Vegas Poker Scene -- December 2017 Ante Up Column

Here's my newest column for Ante Up.  The link for it on the Ante Up website is here.   Remember, my contribution is embedded in the entire West Coast report.  So below is just my Vegas report.  The magazine should be in your local poker room by now.


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WYNN: The Signature Weekend runs through Dec. 3. If you read this in time, the highlight is a $600 tournament with a $250K guarantee that has three starting flights beginning Nov. 30. Dec. 3 is a $300 survivor tournament with a $20K guarantee. It has a payout of $2,500 for one in every 9.65 players.

A $400 senior event, which runs Nov. 29, offers a $25K guarantee, 30-minute levels and a 15K starting stack. The next dates for this senior event will be Jan. 3, Jan. 31, Feb. 28, April 4 and May 2.

The regular schedule for Wynn offers a daily noon tournament. Monday-Thursday is a $140 tourney as players get a 10K stack and 30-minute levels. On Fridays and Sundays, the buy-in is $200 and there is a $10K guarantee. The levels are 30 minutes. Players start with 10K chips and there’s an optional $100 add-on for 5K chips at the end of the fourth level.

The Saturday tournament offers a $25K guarantee for a $225 buy-in. The levels are 40 minutes and the starting stack is 10K. Unlimited $200 rebuys for 10K chips are available through the first four levels. Players must have 5K or fewer chips to rebuy. There’s also an optional $100 add-on for 5K chips during the first four levels.

Matt Affleck from Las Vegas won the $1,600 main event at the Wynn Fall Classic, earning $139K. Arizona’s Christopher Sova took home $90K for second and Keith Ferrara from Las Vegas received $60K for third. The event drew 447 players for a prize pool of $650K, easily surpassing the $500K guarantee.

SOUTH POINT: Check out the ad on Page 11 for the poker room’s Flop-A-Palooza promotion.

VENETIAN: The next Deep Stack Extravaganza runs Jan. 16-21. The featured tournament costs $250 with five starting flights. The levels are 30 minutes on Day 1 and 40 minutes on Day 2. The top 10 percent of each starting flight will be in the money, with the final 5 percent advancing to Day 2.

The room is running a daily high-hand promotion until Dec. 17. The high hand of the half-hour will win $300 between noon and midnight. The high hand of the half-hour will win $100 between 4-8 a.m. Venetian announced a series of senior events. The buy-in is $400 and the guarantee is $25K. Players start with a 15K stack and play 30-minute levels. The dates are Jan. 4, Feb. 1, March 1, April 5 and May 3.

The winner of the main event of the October DSE was David Vu from San Jose, earning $38K. Australia’s Harald Petschnig grabbed $23K for second and Marcel Vonk of the Netherlands took home $17K for third. The $340 event attracted 673 players resulting in a prize pool of $188K, exceeding the $100K guarantee.

TREASURE ISLAND: There are three daily tournaments; all have $77 buy-ins and feature 20-minute levels with 15K starting stacks, and offer a $500 guarantee. The 12:30 p.m. offers a $10 dealer add-on for 10K chips. The 6 p.m. and the 10 p.m. have a $5 dealer add-on for 5K. The tourneys have a progressive bad-beat jackpot (quads) that starts at $1K and increases weekly.

The main cash game is $1-$3 NLHE with a $100-$500 min-max buy-in. The room sometimes spread a $3-$6 limit with a $30 minimum and no max.

Promotions include a Get Paid to Play program. Players get $50 for playing 10 hours a week and can earn $599 for 60 hours. Those who have participated in the Get Paid to Play program can refer new players to the room and get paid $25 if that person plays 20 hours in the first week ($150 for 60 hours). The new player can get a one-time bonus of $50 (or a free tournament entry) for 30 hours of play or $100 for 60 hours. There’s also a tournament referral program. Players bringing in new tournament players receive free tourney entries.

The Weekly Tournament Leaderboard competition pays the player who cashes the most money in tournaments $500. Also, players receive $2 an hour in comps.

WESTGATE: The six-table room, the newest in town, has added a number of promotions: Aces Cracked pays $50; high-hand bonuses pay $50 for quads, $100 for straight flushes and $150 for royals. The daily high-hand promo pays $50 four times a day (3, 6, 9 p.m. and midnight). Monday through Friday, the first 10 players to start the first game of the day receive $20. There’s a weekly loyalty bonus for the three players with the most hours of live play between Monday 10 a.m. and Friday 10 p.m. First place gets $200, second place gets $100 and third place gets $50.

Players earn $2 an hour in comps Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The rest of the time it’s $1. The main game is $1-$2 NLHE with a $50-$200 min-max.

The room hasn’t settled on a regular tournament schedule, but it has been running $40 tournaments at 11 a.m. and $60 tournaments at 6 p.m.

BINION’S: The new 1 p.m. Saturday tournament is $150 with 30-minute levels. The starting stack is 20K.

Sunday through Friday at 1 p.m., and every evening at 6 p.m., the buy-in is $60 for 20-minute levels and a 10K stack. There are unlimited 10K optional add-ons available for $20 any time a player’s stack drops is less than 10K. There’s an optional $20 add-on available at the first break (at the end of the fourth level) for 10K chips.