WSOP starts!

At Harrah's most ephemeral acqusition, Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Vegas, the World Series of Poker began yesterday. From the LV Sun:

To accommodate the crowd, Horseshoe operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. will hold the first game of the championship over the course of two days beginning May 22, essentially splitting players into two camps that are weeded out in the first round. That way, officials say, the small Horseshoe casino can accommodate up to 2,000 championship players, double the capacity of last year's single day event.

The man overseeing that effort for Harrah's this year, Howard Greenbaum, has also witnessed a sea change with the advent of the poker craze.

"After Harrah's took over the Horseshoe, my boss called me into his office and told me, 'Your life's about to change,' " said Greenbaum, whose "director of race and sports book" title at Harrah's didn't include the word "poker" until now.

Greenbaum will have help in the form of two tournament directors -- one more than last year -- who specialize in organizing poker tournaments and have been involved in past World Series of Poker events.

Harrah's has also hired some 230 dealers who are selected from a pool of people who deal poker at tournaments worldwide. Attracting enough dealers wasn't a problem, Greenbaum said.

"It's considered an honor to be affiliated with the World Series of Poker and deal for it," he said.

Existing Horseshoe workers also will get a chance to deal poker during the series as they are rotated in and out of games dealt by contract dealers, he said. Most of the casino's dealers have returned to work after the property was sold from longtime owner Becky Binion Behnen to MTR Gaming Group, though some left for other jobs after the property shut down, he said. Behnen is the daughter of Horseshoe founder and Texas gambler Benny Binion.

Poker takes center stage at revamped Binion's

The article also has a fair bit of info about the World Poker Tour, still going on at the Bellagio on the Strip.

I'll be picking up my media credentials soon and reporting on the WSOP for this blog and maybe a print outlet or two. It should be interesting. If you'd like to see any particular player interviewed, email me.
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posted by Dave at 12:34 PM

Hard sell too edgy

The Hard Rock hotel-casino, right down the street from me at Harmon and Paradise, will pay a $300,000 fine to settle a Gaming Control Board complaint that its billboards ads not only pushed the limits of good taste (something that is de rigeur in this town), but actually violated the gaming code. From the LV Sun:

The five-page settlement document, signed by Kevin Kelley, chief executive officer of the Hard Rock, and representatives of the Gaming Control Board, said the Hard Rock's efforts to present a satirical message went too far.

"The Hard Rock had a subjective belief that the advertisement described ... was satirical in nature and never acted intentionally to promote or encourage cheating at gambling through that advertisement," the settlement said. "However, the Hard Rock now understands and agrees that as a gaming licensee, there are some subjects such as condoning cheating at gambling that are not suitable for its commercial expression."

The two ads addressed in the settlement were noted in the initial Gaming Control Board complaint, filed in January. One ad shows a man and a woman on a gaming table, surrounded by playing cards and poker chips, with the caption, "There's always a temptation to cheat."

The other ad reads, "At the Hard Rock Hotel, we believe in your Monday night rights: large quantities of prescription stimulants (and) having wives in two states ... Tell your wives you are going; if they are hot, bring them along."

Las Vegas SUN: Casino to pay $300,000 fine

Like I've said before, this kind of thing usually gets the casino a lot of free publicity, but I have to say that these ads were just plain stupid. Granted, most people who choose to spend their free time gambling are probably not intellectual heavyweights, but these ads, to me, are so stupid that they become reverse advertising, convicing people to go elsewhere.

Remember the "Dude, we're getting a Dell" kid? This is in the same category--it probably drives people away. I know that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" (unless you catch an STD or get pregnant, I guess, in which case you bring a souvenir home with you), but inciting people to cheat--on their spouses or at casino games--is too much.

The one about the perscription stimulants and polygamy is pretty dumb, too. "If they are hot, bring them along," sounds like something a 15 year-old would say. This whole campaign begs the question: Who wrote this crap?
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Dollar and a (bad) dream

Remember the New Mexico casino whose ads suggested that gambling could solve financial problems? I've found an even more predatory radio ad that is apparently under the radar for now. While listening the the Jim Rome Show on AM-1460 here in Vegas, I heard a spot this morning for Dollar Finance. I didn't catch the whole thing, but the gist of it was that someone got a loan, hit four aces that night, and paid them back the next day with only a day's interest. Also, when you pay off your "loan," you get a free scratch-off ticket and a chance to win $10,000.

This is just wrong. Hopefully, the mainstream media or even the Gaming Control Board will pick this up. For the record, a great way to end up in poverty is to borrow money with the expectation of winning it back at gambling.
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Amazon update

Amazon.com has at last posted the correct cover art for Suburban Xanadu. After waiting for months, I took matters into my own hands and sent them the correct art myself. So now everyone can see that the pink and black attack is back!

Hopefully, this augurs well for the addition of the other content I sent, which includes the full endorsements (including Steve Wynn's) and an excerpt.

By the way, if you've read the book and liked it, please review it. I'd be grateful, and will definitely sign a copy for you if you bring it to Vegas (or if you run into me in my travels).
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posted by Dave at 3:43 PM

Sweet Georgia busted

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Corey Fuller has been charged with hosting a high-stakes card game at his Tallahassee home after a sting operation. From ESPN.com

Fuller was released on $5,000 bail Tuesday night after a search warrant was served at the house. The felony charge carries a possible five-year state prison sentence and $5,000 fine.


State law allows card players to gamble up to $10 a hand, but sheriff's spokeswoman Linda Butler said Wednesday some pots were worth thousands of dollars, and games were held several times a week.


When some 20 law enforcement officers broke up the game, called "Georgia skins," they seized "thousands of dollars" that were on the table, Butler said.

"He did tell us he plays card games at his home with friends and relatives," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "There is a due process and we believe in that."


The gambling investigation began in February, and an undercover agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement attended some games.


Eleven people were at Fuller's home at the time of the raid, and eight were arrested, Butler said. Five others are being sought on warrants.


ESPN.com - NFL - Card games over: Raven charged with felony

Upon hearing the news, Ray Lewis reportedly said that he will no longer allow his children to watch the World Poker Tour.
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posted by Dave at 2:46 PM

Singapore casino

If you're breathlessly anticipating the announcement of a casino in Singapore, you won't have long to wait. From the Big News Network:

Singapore will decide in about six to nine months whether to allow a casino on the island after a study of the implications.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Vivian Balakrishnan told Parliament Monday the casino consideration was targeted at tourists to broaden Singapore's tourism offerings.

While the government has long been averse to having a casino because of potential ill effects on society, it is now considering reversing the ban 'because of the rapidly changing tourism landscape in the region', he added.

The possibility of a casino here has stirred a public debate and the minister told Parliament steps would be taken to protect Singaporeans, The Straits Times reports.
Singapore to decide on casino

I can definitely see a casino on Sentosa island, and it is something that is making more and more sense to Sinaporeans, as apparently gaming money leaves the island for Macau, Genting Highlands, and Australia.
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posted by Dave at 2:40 PM

Poker: secret to a long life

In an incredible feel-good story, the AC Press this morning chronicled the life of Anne Kolmetsky, Brighton Towers resident and a daily poker player at the Tropicana. Kolmetsky, who plays seven-card stud, turns 95 on Saturday, and she says that poker helps her keep afloat financially and remain active:

"Social Security only goes up a little every year," said Kolmetsky, whose $720 monthly rent makes her reminisce about when it used to be $97. "So it's tough. But poker helps."

Kolmetsky, a former blackjack player, became hooked on poker by her niece, a professional poker player in Las Vegas.

"She called me when the casinos first started offering poker here, and she told me I had to try it," Kolmetsky said. "I went to Caesars and won $85 the first day. I said, 'I have to do this more often...'"

"When I sit down at the poker table and they start talking about illness, I say, 'I have to start hanging out with a younger crowd,'" Kolmetsky joked. "They get a kick out of that. But the truth is, I can't be in the house all day. When I sit around, I think about the aches and pains and all of that nonsense. I'm OK when I sleep and when I'm playing poker."

Getting to 95 isn't easy. Kolmetsky, a smoker until she was 40, eats healthy but cheats with sweets, particularly chocolate. She had open-heart surgery when she was 79, followed by gall bladder surgery, a hysterectomy and a bout with shingles.

Kolmetsky is a fixture in the Tropicana poker room, where she holds her own:

Kolmetsky also earned admiration. When Griffin enters the room, he kisses her hand. Everyone who knows her, from the cocktail waitresses to the dealers, greet her with a big smile. And on Friday, for the fifth straight year, the poker room staff will present her with a birthday cake that reads: "Annie: Our Queen of Hearts."

"She's a sweetheart," said cocktail server Lana Munn, who delivers Kolmetsky 7-Up or coffee, no booze, daily. "She is the nicest player we have in the room. We love her."

Rose Heegan, 72, of Margate, said she enjoys playing with Kolmetsky regularly.

"She's always pleasant and easy-going," Heegan said. "If I didn't know how old she was, I would never guess she was 95. She's a very good player. She is tight, but she is aggressive when she needs to be. She is not only physically unbelievable for her age, she's mentally unbelievable."

But she also shows some guts when she has to. On Thursday, she was getting tired of listening to chatty players.

"They won't stop talking," she whispered. "I've had enough."

And after a novice player won his first hand and got some ribbing, she told the rest of the table, "Just give him his money. He doesn't need a story."

On occasion, Kolmetsky has been known to mix it up with other players.

One time, after a player called her "tight" in front of the whole table and folded because he didn't believe she ever bluffed, Kolmetsky got the upper hand, winning with nothing.

"I wouldn't normally do this, but because he was talking about me in front of everyone and was being a smart aleck, I showed everyone the cards I had. He didn't know what to say. He was stammering and stuttering. I told him I didn't like him talking that way," she said.

And on another occasion, an innocent comment by Kolmetsky resulted in an angry man pointing his finger at her, telling her to shut up.

"The men get mad sometimes," she said. "They slam their cards, leave the table, blame the dealer. I never do that."

Those moments are few and far between for the usually quiet player.

Kolmetsky seems happy to be able to play cards as often as she does. She's happy to meet new people, and she's happy whether she wins or loses.

Atlantic County News: The Press of Atlantic City

Kolmetsky must have seen a great deal in the 88 years that she lived in Atlantic City. She was once a hostess at the Flamingo motel, and I can only imagine the things she saw in the coffee shop there, which used to be something of a city landmark. I wonder if she was there the fateful night that the Flamingo cocktail lounge became infamous (people not from AC will not get that, but longtime locals will).

This is a great story that puts a human face on the popularity of poker. Poker games around the country probably have similar stories, and they are all worth hearing.
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posted by Dave at 10:29 AM