Vegas Poker Scene - June 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 soon.

=  =  =  =  =  =  =

The Wynn Summer Classic runs June 2-July 19. The staple of the series is a $400 event that starts at noon most weekdays during the series. This tournament has a $50K guarantee. Some days feature a $550 event with a $100K guarantee. Both are one-day tournaments.

There are several multi-starting flight events. The first starts June 15 with four starting flights. It has a $1,100 buy-in and $500K guarantee. A three-starting flight, $600 tournament starts July 5 and offers a $250K guarantee.

The $1,600 championship has two starting days beginning July 16 and will finish with Day 3 on July 19. The guarantee is $750K.

The $600 seniors event starts at 11 a.m. June 13 and offers a $100K guarantee. It will be completed the next day.
Pot-limit Omaha players get their chance on June 12 with a $400, one-day tournament offering a $25K guarantee.

There’s also a $400 Survivor on June 3. About 7 percent of the field will get $5K each and the total guarantee is $50K.

Meanwhile, the $250K Signature Weekend was completed April 24. James Agate of Las Vegas took home the $45K first-place prize. Eugene Tito of Los Angeles received $39K for second and Nicolas Egarhos of Apollo Beach, Fla., claimed $37K for third. There were nearly 600 entrants and a prize pool of almost $313K.

ARIA: The Aria Classic runs June 2-July 6. The highlight will be the return of the WPT500. The event will be completed before the WSOP main event gets under way.

After seven regular Day 1s beginning June 27 that start at 10 a.m., there will be two turbo Day 1s on July 4, one at 10 a.m. and one at 5 p.m.

In past years, the last few Day 1 flights have had overflow turnouts, so it’s recommended that players enter the earliest starting flight possible.

Everyone who survives Day 1 will be in the money. Day 2 resumes at 1 p.m. on July 5, with the final table being streamed on July 6. This huge event has a $1 million guarantee.

Before the WPT500 gets started, most days feature a $375 tournament at 11 a.m. Evenings will feature a $240 event at 7. The evening tournament will continue when the WPT500 starts as well.

On June 10, there’s a $450 PLO event at 11 a.m., and on June 25 a PLO/8 tournament will run at the same time. 

A $450 Omaha/8 event runs June 18. The $450 seniors tournament is June 16 at 10 a.m. while the women have their day on July 6 with a $375 event at 11 a.m.

BELLAGIO: The Bellagio Cup is July 13-19. A $1,090 super-satellite for entry into the main event kicks things off at noon on July 13. The next day, the $10,400 tournament gets started. It will run five days, finishing on July 18. Players may enter as late as 3:30 p.m. on Day 3. Turbo super-satellites for $1,100 run at 8 a.m. on July 14-16.

The other event during this series is a three-day $2,140 Seniors Summer Championship that begins on July 17.

HOLLYWOOD POKER OPEN: The season-ending championship event returns to the M Resort on June 23-26. The $2,500 main event has two starting flights beginning at 11 a.m. on June 23. The tournament plays three days. Satellites with a $235 buy-in run June 23-24. A $555 seniors championship will be June 25. Once again, 2003 WSOP main-event champion Chris Moneymaker is the event’s ambassador.

TREASURE ISLAND: The mid-Strip room has been running a Get Paid to Play promotion. Players who play 60 hours during the week get $599 cash. It’s $450 for 50 hours, $325 for 40 hours, $225 for 30 hours, $125 for 20 hours and $50 for 10 hours of live play.

Additionally, a $1K freeroll runs Sundays for the top 10 point-finishers each week. Points are earned for high hands, hours played and for playing in live games after tournaments.

The main cash game is $1-$3 NLHE with a $100 minimum, $500 maximum buy-in.

They also offer a $2-$5 game with a $200 min and no max. The $3-$6 limit game has a $60 min and has a maximum rake of $3. Players in all cash games get $2 an hour in comps.

High hands are $200 for straight flushes and $599 for royals. There’s a mini-bad-beat jackpot for aces full of 10s beaten by quads or better. The losing hand receives $1K, the winning hand gets $500 and all players who were dealt in the hand at the table receive $50.

The room runs four tournaments a day. At 11 a. m. and 7 p.m., it’s a $65 buy-in for 8K chips. At 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., it’s $75 for 12K chips. The 2 p.m. has a $500 guarantee and the 10 p.m. guarantees $1K.

The $65 version is Saturday nights (Sunday mornings) at 1 a.m. All tournaments have 20-minute levels.

There are two weekly tournament leaderboards. Points are reward for dollars won in each tournament. The top prize for the daytime leaderboard (the 11 a.m. and 2 p.m) is $250. For the two evening tournaments, it’s $500. Both leaderboards pay 10 places.

SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO: If you’re close to qualifying, there’s still time to get your 100 hours of play for the $155K June Freeroll. Qualifying ends May 31. First place pays $35K and the tournament pays 60 spots.
An interesting feature has been added to this event. If the tournament is played down to one player, instead of there being a chop, which has grown popular these days, the winner will get another $5K as a Last Man Standing bonus.

GOLDEN NUGGET: The Grand Series runs May 31-July 3, including multiple seniors events during Seniors Week, featuring a $10K buy-in Seniors Super High Roller on June 26 presented by Oklahoma Johnny Hale.

CLOSING: The poker room at downtown’s Plaza Casino closed. The room had five electronic tables.