A Modest Poker Proposal

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[Content Disclosure: 100% Poker]

In most poker venues the tables are tight and when you add in 65-70 poker media, like this week at the Bellagio, it becomes a traffic jam. But their comes a point, like today, when the field thins and there "could be" more room for the players, more room for the media and even room for fans to pack the rail and see some poker.

So here is my modest proposal to all tournament directors.

Late in a tournament consider breaking tables in a staggered pattern. Break every other table and pull the chairs out of the way so that media can cover the event and not pack in around the players. Also consider, where fans can get near the tournament, breaking the interior tables first and keeping the rail tables in play so on at least one or two sides fans can see the action.

Now I know for some players it is important to know when their table will break (some players don't care) but for those who do; nothing prevents tournament directors from simply announcing a "staggered pattern" for the breaking tables. Sure some players will not listen and some will complain but they never listen and they always complain. So let's give this a try, better coverage for the fans not at the venue and more viewing possibilities for fans who do come out.

If you want this to be a spectator sport, consider the fans and those who bring them the stories.

I Just Love Cats and I Like Poker

[Content Disclosure: 75% Poker; 25% Cats]

For the poker purists in the audience..... there will be very little poker in today's post. To cut to the "poker only content" read my article on PokerNews and/or my post on PokerBlog on this topic.

Today I am going to talk about a great charity event coming this Friday here in Las Vegas and a great cause the Nevada Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals No-Kill Sanctuary.

The event is the Jennifer Harman Celebrity Poker Tournament and Charity Auction to be held this Friday, April 20th at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Lots of poker, lots of professional players, many celebrities from Hollywood and Las Vegas. All of the buy-ins go to the SPCA and there is even a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat for the winner.

Promises of many surprise appearances and some fairly outrageous personal donations for the auction should make for a fun day for everyone.

There are seats available for the tournament; you are bound to be seated at a table with, at least, four or five professionals and celebrity players. But enough about poker.

The SPCA Sanctuary is just a great place. I hung out in the "Cat Wing" for an hour after a press conference earlier this week and then filled out my volunteer papers before I left. My living situation here in the desert does not allow for feline companions, so now I can get my kitten fix by hanging out with 150 cats on a regular basis. The volunteers at the SPCA Sanctuary are a great bunch and I look forward to getting to know them all too, just as soon as I get those cats off of me, which will be in a week or so.

If you can't make it out to the event this Friday, please consider a donation directly to the SPCA No-Kill Sanctuary. Remember on a cold winter night, nothing is better for a chills than throwing another cat on the bed.

Donate to Nevada SPCA

Many thanks to Steve Hall for the photo.

Springtime in Las Vegas

[Content Disclosure: 110% Poker]

Well the spring poker season has started here in Las Vegas. The World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship has already begun preliminary events at the Bellagio. The $25,000 Main Event that will wrap up Season Five of the WPT will be held April 21st - April 27th.

Less than two weeks after WPT Season Five crowns its chamption, Season Six launches just a couple of doors north of Bellagio at The Mirage. May 7th - May 23rd will be the 2007 Mirage Poker Showdown with its $10K Main Event May 19th - 23rd.

Even before the Mirage event is done, the second tournament of the 2007 WPT season will begin preliminary play at Mandalay Bay. May 21st - June 2nd are the dates for the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship with another $10K Main Event running May 29th - June 2nd.

But wait there's more:

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOP) comes to Caesar's Palace from April 22nd - May 2nd with a $5K Main Event scheduled for April 30th - May 2nd.

This, of course, does not take into account the scores of tournaments held every day in greater Las Vegas starting at $30 and going up to regularly scheduled $550 and $1050 weekly events.

Oh and then there is one more little event starting on June 1st at the Rio.

I am going to be covering many of these events in one capacity or another for a variety of media outlets. Stay tuned for that schedule and welcome to Springtime in Las Vegas, it was 90 and sunny today.

An Invitation to a Resurrection

[Content Disclosure: 100% Poker; 43% Shameless Self Promotion]

If you are reading this blog entry you know all you need to know today about UIGEA [Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act]. Unless you are one of my non-poker buddies and you are here to see what I have been doing the last few years, in which case you should give me a call and we can catch up.

The transitory governmental restrictions of freedom and in particular the freedom to play poker have made it difficult for many poker websites to stay in business. Not just the actual gambling sites but all of the support sites. Most of those online operations employ or employed writers. I was and am one of those writers.

So I am happy to announce that one of my former poker gigs/sites is coming back to life and I will be the chief blogger again over at PokerBlog.com. That does not mean I will be abandoning this space. I like "Keeping Your Head in the Game" and I will be staying right here. But please come on over to PokerBlog and let me share with you a few of my other inner demons, angels, angles and directions; all directed at poker of course. PokerBlog will be "all poker all the time" which means this space might find a bit more room for the other sides of my life and maybe even some "other" cards.

Stay Tuned--A Seasoned Witch will call you from the Depths of your Disgrace.