Vegas Poker Scene (September 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 sooner, rather than later. 

Just a note, I'm in Vegas right now, as those of you have seen my Twitter or Facebook updates are aware.  Will be here for another week.  Already got quite a bit of blogging material in just a few days.  A couple of things to look forward to: A session with the Trooper--as a dealer, not a player. And the return of Prudence, at her most Prudencey.  Talk about your "woman saids!" 


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RED ROCK CASINO: It’s a bit of a drive from the Las Vegas Strip, but one locals casino well worth the visit is the Red Rock in Summerlin. A good variety of cash games always run in the 20-table room, starting with $1-$2 no-limit ($100-$300 buy-in). During busier times, $2-$5 is spread ($300-$1K). Limit players can choose between $2-$4 and $4-8 with a half-kill. The minimum buy-ins are $20 and $40, respectively. Omaha players can find PLO and limit Omaha/8 with similar stakes.
Afternoon tournaments run daily at noon. Tuesdays host a $60 Omaha/8 event with an 8K starting stack, 20-minute levels and a $1K guarantee. The Sunday tournament is $125 with a $2,500 guarantee. The starting stack is 10K and the levels are 30 minutes. As for the rest of the week, look for $60 tournaments with $1K guarantees. Players start with 6K chips and levels are 20 minutes.

Evening tournaments start at 6:30 and are all NLHE. Mondays and Thursdays feature the $100 buy-in bounty tournament. Players start with 10K. The bounty is $25 and the guarantee is $3,500. Tuesdays and Wednesdays offer $60 buy-ins, $15 bounties and 6K stacks. The guarantee is $1K. The Sunday evening tournament is $60, 7K starting stack, $1,500 guarantee.

All Red Rock tournaments offer a $10 staff bonus for an additional 2K chips. There also are high-hand bonuses for all tournaments, quads or better. Players can win vouchers for future tournaments in addition to cash.

Red Rock has a large offering of promos. As part of the Stations chain, it participates in the Stations-wide bad-beat jackpot and progressive royal flush promotion. In addition, the room offers “quad floppers” Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Players get $500 for flopping quads. Graveyard players who book eight hours between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. qualify for cash drawings every Saturday. Names are selected every 10 minutes and $500 is awarded hourly. There’s a $10K monthly Omaha freeroll for 20 hours to qualify. Call the poker room for details.

GOLDEN NUGGET: The downtown room revised its daily schedule with four tournaments a day. At 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., $65 gets players a 10K stack. The tournaments at 3 and 10 p.m. are $45 and start with 5K chips. The popular Sunday morning $125 tournament replaces the $65 affair that day. It offers a $5K guarantee. All tournaments have 20-minute levels.

The main cash game is $1-$2 NLHE with a $100 minimum buy-in and no cap. The Nugget also is a popular choice for $2-$4 limit, which has a $20 minimum buy-in. High-hand bonuses are offered.

The room recently began offering $2/hour in comps, good at all the restaurants on the property. There’s free Wi-Fi, as well as USB ports at every table for charging electronic devices.

BALLY’S: The popular 14-table room in the center of the Strip just added a $6K weekly freeroll. Players need only play
12 hours of live poker in a week to qualify. The freeroll is Wednesdays at 6 p.m. The top 20 finishers get $300 each. Bally’s also has high-hand bonuses ($500 max).

Bally’s also added a fifth daily tournament. At 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., it offers $55 tournaments with a 5K stack. Each of these tournaments has a $500 guarantee. The $75 tournaments at noon and 8 p.m. start with 8K chips and have a $1K guarantee. All tournaments have 20-minute levels.

MGM: The room will host the annual celebrity charity tournament Sept. 19 at noon. The tournament benefits the Maximum Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides practical assistance to families caring for a child with a life-limiting illness. The tournament is hosted by comedian Brad Garrett, who is the foundation’s president and founder. Garrett has a comedy club at the MGM.

ALIANTE: The Aliante Casino, in the northern outskirts of the Vegas valley, is back in the poker business. The casino closed its poker room a few years ago when the resort separated from the Stations chain. Now it has reopened a three-table room using electronic tables. There will be one $30 daily tournament at 1 p.m. Players get 5K chips and 20-minute levels.

The cash games are 50 cents-$1 NLHE ($20 to $200 buy-in) and $2-$4 limit ($20 min). The room is prepared to spread Omaha and stud as demand warrants. There’s a $3 max rake on all cash games.