Online casinos and poker

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — (PRESS RELEASE) — Forbes magazine has named MGM Mirage(NYSE: MGM) one of the “Best Managed Companies in America,” as part of its annual Forbes Platinum 400 list of top-performing large corporations. MGM Mirage was one of nine companies recognized in the “Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure” category. The company also made the list in 2005.

“The commitment to outstanding performance from each of our employees made this recognition possible,” said Terry Lanni, Chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage.

The Platinum 400 list includes both American and foreign corporations that have significant presence in the U.S. Contending companies came from a pool of nearly 1,100 corporations that have at least $1 billion in revenue in the most recent fiscal year, a stock price of at least $5 per share and positive equity.

To identify leaders from each industry category, Forbes ranked companies within their industry by many financial metrics, including growth in sales and earnings, leverage, stock market returns and earnings forecasts. From these ranks, each company received a composite score. Next, a financial analytics firm determined an overall score on each company for accounting and governance practices, financial condition and earnings quality. Finally, Forbes’ editors and writers examined the top-ranked companies in each industry and considered factors such as management ability, innovation and leadership.

It all started back on January 6, 2007 when Series 1 of the PokerProForAYear began. After a total of six series, 12 massive freerolls and over 50 League events, the PokerProForAYear League came to a dramatic conclusion on Monday January 7 at the Crown Casino, when the ten finalists took their seats at the PokerProForAYear Final. After nearly six hours of intense competition, Luke Abolins from the UK emerged victorious and claimed first prize.

The PokerProForAYear Final began just before 13:00 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. Currently hosting the 2008 Aussie Millions, the Crown Poker Room was

filled with eager poker players and spectators, all curious to see the outcome of this massive competition. The room was filled with nervous energy as the final ten players sat down and the cards started flying.
Photos courtesy of Eagle Image - Dave Goudie.

The players at the final table were:
Seat 1 - Jo Abolins
Seat 2 - Massimo Di Marco
Seat 3 - Martin Page
Seat 4 - Robert Ritchie
Seat 5 - Luke Abolins
Seat 6 - Robert Price
Seat 7 - Ilja Smid
Seat 8 - Kairit Leibold
Seat 9 - Andrew Ritchie
Seat 10 - Carlo Carione

The first elimination came after just under an hour and a half of play, at the 200/400 level with 50 ante. With Ilja in the big blind, action folded to Massimo, who called. The two Roberts also called and Ilja checked his option. On a flop of Massimo checked and Robert Ritchie bet 500, followed by Robert Price, who raised to 2000. Massimo then moved all in and only Robert Price called. Massimo showed against Robert’s . The turn brought a and the river was , ending Massimo’s tournament.

Around 20 minutes later, Robert Ritchie moved all in for 3900 and thought his would hold up. Luke moved all in and tabled . The community cards fell and , busting Robert in ninth place.

Close to an hour later, Martin Page looked down to see and went all-in for 4,475. Ilja made the call with . The flop came , giving Ilja a comfortable lead. The on the turn, followed by on the river sealed the deal and left Martin in eighth place.

With blinds at 400/800, with a 100 ante, Robert Price raised to 1800 and Ilja, who had lost a string of hands, moved all-in for 175 holding . Andrew then moved all-in for 8,150 and Robert folded. The community cards showed and whilst Ilja felt confident with the straight on the river, Andrew made the flush with .

The next elimination occurred just after 17:00, when Robert Price, holding , moved all-in with an impressive 14,350 and was called by the Italian Carlo Carione. Holding , Carlo was the favourite heading into the flop. The community cards showed and , sending Robert to the rail.

Four minutes later, Kairit went all-in with and Andrew called all-in for 5,025, showing . The flop showed , giving Kairit top pair. The turn brought a and river was the , giving Kairit the win with a pair of aces.

As had been the trend for most of the day, Kairit then moved all-in pre flop for 9,875 holding and was called by Carlo, holding . The community cards landed and , sending Kairit to the rail in fourth.

And then there were three.

At around 18:00, Jo Abolins in the small blind went all-in for 11,600 holding and was quickly called by brother Luke, showing . The flop produced , giving Luke the high card. Both the turn and river didn’t help Jo (), who finished third and claimed her prize of $1,000 worth of online tournaments at Pacific Poker.

Luke Abolins and Carlo Carione entered heads-up play with roughly the same amount of chips (47,500 and 54,500 respectively). After two hands and with blinds now sitting at 1,500/3,000 with 500 ante, Luke raised 6,000 from the small blind and Carlo jumped all-in for another 12,100 in chips. Luke called and players produced their cards. Carlo, showing , was just ahead of Luke, who tabled . The flop of didn’t help Luke, although the on the turn most certainly did. The river brought an inconsequential , ending Carlo’s tournament in second place and leaving Luke ‘Resteal’ Abolins as the newly crowned PokerProForAYear.

Luke receives a package that includes buy-ins to four major tournaments in 2008, including flights, accommodation and expenses. The major tournaments are expected to include the Aussie Millions, World Series, 888 UK Poker Open (London) and the 888 Canadian Heads-up Challenge.

For finishing second, Carlo wins entry to the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event, which begins January 14 at the fantastic Crown Casino, including flights, accommodation and expenses.

It certainly was a massive and lucrative competition, with players sharing in over $150,000 in prizes. “We were excited to send the PokerProForAYear finalists to Australia to battle it out for the Champion. It was a great series and it was good to see that the final table lived up to the excitement. Crown was a great venue and I would like to thank them and PokerNews.com for their support”, says Gareth Edwards from 888.com. “Luke was a worthy winner and we look forward to him representing 888.com at events around the world this year.”

Luke was thankful and still in shock after his massive win. After all the photos and fanfare, Luke celebrated with a well earned beer.

Resorts’ poker room is easy to overlook. After all, with all of the large poker action at the Taj, and the fairly large room also next door at Bally’s; it’s easy to see how the small Resorts room might be overlooked. Even so, they had one of the first poker rooms in Atlantic City and some of the earliest poker tournaments. Now, after a long hiatus of being dark, they’re back with tournaments twice a week and daily low-limit and low-stakes no-limit action.

When I visited on Saturday afternoon, they had one game going – a $2/$4 limit hold’em game. It was full so I waited at an empty table, talking with a fascinating older dealer who was waiting to start a $1/$2 no-limit game. He entertained me
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for nearly 20 minutes with stories about poker games in the 1970s in Florida. I was then called to the limit game.

I played limit hold’em for about an hour, winning $15. Half of the table was women who had never or only rarely played. The other half were men who weren’t much more experienced. It was the type of game with a lot of laughing, a lot of calling, and expressions of surprise if anyone raised. It was just the type of game for a limit hold’em duffer like me!

The room was well run – though a few things bothered me. There was smoking right next to the open front of the room – so it was impossible to avoid smoke coming into the room. I found that annoying and easily remedied just by having a smoke-free zone within ten feet of the entranceway of the poker room. Alas, when I left the room I smelled like cigarette smoke.

I didn’t care for the policy of dealers sharing their tips – as they did in this room. I prefer to be able to toke an individual dealer for skillful and quick work. Resorts has no say in this, however. Apparently, this is the law in New Jersey for any room with 15 or fewer tables. Curiously, though there was no financial incentive to be so, the dealers were as good as I’ve found them – skillful at dealing the game, funny when appropriate, and unobtrusive when there was action in the game. I’m not sure why the best dealers I found in Atlantic City (and perhaps in any card room I’ve been to) happened to be at the smallest and least prestigious room I’ve visited, but there you have it.

The house rakes the standard 10% of each pot with a $4 maximum. There is no bad-beat jackpot. Players earn $.50 an hour in comps if they have a player’s club card – which is easy and free to obtain.

I was lucky during my one hour of limit play. On my fifth hand I was dealt aces. I played them strictly by the book, raising the blind, and then coming out for a bet on each of the next three successive betting rounds. I got five callers before the flop, three after the flop, two on the turn and two on the river. They all laughed when I turned them over and raked in the largest pot of my session. That’s what I like: fun players who can enjoy the game even when someone else wins the pot!

The game was entertaining – made so by a dealer who kept the action lively and the players lighthearted. I’d come back to Resorts for low-limit action in the future. If I had a friend or two who had never played before, this is the place I’d take them in Atlantic City to introduce them to the game. Win or lose, I’m sure they’d leave with a fun memory.

Here’s a close call in stud at the poker table that you’ve probably faced many times. It’s the kind of difficult decision you should be lucky enough to frequently make.

You are dealt three cards of the same suit, the exposed one an ace. One or two of your suit are exposed elsewhere. One player, showing a high card, raises the bring-in and one or two other players call. You call too, looking for the flush. On fourth street, sure enough, you get your fourth suited card. You play your flush draw conventionally, checking and then calling the initial bettor. The other players fold. It’s heads up going into fifth street.

On fifth street you get the fifth suited card, giving you a
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flush. Your opponent does not show a pair. He just has his premium card from third street. You are still high on board with your ace. No other aces have been played. You suspect your opponent has a premium pair – perhaps two pair.

Here’s the question. Do you bet your flush or check it?

Each action has its merits. You have an unusually strong hand on fifth street – an ace-high flush against a probable pair. You’re certainly in the lead and likely to stay there throughout the hand. You clearly would like your opponent to call you on fifth street and thereafter. A check might induce your opponent to continue to bet and to lull him into thinking, incorrectly, that you don’t yet have a flush. Your bet on fifth street might convince your opponent that you caught a flush. He would then probably fold, depriving you of money on sixth street and the river. So perhaps a check is best.

On the other hand, your check might be followed by his check, causing you to lose a bet. And it might look suspicious – especially to a good opponent who might expect you to bet an exposed three-flush on fifth street whether or not you made a flush. He might check behind your bet and then fold on sixth street when you bet, convinced that you caught your flush.

Pennsylvania-based Lightning Poker, Inc., one of the two largest makers of electronic poker tables for use in live-action casinos, has been awarded a patent for one specific element of its products.

Patent #7,306,516, for an ‘Electronic Game Table’, specifically deals with the center monitor of Lightning Poker’s devices, which display the multiple community cards available during any given hand of poker. The patent was awarded on Dec. 11, 2007 and announced on Wednesday. Brian Haveson, Lightning Gaming’s CEO, stated, “This patent protects a critical feature of our automated poker tables, the center monitor, which is a key component to the player experience.” The patent joins others already
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garnered or applied for by Lightning regarding elements of its electronic products.

The 10-seat Lightning Poker tables continue to be distributed under an agreement signed last year with leading casino-equipment supplier Shuffle Master, Inc. The automated Lightning Poker tables offer both Texas Hold’em and Omaha programming options and are available for play in several casinos in the U.S., along with installations in Canada, Australia, Macau, Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, Romania and Lebanon among other countries. Lighning also recently announced its acquisition of Poker Automation, formerly the third largest maker of automated, live-play electronic poker tables.

Look out, fellas, and step aside, a new player is in town and her name is Lauren Failla, head of the High Heels Poker Tour.

One only needs to speak to Lauren, hearing the enthusiasm in her voice, to know she’s excited and driven in her push to bring more women into live poker. Lauren took her passion for poker and launched the ladies-only High Heels tour in June of 2007, including a website at highheelspokertour.com. The club’s annual fee of $30 makes one a member and brings notices of upcoming events, hotel discounts, giveaways, eligibility for free seat drawings, specials, and perks of the High Heels tour, such as private receptions and hospitality rooms.

Based in Florida and
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spreading across the Gulf and East Coasts, HHPT is moving into the big time with several upcoming events. Tunica, Mississippi’s Gold Strike Casino will host its first HHPT event on January 6, 2008 as part of the WSOP Circuit stop. A second event on February 24, 2008 at Harrah’s Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, Iowa is also on the upcoming schedule, with more to surely follow with other Harrah’s properties. The Harrah’s staff has made some changes at Lauren’s urging to make the event more enticing to the lady players. This year the starting stack will be 10,000 chips with 40-minute rounds.

A new affiliation with the WSOP Academy offered HHPT members the opportunity to win their way to the ‘Ladies Only’ poker camp January 25-26 at Caesars Palace. All one had to do was join the HHPT to become eligible for the drawing. The winner was drawn New Year’s Day and is being announced here: Congratulations to Paula Ettline of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If you didn’t win, here’s an added bonus: all members will receive a $150 discount on their entry to the event, from the original cost of $1,699.

Another great way to win a seat in the WSOP 2008 is getting underway. Several poker rooms are beginning to host ’step tournaments’ or qualifiers to advance to a main event taking place in March. The main event will be hosted at the Seminole Casino in Hollywood Florida on March 1st with a direct buy-in of $450, with $125 satellites available at seeral Florida locations: Seminole Casino Hollywood, Seminole Casino Brighton, The Isle Casino and Racing at Pompano Park, Miami Jai-Alai, Flagler Magic City Poker Room, Club 52 Melbourne Greyhound Dog Track, Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Dog Track, and Daytona Greyhound Dog Track. Total attendance and prize pools will determine the number of World Series seats to be given away.

Given Lauren’s enthusiasm and dedication, this new ladies tour just might have staying power. Certainly, HHPT will have its growing pains, but it joins a group of organizations catering to the growing women’s market. Nor is this all from the HHPT, as several new announcements and affiliations are planned for the coming months.

Dubai World has increased its stake in MGM Mirage by five million shares, which it purchased from the Lincy Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Kirk Kerkorian. The acquisition by the investment arm of the Dubai government brought its holdings to 19.5 million shares or 6.5% of MGM Mirage stock.

Dubai World and MGM Mirage entered into a joint venture back in August relative to the development and ownership of MGM Mirage’s Las Vegas CityCenter. As part of that deal, Dubai World was slated to purchase 14.2 million shares of MGM Mirage stock. In October,
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Dubai World tendered an offer for the shares at $84 but was unable to get more than 350,000 shares under the offer. According to a recent SEC filing, the purchase price of the Lincy shares was $84.80. The SEC filing also stated that pending regulatory approval, Dubai World would be seeking to designate a member of MGM Mirage’s Board of Directors.

Harrah’s Buy-Out Imminent

On Christmas Eve, Harrah’s Entertainment issued a press release announcing that it had cleared the last regulatory hurdle associated with its proposed acquisition by private equity firms Apollo Global Management, L.P. and TPG Capital. While the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) is still finalizing its review, they notified Harrah’s that they had sufficient information to give the go-ahead for the buyout. Harrah’s operates a number of casinos on Indian lands which fall under the regulatory purview of the NIGC, an independent federal regulatory agency of the United States. The Nevada Gaming Commission had given its blessing to the deal late last month leaving the NIGC as the last regulatory hoop for the Harrah’s acquisition. Harrah’s has been targeting early 2008 for completion of the sale; analysts now believe the sale could become final before the end of the month.

Another heavy month of tournament action saw major results come in from the United States, Europe and the Asian Pacific Rim. Annette Obrestad and Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson were two of the biggest names to go very deep in November events, while elsewhere, American poker players turned a bit political during a traditional election month. November brought us plenty of news worth reading, with these stories among the most important:

Peters Tops Obrestad in PokerStars.net EPT Dublin Final — Annette Obrestad’s run to victory at the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop ran into an unexpected roadblock, and the roadblock’s name was Reuben Peters. The young American online qualifier came from
Pokerstars
behind to prevent Obrestad from winning her second major title of the year after Obrestad held the lead at the start of heads-up play. Peters began the day as one of the shortest stacks at a final table also including European stars Thierry van den Berg and Trond Eidsvig, and when the day was complete had collected €532,620 for his comeback win. Obrestad’s runner-up showing was worth €297,800.

‘Jesus’ Ferguson Snares Third Circuit Ring — Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson became the first three-time WSOP Circuit champion in November when he held off local pro Dustin Fox in the main event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Ferguson was a dominant player throughout the tourney and held a big lead as the final table began, while Fox chipped out early and became a serious threat while the other remaining players departed. The heads-up portion of the event set a record that can never be beaten — it lasted only one hand, when Ferguson, who flopped a set after starting with pockettens, cracked Fox’s pocket aces. Ferguson collected $203,649 for the win, with Fox taking home $119,333.

Assadourian Triumphs in PokerStars.net APPT Macau — Another form of history was made when the new PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour arrived in Macau — the hastily arranged event was the first-ever major poker tournament held in Mainland China. The winner here in the APPT Macau Main Event was young Australian pro Eric Assadourian, who came from behind to win the $368,640 first-place prize. Emad Tahtouh held a sizeable lead at the start of play but was reeled in early, finishing fifth, while Assadourian charged to the front and held off Bo Sehlstedt and David Paul Steicke for the win.

Duke Leads Poker World’s Testimony to Congress — America’s laws and policies regarding Internet gambling were the topic of a Congressional hearing in November and several big names from the poker world were on hand to testify. The hearing was called by John Conyers, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, and among those appearing on the pro-poker side of the slate was pro Annie Duke, as a spokesperson for the Poker Players Alliance, and her detailed testimony was supported by that of others, including New York University law school professor Joseph Weiler and Internet security expert Michael Colopy. The antis brought out there big guns as well, including Family Research Council head Tom McClusky and several legislators and prosecutors who have made attackng online gambling a focal point of their work. The hearing brought no resolution or action but offered a chance to get many of the most important arguments on the topic into the public record.

‘fkscreennames’ Takes FTOPS VI Main Event — Full Tilt’s FTOPS VI series (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) concluded its late fall run after doling out more than $11 million over its 14 events. The biggest of the 14 evens was, of course, the Main Event on FTOPS VI’s final day, a $500+35 event that drew 4,371 entrants and easily topped its $2 million pre-tourney guarantee. When the day’s action finally wrapped up, ‘fkscreennames’ was the victor, taking down a $385,937.45 payday, after holding a commanding lead entering heads-up action and holding off ’southside1′ ($233,629.95) for the win.

New Jersey Man Slain in NYC Poker Robbery — One of New York City’s common underground poker games was the site of a botched robbery attempt in November that led to the death of one of the game’s players. Frank DeSena, 55, of New Jersey, died after being struck in the chest by a bullet that several local reports stated was discharged accidentally when one of the robbers dropped his weapon. NYC police have made two separate arrests in the case to date.

Carlos Uz Victorious at Caesars Indiana — The first major poker result of November came from the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Indiana, where Carlos Uz became the official winner after a late chop with Marc Fratter in the Circuit stop’s main event. Uz and Fratter split the proceeds for the final two spots almost evenly after dispatching the rest of a final table that also included 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom’Donkey Bomber’ Schneider. Uz finished with $165,000 in winning plus the winner’s gold-and-diamonds Circuit ring, while Fratter took home $175,034 and the $10,000 entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

June saw the 38th World Series of Poker being its record-setting run at the Rio in Las Vegas, with throngs of would-be poker champions stretching the facilities to its limits, if not beyond. Every day brought one or two new champs, all while a handful of other big stories played out elsewhere in the poker world. There was no shortage of worthwhile poker stories as summer arrived in style:

Hellmuth Wins 11th Career WSOP Bracelet — Who would capture an 11th WSOP bracelet first? All three players with ten career titles made deep runs at bracelets in the opening weeks of the WSOP. But when the efforts of Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan in other events fell short, it left the door open for Phil
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Hellmuth, Jr. to make history. Hellmuth won his 11th career bracelet in Event #15, $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Hellmuth emerged from a massive pack of 2,628 entrants to outlast Andy Philachack and seven others in a final seen by almost no one, for it was held inside the special Bluff tent created as a venue for televising a select number of finals designated as pay-per-view (via Internet) events. Nonetheless, word of Hellmuth’s triumph still spread through the Amazon Room and beyond and a special ceremony was quickly arranged. Hellmuth collected $637,254 in his record-setting triumph.

Antigua Asks for $3.44B from U.S. in WTO Trade Dispute — Early in June, the island nation of Antigua & Barbuda filed a claim for $3.44 billion in annual compensation from the U.S. as its rightful award for its successful case against the U.S. over ‘offshore’ access to the Internet gambling marke, specifically horseracing in this case. While some arbitration judgment was assured, once the U.S. abandoned its final appeal, the amount ultimately due was a matter of widely divergent opinions. The U.S. scoffed at Antigua’ claim and suggested that $500,000 might be appropriate, while other countries filed similar WTO claims as the deadline for filing passed. The largest of these was a $100 billion claim filed by the European Union, representing the interests of most European countries.

Freddy Deeb Takes $50K H.O.R.S.E. Championship — The biggest payday and most prestige at the WSOP outside the Main Event goes to the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, which returned for its second edition as Event #39 of the 2007 WSOP. 148 of poker’s biggest stars sought the title, including the late Chip Reese, who returned here to defend his crown from the inaugural 2006 event. The 2007 edition produced the most potent final table of the entire WSOP, consisting of Barry Greenstein, Amnon Filippi, Freddy Deeb, Thor Hansen, Kenny Tran, David Singer, Bruno Fitoussi and John Hanson. Deeb emerged the winner after overtaking final-table chip leader Filippi, collecting $2,276,832 and the special winner’s bracelet. Fitoussi emerged as the runner-up, cashing for $1,278,720.

Full Contact Poker Ceases Operations; Negreanu Joins PokerStars — The online poker sites hit hardest by the market impact of the UIGEA were moderately sized sites that catered extensively to the U.S. Among those was Full Contact Poker, which announced in June that it would cease the online-room portion of its operations and continue on as a discussion forum only, where it remained a major player. FCP announced the sale of its account base to PokerStars, and only a couple of days later, FCP spokesman Daniel Negreanu announced that he was making the move as well, joining the impressie lineup of Team PokerStars sponsored players and instantly becoming one of the site’s most recognizable endorsers.

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Announced — A new major poker tour serving the booming Asian Pacific Rim poker market was announced in June with PokerStars’ launch of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. The tour initially scheduled stops for Manila, The Phillipines, and Seoul, South Korea, along with a season-end championship in Sydney, Australia. The APPT would be boosted later in the year with the addition of an event in Macao, the first-ever major poker tournament held in Mainland China. The APPT events drew respectable entries at all venues and established a solid base for major poker tournaments in the region.

Schneider Becomes 2007 WSOP’s Only Double Winner — Winning two bracelets in the same World Series of Poker requires both exceptional skill and a great rush of cards. In 2007 the breakthrough performance was accomplished by veteran cash-game player Tom ‘Donkey Bomber’ Schneider, who won his first title early on in Event #5, $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha & 7 Card Stud (Hi/Lo), and followed that up by taking down Event #46, $1,000 7-Card Stud (Hi/Lo). In addition, Schneider held on to narrowly edge out Jeffrey Lisandro for 2007 WSOP Player of the Year honors.

Billirakis Snags ‘Youngest-Ever Winner’ Title ¬— With an age limit of 21 in place for all Nevada-based WSOP events, the record for youngest-ever bracelet winner has edged ever closer to that 21-year minimum. While Jeff Madsen had claimed the record in 2006 by winning the first of his two bracelets in that series, his mark lasted exactly one year: Steve Billirakis, aged 21 years and 10 days, set a new youthful standard by winning the very first event of the 2007 WSOP, the $5,000 ‘Mixed Event’ tourney. Billirakis outlasted Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller to collect the $536,287 winner’s prize in an auspicious WSOP debut.

NETeller’s Lawrence Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charges — The NETeller saga marched on throughout the year. Shortly after the company itself announced a plan to repay U.S. customers whose funds had been frozen for months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that NETeller co-founder John Lawrence had pled guilty to one count of conspiracy regarding the facilitation of money transfers between U.S. residents and offshore gambling sites, primarily bookmakers. Lawrence agreed to be partially responsible for the $100 million the U.S. was believed to be seeking in the case.

I drove down to Atlantic City, New Jersey from my home in Boston, Massachusetts to see how the poker scene was playing out in this East Coast gambling mecca. I left at 3:00 AM on a Saturday morning, stopped only briefly for coffee and a short nap, and arrived refreshed and ready for action at 9:00 AM.

My first stop was the Hilton – the southernmost poker room on the strip known as the boardwalk. My plan was simple. I parked on the street next to the Hilton at a meter – for about $4 in quarters. I would then play successively at each poker room, from one end of the boardwalk at the Hilton, to the other end at the Showboat. In between I would hit, in order, the Tropicana, Caesar’s, the Wild
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West, Bally’s, Resorts, and the Trump Taj Majal. If I had any time remaining during my first day I would take a jitney to the marina area of Atlantic City – about two miles or so from the boardwalk, and play at Harrahs and the Borgota, before returning back to my car at the Hilton by jitney.

I kicked things off at the Hilton, remembering that two years earlier, when I had played there, the place was just kicking off huge plans to expand and upgrade the room. The room had been rocking back then – all newly renovated and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from the impressive casino’s second floor. There were over a dozen tables in full action including limit hold’em and stud besides no-limit hold’em. The future looked bright indeed.

Alas. I was hugely disappointed to find that the upstairs room was no more – though players talked about returning to some smaller new space that was under renovation. Today, and for the past few months, they were downstairs, next to some blackjack tables. Their once proud, bursting room had been reduced to one table on this Saturday morning of Veteran’s Day weekend. And though the floor person said this was a slow time, knowing players told me that there might be one or two other tables as the day progressed. My, how the mighty had fallen.

Even so, my playing experience was relaxed and pleasant. The room is a peaceful alternative to the other rooms in Atlantic City. The patrons at my table eagerly told me why they liked it here. “It’s not full of hot shot kids and drunks,” said one poker player. “It’s more quiet than the big rooms,” added another player helpfully.

And so it was.

The room has the standard rake of 10% up to a maximum of $4. There is also a bad beat jackpot of $1 taken from the pot. Aces full of jacks beaten qualifies you for it – and you have to have two aces in your hand to hit it.

There was a $1/2 no-limit game when I was there. They expected maybe another table – of $2/4 limit. They never get higher than this, said a player, though another added that they sometimes get a $2/5 no-limit game.

The comps are generous by any standard I’m familiar with. Players earn $2 an hour in the $1/2 game, $3/hour at the $2/5 game and, officially, $5/hour at the $5/10 game that, apparently, never is spread (but if it were that would that be the highest player comp I’ve ever seen).

The poker room spreads a monthly tournament with a $250 buy-in and there’s also the annual New Jersey State Tournament. They also list daily tournaments, but I was told by regular players that they only go off on the weekends. The rest of the time the room is pretty much dead, as it was on this Saturday morning. Things pick up a little for Friday night. And Saturday night is their busy time – maybe with three or four tables going at once.

The level of play while I was there was, as advertised by the players, pretty subdued. Players tended to be loose and passive pre-flop. Then they all tightened up. One player would come out for $10 and the rest would usually fold – perhaps with a brave soul calling and then folding on the turn to a $20 bet.

In the hour or so that I played I saw maybe three rivers – usually in hands that were not bet on the turn or river. As I said, it was indeed a subdued no-limit game. I lost $15 pretty much just watching all but one hand. I raised in late position with A-J after three players had called the $2 big blind. I had folded all of my hands until then and hoped I might steal the pot. I got called by one player in early position who bet the flop for $30 when the board was Q-Q-10. I quickly folded and he showed me a queen. As I said, nice relaxed game.

The physical playing conditions were okay – surely nothing special. Wedged in next to table games wasn’t annoying in the morning – with the other games still relatively quiet. But I imagine that ambient noise and passing traffic might be distracting and bothersome as the general attendance picked up later. The chairs were general-issue banquet chairs – thinly padded but not uncomfortable. The lighting was about average, surely acceptable though not nearly as nice or bright as some rooms designed for poker. The dealers were all competent, helpful, and skilled… and unobtrusive. The floor was friendly but knew less about the room than most of the players, and couldn’t answer any questions about the rake, player comps, or games being spread.

All in all, I’d come back to kill some time or if I had business on this end of the boardwalk. If I lived in the area and wanted a nice place to come regularly, earn comps, and relax, I’d surely consider making this my regular room. But as a tourist, craving action, I think I’d tend to gravitate toward the bigger, more lively places down at the other end of the boardwalk.