Party Poker Blog

Scott Stapp & Mimi Rogers Poker Blog

"If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?"
Lanislaw J. Lec

Was it really only a week ago that I was running around like my ass was on fire, preparing for a poker tournament? Thankfully, nothing on the agenda today but full-fledged slacking.

I didn't play last nite. Boooo - I hate missing friday evening Party Poker but I'm in a state of flux regarding my poker playing goals. I sweated Fuzz in the Stars NL satellite and sadly, he didn't fare too well.

I managed to do some research regarding customization of clay chips. I can't run another tournament until I get mine hot stamped or embossed. This will likely be an expensive proposition. But I discovered these machines called Kingsley hot-foil stampers that perhaps you could do yourself. The manufacturer who built them is no longer in business, but there are plenty of them floating around on Ebay. Check this contraption out. Kingsley Hot Foil Stamping Machine.

I can just picture a drunken Iggy trying to play with that thing. Hilarity would ensue. I'd either burn my house down or lose an appendage.

So now I'm back at square one, calling up local printers to see if anyone can help me. Arg.

Let's get to the linkage. Lots of content, per usual.

For those of you who have never read Howard Lederer's 2003 WSOP trip reports, here are all four days on the same page. Enjoy.
Howard Lederer: My 4 day diary of the 2003 WSOP

Continuing with WSOP news, from RGP:
---
"Harrah's was negotiating a 'flexible agreement' with
Jack Binion, who might again become involved in the
downtown Las Vegas casino built by his father."

Associated Press story:

Sounds to me like there is a good chance of seeing Jack at the WSOP.

It could indeed. It could take on the aspect of "old home week";
and become a reunion of sorts; it may function as "History"-- (the
last time the WSOP was held there); it could function as The Future--
the biggest one ever (as Poker enters its biggest year); it could
function as The Last Goodbye before they turn the lights out; it could
serve as a final reunion of people self-banned from the place; it
could serve as Old-Timer's get-together with a "gauzy memory of the
past" aspect; it could serve as just One Giant Get-Together nobody
wants to miss; it will serve as an event of interest just to see how
somebody else runs the event. Finally, it will serve as a magnet for
big national media due to all of the above. Serving as the Biggest
and the Last, the Future and the Past, Old Home week, Big Payouts, and Memory Lane, this is a hand that has so many "outs" it's going to be almost impossible to miss with the River Card.
---

HARRAH'S Officially Buys Binion's Horseshoe
--
Harrah's Entertainment says they will keep the same Horseshoe feel. They also promise the most famous poker tournament in the world will stay right there.

Harrah's set these dates for the tournament: April 2 for the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold'em event. May 22 for the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em world championship.
--

And from my favorite Vegas newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, comes this article:
Binion's Horseshoe: Deal with Harrah's finalized
--
Industry insiders say bad choices and mismanagement by Becky Behnen brought about the demise of the downtown property.

When she took over control of the property from Jack Binion in 1998, she made a number of changes that experts said transformed the property from one of the city's most action-packed casinos into a run-of-the mill grind joint.

Binion's is believed to owe as much as $20 million to Jack Binion's Horseshoe Gaming Holdings, $7.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service, $3 million to the Fremont Street Experience, $1 million to the Culinary union's pension and health plans and unknown amounts to the casino's landlords and smaller creditors.
--

And finally, some non WSOP poker news:
Poker mania: Card game undergoes resurgence
Seniors, college students boost game's popularity
--
Erie County District Attorney Bradley Foulk said he's not about to bother people for playing low-stakes, friendly poker games.

"I'm not so naïve to think that folks, whether they be senior citizens or otherwise, don't engage in penny ante games of amusement. ... That's not something that I would consider gambling in violation of the crimes code,'' he said.
--

And a mention of the World Poker Tour in this TV column:
Wide world of non-sports coming to TV
--
That's good news for me and my poker buddies, who used to gather to gamble on the show rather than play our own game. We haven't had much drama during six long months of reruns.

The season premiere will air Sunday, featuring celebrities like Jack Black and Drew Carey. It will be followed by a heads-up meeting with the Super Bowl pre-game show next weekend.
--

And finally, another Business Wire article documenting the cultural juggernaut that is poker.
World Poker Tour Events Continue Dramatic Growth; The Inaugural Year of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Proves to be a Winning Hand:
--
Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LACO) today announced the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which began January 18, 2004 on board the Royal Caribbean's "Voyageur of the Seas", is the latest event on the World Poker Tour to demonstrate the domino effect of the television show's huge popularity. Records have been set in each of the tour stops and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, hosted by PokerStars.com, is no exception with its debut featuring a huge number of players, prize money and first place payout.

219 Players Contend for $1,642,500 in the High Stakes WPT Tournament
--

Good Lord, another massive post and I'm not even drinking. Someone oughta pay me for this insanity.

Let's do a quick poker blog linkage, shall we? Some great stuff out there - I don't know what the hell I'd be reading without the bloggers out there. RGP? Forget it. 2+2? Not bloody likely. It's a vapid wasteland of net kooks out there.

Up for Poker has some great info about the tournaments on Empire Poker - I really appreciate the tip - I've really never bothered with tourneys there, and it appears as if i'm missing the boat.
--
The $150+12 Sunday Night Gameday tournament is $25,000 guaranteed (for you non-tourney players, that means the prize pool will be at least $25,000). Last week I believe this tournament only had about 50 entrants. If even 100 enter this week, then EmpirePoker will have to add $10,000 to the prize pool to make the guaranteed $25,000. That's a deal.
--

I'll be there Sunday night - thanks again for the heads-up!

The mighty Chris Halverson has created a mechanism for posting card suits on MT and potentially other blog systems. Kudos, Chris.

PokerGrub talks about attending his new play - fascinating must read. Congratulations Grubby! And, of course, the Hammer challenge continues....

Poker Penguin has another thought provoking post on betting in No Limit, especially tournaments.

And from thefatguy list of blogger links, I discovered this locals poker journal:
Rantsofayoungmind

Thanks for reading and good luck at da tables!

Link of the Day:
Oh the humanity, I can't even describe this. It's safe for work and funny as hell. Who woulda thunk a slug could be this bright?
THE MAZE OF PAIN!!