More Odds and Ends

Who doesn't love poker? Our beloved game of poker is appealing to the masses. Everywhere I go, I see people reading poker books in airports and overhear conversations about what happened on the most recent televised poker program.



Celebrities from other walks of life are getting in on the action. Did you know that Jennifer Tilly, Brad Garrett, Shannon Elizabeth, Mimi Rogers, and Tobey Maguire all played in the championship event at the World Series of Poker? Sports figures Shannon Sharpe (NFL) and Rocco Mediate (PGA golfer) also entered the scramble for world champion bragging rights, not to mention the $7.5 million that went with the bracelet.



Hollywood movie stars are becoming more and more enthralled with poker all the time. The latest self-confessed poker addict is Cameron Diaz. Ellen DeGeneres taught her the game recently and she now plays in cardrooms and has entered some poker tournaments.



Poker expands in Atlantic City … The World Poker Tour recently filmed another record-turnout event at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. I was pleased to hear that other Atlantic City casinos worked with Stan Strickland, director of poker operations at Borgata, by allowing some of their dealers and managers to help with the huge staffing issues of the tournament. It's great to see casinos cooperating for the benefit of everyone!



Congratulations to Tournament Director Tab Duchateau and his entire tournament staff for giving the players an excellent tournament structure with lots of play. While there, I heard that Borgata is in the midst of a $200 million expansion that includes increasing the size of its poker room from 35 to 85 tables. COO Larry Mullin said, "Borgata is positioning poker as a main part of our message and brand."



A new 22-table poker room is being built at the Atlantic City Hilton. It is scheduled to open in December.



What's in a name? Recently, an online site offered the town of Bluff, Utah, $100,000 to put its name on the town. The Town Council Chairman Patrick McDermott sent an e-mail to the 285 residents to inform them of the offer and of his plan to discuss the proposal at a future council meeting. Shortly thereafter, McDermott said, "The e-mail was kind of a joke on our part. Bluffoons do have an excellent sense of humor, so we got a good laugh from this because many of us knew that our consideration of the offer was a hoax."



McDermott said that he received lots of responses regarding the proposal. "Many people told me that it would be inconceivable to even consider changing the name to something so unnatural. Descendants of the original Mormon pioneers who settled in Bluff told me that this would be a travesty. A few residents saw the humor in the offer and wrote things like, 'I kind of like Amazon.com better,' or, 'What if we auctioned off rights to sell the name Bluff, Utah, on eBay?'"



According to McDermott, the online site told him that it might consider making the offer to Bluff, Alaska, if Bluff, Utah, rejected the proposal. Apparently it had already made the $100,000 offer to Bluff City, Arkansas, and was turned down.



Only a poker player would think of this … My favorite story from the World Series of Poker this year was about the guy who waited until 10 minutes before play was finished on day one of the championship event to drop the F-bomb, knowing that he would receive a 10-minute penalty, just so that he could say he survived day one. Now, that's thinking at another level.



Reader feedback … I got a letter from a reader who wanted me to remind players of a few things that bother him while playing online. He wrote, "Online chat like nh (nice hand) and wp (well played) are mostly disingenuous and totally unnecessary. Nice hand usually translates to, "You idiot!" When someone takes the time to type in 'hmmmm,' it always means he'll fold and is a total waste of time." Another of his pet peeves is this: "In tournaments, especially limit events, the limits change periodically and people with short stacks need to understand that it behooves them to play faster in order to get in more hands at the lower limits. There seems to be a rash of players who think it is tactically correct to take a long pause even if they already have decided to fold." Good observations.



New poker room planned to open in London … The Fox Poker Club in Mayfair, central London, has applied to the Gaming Board of Great Britain for a casino license, which would make it London's first fully licensed cardroom. Plans are to open in early 2006. The card club will be located next door to its sister club, The Fox Club, an exclusive members-only private club. Club founder Chris North said, "We want to offer a club dedicated to poker that is legally allowed to offer the full range of poker, properly regulated and in a secure environment."



Time for thanks … Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I hope you will take a moment to count your blessings for all the things you have to be thankful. Don't take for granted how lucky you are if you have a wonderful family, good friends, wonderful work and travel opportunities, good health, and a multitude of other great things in your life. Take the time to give back to those less fortunate. As I get older, I realize that this is what is really important. I am so blessed in my life to have all of the above. As the holidays approach, I wish you lots of love, good health, and happiness.



Well, as you can see, you have lots of choices for combining your travels with your poker playing around the world. I love this game!



Now, let's play poker.

Linda is available to host seminars, corporate events, and charity fundraisers. You can contact her through her business website at http://www.cardplayercruises.com/ or her personal site at http://www.lindapoker.com/.