Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Vegas Poker Scene--May 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 soon.


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PLANET HOLLYWOOD: The Goliath series May 25-July 13, and is offering $7.5M-plus in guarantees. The series starts with the Ultimate Goliath Stack, a $600, five-day tournament that has a $250K guarantee. The Goliath Milly has a $1M guarantee for the same buy-in.The first of its four starting flights is June 4.
Many of the weekend days feature the $50K in a Day tournament, offering a $50K guarantee for a one-day, $250 buy-in. There are also a number of $20K in a Day $200 events with a $20K guarantee.
July 2 is the start of a $250 Low Roller.It has five starting flights and a $250K guarantee. A two-day PLO High Roller starts July 6 and has a $5K buy-in.
The main event has five starting flights starting June 27.The buy-in is $2K and the guarantee is $2M. The Grand Finale has a $1,650 buy-in and a $1M guarantee.The first of its three starting flights is July 9.
There are also numerous Omaha, HORSE, Triple Draw and Dealer’s Choice events throughout the series.
The main event of the Goliath Warm-Up series ended in a three-way chop in April. Tuan Mai, Daniel Engels and Sinisa Zimek took home $84K each. The $1,650 buy-in event had 340-plus entrants and a $530K prize pool.
GOLDEN NUGGET:  The Grand Poker Series runs May 30-July 3.It features a few multi-flight events with affordable buy-ins and big guarantees. The first one starts June 2 and has six starting flights over two days. The $150 buy-in has a $100K guarantee. The identical tournament runs again June 23.A $200 buy-in version begins June 8. It has nine starting flights over three days and has a $200K guarantee.
Most days start at 11 a.m. with a non-hold’em event, most with a $250 buy-in. Those usually are followed at 1 p.m. by a $150 tournament with a $20K guarantee.
Oklahoma Johnny Hale hosts Seniors Week starting June 15 with the $360 Seniors Championship. See the ad on Page 21 of our May issue for details.
A $250 tournament runs June 17. The $1K High Roller is June 18. The Super Seniors (for those 60-plus) is $250 and runs June 19. The $250 Seniors Choice event runs June 20.
A $570 PLO Championship is June 21 and a $570 mixed PLO/8-Omaha/8-Big O tourney is June 27.
The $570 main event has three starting flights beginning June 29 and has a $500K guarantee. The series has $1.4M-plus in guarantees.
ARIA: The Aria Poker Classic is June 2-July 9.The highlight is the WPT500.That event has nine starting flights, beginning June 26.The first seven starting flights have 30- and 40-minute levels.
The final two starting flights are July 3 and are turbos with 20-minute levels.Players can enter multiple flights and take their best stack forward to Day 2.The buy-in is $565 and the guarantee is $1M.
The Classic also offers a two-day, $1K event June 23.There are two $465 senior events (June 15 and June 19). There are PLO events on June 8 and June 12. HORSE runs June 6. PLO/8 is June 22 and a Triple Draw Mix, featuring deuce-to-seven, ace-to-five and badugi, runs July 5. Omaha/8 is June 25.All of these events have $465 buy-ins.
Most days offer a $400 tournament and most evenings run a $240 tournament.
WYNN:  The Wynn Summer Classic will be June 2-July 16.The series starts with a $400 Survivor event June 2. The top 14.5 percent of the field will get $5K and the guarantee is $50K.On June 7, a $400 PLO event will have a $50K guarantee. A $600 seniors event with a $100K guarantee runs June 12.
The first multi-starting flight event begins June 14 with a $1,100 tournament.It has four starting flights and a $1M guarantee.A $600 tourney with two starting flights is June 27 and has a $250K guarantee.
Two-day $1,100 tournaments run June 24, July 13 and July 16 with $200K guarantees.
The rest of the schedule is filled with one- or two-day hold’em events with $400 or $550 buy-ins and guarantees of $50K and $100K, respectively.
The $1,600 championship, which has a $1M guarantee, has three starting flights July 4-6.
Wynn is offering $4M-plus in guarantees for the series.
BINION’S: This year, the summer series is called Binion’s Dog Days of Summer Poker Jam. For those of you who prefer disciplines other than NLHE, this is the series for you.
HORSE is featured June 5 and July 1.Omaha/8 is June 6. On June 8, it’s PLO/8.June 9 will be a stud event.An Omaha/8-stud/8 event runs June 10. Razz will be June 13, followed by stud/8 on June 14. Two PLO events are June 17 and June 30. Triple Stud runs June 24. All of these events have $365 buy-ins and $20K guarantees. There’s also a $475 razz event June 23 and a $475 Omaha/8 tourney July 3.Both of these have $30K guarantees.
A $585 PLO Championship with a $50K guarantee has two starting flights June 15. The $585 HORSE Championship has a $50K guarantee and the first of its two starting flights begins June 20.
There’s still plenty of NLHE, too.Most are $365 with a $20K guarantee, with a few $475 buy-ins with a $30K guarantee mixed in.
The series offers three WSOP main-event qualifiers. These run June 19, June 28 and July 4. The buy-in is $365 and one $10K main event seat is guaranteed in each.
The NLHE Championship has three starting flights beginning June 25.It has a $850 buy-in and offers a $200K guarantee.
SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO: The poker room’s $175K hold’em freeroll is June 12-14 at 6 p.m. with the finals running on June 17 at 10 a.m.
Players can qualify with 100 hours of live play by May 31. All qualifiers receive $100 and 10K in chips for the freeroll. First place pays $35K, second place is $15K and third is $10K.
The tournament is limited to 20 qualifiers each night.


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