Hard Rock Ready to Be Detoxified Kegs, vodka en route for Savage throw-down tourneys
The Detox Poker Series is right around the corner, starting Friday Aug. 13 with a $100k Guarantee for a $350 buy-in with two day ones, re-entry allowed. The spankin’-new small-stakes/big-action festival comes at a whispery time around the home room to the Pokerati NLH/PLO game … with a new crew of top-level casino brass combing through the Hard Rock’s books while walking through various gaming areas with tape measures … raising uncomfortable questions about the fate of the $12 million, two-year-old poker lounge that has seen its ups and downs without yet fully realizing its potential.
Of course that’s kinda the point of bringing in an internationally renowned tourney director. Or at least it was initially. Kinda still works, but for different reasons …
First things first … Savage has guaranteed the guarantees — $350k worth. This is despite a misleading tweet just two weeks ago from @hardrockpoker saying there’d be $1 million in guaranteed prize pools. [/shaking head] It coulda just been a hyperbolic typo, but an amusingly ironic one then considering the Hard Rock’s image problems after a few overpromises that these tourneys were to help put to rest. But according to Matt himself on 2+2, he’s got the $350k locked up by contract no matter how few players show.
Beyond that … expect an extra-partytime atmosphere around typical Savage series stuff (deep structures, quality dealers, friendly intelligent floor, good internet coverage, etc.) to liven up the joint: He’s in charge of providing ultra-improved tournament action while the Hard Rock promises to provide good music and a guaranteed flow of nipple-friendly eye-candy stumbling past the poker room.
Regardless of turnout, Detox is almost certain to be the biggest, and plausibly coolest extended poker shindig at the Hard Rock ever since it opened. All that and the Pokerati game’s Las Vegas tourney debut to boot!
LOL, “boot” could turn into a funny word @DetoxPoker … where additional player-friendly perks include added-seat satellites, lotsa food, a 2+2+Media pre-party, and promised field-wide rounds of vodka shooters.
PokerRoad Radio will be at the Hard Rock broadcasting live throughout the week. Should make for quite an interestingly raucous poker confab, intended for bigger players looking to take advantage of small buy-ins to remember what fun, no-worries poker is all about … and lower-stakes players + Allen Kessler who see good value in taking them on in a uniquely challenging hard-rocking show.
Kevin Mathers says:
August 8th, 2010 at 11:45am
There’s also going to be live video over at http://www.detoxpoker.com
I read the “$1,000,000 in prize pools” thing as what they were expecting, not a guarantee.
DanM says:
August 8th, 2010 at 11:56am
right, but misleading nonetheless … “$1mm in expected prize pools” or something woulda been better. notice the same number of characters, but more info … don’t get me started on that front, seeing people spend big money to, for example. set up a twitter feed, but then not shelling out the little money to properly maintain and operate it.
ok, seriously, gotta stop now … just personally frustrating to see the same errors that can undo so much of the good work that many have done.