Meet Sharron, the new tourney director at The Lodge.
There are lots of amateur poker leagues out there, and with all due respect, we don’t pay as much attention to them as we used to unless there’s allegations of grift and/or a plot to kill the guy running it with snakes. However, the Lodge Amateur Poker League has always been near and dear to Pokerati’s heart.
Back in the early boom days, All In magazine called it “The best amateur tournament in America!” Ahh, we were having some good after-church strip-club times every Sunday, with more and more players getting better each week … in pursuit of not just gift certificates and lap-dance coupons, but also, and believe it or not more important than seeing boobs for most, a seat in a $1,500 WSOP event (travel expenses included, of course).
But like so much in poker, after Dan left it eventually lost its way. The tournament carried on, but allegations of chip dumping and cheating (yes, in an amateur tourney) made it lose its luster. Then came the Texas sin tax that made this “free” tournament a $0+5 NLH — with that whole $5 going to the State — and field sizes continued to dwindle.
Courts have since ruled that tax unconstitutional, so the game is free again … and now the Lodge — named Best Strip Club in America at the 2008 Exotic Dancer Awards in Las Vegas, btw — has renewed its commitment to making its weekly amateur poker tournament not just the best in Texas, but tops anywhere. The new TD cracking the poker whip: Sharron Nix.
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More…
The ladies event brings out all sorts … supposedly one man entered, and one man left. Because the WSOP wasn’t gonna get themselves into anything resembling a civil rights and discriminatory mess, anyone who stood in line for Event #15 would be allowed to buy in. However, when only one man did this, Nolan Dalla went up to him and politely asked him not to play — refunded his buy-in as he obliged.
One lady who is supposedly playing: Mindy McCready. She’s the country singer-turned-Roger Clemens affairester. Can you imagine if she got seated with a dress-wearing Jose Canseco? Sorry that I don’t have a pic of her in action … but I have to admit, I’m less interested in Day 1 of the Ladies Event than usual. Perhaps it had something to do with a chat I had with Snake, or maybe it’s just because Pokerati fave Evil Omaha Sharron (NSFW) isn’t playing.
Regardless, Jen has pretty much successfully convinced me that non-open events should be non-bracelet events. Ladies, Seniors, Casino Employee’s … since anyone can’t win then they should not receive the same acclaim as those who take down a tourney where technically anyone can.
Of course the problem with this would be that if these events lost their prestige, then they would also lose their crowds, which are an important part of bringing newbies into the game. The solution: partner up with some other entity to make these special events the pinnacle of their season(s). Though I don’t really know much about the LIPS Tour, it seems a pretty big, legitimate deal. Why not bring in them (or some entity like them) to give some special championship prize that still makes the non-bracelet event exciting?
