Shuffle Off to Buffalo

The Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel near Buffalo, New York, recently hosted the first-annual Seneca World Poker Classic. The tournament was held in the well-designed and attractive casino's beautiful new convention area located adjacent to the hotel, parts of which are still under construction. Not only was the tournament held in very spacious surroundings, it was expertly run by tournament veterans Matt Savage, David Lamb, and Billy V., with the help of some well-trained casino employees. Overseeing the entire operation was Mike Gainey, director of poker operations, a class act who loves poker in general and tournaments in particular. Gainey is scheduling additional tournaments for later in the year, including a televised event in October that I plan to attend.



The American side of Niagara Falls is within easy walking distance of the casino and is a major tourist attraction in the United States. The Canadian side is even more spectacular, and is a longer hike or a short ride from the casino. Be sure to bring your passport or driver's license if you plan to cross the border.



The tournament featured no-limit hold'em events, with a few limit events thrown in for good measure. In addition to the main events that started at noon each day, a smaller buy-in event began every evening at 7 p.m. There were actually two championship events. The first one was a $5,100 event that featured several top poker stars, such as Antonio Esfandiari, Layne Flack, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Phil Laak, and last but not least, yours truly. Laak was the only one of us who made the final table, eventually finishing fifth. I was the next closest, finally going down in 12th place. Since they paid only nine spots, it was disappointing to come away empty-handed.



I am still second-guessing myself on the last hand I played. Here's the situation: I was in the $1,000 big blind and Laak raised the blinds for about the 20th time. I was now the shortest stack in the entire tournament, with about $15,000 in chips. I knew that Phil, with his constant raising, could not possibly have a big hand every time. However, as we all know, timing is everything. I decided to force him off his hand with an all-in reraise. Unfortunately, this time he had pocket queens. My hand? Only a K-10, but that was not the point. I have a reputation for conservative play and knew that he would probably fold any holding except a premium hand. Oh well, once again I had to report to the rail just short of the money.



The tournament also featured what I would refer to as the second championship event. This was a $1,580 buy-in event that was billed as the Can-Am Challenge Championship. There was a lot of high-spirited, friendly rivalry with the many Canadian players in attendance. Rick Silver and Joel Sandler of Toronto promoted the event. In case you had not already heard, Canadian poker is alive and well. The Canadian Poker Tour is going strong, and now this series of Can-Am Challenge tournaments, in addition to the regular tour, is sure to attract a lot of attention. The final table of this event featured six Americans and three Canadians. James Dunning of Los Angeles emerged the winner, taking a short stack to the final table and going on a massive rush to win the event. Fellow American Chris Santora from Amherst, New York, came in second. The next two spots went to Canadians David Sykes and Aaron Gordon. I also made the final table, but finished a disappointing seventh. I had a decent-sized stack going in, but won only one small pot. You can't win without a little luck and a few good cards. I had neither this time.



I could not have been more favorably impressed with the entire tournament, and I highly recommend that the Seneca Niagara be added to your tournament schedule. (And did I mention that the players buffet was excellent?)



On a personal note, I want to thank Steve Isaacson for inviting me to the Table Tennis Hall of Fame banquet. I was very active for more than 20 years in table tennis. No, I was not inducted into the Hall of Fame (I was good, but not that good). I was honored for my poker accomplishments and past service. Every year, the national table tennis championships are held at the convention center in Las Vegas. In past years, I helped run some of these tournaments.



I had a great time at the banquet renewing old friendships.



I would like to remind you that I am conducting a one-day seminar at Hollywood Park Casino on April 2. You can get more information about it by calling toll free (888) 293-2186. The main part of the seminar will be about no-limit hold'em tournament strategy, with a question-and-answer session included.



Whether you play poker or table tennis, I hope to meet you in the winner's circle one day soon, whether in Seneca or Vegas.

Tom McEvoy is a representative of PokerStars.com. He is also the voice of ProPlay, a new and innovative way to learn winning poker strategy. Find out more at www.ProPlayLive.com/TomMcEvoy.