WSOP Circuit in the Big Easy in May

 

The Big Easy will see the World Series of Poker Circuit hit their Harrah’s casino for the fourth year this May, as poker fans and poker pros descend on Harrah’s New Orleans for a chance at big money prizes and a seat to the 2008 World Series of Poker. This will be the last stop on the Circuit tour, a popular outreach of the WSOP that brings that brand to casinos around the country. There will be 15 events culminating in the $5k No Limit Holdem championship event. Satellites starting in April will let players at Harrah’s New Orleans have a shot at winning a free ticket to the event.

Polish Open Coming in March

The next leg of the European Poker Tour will take place in Poland, an appropriate place for a poker tournament called the Polish Open. This will take place in March and will be a five day No Limit Texas Holdem tournament with a $8,600 buy in, which is 21,000 zlotys in local currency. The top prize may reach eight million zlotys, which is more than three million US dollars. The event will cap at 400 players, which means those poker fans looking to win a seat in an online qualifier should try now before the seats sell out.

"Ghost Hunters" open auditions next week

 

Got a haunted kitchen?

Sci-Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters" wants to hear about it and all other hauntings.

Open auditions for the Great American Ghost Hunt take place Feb. 15 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Feb. 16 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (With an additional unscheduled date of Feb. 17.)

Both will be at the Las Vegas Town Square, the new shopping area off the Strip a couple miles south of Mandalay Bay. Could the Town Square be built on old Indian burial grounds? We suspect more than a couple bodies were buried in that space, Indian or not.

If the former plumbers choose your haunted location, it'll be featured on a live show this Halloween. You'll also join the team at the Stanley Hotel for dinner and a ghost-hyunt.

For more information, visit this link.

Las Vegas Sports Books Lose Millions on the Super Bowl

Nevada casinos reported a total loss of $2.6 million on the Super Bowl because of the upset win from the New York Giants over the New England Patriots.

According to an ESPN article, Giants winning outright costs sports books record $2.6M, an influx of tourists in town for the Super Bowl apparently bet heavily on the underdog NY Giants.

Overall, the upset might be great news for Giants fans, but the outcome cost the casinos. The betting line had dropped to -12. In addition, a lot of money was wagered on a two-way parlay with betting on the Under at 54 (for the final score) and the Giants getting +12. The sports books had to payout 2.5 to 1 on those wagers. And don't forget all those money line payouts for the Giants at +475.

The press release says that 174 sports books in Nevada collected over $92 million in Super Bowl wagers. That was the third highest amount. The record was set in 2006 with $94.5 million.

Snowmobile clubs in Maine cancel poker run

More than two dozen snowmobile clubs across Maine have canceled fund-raising poker runs after being told they had to buy a state gambling license for the events, according to the Maine Snowmobile Association.

Poker runs are considered games of chance, meaning they have to be licensed, said Sergeant Bill Gomane of the Maine State Police special investigations unit.
But snowmobile club officials said they are put off by the idea that nonprofits have to buy the licenses. They are also upset at having added paperwork and regulations forced upon them.
Barry Higgins, president of the Smoki-Haulers club in Oakfield, said the state is asking for a full membership list with members' addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of membership, and a copy of the club's charter and bylaws.
"There's too much big brother," said Higgins.
Poker run participants typically snowmobile or drive to predetermined spots along a course to pick up playing cards, with the person holding the best hand at the end of the run winning a prize or cash. Many clubs use the events as fund-raisers.
Many snowmobile club members said they wouldn't have known about the law if not for an article in a recent Maine Snowmobile Association newsletter warning clubs to get a state license before holding their annual poker runs this winter.
The association's executive director, Bob Meyers, who wrote the article, said snowmobile club members began calling his office last fall after an American Legion post shut down its weekly cribbage tournament in Gardiner because a state inspector said the games were illegal.
The Five Club Poker Run, organized by members of the Carmel, Glenburn, Hampden, Hermon and Levant clubs, was canceled after being held each of the past eight years. The run last year raised $2,147 to help send children and adults with disabilities to the Pine Tree Camp in Rome.
Organizers had believed the licensing fee for the event, scheduled for last weekend, would run about $300. They later found out the fee was actually a lot less.
"It's a huge disappointment," said Steve Galen of Levant. "This year we were shooting to raise $3,000 for Pine Tree Camp."
Gomane wasn't surprised the club had mistakenly thought the fee was that high, saying the laws are confusing even for people in his office. The cost, he said, is much less - $7.50 for a pre-application identifying the group as a nonprofit and $15 for a license to host games of chance for one week. Debbie Long, president of the Molunkus Valley Sno-Drifters in Sherman, said her club desperately needs the money that will be raised by its Feb. 23 poker run, so she spent two hours compiling paperwork and making multiple calls to the state for a license.
"It is frustrating because we are a small club struggling with the gas prices and we have to give up some more and pray you have a good turnout to recoup what you've got in it," she said.

National heads up championship 2008 - Poker Stars and Full tilt offering seats

In an announcement that’s a bit more significant than the typical online poker promotion, PokerStars.net revealed this week that they’ll be offering the opportunity for a PokerStars player to fill one of the four seats not already assigned for the 2008 Heads Up Poker Championship (a list of the sixty assigned seats follows at the end of the article). The news comes just days after Full Tilt Poker announced a similar promotion.

Poker All Day Long ( New Ideal for Canada)

In Canada, the Century Casino & Hotel in Edmonton has recently reported via press release that their new non-stop, 24-hour poker room has been a success. With more people coming to play and more money flowing into the casino’s coffers it looks like the all poker, all day, every day concept is a good one that will continue. Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are held weekly on Thursdays and Sundays while cash games – sometimes called ring games – run all the time. Plasma TVs keep poker players entertained in between hands and a grand fireplace keeps them warm.