UPDATE: Gene got a good shot of the eruption!

The November Nine, upon its creation.

For most of Day 5, Phil looked as if he wanted to run away. But with a Main Event championship title that he may envision with his name on it, he’ll stick around and put up with the ESPN camera crews and rows of fans (and media people with cameras).

Watch Girls on the Rail Hall of Fame with Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett and Gavin Smith on RawVegas.tv

Once upon a time, the WinStar Casino was literally just a little big tent on a riverbank. But now, fueled in many ways by the DFW poker scene, the place has blown up … just two days ago I ran into a guy at the Golden Nugget from Dallas telling me how wild the action was there … “Because when people make the long haul to Oklahoma, they show up ready to play, I imagine,” I said.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “And they serve alcohol now, so that livens things up.”

Continuing Thackerville’s conversion from nothing-land to resort destination: WinStar is adding a spa. Sweet. So not only can you rest assured that many of your opponents will be well-pedicured, but also you could only expect this to increase the quality (and quantity) of railbirds willing to make the trek across the border.

More details on Dallas/Plano-based Spa Habitat’s investment in a new Oklahoma branch below:

For Immediate Release

Dallas Metro Spa Expanding to Oklahoma
Spa Habitat to Open New Organic Spa in Winstar World Casino’s New Hotel

April 16, 2009 – Dallas, Texas.  Spa Habitat, a leading provider of organic spa services and products, has announced plans to open a new spa location inside WinStar World Casino’s new hotel tower.   The location will open along with the new 395-room hotel this summer.

Spa Habitat, the fast-growing organic spa company with existing locations in Dallas and Plano, Texas, has received rave reviews, including Citysearch’s “Best Spa in Dallas” award (editorial and audience winner), and has been featured in top magazines including Lucky, Allure, American Spa and D, as well as other leading local and national publications.

Greg Bohn, CEO of Spa Habitat, commented on the new location, “Spa Habitat is excited to be a part of WinStar World Casino. WinStar has significantly expanded and improved over the last year, and is now one of the five largest casinos in the world.  As WinStar World Casino’s transformation continues with the opening of its new, first-class hotel tower this summer, we look forward to providing a relaxing organic retreat to its discerning guests.”

Andrea Horner, Chief Marketing Officer of WinStar World Casino commented, “The addition of Spa Habitat at WinStar World Casino continues our transformation into a true vacation destination.  Spa Habitat will provide an oasis of tranquility amid the nonstop action on WinStar World Casino’s gaming floor.  We are especially excited to offer our guests a spa experience that has garnered such an outstanding reputation in the Dallas market.”

WinStar World Casino is located just an hour’s drive from Dallas/Ft. Worth off of I-35 on the Texas/Oklahoma border.  WinStar World Casino features more than 380,000 square feet of gaming space, 5,700 electronic games and 76 table games. The casino also features 9 restaurants and a 2,500-seat Global Events Center with convention and meeting space.

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About Spa Habitat

Spa Habitat is a leading provider of natural and organic spa services and products, with locations in Dallas and Plano, Texas.  The company provides clients with spa services and products that follow strict purity standards and only contain ingredients that are known to be safe for the skin and for the environment.  The spa offers a variety of services including massage, facials, body rituals, hand and foot treatments, and sugar-based hair removal, along with an organic apothecary featuring a wide array of organic and natural products including skin care, bath and body, cosmetics, clothing, baby care, candles, books and more. For more information, please visit www.spahabitat.com.

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About WinStar World Casino

The world’s fifth largest casino, WinStar World Casino offers more than 5,700 electronic games, 76 blackjack and poker tables and a 2,500-seat Global Events Center.  Located just north of the Oklahoma/Texas border along Interstate 35, WinStar World presents 24/7 gaming action, world-class entertainers and a wide range of restaurants. WinStar World Casino is an economic enterprise of the Chickasaw Nation.  For more information visit our website at www.winstarworldcasino.com.

The Hard Rock Poker Lounge is almost ready to serve you.

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:

• The $2/$5 NL game will be a $200 min / $2,000 max buy-in. The $5/$10 NL will have no cap.

• They’ll be spreading multiple stakes of Hold’em/Omaha – round of each. Can we say paging Bent Tree Boys?

• The “Hard Rock Straddle” — which I like to think of as the Dallas Underground Straddle — is in effect. Straddle from under-the-gun or on-the-button … last action’s always on the straddler, but at no time do the blinds have to act first (as they do with the “Mississippi Straddle”).

• 7,000 dealers, chip runners, and floor people applied. About 80 or so got a job. All those who made the cut have been warned that bitching about being stiffed on a big pot will get “a boot in their ass.” But all of them presumably already understood that, or they wouldn’t have gotten hired.

• Some top dealers, tourney directors, and floor management folks were recruited away from Bellagio, Venetian, and Caesar’s … along with some of Waldie’s top lieutenants from Golden Nugget, who now are serving as “generals.”

• A select few veteran Hard Rock pit dealers — the most loyal, professional, and studied in casino psychology — also got brought over to the poker room, and are reportedly enthusiastic about learning the nuances of poker.

• 18 tables, well spread out in about as much space in the Bellagio poker room.

• There are 5 VIP tables and one big-big game table … set up kinda like a nightclub, as these tables can be reserved for private games and have bottle service. Each of these is also wired for iPod hookup, so you can bring your own music.

• The big-big game room was going to be open to the folks coming out of a concert, but for security purposes, they had to wall it off in glass on one side. But still open on one side, with a buffet area built into the architecture.

• Big tourneys can/will be held in The Joint, the Hard Rock’s mini-arena rock concert venue (which is undergoing a redesign of its own).

• Ja Rule (I think it was Ja Rule … some hip-hoppy rock star) was at the Hard Rock just a few days ago and he was bummin’ that the tables weren’t open, because he was itchin’ to play.

• It’s the only poker room I’ve ever seen with a bar directly connected to it — this comfy lounge (leather seats, small tables, video poker at the bar) is close enough to the game yet ever-so-slightly separated … such that you can only imagine it could become a popular hangout for railbird hotties who are bored to tears by their boyfriend/husband/john’s impressive play.

• Speaking of … while there, two absolutely lovely 20somethings — one blonde, one brunette, both busty — walked by comfortably and casually in nothing but perfectly fitting bikinis and pool shoes. They stopped to take a peak over the ropes, and it was so matter of fact as they gandered and giggled that workers in the back of the room hardly noticed; but I took note for sure, as the scene provided a refreshing reminder of the near-nudity-in-the-middle-of-a-workday that makes Las Vegas such a special environ.

I’m headed back to the Hard Rock Poker Lounge right after posting this — they’re apparently having a little soft-opening/real-money dress rehearsal … a bunch of sit-n-gos, I think, with free booze and a fancy buffet.

Public opening is supposed to be tomorrow morn. ZZ Top and Fall Out Boy will be watching you:

Here’s their debut tourney sked, via The Poker Atlas.

At the very end of the rail, I ran into some interesting folks. First, Justin Bonomo’s mom, step-dad, and uncle were behind the rope but as close as they could get to Justin’s table. They knew that he was a short stack when he returned from dinner, but they were so hopeful and positive. “He’s going to get some good hands here,” said his step-dad. But alas, only a few hands later, Justin was eliminated, and his family was there for support. A player couldn’t ask for more…

I also ran into two gentlemen with European-ish accents. One of them asked me to identify a player in a hat and red shirt at the table furthest from them. He was getting a massage and had his head down, which made it difficult to see his face from our rail vantage point. “Daniel Negreanu,” I said. “That cannot be! He look like black guy from here.” I assured him, as did several others around us, that it was Daniel and he was, in fact, white. He finally accepted it, and his buddy told me why it was important. They had a $100 bet on it, and the racially-confused fan went ahead and paid up.

Just a little chunk of what goes on from the sidelines…