• Kentucky-based horse racing and casino company Churchill Downs acquires the assets of Bluff Media.

• Caesars Entertainment extends its partnership with 888 Holdings.

• MGM, Boyd Gaming, and BwinParty looking for a wild poker three-way.

• Vegas-based ShuffleMaster dangling diamonds in front of OnGame Network.

• Pinnacle Entertainment in acquisition talks with newly formed Epic Poker League.

• Golden Nugget partners up with ChiliGaming for online poker.

What’s next? Will Pokerati be getting a bid from Palms Casino Resort?

Many got rich during the original “boom years”, but brick and mortar gaming corporations for the most part saw only incremental benefits from the growth of online poker. Who can forget Steve Lipscomb’s bitter open letter to the poker community, portraying the World Poker Tour as a jilted lover in a new poker world he helped create. (A world where his company failed to turn a profit while offshore online poker companies prospered was clearly unjust!)

WPT wasn’t the only one missing out on the majority of spoils from online poker’s first post-Moneymaker explosion. The recent deal-making frenzy suggests American casino corporations want to be the early adopters of PokerBoom 2.0. With partners in hand, casinos won’t be the wallflowers should the music start up for another “Moneymaker moment.”

Friday night’s 12,500-chip starting stack at The Orleans.

Ragin’ Cajun: Friday Nights at the Orleans

Those on the lower-stakes Vegas grind often rave about Friday night at The Orleans. Large field, good structure, big prize pool. A friend advised that I arrive early because the event fills up so quickly. I parked around back almost an hour before the 7pm start time, and after securing my $125 entry, sat at a bar near the food court with T.G.I. Fridays, Fuddruckers, Baskin Robbins, Sbarro, Subway — yeah, real Cajun cuisine.

On this night there would be 270 players, with first place paying about $8,000. The floor supervisor said re-entries were possible but improbable because of a long list of alternates. As we got underway, two locals spoke conspicuously about a mutual friend who was playing a $250k buy-in event in Australia (the Aussie Millions high-roller event, won by Phil Ivey).

Of The Orleans’s comparably tiny entry fee, $100 goes to the prize pool, $2 goes to tournament “players of the month,” $13 goes to the house and $10 goes to staff. The tournament can often last until mid morning, but my run in the event would be a quick one, as I never dragged a pot and busted 5 minutes before the first break.

Saturday afternoon’s 4,500 stack at Golden Nugget

Saturday Shorty at the Golden Nugget

You can validate parking at just about any casino downtown, but that validation is only good for 3 hours. Since I intended to take this thing down — the $65 Saturday No-Limit Hold’em event at the Golden Nugget — I parked in the free lot at El Cortez and made the short walk to Fremont Street. I suppose I could have chosen to valet, but then I’d miss the “experience” of strolling past showgirls in mink coats, checking out Mardi Gras bead souvenirs, snapping a picture of tiny Elvis or Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp and basking in all that neon.

The Golden Nugget poker room sits in a casually lit atmosphere with an appropriately golden hue. I noticed a sign for a $100 event every Sunday at 9am. Wait, are there people in Las Vegas who actually wake up early enough to play that?

I plopped down $65 for the 3pm freezeout, where I ran into a local grinder who had crippled my stack the night before at Orleans when he flopped a flush against my third-nut flush draw. He was downtown to play the uncapped buy-in cash games, though, and not punish me for tournament missteps. The Nugget might be a small room, but its one of the few 1/2 games in Las Vegas with no max buy-in. Still, it wasn’t like people were buying in big just to bully. Most of the big stacks were playing less than $1,000 deep, grinders picking off tourists $100 at a time.

Turns out, Saturday’s $65 event really costs $105 if you want a legitimate shot at taking it down. The entry fee gets you just 4,500 in starting chips (not even 100 BB!), but anytime within the first hour, an additional $40 will get you 4,000 more. At my table, the lone player who chose not to add on would be the first player eliminated after the break.

The tournament’s turbo-like structure would prove much more difficult than the field — 20-minute levels, doubling blinds, with a small starting stack — but most of the players probably didn’t know the difference. In one hand, I watched an extremely nervous guy check-call an A-7-A-8-8 board while holding A8. I guess he was worried about his kicker more than being accused of soft-playing his opponent on the beige felt emblazoned with logos from the glory years of televised poker (Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, WPT Boot Camp), much of which was shot here.

There was no tournament clock in sight, so we had no idea how much we were playing for. After surviving the first hour, I approached the tournament director to ask him how many people entered and what first place paid. There were 30 entrants, with 4 spots paying out and the top prize of $1,150. Of that entry fee, 3 percent went directly to the house and $5 from each entry went to the dealers.

I clung to my tiny stack as blinds escalated, but struggled to find spots to pick up chips, and eventually would exit in 13th place before heading back toward the El Cortez.

Sunday night’s 10,000 stack at Venetian

Dizzy Deep Stack Sunday

I called Mandalay Bay and inquired about their 5pm $100 bounty event. For every player you knock out, you receive $25. Sounded cool, and I’ve never played a bounty event, so I headed over. Unfortunately, with only two other players signed up, the tournament didn’t make.

With a limited list of Sunday night tournaments, I broke down and threw out my plan to avoid Venetian’s Deep Stack Extravaganza because I knew for sure there’d be action. (They run the Deep Stacks four times a year, with a few dozen tournaments each time, so it’s sort of like a “daily”.) And after my run in smaller events at Stratosphere, Orleans, and Golden Nugget, it seemed the right time to see how I could perform with the low-stakes sharks — so many of whom dressed the online poker nerd part.

Perhaps strangely, this go-round all Deep Stacks events are held on the casino floor at the Palazzo. The $175 7 pm event gets you 10,000 starting chips. Out of the entry fee, $20 goes to the house and $5 is for “staff bonus.” The 30-minute levels start with 25/50 blinds. A rebuy is allowed within the first hour-and-a-half. On this night, the tournament was relatively small — with just 87 entrants, and about a $4,000 first prize — but still more sizable on most fronts than all the other regular tournaments in Las Vegas.

The field didn’t seem as tough as I imagined, but in my first four attempts to raise preflop, I got 3-bet three times. So it definitely played differently than the Stratosphere. My previously “deep” stack shrunk to about eight big blinds, when I got it in with AK against A3 and JT. The king-high flop looked great, but the Q turn and A river delivered a crushing blow. Two hands later, with less than a big blind left, my pocket deuces got cracked to end my tournament dreams … at least for the night!

But shuffling past the tournament rope to exit, my 0-5 start didn’t feel all that bad. The competition was surprisingly soft, and I was OK with my play. But without anything to show for my roughly 12 hours of play, I grappled with shouldering the weight of the grind. Two more days left in this week-long experiment — Caesars Palace and Bellagio next — and I have confidence that, with a little help from the cards, I can make a score.

One of my favorite charity tourneys of the year is this Saturday — Operation All In … Randy Couture’s  poker tournament and charity auction benefitting his Xtreme Couture GI Foundation. Karina Jett hosts the event, so you can expect her usual brand of fun and merry band of Full Tilt Red Pros in exile. And because OAI is more MMAish than pokery … well, let’s just say you can be sure to see some rather douchetastic! unique table interaction. And with a reasonable buy-in ($220 w $100 rebuys), you stand to get a fair share of genuine downtown tourists, too — excited by their chance to play with the fighters more so than the poker pros.

The winner gets $10k in cold American cash this year, too … no fancy qualifiers for some future maybe-cool new event in some other country. And though I haven’t personally looked into how legit Randy Couture’s foundation is, I do get a sense he takes the effort kinda personally and isn’t going to let the funds raised here get squandered en route to the beneficiaries. For many soldiers, the war isn’t over just because they are starting to come home.

It’s been an interesting relationship in Vegas between mixed martial arts and poker over the past 12 or so years … the state of which will be on display in the form of tax-deductible feelgood poker … this weekend at the Golden Nugget.

Read below for official deets on what’s going down.

MMA Star Randy “The Natural” Couture Hosts 
Charity Poker Tournament at the Golden Nugget
“Operation All In” to raise money for Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation

LAS VEGAS – Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy “The Natural” Couture will host his fourth annual “Operation All In” poker tournament and charity auction benefiting the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 14 starting at 2 p.m.

This event, held in The Grand events center, is open to the public and will feature a celebrity charity poker tournament, live and silent auctions, autograph sessions with photo opportunities and raffle prizes while giving back to injured troops.

“Operation All In” will welcome professional celebrity poker players and stars from the MMA world and Hollywood to play alongside the public in its charity poker tournament, where several great prizes will be awarded along with the grand prize of $10,000 cash. The buy-in for “Operation All In” at the Golden Nugget is $220 with $100 multi re-buys.

MMA fighters confirmed to attend include Randy Couture, Clay Guida, Cung Le, John Alessio, Martin Kampmann, Jay Hieron, John Gunderson, Brad Tavares, Tyson Griffin, Ryan Couture and Frank Trigg. Celebrities will also partake in the action, and those confirmed to attend include David Zayas, Shanna Moakler, JJ Lui, TJ Lavin and Lon Maccaren from ESPN. Other fighters and poker pros are expected to confirm attendance as the event nears.

Ultimate Fighting Champion Couture, a veteran himself of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, started the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation to raise money and awareness for troops wounded in action and their families. After visiting with amputees at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Couture was brought to tears seeing the young men and women who had given their all for freedom, young heroes who now have to go through life’s challenges with devastating physical and emotional injuries. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

A highlight of the event will be both the silent auction, with an amazing array of MMA memorabilia up for grabs, and the live auction which includes some items donated personally by Couture, such as dinner with the fighter and a one-hour personal MMA lesson. In addition to Couture, other MMA fighters will be on hand throughout the evening for photos and autographs with tournament players and fans.

“Operation All In” is sponsored by the contributions of its great supporters including Microtech, Oakley, Xtreme Couture MMA, Deepstacks, Lord Griffon, Clear Channel & Golden Nugget.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot today by stopping by or calling the Golden Nugget Poker Room at (800) 777-4658, ext. 8164 or locally (702) 386-8383, or emailing poker@goldennugget.com to pre-register. Players will also be able to register for the tournament at the event. For more information visit www.xcgif.org.  or www.goldennugget.com.

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ABOUT GOLDEN NUGGET LAS VEGAS

Winner of the AAA Four Diamond Award consecutively since 1977, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas is the most luxurious resort on the Fremont Street Experience, and consistently receives critical acclaim for exceeding customer expectations. The Golden Nugget now offers more than 2,400 deluxe guestrooms and suites; a high-energy casino featuring the most popular slot and video poker machines, table games, race and sports book, and poker room; nightly entertainment with master impressionist and comedian Gordie Brown; world-class restaurants such as Grotto Italian Ristorante and Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse; a luxury spa and salon; and The Tank, a year-round outdoor swimming pool complete with a 200,000-gallon, live shark aquarium and the new H20 poolside lounge. Since 2005, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas has made more than $180 million in upgrades, renovations and expansions under Landry’s Inc, introducing first-class accommodations, exquisite dining options and fun-filled entertainment venues. In late 2009, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas unveiled its newest addition, Rush Tower. This $150-million hotel tower added nearly 500 new guestrooms and suites to the property, brought Las Vegas it’s first Chart House Restaurant and introduced a beautiful new pool, the Hideout, as well as expanded the gaming. Hotel reservations and additional information are available by calling 800-634-3454 or by visiting online at www.goldennugget.com.

ABOUT XTREME COUTURE GI FOUNDATION
The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation, was founded by Randy Couture to honor the veterans of America’s armed forces. The foundation was especially formed to raise money and awareness for those wounded in action and their families. To date, more than 24,000 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war against terrorism, which doesn’t include the many more suffering the mental effects. The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life. Visit http://www.xtremecouturegifoundation.org/ for more information.

The event comes with the Duke fully recovered from multiple broken bones and flesh wounds suffered in a violent robbery in August 2010. The trial against his accused assailants was supposed to start this week — just down the street from the Nugget — but was delayed on Monday.

Who: The Duke of Fremont presents “Pinstripes & Polka Dots”
What: $100 NLH (w $20 rebuys)
When: Friday, Oct 28, 6pm (red carpet cocktails begin at 5pm)
Where: Golden Nugget, Downtown Las Vegas
Why: Fundraiser for Clark County Museum Guild

With or without a verdict, perfect way to kick off the Halloween weekend, no? I like the small buy-in (and rebuys) and probability that I might feel young again as one of the “youngsters” in attendance … not to mention my curiosity about Vegas fundraiser tournaments devoid of Full Tilt swag and ironically titled “Howard Lederer Tells All” DVDs.

The theme is “Vintage Vegas” (shocker) … and while there is a costume contest with additional prizes, attendees are simply asked to “dress appropriately”. When I invited Dr. Pokerati to join me at the event, she wanted to know, obv, what to wear. “I think they’re going for 1940s-50s slutty”, I said via text … to which she responded, “k”.

More info about the tournament beneficiary here, and you can follow the Duke of Fremont on Twitter here.

One of the more fun events gets started in a couple hours at the Golden Nugget (which seems poised to take over from the Hard Rock as the primary LV charity destination) … so if you’ve got nothing better to do this afternoon than get warmed up for some Vegas Halloweening, why not help out the soldiers while mingling with some big-time MMA, small-time Hollywood, and mid-tier poker world:

Operation All-In
benefitting Xtreme Couture GI Foundation
organized by Randy Couture and Karina Jett
2 pm

$225 buy-in, $100 rebuys
1st prize $10k

I had a blast at this event last year, not because I “moneyed” to score a Full tilt swag bag for my 30somethingth-place finish … but just because it was just more fun than the usual charity show. For the more casual player, it’s the only time you’ll see MMA strongmen somewhat intimidated by scrawny poker geeks while entertaining the festive-drinky feelgood tourists … many who can’t seem to believe they are “in the ring” with so many people they’ve watched on TV — all for a tax-deductible donation less than they were planning to drop on a single sitting at a smokey $5 blackjack table.

A buy-in to this event also gets you in to Randy Couture’s Halloween Bash this evening at the Golden Nugget’s surprisingly undouchey nightclub Gold Diggers.

More info here.

Post to be continued … so check back later, but wanted to get the word out in time for Vegas peeps to head downtown before the end of the rebuy period.

pic: Melissa Hayden

Durrrr in the headlights: Please, Melissa, I’m trying to eat …Who Tom Dwan what? How many chips? I need more sauce.

Play ended last night with 33 left and Durrrr the chip leader … by like a lot. (36 got paid.) Phil Hellmuth is 13th in chips, with 330k to Dwan’s 910k.

Here’s the event coverage Ivey and just about everyone will be sweating on Saturday: $10k Pot-Limit Omaha. Sigh. If only ESPN knew what Euros (and players in my 1/2 NL/PLO game at the Hard Rock) already do … that Omaha is hold’em, and thus can make for some great TV.

Others still alive include:

Jason Mercier
Devilfish
Ludovic Lacay (Benjo’s friend/French bad-ass)
Fabrice Soulier
Michael Binger
Daniel Alaeai
Tony Cousineau
Jason Lester (for viewers still insisting on familiar ’03-’04 faces)

Interestingly enough, the last man out for the night (winning $19.8k) was EPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser … essentially the Matt Savage of Europe. Alexander Kravchenko, another pretty good-TV name, busted him.

But hey, this is PLO, so all sorts of card craziness can happen. Let’s reconvene when they get to the final table and see if indeed, poker geeks and uber-high-stakes prop-bettors everywhere will be clamoring about Dwan (and maybe Hellmuth) closing out the WSOP with a multimillion-dollar bang.

As you know, I’m not really watching much poker this summer; however, I am rather excited about finally getting to play a little, tournament-style — and Friday I’ll be doing just that in Karina Jett’s All-In 4 Autism Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament. There’s just something about a tax-deductible underlay that makes ridiculously fast and luck-based blind structures appealing.

I played last year, and with just a single rebuy, I actually cashed. Got a really nice gift bag with some coupons and not one, but two Full Tilt swag t-shirts. (I think I finished something like 30th place out of maybe 150?

But the awesomeness of the Vegas charity scene became clearly apparent to me not from any “celebs” at my table, but from a very drinky maniac a few seats to my left. He was playing terribly but without fear, putting in rebuy after rebuy and playing any two cards, which sometimes got there allowing him to take down a big pot.

This guy — a real estate dude from Houston, I believe — had no idea the event was going on until he had seen something about it at the Golden Nugget, and decided to take the $1,000 he had to gamble that day and give it a shot. For him, it didn’t matter if he won or lost, he was just happy to be playing poker while pounding the rum-and-diets at the table with Chip Jett and Adam Schoenfeld, two pros he had seen several times on TV who were willing to play back at him no less! “I’m having the time of my life!” I distinctly remember him slurring,while waiting to see if his 6-7, J-2, King-spoon, whatever … held up. Eventually, after the rebuy period was up and he donked himself out of any money prize … it still didn’t matter.

Charity maniac-dude just had a unique, memorable rip-roaring-fun Vegas experience that he hadn’t even planned on. In the end it cost him less than he mighta lost anyways (or, by his own admission, spent frivolously at a strip club) while he helped make the bad beats and crazy calls all part of an even more generous and extra good time.

While certain causes are almost always near-and-dear to the host’s or hostess’s heart — as autism is here for Karina Jett — guys like charity-maniac dude, I’m pretty sure, is why the pros play these things.

Beyond getting to write off all their rebuys, it’s a chance to actually kick back a bit — doing what they already do, but without the seriousness attached to the WSOP, almost like a break without having to take a full mental vacation. Perhaps reminds them of bigger life pictures in play, too, not to mention why they play the game in the first place … because at its core, even when you leave with less money than you arrived with, it can be really, really fun.

More information at AllIn4Autism.org.

PRESS RELEASE

May 11, 2010

Celebrities and Poker Pros go All In 4 Autism

LAS VEGAS – The Golden Nugget will kick off its Third Annual Grand Poker Series with the inaugural All In 4 Autism Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament hosted by former Miss USA and television personality Shanna Moakler, June 4 at 6 p.m. in The Grand events center.

Celebrities, poker pros and athletes such as Jason Alexander, Dan Henderson and Erik Seidel will join All In 4 Autism to raise awareness and funding for the growth in autism services in the Las Vegas area during this star-studded charity poker event.

“We are very happy to be partnering with the Golden Nugget, its Grand Poker Series and many of Las Vegas’ finest poker pros and celebrities to host this very special and important charity event,” said Karina Jett, pro poker player and national spokesperson for the non-profit organization. “All monies raised will go to increasing awareness of the limited services for autism in Las Vegas.”

The All In 4 Autism Charity Poker Tournament will feature $220 buy-ins and $100 re-buys, with a $10,000 grand prize, with all proceeds going to autism services in Las Vegas.

Autism is a neurological disability that affects more than 1 in 150 children. It is characterized by deficiencies in communication, socialization and behavioral growth. Different types of therapies address the various needs of a person with autism, and some families with a child with autism are unaware of the therapies available to them in Las Vegas. All In 4 Autism helps the families understand what services are available to them, as well as raises money and awareness for the growth of autism services in Las Vegas.

Therapies for autism can require many, often expensive, services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, biomedical treatments, relationship based services and behavioral based services.

Services for one child with autism often cost a family upwards of $40,000-$60,000 per year, depending on their needs. In Las Vegas, while there are some options for children with autism, funding is minimal and supports a very small population of children. All In 4 Autism strives to assist these families in need.

“Many children in Las Vegas go without therapeutic support in the home due to a lack of financial support for services,” said Marija Savitt, co-founder of All In 4 Autism. “Through All In 4 Autism, we hope to break that cycle by offering these families hope and support.” Scheduled to appear at the tournament is Jason Alexander, Dan Henderson, Gina Hecht, Erik Seidel, Kristy Gazes, Chip Jett, Martin Kampmann, Heath Herring, Nicholas Gonzalez, Susie Isaacs, Adam Schoenfeld, Joe Rietman, Miss Nevada USA Julianna Erdesz, Mike Swick, Lee Watkinson plus many more.

Players can register for All In 4 Autism in person at the Golden Nugget Poker Room, by calling 800-777-4658, ext. 8164, or emailing poker@goldennugget.com.

For more information on All In 4 Autism visit www.allin4autism.org. For more information on The Grand Poker Series or for a complete schedule of events, visit www.goldennugget.com.

# # #

Will the WTP be a matter of someone finally getting it right, or is there something inherent to the game itself that makes team tournament poker a concept that just can’t stick?

The WTP inaugural at the Golden Nugget will feature eight teams of what seem to be six, seven, or four players each. They face off at different tables, in shootout-fashion.

We’ll be able to watch it low-res live and streaming here.

Here’re the official rosters:

Team USA: Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow

Team China: Johnny Chan, David Chiu, Maria Ho, Chau Giang, Winfred Zhu, Derek Chung, Rich Zhu

Team Vietnam: Men “The Master Nguyen” Scotty Nguyen, Kenny Tran, Tim Phan, John Phan, Karina Jett

Team Australia: Jeff Lisandro Tony Guoga, Mel Judah, David Saab, Gary Benson

Team England: Ben Roberts, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Joe Beevers, Peter Costa, Surinder Sunar

Team Israel: Eli Elezra, Josh Arieh, Abe Mosieri, David Levi, Robert Mizrachi, Michael Mizrachi, Mose Elezar

Team Brazil: Juliano Maesano, Rodrigo Capriolo, Felipe Ramos, Christian Kruel, Leandro Pimentel

Team Greece: George Kapalas, George Theofanopoulos, Alex Dervos, Stavros Kalfas, Dimitris Chatziriotis, Dimitris Liritsis

Sounds great, no? I presume that list is in order of seeding. Team Greece is already being made out to be the potential Cinderella story.

Also noteworthy, however, are the number of teams that didn’t quite pull it together enough to be included in this first go-round. But hey, original plans often change, and maybe it’s good to have the next round of eager contenders waiting in the wings? Shannon Elizabeth got in touch with her inner Arab (who knew!) to partner with Freddie Deeb and Danny Joe Georges on Team Lebanon, yet they didn’t get seats and will instead make an appearance limited to the red carpet. All events like this have to have a red carpet …

Below is a rundown of team poker ventures that have gone before, and what ultimately became of them:

The US PokerBowl (2007)

Wrong out the Gate

The PokerBowl grew out of a local team concept that had taken off in a couple cities — creating an event where teammates were identified by wristband, and chip-dumping, collusion, and hand signals were all part of the game. So they took it to Vegas, promised a million-dollar prize pool, and before you knew it, TV production crews were on the clock, and all the top pros and recent stars (Steve Dannenmann, for example) on board … 25 teams of six, split up into five “conferences”. Day 1 was a drinky day for Scotty Nguyen, which 9 times out of 10 great for TV.

The whole city concept got lost along the way … but that didn’t really matter nearly as much as the issue of collusion. Many of the online-backed pros — if I recall, Doyle Brunson (playing for Denver) had the final say –refused to play if endorsed collusion was gonna be part of it. So USPB ganked it … no cheating allowed … and all the semi-pros and TV-unknowns who paid their $6,600 buy-in had to unlearn signals, for example, like covering your cards with two chips to signify a pair, and placing them like clock hands to indicate its strength.

But for all the clusterfuckiness that goes along with the first attempt at any new-big event, everyone seemed to be having a blast … so much laughter, screaming, hugging, and general raucousness amongst teammates. There we’re only two people in the entire Key West Room at the Palms who looked unhappy — John Nightingale, the creator of it all, and John-Robert Bellande.

Bellande’s team had cashed, and the fresh-from-Survivor big-man was becoming a bit irate that a check for his winnings would be sent to him by mail … in a few weeks. That scene was not the new era of poker they wanted to show on TV.

I first sensed that something was wrong when Tom Schneider and I got hired as the television hosts … without having to send in a video or even talk to anyone on the phone! By the time they mysteriously fired Lacey Jones on Day 2, only to replace her with Nightingale’s wife … Tom and I began discussing bets on whether or not the show would ever make it to TV. It never did.

Clearly the event had grown beyond the infrastructure needed to support it. And Nightingale made the critical mistake of forgetting that just because several pros lured in on a freeroll, someone still needed to cover their buy-ins in the prize pool! It would take months before the winners received their checks, which all bounced … more than $440,000.

The Palms would eventually end up making good on the payouts, but still received an additional $100,000 fine from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Dream Team Poker (2008-2009)

We Are the Champions!

Similar concept, smaller teams, and a patented scoring system that ensured teammates would never be at the same table until the final. But once in the big-money, teams could call time-outs to collaborate on a hand. There were two separate prize pools — for team and individual results.

The folks running this one seemed to be good people … and sure enough, at their inaugural event at the Hard Rock, DTP paid their winners, lol. (Who woulda thunk that in tself would be enough to have everyone happy-happy.) From there they threw a second event … this one even bigger, 144 teams on about a $500 collective buy-in, at Caesars. Again, a great party beforehand, and a fun tournament to follow.

DTP seemed well on its way … hooking up a $1,680 (per team of three) non-bracelet event at the WSOP. They even got to do a dry run at the media event, and then at the real deal, where 366 players bought in (122 teams) … none other than Team Tao of Pokerati took down the team prize … (for what would become the biggest score of my not-so-pro poker career).

(Still kinda peeved this victory isn’t reflected in the Hendon Mob, Cardplayer, or PokerPages databases.)

Alas, though Team Tao of Pokerati are still the defending WSOP Team Champion, it seems that instead of becoming the team poker ambassador I envisioned, we’ve been relegated to just a footnote in the poker almanac under one-off events.

The problem Dream Team ran into, apparently, was that running a solid operation (that pays winners promptly) costs money! So even though copycat events began springing up — using slightly altered rules to dodge patent issues — instead of growing bigger, Dream Team Poker’s next step looked like downsizing. They launched a small buy-in team league at the Bike, which was supposed to be a beta-test of the concept they were hoping to bring to casinos around the country.

Like everything else team poker, that seemed to develop a loyal following of players. But as of now their status seems up in the air. There’s no word of Dream Team continuing for a second season at the Bike, and they’re no longer listed on the Bike website. We’ve heard nothing publicly from Dream Team since their 2009 season finale. Supposedly they still exist … but it seems they are laying low, perhaps looking to retool their business model.

Even so, they were the one team concept that was an arguable success … yet at present their future is unclear.

UPDATE: Dream Team Poker CEO Daniel Delshad writes in to assure us that they are by no means dead:

After the successful DTP event at WSOP we had many requests for DTP to come to local casinos. With that in mind, we successfully beta launched of our league product for local casinos at the prestigious Bicycle Casino. With the game becoming so widely accepted, we have been working on several very large partnerships to take DTP worldwide across other platforms. These partnerships do take time to formalize and we believe it’s very important to pick the right partner when dealing with contracts that secure long term rights in events, online, and TV. We know that our patience will be rewarded.

Caesar’s Cup (2009)

Et tu Harrah’s?

I couldn’t even tell you the rules of this Ryder Cup-like set-up designed especially for WSOP-Europe … a made-for-TV special event put on and put together by the WSOP-E with their lead sponsor Betfair. But Betfair is no longer with WSOP-E … their contract ended after ’09 and they didn’t renew … which is fine by World Series officials, who look forward to self-sponsoring the London event with WSOP.com, CaesarsCasino.com, and CaesarsBingo.com. With those kind of web-names to be pimping, you’d think a 2nd annual Caesar’s Cup would be inevitable.

But there’s been no mention of it, and word last fall was that a repeat performance wasn’t likely. Again, at best unclear … but another team event — this one more contrived than others — that still hasn’t taken solid hold.

JBet Battle of Nations (2009)

The Communist Hope

From the best we can tell, the inaugural Battle of Nations (presented by some Asian site I had never heard of called JBet) was a success — sounded pretty exciting with the Koreans (Steve Sung, Chino Rheem, and Brandon Wong) beating the Vietnamese (represented by the Le brothers, Nam, Tommy, and Allen) … it was the battle of America’s Asian war enemies from the second half of the 20th century, fighting it out amongst themselves for honor and Hong Kong dollars on the APT in Macau.

Do not, however, confuse the APT (Asian Poker Tour) with the APPT (Asia-Pacific Poker Tour presented by PokerStars) There’s been just one running of one event so far, sponsored by an online site that wasn’t sponsoring the whole tour, and may or may not matter in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Remains to be seen if there will be a round 2 of world poker fighting (hey, quick, somebody trademark that!) in Macau.

International Team Poker League (2010)

A Lot of Talk, Not Progress

Sigh … just when it seemed like maybe we were getting there … Montel Williams was the ITPL commissioner, but even his starpower was hardly enough to make this thing happen. In fact, his business partner would sue him (for $300k) before things even got going … Montel claimed it was a simple matter of sour grapes from a rogue business partner that he needed to get rid of to give this thing a chance. (Though not certain, I think the case has since been thrown out or settled.)

Regardless, an investment somewhere had clearly gone awry. But the ITPL still showed up at the Vegas Hard Rock in late January with hopes of living up to their team poker mission:

With plans to turn the International Team Poker League into the greatest televised reality poker show in 2010, the ITP League is kicking off the year with an event in Vegas which promises not only to have a great poker tournament line up with fantastic prizes but also an experience of a lifetime.

Their opening non-team charity event went fine … but they knew they might have problems come the open main event — which was supposed to be the springboard for the whole league. Not only was no one buying in directly (at $3,500/player), but they couldn’t even make a table for a $350 satellite.

So that’s pretty much a complete history of team poker as we know it in the 21st century. The latest incarnation of a collaborative (but non-cheating) game — the WTP — gets underway Wednesday at noon. We can only anticipate there will be jerseys.

I’m by no means assuring failure. Think how many would-be pioneers took off with wooden arm wings, hopping carts, and soda-water jetpacks only to literally fall on their faces before the Wright Brothers came along and finally figured something out. Once that happened, a true revolution was underway, and in less than a lifetime humans were hopping around on the friggin’ moon!

I can almost guarantee you the WTP will be a hopping wild, great-fun televisable event … one that has people talking about how awesome team poker is and speculating on how it seems an inevitable part of poker’s future.

But what no one seems to be able to guarantee — no matter how things go this week — is that any of these events can survive long enough to become more than just a really good time, a business venture that didn’t quite take hold, and a footnote in the history of poker.

I had been trying to place him … was he related to the suit-wearing longhair we media types know as “the devil” (whom I had once sent into a tirade by stacking him at the Golden Nugget). No, no, not related (fingers crossed) … maybe he’s a performer in one a show around town? That would explain why he was playing in this game, but not why he would have $100k in cash (including some in out-of-circulation $500 and $1,000 bills). His business card says “Have Gun, Will Travel”, and lists his title as “Soldier of Fortune”.

Anyhow, it just hit me where I had seen him before, or at least why he looked so familiar. I was playing against not a real hitman, but quasi-legendary humorist Alibaster K. Abthernabther!

In the end, I’d get only about .009 percent of his stack, despite seeing AA, KK, KK, AK, and 77 twice (and flopping two sets) in our first three orbits … and then having him request a seat change and moving directly to my right. Turns out Mr. 50,000 Big Blinds was a ridiculously tight player … saw him (correctly) lay down a set of 4s to a $10 bet into a $25 pot, and chop the only all-in he faced with AKs vs. AKs.

I guess he liked to just sit there in front of money he knew he wasn’t going to lose?

Come play if you’re in town. Good times, good cause, all that stuff … open to the public and no funky, disputable, optional-donation prize pool — just charitable poker the way it’s supposed to be. Click the image to enlarge the flyer, and below for official details.

Randy “The Natural” Couture hosts 2nd annual charity poker tournament and auction at Golden Nugget Las Vegas

“Operation All In” to raise money for Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation

LAS VEGAS – Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy “The Natural” Couture will host his Second Annual “Operation All In” poker tournament and charity auction benefiting the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Aug. 22 starting at 2 p.m.

This event, held in The Grand events center, is open to the public and will feature a celebrity charity poker tournament, live and silent auctions, autographs sessions, and an amazing chance to win big, while giving back to injured troops who have selflessly put their lives on the line in the protection of America’s freedom.

“We’re thrilled to welcome everyone back for our second annual charity event,” said Couture. “It’s sure to be an amazing time, while raising awareness and a lot of money for an unbelievable cause.”

“Operation All In” will welcome professional celebrity poker players and stars from the MMA world and Hollywood to play alongside the public in its charity poker tournament, where the grand prize is a $10,000 seat in the Sports Legends Challenge poker tournament at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, donated by SportsLegendsChallenge.com.

The Sports Legends Challenge is sports fans’ ultimate fantasy featuring four days of casino gaming and golf cash prize tournaments with some of the biggest names in sports, including Troy Aikman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Richard Petty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Namath, Reggie Jackson and many others. To up the ante, the event will also feature 25 of the world’s top poker pros such as Jamie Gold, Annie Duke, Johnny Chan and Mike Sexton, who will play with and coach event participants. The event will be held at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort & Casino in the Bahamas Sept. 14-17. The sports legends, poker pros and participants will compete in a variety of events including No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, blackjack, slots and golf tournaments to vie for up to $10 million in prize money.

Buy in for “Operation All In” at the Golden Nugget is $330 with $100 re-buys. MMA fighters confirmed to attend include Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Stephan Bonnar, Frank Trigg and Phil Baroni. Also attending are professional poker players Todd Brunson, Lee Watkinson, Chip Jett, David Williams, Adam Schoenfeld and Robert Williamson III. Many more fighters and poker pros are expected to confirm attendance as the event nears.
Ultimate Fighting Champion Couture, a veteran himself of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, started the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation to raise money and awareness for troops wounded in action and their families. After visiting with amputees at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Couture was brought to tears seeing the young men and women who had given their all for freedom, young heroes who now have to go through life’s challenges with devastating physical and emotional injuries. To date, more than 24,000 U.S. troops have been wounded in the war against terrorism, which does not include the many more suffering the mental effects. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

“Having spent time in a uniform it became a personal goal of mine to find a way to give back to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make defending our freedoms.  The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation was born out of that desire. We hope you’ll come join us for a great night and rub elbows with some of the best fighters and poker players on the planet all in the name of our troops!”

This Second Annual “Operation All In” was organized to do just that.
In addition to the tournament, this event will also feature a silent auction for the duration of the poker tournament, with an amazing array of MMA memorabilia up for grabs, all benefiting the worthwhile charity. A live auction will also be held during the evening with prizes including some donated personally by Couture, such as dinner with the fighter and a one-hour personal MMA lesson. In addition to Couture, other MMA fighters will be on hand throughout the evening for photos and autographs with tournament players and fans.

Following the tournament and auctions, an after party will be held at the Golden Nugget’s Gold Diggers nightclub at 4 p.m. All participants in the tournament or auctions are invited to the after party, as well.
“Operation All In” is sponsored by the contributions of its great supporters including Sports Legends Challenge, Full Tilt Poker, Polanti Watch Co., Hard Core Elegance Jewelry, World Poker Tour Boot Camp, Clinch Gear, On Demand Website and Golden Nugget.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot today by stopping by or calling the Golden Nugget Poker Room at (800) 777-4658, ext. 8164 or locally (702) 386-8164, or emailing poker@goldennugget.com to pre-register. Players will also be able to register for the tournament at the event. For more information, visit www.goldennugget.com or www.xtremecouturegifoundation.org.

She’s getting ready for the High Heels Poker Tour ladies boot camp at the Hard Rock, and then the Women in Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Golden Nugget … and as she points out, this is a very Ladies-y weekend. So not a bad way to start.

Qualifiers are now running at Full Tilt Poker, with 30 winners getting a trip to the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas to audition to be on the show. Those who pass the auditions will then have the opportunity to beat 3 Team Full Tilt Pros heads-up and win $1,000,000. If they beat one pro, they win a certain amount of money with the option to move forward. If they beat a second pro, they win a higher amount of money. If they beat the third pro, they win the grand prize, but if they lose at any time, they go home with nothing.

The bottom of the article notes that the other Poker PROductions program on NBC, Poker After Dark, is up 4% in the ratings, averaging over 800,000 viewers in its very late night time slot.

He’s there right now … in Clark County City of Las Vegas Detention Center, charged with DUI, driving more than 21 mph over the speed limit, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/information/17503.htm

CORRECTION: City of Las Vegas Detention Center, not Clark County. The city booking unit is a much drearier place — it’s where they take locals to be charged with misdemeanors, while the fancy new CCDC is for tourists and alleged felons.

A typical stay-time in this joint is usually about 13 hours (I think they legally have to keep you for 12 to sober up) … so not knowing what time Layne’s Drawing Party festivities ended, it’s hard to speculate on whether or not he was involved in an accident that required medical treatment. When he does get let out, the unit he’s in doesn’t allow direct releases into the industrial North Las Vegas neighborhood … so you don’t just walk out the door. They take a van-load of inmates downtown and drop them off right outside the Golden Nugget.

UPDATE: Flack has been released. Neverwin Poker confrms.

And lastly, speaking more generally about downtown and economy … though I haven’t seen any numbers, I was on Fremont St. on a recent Saturday night, and it was busier and more packed than I have ever seen it. Ever. And yet the Strip, different hotels and the street itself … noticeably quieter than in months and years past.

Take that for whatever it’s worth.

I’ve never heard of Lee Russakoff until this morning, but apparently he’s sports editor over at Comcast.net. Lee was also at the High Stakes Poker tapings at the Golden Nugget this weekend, and has 5 posts on his blog about the various goings on that should make for interesting watching when GSN starts to air High Stakes Poker on March 1.

Day 1 at the taping

Three posts from Day 2, involving Howard Lederer, Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak finding a mark in Nick Cassavetes, and Esfandiari ‘s lost $50,000

The final post details day 3 action, which was full of pros and plenty of huge pots.

Caught up with Peter Eastgate, 23, as he scoped out the $400/$800 NLH action at the Golden Nugget yesterday … The reigning WSOP champ goes into today’s HSP game down $100k — if you consider the results of a warm-up session at Bellagio (against Daniel Alaei and Bryn Kenney) part of the same trip — and speaks about what it’s like to play with a freshly inflated bankroll against more experienced players in bigger games than you’re used to.

Curiously enough, the guy he really fears at this table is the only dude younger than he is — 22-year-old (Fort Worthian?) Tom Dwan, aka durrr.

Peter Eastgate, Las Vegas
12-20-2008
4:29

Yesterday, both Peter Eastgate and Barry Greenstein were hanging around waiting for an open seat. When Sam Simon decided to call it quits, Greenstein took it … seniority?

David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Ilari Sahamies, Eastgate, and Greenstein supposedly have their seats for today locked up. Eastgate was playing highest-stakes at the Bellagio on Friday in preparation, and lost $100k to Daniel Alaei and some player named “Brinn”. (My phonetical translation of what I heard from Eastgate’s heavy-accent recount.)

Phil Hellmuth was supposed to play today, but he backed out. Likewise for Phil Ivey. Ivan Demidov considered taking one of the empty seats, but ultimately declined. As of late yesterday, Chino Rheem was a probable, and Alaei was a possible.

UPDATE: Just got word from the set … players are late. Start delayed a half-hour.

CORRECTIONS: Tom Dwan took Sam Simon’s seat. Hellmuth was never officially on the sked. But somebody told me he might play. Perhaps he just felt the games on UB were better for him?

So while I mill around the Golden Nugget over the next day and a half, I’m wondering … any weekend readers out there have anything specific they’d like me to try and find out? I’m making no promises that the answers will be accurate or true, of course … but regardless, I’m happy to consider asking.

I’m assuming Dan’s at the Golden Nugget watching the taping of day 1 of the latest season ofHigh Stakes Poker, but for those that want to know when it airs, Card Player is reporting that season 5 of HSP will air starting March 1 at 9pm ET on GSN. The network made a recent decision to make Sunday their “Poker Night”, with Season 6 of the World Poker Tour episodes at 6pm ET, and previous seasons of High Stakes Poker at 8pm ET. As mentioned before, the minimum buyin will be $200,000, with the blinds $400/$800 with a $200 ante. Last year’s taping of a $500,000 minimum buyin game last season appears to be gone, as it tightened up the play to the producers’ dismay.