The WSOP crowned its newest champion this week, but that doesn’t mean tournaments around town are done for the year.

Heartland Poker Tour makes its next stop at Palms. The tournaments run today (Friday, Nov. 2) through Nov. 11, culminating with a $1,650 main event.

This is probably a good series of events for those who want to try their hand tourneys, or players like me who don’t want to spend a bunch on donkaments. It’s essentially a group of at least 7 satellites every day leading up to the big one.

There are single-table sit-n-go qualifier tournaments that start as low as $60 and a $120 “nightly turbo,” all the way up to a $375 “last chance qualifier.”

With former 2004 WSOP champ Greg Raymer winning 3 HPTs already this year, it should be interesting to see how many other well-known pros turn out to give the series a shot. We know from Gavin Smith’s twitter that he’s a lock: “It seems like every day I get one day closer to @HPTPoker at the palms, it is kinda like Christmas only this Santa is real!”

Ante Up Magazine’s new poker tour starts later this month at Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento, where the main event comes with a $200,000 guarantee. They’re also hosting events in Minnesota and Oklahoma leading up to a world championship at Hard Rock Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Man, tournament players might have a higher variance grind, but at least it can be exotic.

Ante Up also announced its next Vegas event would be held at Red Rock Casino from Jan. 21-27. The event schedule has yet to be released, but the series will culminate with a $1,100 main event with three Day 1s, which will “spill over into the Rocks Lounge,” according to the magazine. Sounds like they might have more than a few splashed pots.

My best shot at a bracelet just passed me by.

Jokers Wild Casino closed its poker room! The home of the practically secret monthly bracelet tournament in Henderson played its last hand on Halloween night.

They didn’t give a reason for the shutting down, but cash games there were often hit or miss, and staff members told me that some of their regulars had been rounded up by nearby Club Fortune Casino.

And it wasn’t the only locals poker room on the outskirts of Las Vegas to close this week.

The former Aliante Station, now Aliante Casino and Hotel, also shuttered its poker room after being taken over from Aliante Gaming LLC. The North Las Vegas casino was sold as part of Sations Casino bankruptcy and reopened under the new name Thursday.

I never played in their poker room, but if they ever decide to re-open — a la Silverton — I might have to check it out.

Cantor Gaming will be reopening the Silverton Casino poker room next month, less than a year after the room closed for lack of action.

Bobby Griffith, poker room manager for Cantor Gaming at the Palms, will take on double duty overseeing Silverton’s room and ultimately a new role as Director of Poker Operations for Cantor.

Griffith says he’s already hired a crew for the newest Cantor poker room, and is working on a special event for the re-opening. Cosmetic improvements include plans for ripping up old carpet and bringing in new chairs — with cards in the air sometime around Thanksgiving weekend.

Earlier this year, Cantor built a new sports book/poker room at Palms, the first of their rooms to merge the idea of gambling on sports and cards. At the end of 2011, Cantor unveiled a snazzy sports book at the Venetian, though Cantor does not operate the newly refurbished Sands Poker Room.

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Cantor Fitzgerald LP, which owns sports book operator Cantor Gaming, is seeking a gaming license in Macau as the company moves to expand its sports betting business beyond Nevada, a company executive said.

“We’re in the process of getting licensed in Macau,” Cantor CEO Howard Lutnick said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Television. “When you have these big casinos as your partners, it makes it much more easy.”

Cantor Gaming officials in Las Vegas declined comment Friday.

The company, an affiliate of the New York-based financial services company, operates seven sports books in Southern Nevada. The company announced Monday it had reached a deal to build and operate its eighth sports book at the Silverton.

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The Silverton Poker Room will be holding the $25,000 Silverton Invitational on Saturday, June 27, 2009.  Invitations will be earned by playing live poker or by participating in daily tournaments starting on April 6 — a total of 50 invitations will be available for this event. Thirty invitations are reserved for live action poker players and 20 invitations are reserved for players who participate in daily tournaments.

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Seems a little strange … but hey, maybe not so much. The Silverton Casino poker room (the one that tried to draw ladies with the all-pink tourney) is running Satellites to the California State Poker Championship:

CALIFORNIA STATE POKER CHAMPIONSHIP *just added*

Now through August 31, Silverton Casino Lodge offers Discovery Club members the chance to win entry into the California State Poker Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Los Angeles September 23 and 24. Members must earn points through daily tournaments and live poker play. On August 24, the top 20 players with the most earned points will qualify to compete in a satellite event at Silverton Casino Lodge on August 31. Qualifiers for the satellite tournament will be broken into two groups to determine playing time. The top three players from each group will receive cash prizes and both winning players will receive the $2,500 entry fee into the California State Poker Championship, hotel and airfare for two and $700 cash. Guests are encouraged to visit the Player’s Club for more details.

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!