of the room temperature during
the summer when it’s 40C/115F.

The only other downside to the Sahara was
these annoying Tahiti Village agents, standing
in the lobby by the casino floor entrance, trying to
get you to go on a time share presentation in
exchange for free show tickets. Fuck off.
(You’ve probably seen the commercials on tv
late at night with Allan Thicke offering you
a free 3 night vegas holiday).

Hotel location was pretty convenient,
easy access to the strip and downtown along
the less busy streets like Paradise Rd.
Can catch the monorail from the Sahara
to the rest of the strip as well.

WestJet Seat Sale

One day seat sale, you can fly from
Toronto to Las Vegas for 139$
($175-$210 each way incl. fees & taxes)

www.WestJet.com

Southwest has seat sales going on as
well, fly from Detroit to Las Vegas for
$99 ($122US each way incl. fees + taxes)

www.SouthWest.com

Vegas Trip

Its getting close to the time to start
planning for Vegas again. Other than
the heat , the timing of last years summer
trip was great. (40 °C most of the trip
and on July 5th, 2007 it was 116 °F or 47 °C)

It was busy (lots of juicey tourist filled
holdem cash games because of the
Series and 4th of July weekend)
with lots to do and see. Had good
opportunities to see the stars (of poker)
and visit the Poker Expo at the RIO.

Since the timing was so good last time,
heading down the same time this year.
Somewhere in the June 29-July 8th range.
Probably staying for 6-7 days.

Why not come along ! ? ?

You can get cheap hotel rooms if you book
reasonably early. Examples:
-Plaza (downtown) $31 wkdays, $55 Fri & Sat.
-Fitz (downtown) $44 wkdays, $77 Fri & Sat
-Imperial Palace (strip) $59 wkdays, $149 Fri & Sat
-Sahara (strip) $43 wkdays, $118 Fri & Sat

Airfair should run $400-500 depending on
when you book and if you can pick up some
sale seats for the days you want to fly.
Westjet.com regularly offers one-way
direct flights from Toronto to Vegas
on sale for $129-$159 +tax + fees.
( I just booked a return flight/1 stopover
out of Detroit, to LasVegas on SouthWest
Airlines for $315 All Included)


2008 WSOP Schedule during our stay:

Date/Event#/Game/Buy-In

June 27, noon Event #48
No-limit hold 'em (3 day event) $2,000

June 28, noon Event # 49
No-limit hold 'em (3 day event) $1,500

June 29, noon Event #50
World Championship pot-limit Omaha (3 day event)
$10,000

June 29, 5 p.m. Event #51
HORSE (3 day event) $1,500

June 30, noon Event #52
No-limit hold 'em $1,500

July 1, noon Event #53
Limit hold 'em shootout $1,500

July 2, Ante Up For Africa" ($5000)

July 3-6 Gaming Life Expo @ RIO (trade show)

(MAIN) Event #54 -- $10,000 NLTexas hold 'em
July 3, noon Day 1A - 2,500 Players
July 4, noon Day 1B - 2,500 Players
July 5, noon Day 1C - 2,500 Players
July 6, noon Day 1D - 2,500 Players
July 7 OFF
July 8, noon Day 2A
July 9, noon Day 2B
July 10, noon Day 3
July 11, noon Day 4
July 12, noon Day 5
July 13, noon Day 6
July 14, noon Day 7
July 15 OFF
July 16, noon Final Table

Vegas Tournaments in June/July

For any of you who happen to be
heading to Vegas about the same
time as the world series this summer,
there a couple other big tournament
series running downtown & on the strip
(with much smaller buy-ins)


The Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

Runs from June 6 - July 6, 2008.
Most buy-ins range from $225-$550

Most tournies have 40 minute blind levels
$1080 Grand Finale final event has 60 min
blind levels. Not in poker room, played at
the The Grand Events Center, brand new,
over 11,000 sq. ft, holds 50+ tables
has its own restrooms and service bars.

GN Poker Room has started running
single table sit & go satelittes.
There will be a $160 single table sit & go
satelittes where the winner will win a seat
into the $1080 Montel Williams celebrity
charity event (where 1/2 of the prize pool
goes to charity and 1/2 of the prize pool
is still up for grabs). There also will be
$88 single table sit & go satelites where
1st place will win tournament dollars
for any event during The Grand Poker
Series and there is some other cash
to win as well.

http://www.goldennugget.com/i/downloads/The_Grank_Poker_Series.pdf


2nd annual Binion's Poker Classic

Runs from May 28 - July 8, 2008.
Most buy-ins range from $150-$250

Most tournies have 30 min levels.
The $500 and $1000 have 45 min levels,
The $2k Championship \ has 60 min levels.

http://www.binions.com/gaming/poker_classic.html


VENETIAN Deep Stack Extravaganza III

Runs May 29 - July 16, 2008
Most buy-ins range from $330-1060.
Phenominal Play for your money.
Players receive $10 food comp.
All tables have autoshufflers
(unlike caesars)

Starting chips for$330 event are $4,500.
Starting chips for $540 & $1060 events are $7,500.
Starting chips for $2,500 events are $10,000.
Starting chips for $5,000 events are $10,000.
The purchase of an optional $10 staff bonus
will add $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000 respectively
to the above stated chip counts.
Starting chips for the $540 Super Satellite
are $3,000. (no rebuys)

http://venetian.com/venetianeng/assets/files/DSE_JJ.pdf


Caesars Palace Mega Stack Series

Runs June 1st- July- 9th, 2008
50 Min Blinds levels, generous chips.
No antes until 7th level, (600-1200 /100 ante)


Partial Listing
Date/ Buy-in/ Event/ Chips/ Add-On/ Staff Bonus
6/24/ $200 + $25 Limit / 2,500 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/25/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/26/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/27/ $300 + $30 No Limit / 10,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/28/ $300 + $30 No Limit / 10,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/29/ $500 + $40 No Limit / 12,500 $10 / 2,500 Chips
6/30/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/1/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/2/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/3/ $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/4/ $300 + $30 No Limit / 10,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/5/ $300 + $30 No Limit / 10,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/6/ $500 + $40 No Limit / 12,500 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/7 $1000 + $60 Mega Championship / 25,000 chips
7/8 $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips
7/9 $200 + $25 No Limit / 5,000 $10 / 2,500 Chips

Additional Daily Tournaments
9am -$65
3pm -$65
7pm - $150
11pm -$120

NBC Heads-Up Championship

I kept looking for it on tv, but (sigh)
I could never find it in the listings.
Hasnt been televised yet, go figure.

NBC's 12 Hours of coverage for six
consecutive Sundays.
April 13: Noon - 2PM ET
April 20: Noon - 1PM ET
April 27: Noon - 2PM ET
May 4: Noon - 2PM ET
May 11: Noon - 2PM ET
May 18: Noon - 3PM ET

Complete prize purse breakdown
Places 9-16: $25,000
Places 5-8: $75,000
Places 3-4: $125,000
2nd place: $250,000
1st place: $500,000
Total purse: $1,500,000

Brantford MTT Rumours

Word through the grapevine is that
Brantford Casino will be starting to run
weekly Multi-Table Tournies some time
in May. Probably Thursday morning tournies.
5 or 6 tables max. Buy-In is expected to be
$100 with no rebuys. The last tourny
of the month will have a higher buy-in
of about $300 or so.

Huck Seed Wins Canadian Open

Huck Seed Wins Canadian Open
Poker Championships - Mar 12, 2008

1996 World Series of Poker Champion
Huck Seed has won the Main Event
of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker
Championships in Calgary.

He defeated one of Canada’s finest
poker exports, 'Yukon' Brad Booth
after a grueling best of 3 match that
lasted over five hours.

'This was an amazing tournament
in terms of both structure and quality
of players' said Seed, 'I love it when
the cream rises to the top and I get
a chance to play with the best in
the world. I am so happy that I
finally won a heads up tournament!'

Seed came 3rd in this inaugural
Canadian Open two years ago and
has also finished 3rd the last 2 years
in a row at the NBC Invitational Heads Up
Event. Seed takes home $100,000
for his first place finish.

Joe Hachem, who was eliminated
in the quarter final round approved
of the tournament structure, '
This is by far the best heads up
tournament I have ever played in
and I will definitely be back next year.'

Cheap rates at Sahara

EMAIL ONLY OFFER:
Sahara March Booking Madness

https://www.saharavegas.com/MarchSpecialRates/?q=mar_08_1_3

Rooms from $34
($34, $51, $110 depending on days)
$10 off Roseanne Barr tickets
FREE $10 Food Credit
Now - March 31st

Jesus Heads-Up Champ

After finishing as runner-up in
2005 and 2006, Chris Ferguson finally
took down the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up
Poker Championship, winning a best
two-of-three finals against Andy Bloch.

Andy Bloch was the last-minute
substitute when comedian/actor Brad Garrett
was called back to work following the resolution
of the Hollywood writers' strike.

Ferguson collected $500,000 for the win
while Bloch took home $250,000 for his
second-place finish.

Poker at Western Fair

Western Fair is having limit holdem
March 3rd - 16th. 12noon - 4am.

http://www.westernfair.com/fair/wf_fair_carousel.html

Matusow is a Cheat ?

Here's a story that hasn’t seemed to have picked up much traction. The story is that Mike The Mouth Matusow slipped up on his Mouthpiece video blog on CardPlayer and said that he had played other player’s accounts.

posted by Short-Stacked Shamus

Speaking of breaking the rules, I happened to hear the guys over on the Hardcore Poker Show mention something about Mike Matusow’s latest “Mouthpiece” episode (on CardPlayer TV) in which he reveals having taken over for a friend deep in an online tourney, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi-style.

The Hardcore Poker guys refrained from commenting on the subject, saying they wanted to have Matusow on the show to let him explain what had occurred.I dialed up the “Mouthpiece” today -- the latest episode (#32), dated February 7th. After wading through the first 22 minutes or so, Matusow finally comes out with the admission during a ramble about online tournament poker.

Here’s what he says: “Tournament poker involves tremendous focus, I mean tremendous focus . . . . If I was to play tournaments online, I would have to play just the one tournament, and have everything turned off around me, and then put my heart into it. And I haven’t been able to do it yet except for once, and I did it once for a friend of mine who was six hours deep into a tournament -- I’m not gonna name what site -- and I took over for him because he’s not really a good closer, and we finished third. ’Cos I put my heart into it, and I knew we had chips to move with and I could evaluate players and we should have won it if we would have won a coin flip. So, that’s what it comes down to is the focus.”

Incredible, really, how casually Matusow admits to not following the rule against account-sharing. He doesn’t name the site, but I’m sure it has such a rule in place.

We all know the site that sponsors Matusow, Full Tilt Poker, has such a rule. No, Matusow seems completely unaware that what he did might be considered unethical and/or against the rules. He’s also obviously unaware of the irony of what he is saying. His point is that by taking over from his friend late in the tourney, he was able to focus much better than he would have had he played the first six hours himself. Meanwhile, Matusow is oblivious to the fact that those against whom he’s competing are themselves battling to maintain that “tremendous focus” after having put in the long hours beforehand.

In fact, he seems to be suggesting that the best way to stay focused is to do what you can to remain fresh -- e.g., not play the first part of the tournament and only step in at the end. That way you’ll be better able to “evaluate players” and play winning poker.

I don’t have it in for Matusow in particular here. I’m just tired of these pros acting as though all of these rules the rest of us take for granted somehow don’t apply to them. How did things go with Officer Blue? I got lucky. He let me off with just a warning. Sort of like getting my money in bad and sucking out. You better believe I’m coming to a full stop at that sign every time from now on. Of course, Matusow and his friend won’t even receive a warning -- only, perhaps, a small bit of backlash that will surely fade away in short order.

So . . . what is today’s “tip from the pro”? Let’s see . . . something to do with focus. I think I have it: Don’t focus on the rules so much that doing so affects your ability to focus on winning.Oh, and remember also -- put your heart into it.

True Dat

NBC Heads-Up Championship Odds

Who will win the 2008 NBC
National Heads-Up Poker
Championship taking place at
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas?
The tourny runs Feb 29 - March 2.

Current Odds:
Phil Ivey 25/1
Daniel Negreanu 25/1
Patrik Antoinus 25/1
Paul Wasicka 35/1
David Benyamine 35/1
Todd Brunson 35/1
Allen Cunninghman 35/1
Freddy Deeb 35/1
Chris Ferguson 35/1
Ted Forrest 35/1
Barry Greenstein 35/1
Gus Hansen 35/1
Phil Hellmuth 35/1
John Juanda 35/1
Erick Lindgren 35/1
David Pham 35/1
J.C. Tran 35/1
Doyle Brunson 35/1
Jennifer Harman 45/1
Erik Seidel 40/1
Brian Townsend 35/1
David Williams 45/1
Daniel Schreiber 50/1
Kenny Tran 55/1
Sam Farha 55/1
Joe Hachem 55/1
Howard Lederer 55/1
Mike Matusow 55/1
Greg Raymer 55/1
Eli Elezra 55/1
Tom Schneider 45/1
Tom Dwan 30/1
Antonio Esfandiari 60/1
Jamie Gold 60/1
Phil Laak 65/1
Michael Mizrachi 65/1
Gabe Kaplan 65/1
Johnny Chan 30/1
Scott Clements 30/1
Johnathan Little 20/1
David Singer 40/1
Gavin Smith 40/1
Jean-Robert Bellande 60/1
Chad Brown 65/1
Annie Duke 60/1
Scotty Nguyen 40/1
Huck Seed 45/1
Jerry Yang 60/1
Bill Edler 40/1
T.J. Cloutier 45/1
Scott Fischman 40/1
Jennifer Tilly 80/1
Clonie Gowen 80/1
Sam Grizzle 90/1
Vanessa Rousso 90/1
Jason Alexander 90/1
Don Cheadle 100/1
Shannon Elizabeth 100/1
Brad Garrett 100/1
Oriel Hershiser 100/1

Chinese Poker

http://www.cardplayer.com/tv/30196

A great video featuring
'Captain' Tom Franklin
outlines how its played, etc.
Less than 10 minutes long.

Its a game I really enjoy.
Give it a try !!

Womens Events in Vegas this Summer

Las Vegas poker rooms are getting ready
for the coming 2008 World Series of Poker,
even if their name isn't Harrah's.

There will be several ladies events held in
other poker rooms the same week as the
Ladies Event at the WSOP.

Each day for four days there will be a
ladies event somewhere in Las Vegas!

On Friday, June 6th, Binions will hold a
Ladies Event as part of the Second Annual
Binions Poker Classic.
The event begins at 11 am with a buy-in of
$90+10, with 2,000 starting chips and a
bonus 2,000 for $10.

On Saturday, June 7th the LIPS Tour
will hold its Super Satellite at the
Golden Nugget (to be confirmed) for $155.
Seats will be given away to both the 2008
WSOP Ladies Event and another ladies event
(seat value: $330) to be announced.
The total number of seats given away will
be based on attendance.
The LIPSTour sponsors this Super Satellite
every year, and the turn out is terrific!
Expect it to be well attended and several
seats paid out.

Sunday, June 8th sees the Ladies Event at
the WSOP – a $1,000 entry into the most
prestigious ladies event of the year.
The event begins at noon at the Rio in the
Amazon Room. Be sure to register early,
as last year the lines were very long.
If you are lucky enough to win your way
into this event, it is wise to go and register
immediately after your satellite.

On Monday, June 9th, it's the Ladies Event
at the Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series.
This event starts at noon for a buy-in of
$330 for 4,000 in chips with a bonus 2,000
for an additional $10 also available.
The winner of this event will be crowned
Queen of Poker and will receive a bracelet
from the series.

WestJet seat sale today

1/2 Price Seat Sale !

You can fly one way to Vegas
from Toronto for $129.00 CAD
($200.06 Including all taxes/fees)

www.WestJet.com

Vegas Sahara Hotel Deals

Sahara has a good deal on rooms this month.

Book your room in February and receive:

- 2 for 1 show tickets to ANY Sahara show
- 2 for 1 drinks at the showroom bar, with purchase of show ticket(s)
- $10 FREE food and beverage credit
- FREE upgrade from a standard to a deluxe room

(Not to mention that the Sahara probably has
the best low / middle buy-in, good structure
poker tournament schedule in Las Vegas)

www.SaharaVegas.com

Circus Circus Deal

Circus Circus Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas
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$44.95 per night Tower Rooms (Sun-Thurs)


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* 2-for-1 Dinner Buffet
* $20 off The Garden Grill
* $4 off Adventuredome Theme Park
* FREE Funbook ($100 value)

Book online: http://click.mgg01.net/t/4485774/146735686/12330292/0/ & enter promo code SHOWER or call 1.866.456.7314 and mention SHOWER offer.

Valid February 1, 2008 - March 31, 2008, excludes weekends, holidays, and convention periods. Two night minimum stay required. Subject to availability. Advance reservations required. All Free Slot Play requires enrollment in Circus Players Club. Free Slot Play has no cash value. Must be 21 years of age or older.

Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

For any of you who'll be in Vegas this summer
for the WSOP, you might want to check out these
"cheap" alternatives to the big $ tournaments.

*Binions will be running the 2nd annual Binions
Classic series of low buy-in tournaments again
this year around WSOP time, details should be
released in March after the sale of Binions is
complete.


Golden Nugget Announces
'The Grand Poker Series'

January 29, 2008 by Haley Hintze

As a tie-in to this spring's upcoming poker
movie, The Grand, the Golden Nugget has
announced its 'The Grand Poker Series,'
which will run from June 6 – July 6, 2008.

The series is one of several lower-buyin options
available during this summer while the
World Series of Poker's seven-week run
draws thousands of players to Vegas.
The series features predominantly no-limit
hold'em events, but also sprinkles in some
Omaha and H.O.R.S.E. tourneys.

The buy-ins are designed to be generally
affordable for most bankrolls, with all events
falling between $200+25 and $500+50
excepting two events, the 'Grand Finale'
starting on July 5th, and the series opener,
a charity event hosted by Montel Williams
on June 6th. The buy-in for both of those
tourneys is $1,000+80.

Two other special events on the schedule
are a ladies tourney (June 9) and a
seniors event (June 23).

Bracelets will also be awarded to the winners
of the Grand Finale, the Ladies Event,
and the Montel fundraiser. All opening days
begin at noon Vegas time.

Here's the complete schedule for The Grand
Poker Series, at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas:

Date...Event #....Game.....Buy-In

6-6 Event 1 Montel Williams Poker Tournament
Benefiting MS $1,000 + $80

6-7 Event 2 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-8 Event 3 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-9 Event 4 GN Poker Queen Ladies $300 + $30

6-10 Event 5 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-11 Event 6 Pot-Limit Omaha 8/OB $300 + $30

6-12 Event 7 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-13 Event 8 No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

6-14 Event 9 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-15 Event 10 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-16 Event 11 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-17 Event 12 H.O.R.S.E. $200 + $30

6-18 Event 13 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-19 Event 14 Pot-Limit Omaha $300 + $30

6-20 Event 15 No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

6-21 Event 16 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-22 Event 17 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-23 Event 18 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

6-24 Event 19 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-25 Event 20 Limit Omaha 8/OB $200 + $30

6-26 Event 21 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

6-27 Event 22 No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

6-28 Event 23 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-29 Event 24 No-Limit Hold'em $500 + $50

6-30 Event 25 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

7-1 Event 26 H.O.R.S.E. $200 + $30

7-2 Event 27 No-Limit Hold'em $200 + $25

7-3 Event 28 No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

7-4 Event 29 No-Limit Hold'em $300 + $30

7-5, 7-6 Event 30 The Grand Finale $1,000 + $80

Downtown Vegas Meal Deal !

Anyone heading to Las Vegas in
January or February might find
this coupon useful.

Free Breakfast Buffet for you
and a guest every morning !

The El Cortez is famous for
cheap food deals, loose slots
and pretty weak poker games.
The rooms are more than adequate
in the renovated part of the hotel.

Sarnia/Point Edward Casino Tournies

Some Upcoming Tournies
you may be interested in giving a shot.

March 25 - $100 buyin (one day event)

March 26 - $300 buyin (one day event)

March 27-29 - Qualifiing Days (for $600 event)

March 30 - $600 buyin (final event)


Total Estimated Prize Pool: $315,000

Satellites are now running.

Call 1-888-394-6244 for details.

Turning Stone March Madness

Turning Stone Casino is located
in New York State, not that far of a drive
really (3 hrs past the buffalo border).
They have a huge low buy-in tournament
series called March Madness.

Here are the details:

Tues March 4, 10am DeepStack Turbo NLHE $200+30

Wed March 5, 10am NLHE $200+30

Thur March 6, 10am NLHE 6-Handed Max $200+30

Fri March 7, 10am NLHE $300+$40

Sat March 8, 10am NLHE $500+50

Sun March 9, 10am NLHE DeepStack Turbo $200+30

Blinds, Payouts and other details available at:
http://www.turningstone.com/gaming/poker/2008marchmadness.php

PPT Online UserNames

To help everyone put the online
username to the persons face
(and how they play)

130000 Gloria - glo681
130001 Neil - nedder
130003 Lesli - brandipooch
130007 Ray - The Falcon4
130008 Penny - moneypenny43
130009 Mike Mc -CaptCaper
130010 Randy - Adama1
130011 Janice - jannirose
130013 Linda - jessieMaBob
130015 Scott P - gimpy4life
130020 Chevy - chevy64
130024 Chris M - Ryansbro
130026 Rob P. - R.G.ORR
130027 Kim G - kimpy44
130031 Gina - DevoSleeps
130045 Karen C - brasoff
130057 Jeremy -KryptoKronx
130067 Justin Dy - justinD1981
130070 Sam B - vespa
130080 Rodney - AcesGangsta
130120 Rob W. - BobWiser
130129 Greg - CrazyDutch
130132 Jeff - Molson35
130139 Mike Sp - Scoot07
130163 Erik I- mymoneypls
130165 Toni/Sylvia - nomonitoni
130167 Julie D- CallMeJulie
130173 Warren - Polka Warrior
130187 George Z - coyote4500
130197 Dan M. - Beaker4200
130198 Adam B - kurbed
130202 Ashley - Turbowizc
130222 Rick Shaw - dss401
130223 Mark W. - Archangel_1976
130226 Ange M - Tweety
130227 Armon - StealthArm
130229 Brian S - BullSpit101
130231 Gary B- ???
130246 Cameron - ???
130247 Jason L - jlewis8631
130249 Tyrone - enoryt
130254 Jose - chepechicas
130??? - ??? Ms.Maddox

Will - WillTheHammer
Craig - bones8369

PokerStars NHLPA Charity Poker Shootout

Its on TSN and commentated by
our good friend Sonny Rattan
(from Elite Poker).

If you missed the first episode, it will
re-air Tonight (technically sunday) 1:00 AM

Seven episodes in total over the next week.
Episodes 2 & 3 will air Sunday afternoon
between 2 - 4 pm.

Repeated until the cows come home.

2008 WSOP Schedule

LAS VEGAS – December 11, 2007 – Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) said today the 2008 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light and televised exclusively on ESPN will – for the first time ever – begin and end with $10,000 buy-in World Championship events and feature a total of eight $10,000 championships.

In addition, the 55-event schedule for 2008 includes a total of eight $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, which traditionally draw the largest fields except for the Main Event. The WSOP has also added a second start day for the first of the $1,500 no-limit competitions to accommodate the expected number of entrants.

“This is our most exciting schedule yet,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “Both amateur and professional poker players will have new opportunities to compete for a WSOP bracelet and can choose from the widest variety of games and buy-ins ever offered in one poker tournament and certainly at the WSOP.

“We’re holding steady at 55 events this year,” said Pollack. “But, we’ve mixed it up a bit to keep it interesting for our players and fans.”

The 2008 WSOP starts May 30 with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’Em and ends July 16 with the Final Table of the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – best known as the WSOP Main Event.

The six other $10,000 buy-in events – all World Championship competitions – include: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’Em; Seven-Card Stud; Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better; Pot-Limit Omaha; and a new Mixed Event. The Mixed Event will feature eight variations of poker: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha; Seven Card Stud; Razz; Seven Card Hi-Low Split; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

The second event of the 2008 WSOP is a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament with two starting days – May 31 and June 1.

Pre-registration for the 2008 WSOP can be made beginning in February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas or at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

In addition to the largest cash prizes in poker, winners of each of the 55 events will receive an exclusive World Series of Poker gold bracelet crafted by the luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM. Last year, 54,288 entrants who ranged in age from 21 (bracelet winner Steve Billirakis) to 94 (Main Event contestant Jack Ury) competed for the poker world’s largest total prize pool of nearly $160 million.

The 2008 WSOP will be staged inside the Rio Convention Center from May 30 through July 16. WSOP officials plan a “soft opening” of the tournament room on May 28 and 29 for players to register early and play in satellite tournaments and cash games.

“The poker tent is gone,” said Pollack. “We heard folks loud and clear last year, and there will be no tents used for tournament play at the 2008 WSOP.”

On July 2, and in conjunction with the WSOP, Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke will host the second annual Ante Up For Africa charity tournament at the Rio.

Last year’s AUFA event featured dozens of Hollywood celebrities and poker professionals and raised more than $700,000 for charity. Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Cheadle, Duke and Norman Epstein and is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.

July 3 is the first of four start days for the 2008 Main Event. Last year, a total of 6,358 entrants competed for a Main Event prize pool of $59.8 million. Players may choose their Main Event start dates as long as seats are available on the selected dates.

More information about the World Series of Poker is available at the Web site www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

Schedule of 2008 World Series of Poker events:

Date ...........Day........ Time......EV# ......................... Buy-In

5/28/2008 Wednesday 9:00 AM Registration Opens, Live Action & Satellites Begin

5/29/2008 Thursday Registration, Live Action & Satellites

5/30/2008 Friday 12 noon 1 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $10,000

5/31/2008 Saturday 12 noon 2A No-Limit Hold'em (4 day event) Day 1A $1,500

6/1/2008 Sunday 12 noon 2B No-Limit Hold'em Day 1B

6/2/2008 Monday 12 noon 3 Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/2/2008 Monday 5:00 PM 4 Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) (3 Day event) $5,000

6/3/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 5 No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,000

6/3/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 6 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/4/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 7 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/4/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 8 World Championship Mixed Event (3 day event)
Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz , Seven Card Stud,
Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, No-Limit Holdem, Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball $10,000

6/5/2008 Thursday 12 noon 9 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $1,500

6/5/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 10 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (3 days) $2,500

6/6/2008 Friday 12 noon 11 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event) $5,000

6/6/2008 Friday 5:00 PM 12 Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/7/2008 Saturday 12 noon 13 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,500

6/7/2008 Saturday 5:00 PM 14 World Championship Seven Card Stud (3 day event) $10,000

6/8/2008 Sunday 12 noon 15 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship (3 day event) $1,000

6/8/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 16 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $2,000

6/9/2008 Monday 12 noon 17 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event) $1,500

6/9/2008 Monday 5:00 PM 18 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $5,000

6/10/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 19 Pot-Limit Omaha (3 day event) $1,500

6/10/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 20 Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/11/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 21 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $5,000

6/11/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 22 H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event)
Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $3,000

6/12/2008 Thursday 12 noon 23 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/12/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 24 Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha (3 day event) $2,500

6/13/2008 Friday 12 noon 25 World Championship Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em (256 player max) (3 day event) $10,000

6/13/2008 Friday 5:00 PM 26 Seven Card Razz (3 day event) $1,500

6/14/2008 Saturday 12 noon 27 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/14/2008 Saturday 5PM 28 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Rebuys (3 day event) $5,000

6/15/2008 Sunday 12 noon 29 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $3,000

6/15/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 30 World Championship Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $10,000

6/16/2008 Monday 12 noon 31 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $2,500

6/17/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 32 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/17/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 33 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $5,000

6/18/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 34 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,500

6/18/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 35 Seven Card Stud (3 day event) $1,500

6/19/2008 Thursday 12 noon 36 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/19/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 37 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $10,000

6/20/2008 Friday 12 noon 38 Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/21/2008 Saturday 12 noon 39 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/22/2008 Sunday 12 noon 40 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. (5 day event)
Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $50,000

6/22/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 41 Mixed Hold'em (limit/no-limit) (3 Day event) $1,500

6/23/2008 Monday 12 noon 42 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship (3 day event) $1,000

6/24/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 43 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/25/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 44 No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,000

6/25/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 45 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) (3 day event) $2,500

6/26/2008 Thursday 12 noon 46 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $5,000

6/26/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 47 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/27/2008 Friday 12 noon 48 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/28/2008 Saturday 12 noon 49 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/29/2008 Sunday 12 noon 50 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha (3 day event) $10,000

6/29/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 51 H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event)
Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $1,500

6/30/2008 Monday 12 noon 52 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

7/1/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 53 Limit Hold'em Shootout (2 day event) $1,500

7/2/2008 Wednesday 10:00 AM Media Event

7/2/2008 Wednesday Satellite Day

7/2/2008 Wednesday 2:00 PM Ante Up For Africa Charity Event (1 day event) $5,000

7/3/2008 Thursday 12 noon 54A World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em Day 1A 2,500 Players $10,000

7/4/2008 Friday 12 noon 54B Day 1B 2,500 Players

7/5/2008 Saturday 12 noon 54C Day 1C 2,500 Players

7/6/2008 Sunday 12 noon 54D Day 1D 2,500 Players

7/7/2008 Monday OFF

7/7/2008 Monday 12 noon 55 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event) $500

7/8/2008 Tuesday 12 noon Day 2A

7/9/2008 Wednesday 12 noon Day 2B

7/10/2008 Thursday 12 noon Day 3

7/11/2008 Friday 12 noon Day 4

7/12/2008 Saturday 12 noon Day 5

7/13/2008 Sunday 12 noon Day 6

7/14/2008 Monday 12 noon Day 7

7/15/2008 Tuesday OFF

7/16/2008 Wednesday 12 noon Final Table

General Information:
For events 2 & 54, you may request your first day of play based on seating availability.
For vendor information please call 702-777-2310
Single Table Satellites, Mega Satellites and Live Action begin on May 28, 2008
Mega Satellite Schedule:
$330 Mega Satellites Monday - Thursday at 3 PM.
$550 Mega Satellites Friday - Sunday at 3 PM.
$1060 Mega Satellites Daily at 9 PM.
Mega Satellite Days July 2 - 5:
$330 Mega Satellites at 6 PM.
$550 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 10 AM and 4 PM.
$1060 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 1 PM and 9 PM.

Turbo Mega Satellite July 6:
$1060 Turbo Mega Satellite at 8AM

$50k H.O.R.S.E. Mega Satellite Days May 31, June 1, 16, 20, and 21 :
$2250 Mega Satellites at 5 PM.

Nightly Tournaments From May 29 - July 15:
$340 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments nightly at 7 PM.

For Tournament Info:
Visit our web site at www.worldseriesofpoker.com or call us at 1-877-FOR-WSOP (1-877-367-9767)
For Room Reservation Info:
1-877-746-8342

The Following Take-Out Percentages Will Be Withheld From the Buy-In for House Fees and Dealer/Staff Tokes
Buy-In Take-Out
$500.00 - 10%
$1,000.00 - 9%
$1,500.00 - 9%
$2,000.00 - 9%
$2,500.00 - 8%
$3,000.00 - 8%
$5,000.00 - 6%
$10,000.00 - 6%
$50,000.00 - 4%

All winners will be required to provide a valid picture ID.
Tax forms will be completed for those with winnings in excess of $5,000 net of event buy-in.
Players without a Tax Identification Number and Foreign Players from Non-Tax Treaty Countries are subject to up to 30% tax withholding.