Travel and Poker … What a Great Concept!

I recently returned from the poker trip of a lifetime to the Mediterranean aboard Orient Cruise Line's Crown Odyssey. We visited the cities of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cannes, Portofino, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Palermo, Corfu Town, Dubrovnik, and Venice by day, and played poker every evening. Many of the cruisers expressed delight with being able to combine two of their favorite pastimes: travel and poker. I certainly agree with them, and in this column, I will tell you about some great opportunities coming up if you are interested in seeing some beautiful areas while also getting to play poker.

Costa Rica Poker Classic: Just around the corner (Oct. 13-19), this tournament promises to be the biggest to date for Casinos Europa in San Jose, Costa Rica. More than 400 Americans are expected to enjoy the hospitality while mixing it up with the locals for some great poker action. In addition to the $10 buy-in, $40,000-guaranteed tournaments, there will be a $500 no-limit event that will part of the World Poker Tour. Both the live games area and the tournament area will be nonsmoking areas.

I strongly recommend that you arrive a few days early or stay a few days late to explore some of the beautiful countryside. Some of the prettiest resorts in the world are in Costa Rica, both on the coasts and inland. My favorite is the Tabacon Resort at the base of the Arenal Volcano. Visitors can choose to hike the nature trails, relax in the natural hot springs, or spend the day at the spa. The Arenal Volcano is very active, and on the day I was there, lava flowed down the sides all evening. Of course, there are many day trips available as well, including visits to the beaches, waterfalls, rain forest, coffee plantations, orchid gardens, butterfly farms, museums, markets, and restaurants.

World Poker Tour: Most of the events coming up as part of the World Poker Tour are being held in tourist destination areas, allowing for some great sightseeing as well as poker action. If you want to follow the tour, you will find its schedule listed on the website at www.worldpokertour.com. Click on tournaments to get the taping dates and locations.

Oasis Open Poker Tournament: The second Oasis Open Poker Tournament at the Oasis Resort Casino in Mesquite, Nevada, about 80 miles north of Las Vegas, will be held Oct. 25-29. With buy-ins ranging from $60 to $120, generous food comps, and $25 room rates, this tournament is very affordable. Players who participate in all five events will have their rooms comped for the duration of the tournament.

There is some great scenery around the Mesquite area. During the drive between Las Vegas and Mesquite, take a detour through the Valley of Fire area for some awesome scenery. From Mesquite, it is a short drive north to Zion National Park, where you will see nature at its finest. Mesquite also is the home of some fine golf courses and spas.

Poker World Cup at Sea: The second annual Poker World Cup at Sea will be held Dec. 1-8 on a Card Player Cruises poker trip. In addition to a wide variety of live games, there will be seven poker tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $500 during this fun week at sea. The host ship is Vision of the Seas, part of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line fleet. Prices for this cruise start at $629, and players must book their passage with Card Player Cruises to be eligible to play in the poker room.

The ports of call are Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Special excursions, parties, and complimentary poker seminars will be offered to cruisers. The weather at this time of the year is spectacular, and players will be able to relax on beautiful beaches, parasail, go horseback riding, shop, snorkel, and participate in lots of shipboard activities. For more information, see the website at www.cardplayercruises.com, or call (888) 999-4880 or (702) 655-0919.

As you can see, there are plenty of poker activities that can be combined with travel to make for exciting vacations. See the Tournament Trail in the back of this issue for more locations. Happy trails to you.

Now, let's play poker!

To submit future column ideas or obtain information about any of the above-mentioned tournaments, contact Linda Johnson at [email protected].