This is the third of three posts today about the upcoming 2015 World Series of Poker, which takes place at the Rio Las Vegas — May 27 to July 14.
Photo (L to R): Nolan Dalla, Gregory Grivas, Joel Garcia (who presented me with an outstanding bottle of Duet Zinfandel from Temecula Valley), and Poker Room Manager Christopher Gawlik — posing on the second floor of Planet Hollywood, where the second best tournament series in Las Vegas will be held this summer.
Can we talk?
Many of you who are reading this will be coming to the 2015 World Series of Poker, which takes place at the Rio. It’s basically my job to promote the hell out of the WSOP and everything happening on location, and I’m thrilled to do it for no other reason than that’s where the action is. Poker players love action, which makes cheerleading the WSOP an easy assignment.
The fact is, however, not everyone will perform well or end up as winners. Some things won’t go according to plan. Many dreams will not come true. Busting out is a part of poker life. Losing is part of the game, for many.
When that happens, the Rio has plenty of other stuff going on. There are smaller buy-in tournaments. Satellites. Sit n’ Gos. And, cash games — at virtually every limit. In other words, when one poker game is over, another one is on the horizon, if you so choose to play. You can either step up or down in class, any time of day or night.
But what about when you’re outside the Rio? What else is going on poker-wise in Las Vegas during that time?
Well, for any poker player who comes out during May-June-July, Las Vegas basically turns into a poker mecca. Every casino with a poker room seems to offer an incentive to come and play. There are tournaments running all over town. Frankly, most of the other casinos around Las Vegas owe the WSOP a great deal of gratitude for bringing in people from around the world, who pay for hotel rooms, eat in restaurants, do touristy stuff, and of course — play lots of poker.
Unfortunately, I never get a chance to join in that kind of fun. I’m either working, or socializing, or sleeping. That’s pretty much my WSOP life.
That said, I just returned from a nice visit to Planet Hollywood. I received the royal treatment, which included the grand tour, and a nice bottle of wine (which has since been consumed). They are going to run a tournament series that’s will blow your ass away. I hear the players over there are terrible, so if things don’t go well at the Rio, then head over to Planet Hollywood and play its tournament series, which will be going on at the same time as the WSOP.
Yes, Planet Hollywood is indeed a Caesars-owned property. And, it’s an incestuous recommendation for me to tout another sister property aside from the Rio where I spend most of my time. But I’ve never done this before and encouraged by what I saw in terms of what’s planned for Planet Hollywood, I’m going to lay it on the line and say this will be the second biggest tournament series in the city during that time. Planet Hollywood is running up to three tournaments a day, most with deep structures. They will even be reporting on the results, which means the final tables and winners will receive coverage.
Look for the official announcement to come out from Planet Hollywood on Friday. All the tournaments will be listed, including many different games other than No-Limit Hold’em. There are also guarantees on many of the tournaments. I look for some huge fields at Planet Hollywood, especially after a similar success last year. However, not as many players knew about last year’s schedule. So, I’m doing my part to let everyone know where you might be able to make a score. I hear that Tom Schneider will make an appearance at some mixed-game events, so there’s dead money already in the pool.
Again — look for the full tournament schedule of the Planet Hollywood series this coming Friday.
The only recommendation here I will not make is going to see the Brittany Spears show, which also takes place at Planet Hollywood. Don’t go, people. It’s terrible. I wouldn’t be seen in that lip-synching light show if it was free. Okay, if it’s free I might go, but no one has invited me. Instead, head upstairs right above the casino floor next to Brittany’s terrible show. That’s where the tournament action will be taking place.
Oops, I did it again.