|
| |
State-of-the-art poker room opens
Published: 2005-12-21
 Jill Cohen
The Desert Sun
December 21, 2005
We have casino poker from Coachella to Cabazon, but since the old Spa closed its room back in '01, Palm Springs has gone without. All that changed last Friday night with the grand opening of the Spa Casino's much anticipated state-of-the-art poker room.
Just before the 5 p.m. opening, there was a large crowd of eager players standing outside the doors waiting to rush in. The dealers, resplendent in their fresh blue uniforms, anticipated dealing the first hands. Stacks of never-used chips were in place to be won and lost. Cutting-edge technology was evident in the space-age fabric covering the tables (no felt here!) and the plasma screens on the walls. Many of the casino's top brass were present, reveling in the excitement of a historical moment.
Within minutes of the doors opening, the nine tables were full. Folks didn't even seem to really care what game they were seated in. Most just wanted to contribute to the buzz in the air by being among the room's first players. I had the honor of having my name be the first posted on the electronic board. An even higher honor, winning the first pot, went to film producer-philanthropist Burt Meyer. I am sure that in years to come, those of us who took part in this inaugural night will recall it fondly. We'll tell our grandchildren.
It's a winner
The room looks to be a winner. It is nestled between a restaurant and a bar, keeping within reach everything a poker player needs besides the game. Poker Room manager Greg Nares and his management team are solid professionals dedicated to customer service. Most of the dealers are experienced, and the few novices can be expected to come along quickly. The décor and lighting are just right. The room is smoke-free.
The only potential problem I see is that the space is undersized, and being the only poker room in Palm Springs, will likely sport a long waiting list at prime times. I'm planning to be first on that list as often as I can. Come on down and stay for a few hands.
| |
$80m poker prize up for grabs
Published: 2005-12-12
 By Nick Papps
13dec05
THE world's richest poker game, with a staggering $80 million winner-take-all prize, will be held at Melbourne's Crown Casino next year.
Aussie poker king Joe Hachem is expected to be among the six players who will each pay $13.3 million to enter the tournament.
The four-hour event in July will carry the richest prize in Australian history.
The tournament, to be launched in Los Angeles today, has already signed up one of the world's leading players, American Phil Ivey.
The other five are to be named in coming months.
Crown gaming boss Richard Longhurst said yesterday the casino was planning to have a bigger poker event in 2007 with a $100 million winner-take-all prize, followed by a $132 million event the year after.
"This is going to give Crown and Melbourne a huge international exposure," Mr Longhurst said.
"This event in July, with this money, will make this the biggest event in the world. It will be phenomenal."
The poker game will be telecast to more than 100 million homes around the world on Fox Sports Network and shown in Australia on Channel 9.
Mr Longhurst said that up to eight of the world's top players had already put their hands up to compete in the invitation-only tournament.
"We have three definites already and one of the issues we have is, who do we want?" he said.
Mr Longhurst said organisers wanted Joe Hachem to play and negotiations were planned with the former Preston chiropractor, who won $10 million at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas earlier this year.
"If Joe wants to play, we'd be happy to have him on board," Mr Longhurst said. "We're going to have talks with Joe." Mr Longhurst said players would either put up their own $13.3 million to play or have their entry fee paid by sponsors.
In high-stakes international poker competitions it is common for sponsors, such as online poker companies, to pay the entry fees for players they use to promote their online gambling sites.
The six poker stars will play Texas hold 'em, no-limits poker in which the final player left in the tournament wins all the prizemoney on the turn of a card.
The $80 million prize is eight times larger than that of the next richest tournament - the Las Vegas world series of poker championship.
The huge poker prize at Crown dwarfs prizemoney handed out at any other sporting contest, including the $46 million heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield won in the infamous 1997 ear-biting bout with Mike Tyson.
In Australia, the top sports payouts are $3 million to the winner of the Melbourne Cup, $1.2 million for the winner of the Australian Open tennis championships, and $225,000 to the winning golfer at the Australian Open.
The $80 million will also be more than double the record $32 million offered later this month in the lotto Megadraw.
| | |
|
