A bunch of us media folk got an update recently, of all the good-fun WSOP Circuit times ahead … Caesars Atlantic City, San Diego (Rincon), Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Caesars Las Vegas, Harrah’s New Orleans … and one “trend” of interest: an increase in Omaha tournaments.

Really, the entire state of Nebraska Iowa should be ashamed that in 2008, at the WSOP Omaha Circuit event (OK, technically it’s “Council Bluffs” … which is just across the river from the PL-namesake city) featured no Omaha tournaments! This year they added two — a $345 Omaha Hi-Lo, and a $345 PLO. But in New Orleans, there’ll be five Omaha events, with buy-ins ranging from $235 (w/ rebuys) to $1,070.

Don’t know what it means, or if it’s just coincidence that I’ve started playing Omaha. The Atlantic City circuit event that gets underway this week still has no Omaha tournaments on the schedule. Maybe the desire for four hole cards instead of two simply increases as you move west?

Straight from the mainstream press, the gambling industry has fallen on hard times, following the trend of…well…just about every other industry there is. According to Bloomberg, Atlantic City has seen a significant drop in revenue for the second year in a row. New casino projects are on hold or canceled, and thousands of casino employees in AC have lost their jobs.

In the article, one expert predicts that Atlantic City will continue to sink:

James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said the casino industry is vital for the economy of southern New Jersey and for the tax revenue it generates.

“It’s possible Atlantic City is past its peak,” said Hughes, who predicted the situation may worsen next year. “It could never go back to its past glory. It’s a much tougher game now.”

But another analyst predicts a recovery in 2010:

The U.S. gaming industry will “remain under significant pressure in 2009, with a recovery unlikely until 2010,” Michael Paladino, a Fitch Ratings analyst in New York, said in a Dec. 16 report.

In other news, the Wall Street Journal reported that gambling in general is in a downward spiral that will never be the same. *Insert Debbie Downer sound here.* In fact, one survey specialist who clearly doesn’t follow poker trends at the University of Pennsylvania thinks that A) poker is a fad, and B) it has peaked.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that ESPN’s poker-tournament coverage has become ensconced in the culture, card-playing for money among college-age youth declined in 2007 for the first time, according to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. “The fad has peaked,” survey director Dan Romer said.

Ummm, Mr. Romer, please note that that ESPN card-playing thingie to which you referred enjoyed its most righteous numbers ever just last month. Methinks we need another survey.

The World Poker Tour dropped another tournament from its already-trimmed Season 7 schedule, and it just happens to be a player favorite – the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Even players who hate Atlantic City love the Borgata, and while the other event stayed on the schedule in September, the January tourney is no longer a WPT event.

A press release from the Borgata noted that the main event is now a $3,000 buy-in, reduced from the going WPT rate of $10,000. Thus, the drop from the WPT schedule could have been a result of indicators that player turnout would be low. Economy? Damn right.

Almost all major tournaments, with the exception of the WSOP main event, have been lower in 2008, the most sad embarrassing obvious was the 2008 U.S. Poker Championships in September that only brought 52 players to the $10K main event, as compared to 164 players in 2007 and 261 players in 2006. Turns out that when the lights and cameras go away, not to mention people’s IRAs, stocks, and day jobs, people are less willing to plunk down $10K for a poker tourney.

So, if you want a WPT title, you won’t be getting it at the Borgata next month. There are other choices, however, like the Five Diamond event coming up at Bellagio, which will cost you a mere $15K to enter. The rest of the revised WPT Season 7 schedule can be viewed by clicking this handy link below:

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Pure conspiracy theory … inspired by the winner’s pic of “Harold and” Vivek Rajkumar proudly displaying his WSOP WPT bracelet at the Borgata. Without even a rumor to base this on (just circumstantial observations and wild speculation) I called Pauly hoping we could start one. Pauly was in London after covering the entirety of the last WPT event in Atlantic City, and had a brief stop-over in Amsterdam, which I figured put him in the exact right frame of mind to feel the rhymes I was droppin’ … and sure enough, by the time our jam was done we’d have Full Tilt moving in on PokerStars’ brick-and-mortar territory by bailing out Steve Lipscomb & Friends in an effort to challenge the EPT.

So you heard it here first … be sure to spread the word:

Tao of Pokerati: Episode 2.1
WPT Bailout Rumors (7:28)

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There’s a lot of action going on, now and into this weekend …

First off, in the online world, the WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) is going on on PokerStars. You can rail it live as an observer on PokerStars itself, of course, or if you’ve got an offline life you can follow it semi-live on the PokerStarsBlog in the capable hands of our own California Jen and some of your other favorite bloggers (Change100, Tuscaloosa Johnny, Otis).

Believe it or not, they’ve also got “TV” coverage of these big online tourneys — they’re about halfway through 33 of them. Check it out right here if you’ve got a half-hour to kill:

The new PokerStars TV will also be all over the EPT Barcelona, which just got underway — including some live video coverage viewable on the internet, along with more traditional blog-coverage and chip updates.

On the salty side of the pond, the Borgata Poker Open is getting heated in Atlantic City. That’s where Pauly’s at. And he’s covering all the action (along with the ever-illustrative Tropical Steve and poker-media journeyman Michael Friedman) on the official Borgata Blog. The WPT main event kicks off on Sunday. The WPT has their own blog-crew coverage, too — something called “The Muck”.

Meanwhile, I’m stuck here in Vegas, where it’s a Freerollin’ Saturday for me:

I start the day in Event #2 of the PokerListings Run Good Challenge. Supposedly we’re having some blind-structure issues with PokerStars, but regardless, it will be a chance to redeem myself from my lackluster Event #1 performance.

Then, later tomorrow evening, it’s the grand-opening tourney at the Hard Rock, where I’ll be playing against Phil Hellmuth, Anjela Brunson, Rick Fuller, Scott Fischman, Scott Ian (of Anthrax), Jeremiah Smith, Andre Agassi, Montel Williams, Randy Couture, Jermaine O’neal, Paul Pierce, and others for an important motorcycle. Will be texting in updates via CSR should you care to follow my quest against a field that should be a combination of great and terrible, with a less-than-skill-friendly blind-structure.

Click below for more detailed info on the event itself, and the motorcycle.

It really is shaping up to be a Good Poker September.

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This story stinks.

Straight from the Associated Press, a customer was asked to leave the Borgata poker room in Atlantic City on Tuesday because he smelled bad. Evidently, it was my-god-in-heaven-this-is-unbelievable-get-him-outta-here bad after Michael Wax went on a 17-hour poker binge without long-lasting deodorant. (Buddy, I’ve got a hint for you. Check out the casino store. I bet they carry a deodorant or fragrance of some sort. For future reference, of course.)

Wax said he told casino officials: “There’s no question I stink. I’m not denying it. I do have an odor. I’ve been playing for 17 hours.”

He filed a complaint with the Casino Control Commission, and he told AP that he wants an apology from the Borgata.

Got sucked into a new awesome/terrible reality show yesterday on MTV2 called From G’s to Gents — have already programmed a “season pass” on the Tivo to make sure I don’t miss an episode. The show is done by Jamie Foxx, and the concept revolves around P-Diddy’s personal valet, Fonzworth Bentley, trying to reform gangstas into classy dudes. Anyhow, one of the first contestants eliminated for non-stop yapping and going on near-violent tilt early was a guy named “The Truth” — and he claimed he made his living “hustling” in New York and “playing poker” in Atlantic City. Just wondering if any of you out there have run across him (or anyone like him) at the tables, and what he’s like to play against.

I like to troll Craigslist every so often for some hot, anonymous NSA poker action. Not looking for games — there’s no shortage of ‘em here in LV — just wanting to take the pulse of what people are pushing related to poker. Look at the ads all together and you get some interesting tells on the state of the poker world and its semi-anonymous inhabitants:

There are a lot of chips , tables, fancy custom tables and chips and tables for sale, of course, and for $15 a made-for-TV WPT video game. WSOP: Tournament of Champions for the Playstation goes for $8

For $150k you can have documentary footage of the rise and fall of Jamie Gold.

A WSOP baby’s blanket.

More chips, from the Aladdin, and from the Atlantic City Playboy Club. “Omaha Table” from Sante Fe Station.

Perhaps frighteningly, there are even poker bots for sale. At least one suspicious reader is questioning whether or not this is legal.

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WinStar: November 25th $300+30 Event
THACKERVILLE, OK – WinStar Casino Poker Room is throwing a 200 player max. $300+30 No-Limit Hold’em tournament on Sunday, November 25th, starting at 1pm. This tournament will have 30 minute levels and players will start with 3000 in chips. Registration begins at 9am day of the tournament. Contact the WinStar Poker Room for more details at 800-622-6317.

Borgata: Illegal Sports Betting in the High Stakes Poker Room
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – 18 people were arrested this week for participating in an illegal sports gambling ring in the high stakes poker room at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. Of those arrested, 6 were casino employees and 4 have ties to the Philadelphia mob.

Foxwoods: World Poker Finals Winner
LEDYARD, CT – Mike Vela won the WPT World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Casino earning $1,704,986, and a $25,500 seat into the Season 6 WPT World Championship in April, 2008. Second place went to Season 4 WPT Foxwoods champion Nick Schulman for $864,652.

Mohegan Sun: Brings Poker Back
UNCASVILLE, CT – Mohegan Sun in has returned to the poker arena by installing 12 new automated PokerPro tables from PokerTek, a precursor to their Summer 2008 grand opening when Mohegan Sun will unveil its $740 million hotel/casino expansion which includes a new live poker room.

South Central Kansas: Destination Casino To Come
MGM Mirage and Foxwoods Development Company submitted an application this week on behalf of their Unity Gaming partnership to the Kansas Lottery Commission to develop and manage the Chisholm Creek Casino Resort.

read daily: Poker Room News

Louis Lee continues to kick arse at the US Poker Championship in Atlantic City. They’re down to three and he’s the middle in chips. Go Louis!

By the way, one hand that deserves mention … Louis knocked out Victor Ramdin, who was previously belittling his play and claiming he would take all of Lee’s chips. From PokerListings:

Sickening!
Louis Lee raises to $68,000 on the button and Victor Ramdin comes over the top all-in for another $205,000 from the small blind. Ed Brogdon gets out of the way in the big blind and the action’s on Lee, who ruminates for a few minutes, saying, “This would be the sickest thing in the world if I called this.”

It is the sickest thing in the world, because Lee calls with [cards]Kd 7c[/cards] and is way behind Ramdin’s [cards]Ah Ks[/cards]. The flop is cruel, coming [cards]Qc 7d 6c[/cards], and after the turn is the [cards]Qs[/cards] the river is the [cards]9s[/cards] and Victor Ramdin, who yesterday told Lee he’d take every last one of his chips before the tournament was over, has been eliminated at the hands of the man he’d trash talked.

Ramdin is out in fifth place and will take home $71,586 to add to the coffers.

Awesome. You can see why I am such a big Louis Lee fan.

UPDATE: They’re down to heads-up. Louis is guaranteed $318k … winner takes home $606k. He has 1.6 million chips, to Adam Gerber‘s 3.8 million.

UPDATE: Rough hand … but Lee couldn’t lay down his boat and he got 2nd place:

Louis Lee limps-in and Adam Gerber pops it to 125,000. Lee makes the call and the flop comes [cards]6d 6c 5c[/cards]. Gerber checks and Lee bets 200,000. Gerber immediately pops to 500,000 and Lee makes the call. The turn is the [cards]6h[/cards] and Gerber moves all-in, putting Lee to a decision for his tournament life.

Lee tanks for a good five minutes, standing and pacing and trying to figure out his move. After an agonizing deliberation he makes the call, shoving his stack into the middle and turning up [cards]5s 3s[/cards] for the boat. Gerber has a better boat, however, with [cards]8s 8h[/cards] and Lee is drawing dead. After the [cards]Kc[/cards] hits the river it’s official; Adam Gerber is USPC Champ!

While Louis may be rethinking the call for a while, one thing that probably makes it a little more stomach-rumbly is the chop he turned down. When they got to heads-up, Gerber (the 2.5x bigger stack) offered him $450,000 and they’d play for the bracelet and a Rolex. Very fair, he agreed, but Louis wanted to play it out.

Still, nice debut performance on the high-stakes circuit. Big congrats to LL.

For those who are curious, here’s how the USPC has changed over the years, in terms of the size of the main event field, and thereby payouts:

(Top 2 finishers in parentheses)

2002 — 72 players* (John Hennigan beats Erik Seidel)
2003 — 99 players (Toto Leonidas beats Erik Seidel)
2004 — 177 players (John Aglialoro beats Joe Cassidy)
2005 — 226 players (James “Capo” Caporuscio beats Ralph Pecorale)
2006 — 261 players (Alex Jacob beats Jordan Morgan)
2007 — 164 players (Winner TBD / Not Gavin Smith)

Not sure what all this says about the level of competition or the poker world in general, but the numbers are telling of something. This tourney did lose its TV contract this year, which certainly alters the field. But what becomes of it from here remains to be seen.

Click here to see the top-heavy payout structure.

And/or click here to dig into the history of this boldly named event. (Pre- and post-poker boom.) Do you think it’s possible that “struggling” tourneys like this one might change their payout structures to make them more appealing? Because while the 1st Place prize is plenty hefty, pros know how hard it is to actually win one of these things … and I gotta think if they knew a final table provided a bigger ROI it might be easier to put it on their schedule. Just a thought …

* Buy-in in 2002 was $7,500. Raised to $10,000 thereafter.

Louis Lee, sitting pretty at the final table in his first $10,000 event, is no longer being underestimated by his competition. [photo: Dale Perryman]

The story of Louis Lee has made the USPC entertaining for some of us to follow — moreso than, say, Gavin Smith, who busted out in 9th place when his two-pair couldn’t hold up against a flush draw. With eight players remaining, Lee, who has just $4,000 in major tournament winnings prior to this event, is 2nd in chips with 1.35 million. His trash-talking next-door neighbor Victor Ramdin (last week’s cover of CardPlayer, by the way) is 5th with 322k. Fun!

While this tournament hardly qualifies as a “major,” it still offers potentially life-changing money to the winner. $32k to the next player out; $600k to the last man standing. That’s a big-time sit-n-go no matter how you look at it. (Can we say chop?) For a not-so-winning player like yours truly, it’s kinda extra cool to see a guy sitting next to me at a 2/5 table at WinStar just a month ago in this situation.

Louis and his poker buddy Dale were kind enough to keep us updated throughout Day 4. Click below to see how he got to the final table in such a strong position, where he can theoretically weather a bad beat or two, and totally dominate if he happens to get a tad lucky:

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An update on the US Poker Championship at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City as they get near the money bubble. For all you Louis Lee fans out there:

Up to 460,000 chips. 22 players left. Ramdin crippled Bill gaze. Pocket 10 held up to pocket 7. Gaze out. got most of my chips from ramdin.

Excellent. Final table in his sights.

Coverage from PokerPages here.

Coverage from PokerListings here.

UPDATE: From PokerListings:

As we start hand-for-hand play, Victor Ramdin turns to seatmate Louis Lee and tells him, “I promise by the end of the tournament I’m going to take every one of your chips. I promise. And you know why? Because you play bad. You’re playing bad poker. And people who play bad poker, I take all of their chips.”

Awesome … Ramdin sounds like a break-even online player.