Spirit Mountain Revisited

It had been more than four years since I first visited Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon, so I was happy to get an invitation to attend a charity event there recently. They invited four other Card Player columnists: Roy Cooke, Jan Fisher, Tom McEvoy, and Barry Tanenbaum. Barry was accompanied by his wife, Betty, and Roy brought along Misty, his wife, and Crystal, his daughter.

We coordinated our flights to Portland, Oregon, and rented cars from there for the two-hour drive to the casino. Because a large number of out-of-town players had reserved rooms for the tournament, and there was a simultaneous tribal celebration going on, the hotel adjacent to the casino was sold out. Spirit Mountain generously provided rooms for us at the Sea Horse Oceanfront Lodging Hotel in nearby Lincoln City. We certainly didn't mind the drive in exchange for being able to look out our windows and see the ocean.

We were eager to see the casino and hear more about the tournament details, so we met with Cardroom Manager Dee Dee Le Baron at the Legends Steakhouse the night before the tournament. Dee Dee is a wonderful hostess and made us all feel very comfortable and welcome. She informed us that the tournament was a charity event sponsored by 97.1 KISN FM radio. That explained the $97 rebuys, as well as the $97 bounty on the poker "celebrities." The casino paid for our buy-ins, and we agreed that any prize money we won would be donated to charity.

After a great meal, we went into the cardroom and were pleased to learn that it was nonsmoking. The Olympics was on many of the televisions around the room, so Tom, Barry, Jan, and I sat at an empty poker table and started watching. The next thing I knew, Tom grabbed the microphone and announced, "Come on all you cowards. We're going to start a $10-$20 game and we're ready to gamble!" Within two minutes, the game was full with a waiting list. The local players were very friendly, and seemed to enjoy playing with us. We had to check in at the hotel by 10 p.m., so we called it an early night, despite the fact that I was stuck about $200.

The next morning, we met for a scrumptious breakfast before driving to the casino. I enjoyed the drive from Lincoln City to Grande Ronde … when you live in the desert as I do, it is a treat to see so many beautiful trees. The tournament was sold out before we arrived! At each of the 15 tables, there was a bounty. In addition to the five of us from Card Player, most of the other bounties were radio personalities from KISN. There were two bounties at my table; the other was Spencer, a very funny fellow who made the following announcement to the table: "I'm playing for the Children's Cancer Society, so if you hate kids, go ahead and bust me."

On the break, there was a nice buffet put out for the players. Dee Dee and her staff did a very good job of running the tournament and making sure that everyone had a good time. I lasted to the final three tables, just long enough to get shut out of the $30-$60 game (I hate it when that happens). They started a must-move $30-$60 game soon thereafter, and I got a seat. Jan was the only one from Card Player who made the money and won something for her charity. By doing so, she also qualified for a $20,000 freeroll that will be held in December. All in all, the trip was a lot of fun and I highly recommend the cardroom experience at Spirit Mountain.

Change of subject: I received the following e-mail from Faith Klimczak in response to a recent column. "Thanks so much for publishing your 'First-Time Visit to a Brick-and-Mortar Cardroom' column. As an online player going B&M for the first time last July, this was much needed. However, there is one piece of advice missing from your column. You should advise players to take their chips out of the rack. I did not know this prior to my trip, and did not learn about it until after I returned. Apparently it is bad etiquette, and surely a 'tell' of B&M inexperience. I just thought I'd pass that along."

Good advice, Faith. Playing out of a rack usually slows the game down, and it can possibly void a potential jackpot. In fact, many casinos do not allow racks on the table. If you have so many chips that they are in the way (a good problem to have), you should consider coloring them up for larger-denomination chips.

Another change of subject: Plan to attend the fourth annual World Poker Players Conference on Nov. 6 at Bellagio. The educational seminars taught by world-class players and poker writers are sure to improve your poker skills, regardless of your current level of play. Early-bird pricing is available by registering online at www.cardplayercruises.com through Oct. 22.

Now, let's play poker!

Linda is available to host poker events and seminars. You can contact her through her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.