Los Angeles Poker Classic
Steven Harper notched an entry into the $1.1K LAPC Main Event Satellite running on weekends preceding the Main, by cashing in one of the nightly $150 Step 1 satellites. A cash in the $1.1K Satellite (another batch run in the days just before the Main Event starts 27 February) gets you one of the coveted $10K seats. Harper also took seventh place in the $240 NLHE Big Bounty tournament on Monday, picking up eight $100 bounties to go along with the prize money. Hoping to get down to LA myself in the next few weeks.
Tulalip Pow Wow
I didn’t get a chance to play any of the preliminary events at Tulalip this week, but I plan to be there for Day 1A of the Main Event on Thursday (and back for Day 2 on Sunday, natch). Got a little bit of a bankroll boost by taking second in Friday’s $11K guarantee at Encore Friday night but couldn’t play the $35K on Saturday.
Encore Club
Speaking of the $35K…via Encore’s Facebook page…
Muckleshoot Spring Poker Classic
Just saw the announcement of this year’s spring event at Muckleshoot (no more Omaha!), concluding as usual with a two-day $750 Main Event. 16—21 March, with satellites for seats in multiple events the three days before the series and Wednesday evenings beginning 17 February.
Deal of the Day: World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star
The Shooting Star at San Jose’s Bay 101 casino is the closest premiere poker tournament to Portland. It’s been on the WPT schedule since season II (they’re now in Season XIV). It started as a $5.3K buy-in, going to a $10K for most of its run, and for the past couple of years, it’s been offered as a $7.5K. It’s unique on the WPT schedule for having a $2.5K bounty on 50 “star” players seeded through the tables.
Unlike most of the other WPT Main Events, there aren’t a lot of side events. Aside from the Main Event’s two starting days on 7 and 8 March, there’s a two-day $2.1K buy-in event on 6 March, and a 2-day $25K High Roller tournament on 9 March. Unlike the Commerce in LA—where the WPT $10K LAPC Main Event starts a week earlier—Bay 101 is a small venue. Capacity for the $2.1K is just 250 players, But the multiple starting days and slightly smaller buy-in mean the number of players is for the Main is larger (more than 700 at Shooting Star vs. about 540 for LAPC over the past couple of years) and the payouts at the top have actually been larger.
Do I think everyone in Portland should just pony up $7.5K for a chance at what’s considered one of the best values in poker (due to the atmosphere of the event and the number of Silicon Valley locals with money who aren’t necessarily fantastic deepstack poker players)? No. But due to the Bay Area’s proximity, and the fact that so many people here do business there on a regular basis, the potential value in slipping into the Shooting Star via one of the many satellites Bay 101 runs in the lead-up to the series can’t be ignored.
https://twitter.com/savagepoker/status/678461914544889857
The first mega-satellite in December paid out seven seats. This month’s $275 mega has passed, but they begin to run daily 16—26 February (except Saturday, 20 February) at 9:30am (there’s also a President’s Day—15 February—mega at 8:15am). There are six $550 satellites between 20February and 2 March, and three $1.1K satellites 3—5 March, all of which begin at 9:30am. So if you have reason to be in Northern California sometime in the second half of next month, you might want to book an extra day and fly through SJC. Bay 101’s only a mile or so away from the terminal.
This Week in Portland Poker
The big event this week is the Big Shot at The Game. Or should I say Bigger Shot? The original Big Shot guaranteed $10K to first place. This time, first is guaranteed $20K, with the remainder of the prize pool spred between 2nd and 9th. Seating is limited to 80 players (there were still plenty of seats available according to The Game’s Chelle Brooks. Entry is $200, rebuys (unlimited) are $200, and there’s an optional $200 add-on. It all happens at 2pm Saturday. The Game also features the Big Shot Freeroll on Sundays at noon, this week’s tournament has a $1K guarantee, and there’s a drawing at 5pm for a Spirit Mountain overnight package. Announcements are in the works for WSOP satellites and other special events in the next couple of months,
Only a Day Away
- The LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino runs through early March.
- Thunder Valley’s edition of Poker Night in America concludes this weekend with a $1,650 televised Main Event. Starting days a re Friday and Saturday, with final table filming on Monday.
- The Tulalip Poker Pow Wow Main Event has starts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with Day 2 on Sunday.
- The Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza is under way and running through 2 March. They started up a blog last fall for info and results; you can find it here.
- Planet Hollywood’s Phamous Weekend runs Thursday through Sunday, offering a $250K guarantee tournament ($600 entry), plus some Big O and mixed PLO8/Big O.
- The Talking Stick Staycation Weekend I mentioned last month is this weekend.
- Muckleshoot’s Fifth Sunday tournament may be the backup option for folks in Seattle for the Tulalip Pow Wow, who want a big tournament but busted out of the Main Event. It’s a $3K added, $330 buy-in at noon on Sunday.
- Calgary’s Deerfoot Casino has its annual Winter Super Stack from 3—16 February. It kicks off next Thursday with a C$550 buy-in with a C$100K guarantee, featuring 15 events, including the C$1.5K Main Event (C$200K guarantee, 3 starting days, 3 days total), a C$330 PLO Bounty(!) tournament, C$1.1K Heads Up PLO, and C$5K High Roller. The Canadian dollar’s only about 71¢ right now, round-trip flights to Calgary are only about $400, and the weather forecast for the start of the series has nightly lows of -2°F! But since you’re in Canada it’ll be -14°!
- Aria has two more $25K High Roller events Friday and Saturday. See Poker Telegraph for info on past events.
Check out the Pacific Northwest Tournament Calendar for more poker.