#PNWPokerCalendar Planner for 10 February 2016

Posted on by

Vegas Summer Schedule

According to reports from a conference call last week where the WSOP discussed plans for the year, the full schedule for the 2016 World Series of Poker should be out next week (last year it was released on 3 February). Once that’s out, the other Vegas summer series will begin to drop, as they all attempt to capitalize on the types of players who are in town for specific events (you’ll see the Seniors tournaments clustered around a single week, PLO and other specialty games at other venues to soak up WSOP bust-outs, etc.

One inspiration for my calendar has been the Las Vegas summer compilation put together by Kenny ‘@SpaceyFCB‘ Hallaert (who was at the Colossus final table last year) for the past several years. Kenny puts every event at the Rio, Venetian, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Wynn, Golden Nugget and more on a single spreadsheet (now on Dropbox), laid out day-by-day, with times, buy-ins, a breakout list of non-NLHE events, daily tournament info, rake, and more. Because this year’s schedules haven’t been posted, the current sheet is a bit spare, but if you want to see what the beast will look like by May, dial in last year’s compilation.

BTW, if you are making plans for summer in Vegas (good for you!), there’s never a better time than now to review my notes from last year’s Colossus weekend!

LAPC $570 Big O

Event #27 at the LAPC was Big O (five-card Omaha Hi-Lo, if you haven’t played it), which has been a staple of a cadre of Oregon players for several years, particularly at Portland Players Club, where some of their biggest buy-ins and guarantees were for “The Devil’s Game” as I call it (a 2014 $300 buy-in event with a $5K guarantee ended up with a prize pool of nearly $16K).

Two Oregon players made the final table of the 101-entry event. The winner was Stephen Johnson of Eugene (he chopped with CA pro Chris De Maci but won the trophy and first place honors). Former PPC dealer Bryce Burt (who was dealing at Final Table before heading down to LA) took fourth.

There’s a $570 Big O event coming up at Bally’s at the end of the month, for a WSOP Circuit ring. I’d expect to see some more Oregon players there.

 Deal of the Day: WPT Northern California

First, get your hands on wads of cash, you’re playing in the WPT!

Actually, the swing of the WPT through Northern California (after finishing up the $10K at LAPC) has three events catering to gradually smaller bankrolls. The big events at each stop are:

The series overlap each other a bit, so if you drove to San Jose by 6 March when the Shooting Star has its first event, if you don’t make Day 2 of the Main Event, you can get to Thunder Valley in two-and-a-half hours for the $50K guarantee Rolling Thunder Opener, play through to the end of the series there on the 16th, then drive another two hours to Reno for the rest of the month.

This Week in Portland Poker

  • Final Table Big O is taking off with Monday-Friday 1pm $500 guarantee tournaments ($20 buy-in and re-buy/$20 add-on), and 3pm $1K games with $40 buy-in and $30 add-on.
  • The Game is starting up a 2pm Saturday Big O tournament with a $40 buy-in and $1K guarantee. Daily membership is waived for player in that game. Their February schedule includes three WSOP Colossus entry/flight/stay package tournaments and another of their $10K Big Shot winner-takes-most games, all during the week of the PacWest Poker Classic.
  • Encore Club has announced a $35K guarantee on 20 February, the opening weekend of the PacWest Poker Classic.
  • Next Friday and Saturday is the 10th Annual Northwest Deaf Poker Tournament.

Only a Day Away

  • The LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino continues through 3 March. News on the schedule, play updates, and prizes are reported on their blog.
  • The Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza runs through 2 March. Their blog is here.
  • The Main Event at Calgary’s Deerfoot Casino Winter Super Stack begins Friday, the series wraps up next Tuesday.
  • Aria has two $25K High Roller events Friday and Saturday. See Poker Telegraph for info on past events.
  • Friday is opening day at HPT Golden Gates, west of Denver.
  • The Thunder Valley $100K Catapult starts a week from Thursday (18 February). Five starting flights with $155 buy-in for a $100K guarantee, wrapping up on Sunday, 21 February. 8% of each flight returns for Day 2, players in the top 12% make at least $250. And if you’re free by 4pm Sunday, you can play a $340 Open Face Chinese Pineapple tournament!
  • The Talking Stick Winter Poker Classic is a 3-day $400 buy-in event (I think). Maybe give them a call before you fly to Phoenix on the 20th.
  • The PacWest Poker Classic at Chinook Winds is less than two weeks away! It’s bookended by a $330 buy-in $50K guarantee NLHE 6-Max, and a $550 buy-in/$200 add-on Main Event with a $100K guarantee, Action starts 20 February.
  • Two weeks from today is the start of the Card Player Poker Tour/Wynn Classic. just across the street from the Venetian Deepstack. Three signature events with $100K, $200K, and $500K guarantees, plus 10 more mostly $25K guarantees.
  • The very next day (25 February) Bally’s hosts the World Series of Poker Circuit, starting with a $365 buy-in $250K guarantee. 29 February is what I believe is the first $580 Big O WSOPC ring event (other stops have featured $365 Big O tournaments).
  • Friday, 26 February is the Great Canadian Freeze Out in Calgary. Seven events from C$110 to C$550 over a week-and-a-half.

Check out the Pacific Northwest Tournament Calendar for more poker.