Monday, June 3, 2019

Vegas Poker Scene—June 2019

Here's my latest column for Ante Up (or the version I submitted).  You can find it in your local poker room.  Enjoy!

=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =


The Mirage, the popular room in the center of the Vegas Strip, runs four NLH tournaments a day.  Monday through Thursday at 11 a.m., it's a $65 buy-in with a 10K starting stack and 20-minute levels. "The Stack" runs the same time Fridays through Sundays, which is a $120 buy-in with a 25K stack and 25-minute levels.

That identical $65 tournament runs Friday through Tuesday at 2 p.m. It also runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. The other afternoons and evenings, a $100 bounty tournament runs, with a 15K starting stack, 25-minute levels and a $25 bounty.
Nightly at 11 p.m., a $40 tourney is offered.  Players start with 5K chips and play 20-minute levels.  There are $25 rebuys available for 2,500 chips for the first three levels.  At the end of the third level, players are allowed a $25 add-on for 2,500 regardless of the size of their stack.

The Mirage is one of the few places left where you can play limit poker on the strip.  A $3-$6 game runs most of the time, with a $30 minimum buy-in.  Several tables of $1-$2 NLH are always going, with a $100 minimum, $300 maximum

Promos included Aces Cracked. The first six pairs cracked each day (starting at 8 a.m.) earn $100 each.  Progressive quads start at $100 for each rank, and increase by $25 daily until hit.  Once a rank hits, future quads of that rank earn $50.High hands of the hour run twice daily, 5 a.m. – 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.  The prize is $100 and it rolls over if it isn't hit.  A full house or better is needed to qualify. Starting at 9 a.m. daily, $100 Sit-N-Go's are offered, with two places paid.

VENETIAN:  Benjamin Ector of Las Vegas won $39K for topping a field of 450 players in the $600 Monster Stack event at Deep Stack Extravaganza II in April.  Kfir Nahum, also from Vegas, took home $34K as runner-up and Alfredo Leonidas from Southern California earned $30K for third.  The total prize pool for the $600 event was $228K.

A few days later, there was a $250 event with five starting flights.  It was taken down by Tony Gordy from Los Angeles for $37K.  Florida's Vitaly Shafran earned $24K for second and Turkey's Onur Unsal earned $17K for third.  A field of 1200 players resulted in a $244K prize pool.

The next cash game promo begins July 22 and runs through August.  Every day between noon and midnight, the high hand of the half hour will receive $600.  If, during that half hour, a player matches the high hand exactly, that player will win $1K.

WYNN: Eric Blair won the $1,100 event at the Wynn Signature Series in late April, earning $35K for his efforts.  Robert Mantin took second for $21K and Robert Cone finished third for $13K.  The total prize pool was $112K and there were 114 players.  All three players hail from Vegas.

SOUTH POINT: There's plenty of time to qualify for the $210K Summer Freeroll. Players need 120 hours of live play by July 31 to claim a seat.  The first place prize is $40K and everyone receives $120 just for qualifying.  Players receive bonuses for additional hours played.

The room spreads $1-$2 NLH, with a $100 minimum and a $300 maximum.  Equally popular is a $2-$4 limit game with a $20 minimum. Promos include high hand bonuses and the Fully Loaded Flush Fridays promo. Players who make a seven-card flush receive a progressive jackpot that starts at $500 and increases $250 each week it's not hit.
The room recently revised its tournament schedule.  Daily at 10 a.m. there's a $60 NLH tournament.  Players start with 10K chips and play 20-minute levels.  It has a $1,200 guarantee.

The 2 p.m. slot features hold'em only once a week, on Saturdays.  The "Stamina Tournament" has a $150 buy-in and a 20K starting stack.  The levels are 30-minutes.
The rest of the week that slot is filled with an $80 buy-in tournament.  Tuesdays and Thursdays the game is Omaha 8.  Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it's No Limit Crazy Pineapple.  Both tourneys feature a 10K starting stack and 20-minute levels..
On Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, the 6 p.m. offering is a $100 NLH tournament with a 10K starting stack, 20-minute levels and a $1,500 guarantee.  Wednesdays and Sundays it's a $125 Deep Stack with a 15K starting stack and 20-minute levels. The Wednesday version has a $7,500 guarantee and the guarantee on Saturday is $10K.  The Saturday night Mega Stack tournament has a $200 buy-in, with a 20K starting stack and 20-minute levels..

BALLY'S:  The main event at the WSOP circuit event in April saw over 600 players compete for a $920K prize pool.  Brooklyn's Asher Conniff took home the ring and the first place prize of $193K.  Hawaii's Joshua Suyat claimed $119K for second and Vegas resident Justin Young earned $87K for third.

GREEN VALLEY RANCH: The locals casino just started spreading a $1-$3 NLH game in addition to their $1-$2 game. The new game has a fixed $300 buy-in.  The $1-$2 game has a $100 minimum and a $300 maximum.  There are usually a couple of games of each going during regular hours.  There's always several $2-$4 limit games going too, with a $20 minimum buy-in.  This game has a half-kill. 

The newest promo in the room is Poker Pay Day. Players who play between 20-29 hours in a week receive $100.  Players who clock 30 hours or more in the same period earn $200. 

BELLAGIO:  Bellagio Cup XV runs July 6 – 14.  The main event, a five-day tournament with a $10,400 buy-in, begins July 7.  Most of the rest of the events are satellites, but there is also a $1,100 Seniors event on July 11.








No comments:

Post a Comment