International Game Technology said Tuesday that its DoubleDown Casino on Facebook will partner with the Hard Rock Hotel, DoubleDown’s first deal with a land-based casino in Las Vegas.

DoubleDown Casino will have its application hosted on the Hard Rock Hotel’s website. DoubleDown Casino is a social gaming company that sells virtual casino chips and has online slots, poker and other games.

“Engaging through the website allows players to remain connected to the property … with DoubleDown Casino simply providing the gaming content,” said Eric Tom, executive vice president of global sales at IGT.

Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed. The deal with Hard Rock was announced about a week after IGT, which operates in Las Vegas and Reno, reached a similar deal with Jacobs Entertainment Inc.

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Check it out … caught my eye the other night … Cashout tourneys. Though I’m not sure if they’ll be a regular thing, they made their debut this past weekend @AriaPoker. Interesting concept — essentially tournaments with pre-established guaranteed chops, allowing players to cash out at any point (and go home) … you know, should they not like their chip situation, have somewhere else to be, be on tilt from incessant angry wife texts … whatever … backer with a gun? Apparently they also can cash out and keep playing, too.

Full Tilt began offering these online a while back, but no clue how they worked out. According to the sign, these were the first ever in a land-based casino. I ventured over to see how it was playing, but they were down to three and it seemed at this point it was just straight poker. Mel Judah sat at the final table but wasn’t playing. I assumed he was sweating, or at least trying to woo, the lovely middle-age Asian lady still with chips. That may or may not have been true, but turns out primarily Judah was there because it was his game — supposedly his creation.

See for yourself what Mel is up to at CashoutPoker.com.

UPDATE: Oops, turns out the lovely lady was JJ Liu. One of these days I will learn actual players.

Hard Rock charity knocks

Upon his own early elimination, Gavin Smith took over as charity photog, no-flash rules be damned!

Also stopped by the Hard Rock this weekend … first time since Detox and the shuttering of their room (and operations) that made @hardrockpoker the Pokerati game’s home for most of 2010. No new-resto construct has begun — just a bunch of tables stuffed in the back of the old room, with their previously decorative orange-luxe highback leather chairs lined up in front of the TVs that used to entertain 1/2 players. With football on and one viewer lounging per screen, It was both awesome and sad.

Anyhow, the new smaller spot is still called the “Poker Lounge” … nice-ish, but looks unsettled in. And though it seemed clear from a matter of simple square footage that the Hard Rock’s days as a red-carpet poker venue are gone, none of that seemed to stop the good times at Gavin Smith’s Darius Goes West charity tourney (with Bryan Devonshire) … which was kinda a birthday party for the namesake beneficiary, Darius Weems, the kid with an extra-funky form of muscular dystrophy that Smith says inspired him to a WSOP bracelet this summer. Darius had just turned 21 (he wasn’t supposed to live past 16 I think?) … and really, can you think of a better host to welcome those coming of age into the glorious world of degenerate gambling?

Here’s video from the final table, with Layne Flack, David Plastik, and at least one semi-awkward kiss:

BTW, fwiw, the Hard Rock has changed their basic game to 1/3 NL, with a $500 max buy-in.

Elsewhere in Vegas …

Unvetted, unconfirmed word has it that Fiesta Henderson has closed their poker room. Supposedly they lost their players to the Club Fortune casino, which began holding a $40 bounty tourney ($10 for each knockout) and taking a better-for-locals high hand jackpot drop. (You’ll have to pardon Pokerati for not digging into this plausibly controversial game-shift.)

And here’s a globally funny poker picture … from power Vegas player Eric Baldwin at EPT-London:

The $550 NL Holdem – $200,000 Guarantee Main Event of the Detox Poker Series concluded Sunday evening with James Wheatley earning his second title of the series, defeating Bryan Watkins in heads-up play. A deal was negotiated when play was five-handed, with Wheatley earning $38,118 for the win along with a seat in the WPT Invitational at the Commerce Casino in February 2011. Watkins earned $32,994 for the runner-up finish, with John Kim third for $25,461, Bona Sar 4th for $18,039 and George Meyer 5th for $20,808. The rest of the results:

6th – Al Carmosino – $9,030
7th – Julian Herbrecht – $7,220
8th – Stefen Starner – $5,420
9th – Ylon Schwartz – $3,610
10th -12th –Jason Romanik, David Chin, Anthony Yeh – $2,700
13th -15th – Joe Brandenburg, Richard Smith, Jennifer Sherry – $2,200
16th – 18th – Lanston Loh, Getty Mattingsley, Venerando Villarino – $1,700

Part of the buzz underlying this week’s Detox Poker activity has been the fate of the Hard Rock Poker Lounge. To be sure, the luxed-out $12 million 18+table poker room that opened in 2008 — nearly two years ago to the day and possibly two-and-a-half years too late — will be closing in about a week.

According to casino personnel, almost immediately upon the conclusion of Detox, Hard Rock cash games will be moving to a more efficient 6-8 table spot connected to the main casino area — something with a smaller electric bill, more in line with plans for expanded sports-book offerings, and in view of the round casino’s famously raucous “center bar”.

The decision to downsize was final before Detox even started — and gotta say … kudos to HR Poker Director Troy Evans for presumably putting his job on the line to keep Detox. New suits above him were supposedly less enthusiastic about keeping the Matt “Savage Rocks!” late-summer mini-series on the calendar. Don’t have any hard dates for transition, but all potentially affected say it will be quick. Here’s a glimpse of what the new space next to Wasted Space will look like:

(Wasted Space is also closing, to make room for the new-and-improved sportsbook.)

The new poker room — about a third the square footage and in an arguably better location — will replace the former “Hell’s Belles” blackjack pit (hot dealers, go-go dancers, $100 minimum bets), which prior to that had been the “Peacock Lounge” (a pimped-out tribute to Jimi Hendrix). It will supposedly still have its own bar (with video poker, of course), a semi-private nook for high-stakes or VIP games, and a separate poker-player’s bathroom. Management says they’ll be bringing over the same tables and chairs, but are unsure whether or not they will keep the name “poker lounge”.

Decisions were also still pending (as of last week) about whether or not the Detox Series would be back and held in a Hard Rock ballroom. The current poker space will apparently become a restaurant.

The Detox Poker Series on Saturday Day 1b of the $550 NL Holdem – $200,000 Guarantee drew a field of 228 players on Saturday creating a total field of 433 entrants for a prize pool of $216,500. The final 27 players made the money, with some of the notables who cashed yesterday: Alex Outhred and David Tuthill (both earning $1,200), David “The Maven” Chicotsky and WSOP photographer Rob Gracie (each collecting $800).

The leader from Saturday’s action is Alexander Carmosimo, finishing with 511,000 in chips. The most notable name from Saturday who made the last nine was 2008 November Niner Ylon Schwartz, but he returns with only 73,000 in chips. The 18 returning players are guaranteed $1,700 with the winner earning $60,030. Live streaming of today’s action will be available at www.detoxpoker.com, with the players seated with 34:04 remaining in level 16, blinds at 4,000/8,000 and a 1,000 ante:

The full list of results and payouts are available at the Detox Poker site here.

The final tournament of the series starts at 5pm, the Player Appreciation w/ $50 rebuys tournament with $5,000 added to the prize pool. The tournament is available exclusively to players who present three tournament receipts from the Detox Poker Series. Players start with 2,000 in chips, with $50 rebuys available when your stack is 2,000 or lower. At the end of level three, a $50 add-on is available to add 4,000 chips to your stack.

Be sure to check out www.DetoxPoker.com for updates, videos and more as the Detox Poker Series concludes.

The main event of the Detox Poker Series, the $550 NL Holdem – $200,000 Guarantee drew a field of 205 players for day 1a, with the final 27 players making the money. Play concluded with the final 9 players returning Sunday afternoon to play down to a winner. The current chip leader is James Wheatley with 416,000 in chips. Wheatley won the $350 Scott Fischman 7-Game event earlier in the series. Another player who made it to Sunday was Bona Sar, finishing the day with 195,000 in chips, guaranteed a 3rd cash in the series. Here’s the final nine players and their chip counts:

James Wheatley 416,000
Getty Mattingsley 354,000
Joe Brandenburg 267,000
Bryan Watkins 254,000
Anthony Yeh 208,000
Bona Sar 195,000
Jennifer Sherry 163,000
George Meyer 144,000
David Chin 88,000

Full day 1a results here.

Day 1b of the $550 NL Holdem $200,000 Guarantee starts at 1pm, with any players eliminated yesterday able to return today. More information, live streaming and chat available at www.detoxpoker.com

The first week of the Detox Poker Series at the Hard Rock Hotel closed out two more tournaments Thursday afternoon, here’s the results:

$230 NL Holdem w/ 1 rebuy $50,000 Guarantee

Thursday afternoon brought the remaining nine players to the final table of the $230 NL Holdem w/ 1 rebuy $50,000 Guarantee with poker trainer and online legend Ari “Bodog Ari” Engel defeating Sam “Homeless” Bensinger heads-up to take down the title and $14,000 after a deal was negotiated. Bensinger earned $10,500 for the runner-up finish. Full results and the winner’s photo available at the Detox Poker site here.

$350 NL Holdem

The final preliminary event, $350 NL Holdem drew a field of 49 entrants with the remaining five players scheduled to make the money. When play was down to seven-handed, a deal was made to have everyone earn $1,800 with the top two players earning a bit more. Eugene Castro and Matthew Klein would get heads-up when they decided to split the remaining money (each earning $2,850) with Castro earning the title by having the chip lead when the deal was made. Results and the winner’s picture available here.

$550 NL Holdem $200,000 Guarantee

The main event of the Detox Poker Series starts this afternoon at 1pm with day 1a the $550 NL Holdem – $200,000 Guarantee tournament. Each day 1 will play down to 9 players with the survivors returning Sunday afternoon to play down to a winner. Players who bust out Friday can re-enter the tournament Saturday afternoon at 1pm, even if you cash today. There may also be another mega satellite Friday night to give players one more chance to earn a seat into the Main Event.

More information including chat, streaming video, schedules and structures available at www.detoxpoker.com.

Wednesday’s tournament action at the Detox Poker Series at the Hard Rock Hotel was good for those who like overlays in guaranteed tournaments, while the founder of the Pokerati Game almost won his own tournament.

$230 NL Holdem w/ 1 rebuy $50,000 Guarantee

Event #10, $230 NL Holdem w/ 1 $200 rebuy drew a field of 122 players with 106 rebuys, falling short of the $50,000 guarantee by about $5,000. The final 18 players made the money, with the final table of nine returning this afternoon. Among the notables making the money included Event #1 winner Joe Tehan and 2010 November Niner Joseph “subiime” Cheong, each earning $650. Here’s how the final table looks when play resumes at 3:30pm with 45:45 left in level 14: 1,000/2,000 blinds and a 500 ante:

Seat 1: Steve Frederick 38,700
Seat 2: Amir Sandy 180,800
Seat 3: Jason Eldridge 81,400
Seat 4: Sam “Homeless” Bensinger 129,700
Seat 5: Warren Fraleigh 26,400
Seat 6: Bona Sar 85,500
Seat 7: Ari Engel 172,100
Seat 8: David Tuthill 47,500
Seat 9: Chris Lindh 43,000

Full results and pictures can be found at the Detox Poker site here.

$230 Pokerati Game w/ 1 rebuy

Event #11, the $230 Pokerati Game w/ 1 $200 rebuy, consisting of 9 hands of NL Holdem followed by 9 hands of PLO, drew a field of 31 entrants, with the final five making the money. In what surely was a surprise to all involved, Pokerati.com founder Dan Michalski nearly won his own tournament, finishing 2nd to Lev Serzhenko in heads-up play. Serzhenko collects $5,184, along with sash for the win. Michalski earned $2,880 for the runner up finish with Darryl Dauenhauer (3rd $1,728), Aria poker room manager Adam Altwies (4th for $1,152) and Carol Kline ($576) completing the list of players making the money. More pictures of the winner and Michalski here.

Thursday’s tournament

One tournament takes place at 1pm this afternoon with another $350 NL Holdem event, with two $140 Mega Satellites scheduled for 5 and 9pm, each with 5 seats added for Friday and Saturday’s $550 NL Holdem – $200,000 Guarantee tournament. To watch the final table of the $50,000 guarantee, find more pictures from the Pokerati game and more stuff, be sure to hit www.detoxpoker.com.

Two more tournaments of the Hard Rock Hotel’s Detox Poker Series are now in the books, with the defending CardPlayer Player of the Year making one the final tables.

$350 NL Holdem 6-Max

Event #8, $350 NL Holdem 6-Max, drew a field of 59 players, and when poker curmudgeon Sam Grizzle finished on the bubble, leaving the remaining six players in the money. In a two-way deal, Joseph Neiman was declared the winner over James Hoeppner, with Neiman earning $6,308. Full results and the winner’s photo available at the Detox Poker site here.

$350 NL Shootout

Event #9, $350 NL Shootout, started with 34 players surrounding four tables, with the winners making the money. Notables who entered the tournament included Gavin Smith, Layne Flack, Jess Welman, Justin Young, Ylon Schwartz and Brian Micon. However, it was 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric Baldwin who won his table, guaranteed $1,020. Baldwin ran into the buzzsaw that was Derek Payne, eliminating the other three players to earn $5,100. Craig Doyle finished in 3rd for $1,530, while Dustin Lytle was runner-up, earning $2,550. The winner’s photo and the final hand can be found here.

Wednesday’s tournaments

Two more tournaments get underway today, starting at 1pm with the $230 NL Holdem w/$200 Rebuy event. Players will start with 2,000 chips, with the rebuy giving you an additional 4,000 chips. There’s also a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000 for this event, with ~250 buyins/rebuys needed to reach the guarantee.

Pokerati NLH/PLO Championship

The 5pm tournament is the $230 w/$200 Rebuy Pokerati Game NLH/PLO Championship. Like the 1pm tournament, players start with 2,000 in chips, with the optional rebuy giving players another 4,000 chips. Like the Pokerati cash game at the Hard Rock, it’s nine hands of NL Holdem, followed by nine hands of PLO.

Be sure to check out www.detoxpoker.com for structures, chat, streaming video and more later today.

Though not so sure it’s the sexiest table ever, guess I’m glad to see the Hard Rock design team moving away from Ed Hardy styles in favor of something akin to … um, an Excel spreadsheet?

Still, fancy lines aside … as something of a new guy in the attaching-blog-names-to-Nevada-tournaments racket, kinda cool to leave one’s mark at least in a small way on the fabric of licensed-and-regulated corporately overseen real-money Vegas.

The view from my room at the Hard Rock … with semi-hard-rockin’ late ’70s-early ’90s in the air (Tom Petty, Heart, INXS, Rick Springfield, The Fixx) … not exactly helping me concentrate on my Jeff Hwang, not to mention my Rolf Slotboom.

With apologies to Wicked Chops for my poor tournament PLO skills creepy zoom-lens camera-guy results … take your pick, er, I mean pic:

UPDATE: Van Halen now … off of Diver Down. So really, how much should you bet when you flop middle set on a draw-heavy board, against one big stack, and the other player a shorty? Now KISS … you can see where this is going, right? Nirvana next.

Tomorrow is the second guarantee @DetoxPoker … $50k assured, for a $230 buy-in with a single $200 rebuy. That makes the math pretty hard to do for how many runnin’ rebuyers they need to avoid putting up an overlay … and potentially having one of the new suits chopping heads from the Poker Lounge staff willy-nilly. But gotta think they’ll make that small one.

Of course the real event everyone’s talking I’m thinkin’ about is tomorrow’s big Pokerati event at 5 pm. While there’s no guarantee in play beyond good times, lots of action, and a little PLO tourney experience — and its still unclear how CardPlayer intends to interpret their own rules for POY points — Event #11 is the one tournament at Detox offering a true World Championship.

I know this because I declared it so myself … and I’m pretty sure that’s how it works in poker! So as of right now, until someone declares otherwise, tomorrow’s late Detox event will be the 2010 Pokerati NLH/PLO Championshi … check that … make it the 2010 NLH/PLO World Championship!

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Day 4 of the Detox Poker Series at the Hard Rock had the unique distinction to see a Pot-Limit Omaha event draw a larger field than a NL holdem event.

$350 NL Holdem

The first tournament on Monday was the $350 NL Holdem event, which drew a field of 46 entries, with the top five making the money. David Rodriguez defeated Kyle Carston in a brief heads-up battle, taking down $6,210 and the championship trophy. Full results and the winner’s photo can be seen here.

$350 PLO 8

The 5pm tournament was the $350 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, drawing a field of 60 players with the top six picking up cash. The final hand of the tournament came when play was three-handed, as Neil Legerski made a full house against Gary Bolden and Carol Lynn Kline’s low draws to take down the title along with $7,560. Full results and the winner’s photo here.

Tuesday’s tournaments

The 1pm tournament is the $350 NL Holdem 6-Max event, followed at 5pm by the $350 NL Holdem shootout. For those who go to the Hard Rock for cash game action, entries into Wednesday’s $230 NL Holdem $50,000 Guarantee and this weekend’s $550 NL Holdem $200,000 Guarantee are being awarded in high-hand bonuses and splash pots. A reminder, the 5pm tournament on Wednesday is the $230 Pokerati Game (1/2 NL Holdem, 1/2 PLO). Schedules, structures and other stuff at www.detoxpoker.com

The Hard Rock Hotel’s Detox Poker Series, lead by tournament director extraordinaire Matt Savage had four tournaments playing down to a winner on Sunday. The tournament that drew a lot of attention to the live streaming at the Detox Poker site featured a popular member of the poker media making the final table, but a former WPT winner who held all the chips in the end.

$350 NL Holdem

The final day of the $100,000 Guarantee $350 NL Holdem started with 18 players quickly making their way to a final table, which featured Bluff/WPT/Poker Beat reporter Jess Welman and 2006 WPT Mandalay Bay Championship winner Joe Tehan. Welman took her short stack into an 8th place finish, earning $3,140. Tehan maintained his chip lead until a deal was made three-handed, with Tehan collecting $31,943. The full results of the final table can be found here.

$350 HORSE

Event #3, the $350 HORSE wound up with Benjamin Yu and Colby Pitt making a deal heads-up with Yu earned the victory and $5,930. While Pitt was runner-up, he won more money, collecting $6,168. Full results available here.

$350 NL Bounty

Event #4, the $350 NL Bounty tournament, drew a field of 60 players, each with a $100 bounty on their head. Kent Frampton started heads-up down 5 to 1 in chips against Veerachai Vongxaiburang, eventually picking up the win good for $5,040 while Vongxaiburang earned $2,640. Blake Bluffington finished 3rd for $1,680 and Sam Grizzle finished 4th, earning $1,200. Full results and a winner’s photo here.

$350 7-Game

A field of just 28 participated in event #5, Scott Fischman 7-Game Mix with James Wheatley earning the title for $4,620. Brian Kim was runner-up for $2,520, Ryan Hullerman finished 3rd for $1,260.

Monday’s tournaments

Two more tournaments on the schedule, starting at 1pm with event #6, $350 NL Holdem, while at 5pm it’s Event #7, $350 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better. Be sure to check out DetoxPoker.com for updates, interviews and streaming video.

Saturday was a busy day for the Detox Poker Series, with day 1b of the $335 NL Holdem $100,000 Guarantee, the final table of the $350 Omaha 8 or Better event, and the opening day of the $350 HORSE.

$335 NL Holdem

Day 1b drew a field of 193 entrants, creating a total prize pool of $121,150 with the remaining 18 players Saturday making the money, with the final nine joining the nine survivors from Friday to play down to a winner at 3pm. Joe Tehan leads the field of day 1b survivors with 288,000 in chips. The other notable from day 1b returning this afternoon is Bluff Magazine/World Poker Tour/The Poker Beat Jess Welman, finishing with 75,500 in chips. Here’s how the final two tables will be seated with 19:42 remaining in level 16: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante.

The final 18 are guaranteed at least $1,050, with the winner pocketing $34,440. The full list of payouts and players who cashed can be found here.

$350 Omaha 8 or Better

Frankie O’Dell, winner of two WSOP bracelets in Omaha 8 or Better, added another tournament win to his results as he defeated Mitch Schock heads-up. The pair made a deal with O’Dell earning $6,000 with Schock earning $4,944. The rest of the results are available here.

$350 HORSE

71 players hit the felt for some weekend mixed game action in the $350 HORSE, with the final table making the money. The bubble boy was Frankie O’Dell, unable to parlay his earlier win into back-to-back final tables. The final tablists are guaranteed $682, with the winner pocketing $7,881. Play resumes at the final table with 15:00 left on level 14, playing the 5th hand of Stud 8 or Better, limits at 2,000/4,000 and a 500 ante:

Seat 1: Benjamin Yu 39,500
Seat 2: Alan Miskin 36,000
Seat 3: Mitch Mitchener 45,000
Seat 4: Colby Pitt 64,000
Seat 5: Jeff Szamborski 51,500
Seat 6: JD Newitt 32,000
Seat 7: Kathy Raymond 41,500
Seat 8: Kevin Calenzo 56,500

Sunday’s Tournaments

Two more tournaments get underway today, at 1pm is the $350 NL Holdem Bounty tournament, with $100 bounties on every player’s head. The 5pm tournament is the $350 Scott Fischman 7 Game Mix event, consisting of HORSE, NL Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha. Be sure to check out Detox Poker and Quad Jacks for video, updates, interviews, and much, much more.