Beyond just changing the decor, Binion’s is trying to make itself the go-to place for low-stakes grinders with good comps and a noticeable rake reduction. From AC’s Las Vegas Advisor:

The place that was poker before poker was cool has opened a new room. Binion’s has opened a 10-table room that advertises a max rake of $3 on all games, a comp rate of $2-per-hour, tableside food service, and special room rates for players. The room is located near the front of the casino on the old Mint (west) side.

They made a great commercial, but the subscription site Fleet Street Games is closing on October 31, according to PokerNewsDaily.com. Their online poker training site, PokerSchoolOnline will continue to operate, and FSG players with less than $15 in their account will be converted to memberships there.

I know this is more of Dan’s area of expertise, but allvegaspoker.com is reporting that Houston Waldie, the Poker Room Manager of the recently opened room at the Hard Rock in Vegas, “voluntarily resigned”. The post in that forum mentions “darkish rumors” in Waldie’s past, whatever they are. More later from those in the know?

Don’t ask me why, but I am … some dude (at the Hard Rock, quasi-coincidentally) was talking just the other day about the new ShuffleTech machines — the in-table ShuffleMaster knock-off. I don’t know the details, but apparently ShuffleMaster has quite the grip on the automatic poker-table shuffler market. You’ve probably noticed these popping up (literally) on more and more tables these days, and they are all made by the same company. However, you’re kinda shit-outta-luck if you want one for your home/underground game … you can find the tables with the ShuffleMasters pre-installed, however you are screwed because they have to do the maintenance (or something like that).

Anyhow, that’s the half-story I know about this company that seems to be on the forefront of deeply vested in gambling technology. (One of their other products I just saw at Caesar’s last week was a cardless table-blackjack game featuring a video image of a dealer.)

But now ShuffleTech is in the picture, too — not dealing to casinos, but to home users. While I want to say, “Awesome!” … I gotta say, looking at their shufflers makes me think of the first laptops, when they were the size of suitcases. But still, as archaic as their version (which somehow steers clear of patent protections) seems, I can’t see how these won’t become more and more standard in the future … and once we get some robots that can actually pitch the cards … watch out dealers:

(But for now, could you imagine being deep in the tank when the next deck is being set rumble rumble?)

We’re gonna be closing the polls soon, so this is your last chance to stuff the ballot box on the unscientific Pokerati poll wanting to know what Pokeratizens consider to be the best all-around poker room in Vegas.

Look on your right, scroll down (or up depending on when you’re seeing this post), and let your voice be heard. And heard again. The Venetian seems to have the gold medal locked up, but there’s still quite a race for bronze.

NOTE: This poll is only open to the one percent of readers who do more than actually read this site — the ones that leave comments, vote, hack, flame, etc. Elitism has its privileges.

The PR people at Hard Rock are trying to keep a tight lid on the unveiling of their new “Poker Lounge”, which opens to the public tomorrow — they don’t want any bad pictures getting out that fail to capture the venue in all its glory, nor any inaccurate information being spread widely for many to misconstrue. Er … ok, but that’s kinda what we do, ya know?

I’ve heard two numbers about how costly this new construction was — $12 million and $30 million. While there’s a big difference between the two, and at least one of them is probably wrong, either way, you get the picture … it’s a really nice place — built from the ground up and the inside out. Brian from the Poker Atlas and I swung by yesterday, where they were busily at work in their final stages of preparation, and we got a little tour from the Director of Poker Operations, Houston Waldie, who was brought to HRH after his success turning the Golden Nugget’s rinky-dink room into arguably the best game downtown. No cameras allowed as he pointed out features he was most proud of, but I did manage to sneak a few pics from behind the ropes to give you a sense of the space we’re talking about here.

I gotta say … Fuckin’ A …

Go Hard Rock. (General info and future reviews here; official site here.)

The luxe tables, couches, chairs, flatscreens, etc. were all expected, maybe a tad nicer. But the art, the architecture, the vibe — all created specifically to be a poker room, the most well thought out and well funded since the Venetian — make me miss living on the east side of town, where the Hard Rock was the most convenient casino to my old pad. And though I suspect it may take some time to build up a player base (perhaps when the new hotel rooms at the Hard Rock open?) that should make it one of the premiere poker destinations in LV, at least the set-up for the action seems pretty sweet. Here are a few tidbits I picked up without the benefit of tape recorder or notepad:

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Karridy knows how to represent.

Despite negative reports about a too-fast blind structure and terrible dealers — from players who may or may not have been juiced with some residual Day 1-bustout tilt and therefore focusing on isolated incidents inherent to putting on any event that’s bigger than any other you’ve put on before — I couldn’t stand it … I just had to get in on the action. Sounds like too much fun going on at The River, and who better to buy a small piece of than Karridy? I like his chances. After all the last tourney he played with notably bad blind structures and dealers — he won!

He also apparently got the last spot available for Thursday, and if I learned anything from running Lodge tourneys, it’s that late-late entrants seem to have a disproportionately high percentage of Top 3 finishes. Seriously. Not sure why that is, but it’s true. I’ve seen it. You know, math …

One of the guys playing The River today yesterday is/was ItsOverJonny — not sure how he’s doing or how anyone’s doing … don’t think they have phones yet in Oklahoma … but regardless, if you’re not reading IOJ, well I’m not gonna say you should be, because, hey, we’re all busy people. But think Gary Carson, only more bitter and jaded. Good stuff, as you could imagine.

Though Jonny did play in the big $2k event yesterday, he wasn’t exactly happy with the WinStar crew after playing in a $500 event — and he spells it out, plain as day, what beefs he has with their dealers. Though I suspect the WinStar may poo-poo his free-of-charge poker room consultation because who cares when you’re making so much damn money these days, I can attest that he definitely knows a thing or two about how good games are supposed to run, and just about any poker room management should wanna use his post as a litmus test for what their dealer crew should and shouldn’t do. Some highlights from his blog:

Jonny played in Winstar’s $500+50 today. 61 players. Same shitty Winstar structure. Dealers were fucking horrible, and between dealers fucking everything up, maddening noise from all directions, and idiot clowndick players, I was tilting beyond belief, even though I hadn’t hardly played a hand for a while at the time. Seriously – where do they get these retard dealers that they stick in the tournaments? It’s not like it’s a $60 nightly tournament – it was $550 – get some dealers that can run a table without making repeated stupid mistakes, and then giving me attitude when I correct them until they finally figured out that they had indeed made a mistake. Your job consists of the most basic of math, making a little change, and distribution of cards. How do you manage to fuck that up?

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Dealers are taking their seats for the $2,000 NLH event that’s about to start — cards in the air in 20 minutes, supposedly … and suddenly, out of nowhere, we have “I Feel Good” blasting on the loudspeakers in the Amazon Room, which is semi-sealed off to keep the players from entering right now.

I wanna make fun, but I think the music thing is working. It’s hard to be grumpy with the tunes going. (I don’t know the name of the song they’re playing now, but it’s pretty uppity, too.

UPDATE: Snake and Charles have educated me … that song was “Jerk It Out” by The Caesars. Simultaneously appropriate and frightening. They also inform me that this musical start has been a daily thing ever since the marching band played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4h9HBn8Q60

With that in mind, I have decided to open up my shared iTunes playlist for anyone who wants to pick up some Pokerati songs. Right now we’re listening to Trivium’s “The Deceived,” which is about the feeling you have after an opponent shows you a big, successful bluff:

Cuong in Texas writes in with some beefs about a casino poker room in Oklahoma:

I was hoping you could shed some light on the Terrible Competence of Choctaw Casino. First, they lie about the numbers at the Choctaw Open, then will not publish results in Card Player, Etc or Send any other results to Poker groups on there Large Tournaments. I have contacted Managers and was told they were busy???WTF..Winstar always takes care of this quickly. I need results listed so my Investor can verify numbers. I will never play other Tournament at Choctaw Casino again. Please write a story on Choctaw so I can get others stories. Thank you,

Thank you … Can you tell us a little more about the numbers they supposedly lied about?

I do indeed have a story about Choctaw that I sadly haven’t finished writing yet. The last time I was there, I ran into Black James and his crew, who were extra-friendly with the poker room management. They took their seats at a 1/2 table (unable to convince us to play 2/5) and proceeded to remove more than half the money from the table in 45 minutes by doing a hyper-bet-collusion hit-and-run. That was obvious to me, and I suspect but can’t prove there might have been a little more than collusion going on when James’ no-look bet got an all-in reraise from my pocket queens and he pretended to be shocked to discover he had pocket kings.

Not at all suggesting Choctaw was in on any unethical behavior, but poker room operators were watching the action, so if they weren’t part of it, then what does that say about their ability to notice/put a stop to cheating. (James McDaniel, of course, is now back in prison for a parole violation connected to the deaths of a police officer and SMU coed.)

Anyone else have any Choctaw stories?

In the meantime, Cuonger, below are the results for the 2008 Choctaw Open, held last month in Durant, sent in by a fellow Pokeratizen:
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Well actually, for the most part, poker is shrinking here. But just because some rooms are shutting down doesn’t mean new ones aren’t gonna pop up to see if they can’t succeed where the others failed. And one previously hip Las Vegas spot is finally getting on the poker bandwagon. Though not yet officially announced, August 15 is the opening date we’re hearing for the Hard Rock poker room. They’re smart, of course, to be doing dealer auditions now, with so many card-pitching job-seekers in town for the Series.

Perhaps unrelated perhaps not, Sully Erna is doing a solo concert at the HR tomorrow eve – presumably trying to earn himself some WSOP buy-ins, though no word on whether or not he’s requested to be paid in lammers.

Wow, don’t know what to make of this press release … but the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas has such a cute little tourney for ladies who like things that are pretty!

Silverton Casino Lodge Invites
Las Vegas’ Lovely Ladies To A Pink Poker Night

Silverton Casino Lodge hosts two Pink Poker Nights for women looking to enjoy all the fun of Texas Hold’Em poker in a friendly and fun environment, 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 7 and 14.

Hosted around special pink felt tables, Silverton Casino Lodge’s Pink Poker Nights feature an assortment of pink decorations, pink poker chips and complimentary cocktails provided by PINK Vodka. Included with the price of a buy-in is a free poker lesson, a designated number of playing chips, one specialty cocktail and one goodie bag. Following a poker lesson and warm-up round, ladies compete for chips in a live poker game.

Entry fee is $20 for May 7. Tournament buy-in on May 14 will be $30. For more information or to register, please visit 1027fresh.fm.

Who knew such events still existed … tiny stakes, beginner poker, pink, ladies, and free vodka? Speaking strictly in poker terms, I want to make a joke about this game being prime for the raping, but am so afraid to … still, I know if I were allowed to play I could win this bitch!

Part of my master plan for covering the 2008 WSOP has already gone awry …

Last year, you could make a $1,000 charitable donation for access to a VIP Players lounge across the hall from the Amazon Room. Inside was a pool table, putting green (where Phil Ivey $5,000 putts became a semi-regular occurrence) and food catered by Del Frisco’s. Oh, and free booze, too, I think. Yum. So this year, Pauly and I were gonna pony up the G. After all, we spend nearly a thousand bucks on food being at the Rio for 6+ weeks anyhow, so why not do it in a feel-good, tax-deductible way that would provide extra-comfortable seating, superior meals, and super-premium access to top players shooting the poker and non-poker shizznit … off-the-cuff but plausibly on-the-record while the rest of the media is locked down in the media kennel being fed terrible $8 hamburgers and occasional free sandwiches that lose their flavor after about Day 2.

Alas …

Informed sources tell us plans for the 2008 “V-VIP lounge” are still being finalized, but based on feedback from last year’s VIPs (those who got in before lounge access was sold out) that it wasn’t as exclusive a getaway as they had hoped for, this year the price of admission will be a $7,500 contribution to the Nevada Cancer Institute. Supposedly the whole experience will be much more high-end. Not sure yet about what that entails, but the big-dollar pros can at least be confident that it won’t include a couple of bloggers sitting with them drunk and shirtless begging for autographs.

I wrote this post right after the 2007 WSOP, but I hadn’t pressed publish yet. With all the talk about structural changes and travel plans for the upcoming WSOP, now seem’s a good time for us to think about our (poker players’) behavior for the upcoming WSOP:

I have a request for all poker players. Anyone that wants to complain at the WSOP 2008, please STAY HOME! I don’t care how much dead money you bring to the tables, I don’t want to hear the yakking when I’m taking a leak.

At the 2007 WSOP, bitching was the theme. Here are just a few of the complaints that I heard.

• Harrah’s is making too much money. Have you seen how much juice they are taking out?
• The food is horrible
• The dealers are making too many mistakes
• It’s cold
• It’s hot
• The lines are too long
• The structures are too fast, too slow, too medium
• The walk is too long to the tournament area
• There are too many tournaments
• The cocktail service is bad.

Is that enough or should I keep going?

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Sorry for the lack of personal postage last week and presumably this one … I have gotten caught up in the housing crisis and am moving again over the next couple days … even though I don’t know where yet. Seriously, housing crisis is very real here — our friends at The Poker Atlas were forced to relocate due to the house they were renting going into foreclosure; Rounder Club West got evicted from their digs a couple weeks ago because their landlord decided to desperately sell. When this sorta thing happens to three homes in an isolated niche, it can’t just be coincidental.

Anyhow, so yes, content … sorry for the lack thereof and sorry for the blog-cliche post about being sorry. There’s still plenty going on out there that the poker-minded populace shouldmaybe care about, regardless of my personal battle against homelessness.

As we know, the US is currently trying to figure out how to enforce the UIGEA — the AMERICAN BANKS say they can’t really do it — so now, instead of rewriting our own bad laws, we are pressuring the UK to change theirs.

And here’s an article about EL PASO’S rich gambling history – underground or not — over the past 100+ years, starting with a mayor in 1895 known as “Poker Bob” Campbell.

A NEW BLOG (to me) I am now following semi-regularly: David Matthews’ Gambling in Space.

Through him, I learned about FRANK GAGLIARDI, a California Lottery winner who also likes to gamble and recently won his very relevant (to me and you) court case vs. the IRS:

If this case stands, then it could effectively rewrite tax law and make it easier for gamblers to report losses and more difficult for the IRS to go after gamblers.

BALLY TECHNOLOGY also won a pretty big case in court — against SHUFFLE MASTER, which up to this point has maintained an expensive stranglehold on the automatic shufflers you see in poker tables.

And CALIFORNIA JEN may have loved the poker mockumentary THE GRAND, but not everybody did.

Crap, that’s hardly everything, but I have to run …