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
**Spring into a world of fun from only
$44.95 per night Tower Rooms (Sun-Thurs)


Book now and receive:
* $25 FREE Slot Play
* 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.