Year-End Review - Part I

With the holiday season upon us, I hope you are spending lots of quality time with friends and family. The end of the year presents a perfect opportunity to reflect on what has happened throughout the year. Since this is a poker publication, I will try to recap some of the biggest stories that took place in the poker world in 2001.

Card Player Player of the Year – In 2001, players eagerly competed to win the honor of being named Card Player Player of the Year. Congratulations to Men Nguyen for winning that title.

Nonsmoking Issues – Many poker rooms chose to go nonsmoking in 2001. Among them were the two largest cardrooms in Las Vegas, the Mirage and Bellagio.

Tournament organizers responded to loud protests from tournament players against events that allow smoking. Announcements have been made that in 2002, the World Poker Challenge, the World Poker Open, and the World Series of Poker will join the ranks of nonsmoking events.

Standardized Rules – Progress was made toward the standardization of tournament rules with the advent of the Tournament Directors Association. Spearheaded by Matt Savage, Dave Lamb, and Linda Johnson, tournament directors from many different cardrooms met in July at Bellagio with the goal of standardizing some basic tournament rules. A list of 14 rules was approved and has now been adopted by most major tournaments. The committee will meet again next year to review current rules and to adopt new ones.

Poker Broadcasts – Expansion in poker broadcasts occurred as major poker events were broadcast live to large audiences around the world by such venues as CardPlayer.com, Ultimate Bet, Fancast.com, and Poker Pages. Players followed the action via blow-by-blow details from events such as the World Poker Challenge, the World Series of Poker, the Tournament of Champions, SARGE, and the World Poker Finals.

World Poker Players Conference – Mike Caro hosted the inaugural WPPC at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in July. More than 300 players were in attendance to hear world-class poker players and experts conduct seminars that included their top tips on how to win in both live games and tournaments.

ARGE Events – The popularity of Internet poker gatherings increased, as attendance records were broken at BARGE, SARGE, ESCARGOT, ATLARGE, FARGO, and MARGE. These events brought participants of the RGP Internet newsgroup together at various locations around the country for a few days of poker, parties, and miscellaneous gaming activities.

Internet Gaming – 2001 saw a tremendous expansion in the number of Internet gaming sites. More than 1,500 gaming websites currently are open for business, including approximately 15 poker sites. Billions of dollars were wagered over the Internet in 2001. The future of Internet gaming is uncertain, as legislators continue to debate its legality.

Poker Cruises – Approximately 800 players sailed with Card Player Cruises in 2001. Cruise destinations included the Eastern Caribbean, a Transatlantic sailing from New York to London, the Southern Caribbean, and the Mexican Riviera.

Poker Room Closings and Openings – 2001 saw the opening and closing of many poker rooms. In Las Vegas alone, the Palms opened, and the Stratosphere, Riviera, New Frontier, Regent, and Las Vegas Club closed.

Women in Poker – Many special events were dedicated to the female clientele, including quarterly Queens events and the Luck Be a Lady weekend at The Bicycle Casino, the Ladies Poker Dream Weekend at Commerce Casino, and the California Ladies State Poker Championship at Ocean's Eleven Casino. Women continued to win more than their share of major tournaments, based on the percentage of female participants. Congratulations to Nani Dollison, who bested a field of 615 entrants to claim victory in the $2,000 limit hold'em event at the WSOP. Additionally, she repeated her winning performance in the WSOP ladies event, becoming the first woman in history to win three gold bracelets.

Marketing Promotions – Players were given the royal treatment in 2001 as many cardrooms offered tremendous promotions to attract players. It would be impossible to mention all of them, but following are some of the largest ones: Ocean's Eleven celebrated its fifth anniversary in January by initiating a $250,000 Racing for Dollars freeroll. Hawaiian Gardens gave away $200,000 in table drawings in February in honor of its one-year anniversary. The Bicycle Casino hosted the world's largest freeroll by putting up $500,000 in prize money in a tournament for players who logged 200 hours of play in 2001. Commerce Casino added $50,000 to one of its limit hold'em tournaments in addition to paying $50,000 to the best all-around player during the L.A. Poker Classic. Hustler Casino offered a $50,000 freeroll to stud players in August. Foxwoods added $87,000 to the World Poker Finals. More than 200 players took Casinos Europa in Costa Rica up on its freeroll promotion, which included free airfare (up to $500), and free room and board. As you can see, 2001 was a good year to be a poker player.

Poker Hall of Fame – Stu Ungar was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame during the 2001 WSOP. His daughter, Stephanie, was on hand for the touching tribute.

Seniors World Championship – 340 seniors participated in the WSOP's inaugural Seniors World Championship. Congratulations to winner Jay Heimowitz.

Poker Tournaments – Tournament poker continued to expand in 2001. Part II of this column in the next issue will deal entirely with major tournament events in 2001.

In closing, I wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope your poker resolutions include being courteous at the poker table, playing within your financial means, visiting at least one cardroom you have never been to before, and always playing the best that you can. And remember, you never get the right price to draw dead!

Now, let's play poker!