The summer season is the only time of the year when players can find more than 100 high-profile tournaments being played in Las Vegas within a month-and-a-half period. This year's summer season boasts 113 big buy-in tournaments to be held between June 1 and July 17, only 55 of which are part of the
World Series of Poker itself.
The Bellagio Cup III's Aggressive Return
The most direct competitor of the
WSOP is the
Bellagio Cup III. Bellagio's series features 27 tournaments, all no-limit hold'em, with buy-ins ranging from $1,500 to $10,000. This tournament is set to run from June 11 to July 15, with its $10,000 main event being held during the
World Series main event - direct competition, indeed.
Many poker pros, of course, have a burning desire to receive face-time during
WSOP events, the fact of which makes the task of luring big names to the
Bellagio Cup even more daunting. Bellagio answered this challenge in a few ways. Firstly, Bellagio set up its events such that, in general, its biggest buy-in tournaments' first days coincide with the low buy-in
WSOP events' first days. The thinking here is that more pros will opt to take a shot in the
Bellagio Cup events because they'll have smaller fields and comparable prize pools compared to their
WSOP counterparts (and, correspondingly, they'll be less of a "crapshoot").
The second tactic comes in the form of an arrangement between Bellagio and the
World Poker Tour. The
WPT has announced that the
Bellagio Cup III main event will be a televised
WPT event, giving the series even more prestige and surely boosting the percentage of poker pros who will enter the tournament (TV coverage translates to face-time, which translates to heightened interest).
To the Winner Go the Spoils
Participants in this year's
Bellagio Cup events will be vying for more than just the first-place prize money. The series will award the winner of each event a golden bracelet (that way, entrants won't be missing out on bracelet-winning opportunities by skipping the
WSOP). Along with the new flashy jewelry, event winners also will receive a free entry into the
World Poker Tour Championship, a buy-in worth $25,000; not too shabby.
Why Pay $10,000 When You Can Pay $1,500
The first schedule published for the
Bellagio Cup III featured 28 events, but Bellagio opted to cancel one of the tournaments in favor of supersatellites for its $10,000 main event. The seven $1,500 supersatellites will run two-a-day, July 7-9, with the final one running alongside day one (A) of the main event itself, qualifying seat winners for day one (B).
Mix it Up From Last Year's Cup
The
Bellagio Cup II, held last year during the
World Series, was deemed a success in most people's eyes, but one major difference between that series and the upcoming one makes it hard to predict how successful the newest iteration will be.
Last year's 29-event series was a no-limit hold'em fest, as well, but every event (save the main event, of course) had a buy-in of $1,000. This made for a popular, although arguably monotonous, recourse for those who had busted out of
WSOP events that day and those who were simply interested in smaller buy-in tournaments. That kind of schedule, however, basically set up the
Bellagio Cup II as a second-chance tournament series of sorts when viewed alongside the
World Series, rather than the World Series competitor that this year's Cup is poised to be.
And the Winner Was
Last year's
Bellagio Cup main event had 324 entrants, generating a prize pool of $3.1 million. Shannon Shorr, a then relative unknown who is now an established pro and
Card Player columnist, eventually took down the event, earning more than $960,000. His win also vaulted him into the top-five spots in the
Card Player Player of the Year standings and shoved him into the limelight, which goes to show how much prestige the event had even then. This year, with the extra attention drawn to the tournament courtesy of the
World Poker Tour, the event will likely be bigger and more prestigious than ever.
Bellagio Cup III Insights
Card Player caught up with Bellagio Tournament Director Jack McClelland to get the inside scoop on the upcoming
Bellagio Cup III.
Card Player: What can you tell us about the Bellagio Cup III?
Jack McClelland: We're expecting a very nice crowd. Last year, we had an 18-day event. It was very well-attended. This year, the
World Poker Tour is involved, and we're expecting a field of around 800 entrants for the main event.
CP: It seems that, with the new format of the
Cup, you're tailoring it more as direct competition for the
World Series of Poker, rather than a series of second-chance tournaments. Is that a fair assessment?
JM: Last year, we wanted to experiment to see what kinds of crowds we could draw with the tournament series during the
World Series. We drew massive crowds, something like 300 to 500 entrants per event. This year, we decided to make it more involved, with two-day events. We'll also be awarding golden bracelets for all of the events.
CP: Do you have any special poker room rates for those who play in the series?
JM: Of course. We're giving room rates of $149 Sunday through Thursday and $219 on Friday and Saturday.
CP: What qualifies players for those rates?
JM: If they play in any of the tournaments in the
Bellagio Cup or if they play in cash games, they qualify. It takes about six hours of play a day to qualify for the rate in cash games.
CP: Bellagio is known for pampering its guests, which is undoubtedly why so many notable pros frequent your poker tables. What kinds of services and comforts can a player expect while playing in the
Bellagio Cup?
JM: There are several different dinner venues that we'll give comps to for the dinner breaks during the events. There are also, of course, massage and drink services, as usual.
CP: How have you prepared for this third edition of the tournament? Are there any particular concerns that you've heard about that you'll be addressing, or anything new that you're trying?
JM: Nothing aside from the different buy-ins. Last year had a whole bunch of $1,000 buy-in events and the championship event. This year we're adding $2,500 buy-in events and $5,000 buy-in events. There are nine $5,000 events.
Also, this past year, to preserve the integrity of the tournaments, we bought all-new tournament chips that are meant for the championship tournaments only. We spent a lot of money to ensure that this aspect of the tournaments is secure, so that players know that we are trying to look out for them.
CP: Do you have an estimate of sizes of the fields for the events?
JM: Most likely, somewhere between 200 and 500 entrants in most of the events.
CP: What about the total prize pool across the events?
JM: We can't be sure, of course, but we're figuring on at least 10 to 15 tournaments with prize pools greater than $1 million.
CP: Will you be offering satellites, aside from the main-event supersatellites?
JM: Satellites will start on June 11, and will run every morning from 8 a.m. to noon. Satellites for the next day's event will start at 2 p.m. The buy-ins for the satellites will run the gamut; we're definitely going to have something for everybody.
CP: What time do the events start?
JM: Every event starts at 1 p.m., but you can buy in up until 3 p.m. Players will be playing until 4 a.m. or until the final table, and they'll come back at 4 p.m. the next day.
CP: If players have questions, whom should they contact?
JM: Players can call (702) 693-7290 or go to www.bellagio.com to get all of the info.
Deep Stack Extravaganza II
Another nice option for poker action in Vegas this summer is the second installment of The Venetian's successful
Deep Stack Extravaganza tournament series.
The buy-ins for events in this series are $330, $540, and $1,060, making it the most affordable of the three tournament series in Las Vegas. The series also promises players plenty of play, because the events are double-stack tournaments.
With its cost-conscious buy-ins and complement of satellites, the
Deep Stack Extravaganza II will most likely repeat the success of its first edition, which took place in February-March of this year. That 19-event series attracted 4,600 entrants and generated a combined prize pool of more than $1.6 million across all of the events.
Card Player caught up with Kathy Raymond of The Venetian poker room to find out what players can expect in the upcoming event:
Card Player: Can you give us some history about The Venetian poker room?
Kathy Raymond: The poker room opened on April 2 of last year, and it has come a long way. We are kind of the new kids on the block, and the room has been well-received. It is the most luxurious room in town, and the most comfortable. We have a widespread reputation for giving great service with a very knowledgeable staff, and it's coming together very nicely.
CP: Tell us about the
Deep Stack Extravaganza.
KR: The first
Deep Stack Extravaganza was a tremendous success. Events were structured similarly to
World Series of Poker events; players got $10,000 in starting chips and there was a generous blinds structure. With poker players in town for the Series, we decided to complement that event and again offer a
Deep Stack Extravaganza, which has been expanded to include $1,000 buy-in tournaments.
CP: So, with more poker players in town, you have upped some of the buy-ins?
KR: We start with the $300 and $500 buy-in events, but the $1,000 buy-in is brand-new. We are shaking it up a little bit, as well. Not all events are no-limit hold'em; we will offer pot-limit Omaha, Omaha eight-or-better, limit hold'em, and H.O.R.S.E. events.
CP: Do you have any special poker room rates for entrants?
KR: We are offering tremendously competitive hotel rates: $119 Sunday through Thursday and $189 on Friday and Saturday.
CP: What does a player have to do to earn those rates?
KR: Play in a
Deep Stack Extravaganza event or log six hours of live play.
CP: The Venetian is offering a shuttle to the Rio, as well, correct?
KR: Yes. We realize that players want to play in
World Series events, but we also know that people at the
Series may want to come over and play in our events. We want to offer this amenity to players, especially those staying at our hotel.
CP: Player service is very important at The Venetian. Can you tell us about some of the things you offer?
KR: We offer food comps for every tournament entry, and for every four hours of play, we offer gifts from the poker room. Also, during the
Deep Stack Extravaganza, we will still be offering the limit hold'em promotion, which is a tremendously reduced rake at those tables. During the month of June, the rake will be $2 at the $8-$16 and $15-$30 tables, and $4 every half-hour at the $60-$120 tables. That will be a draw for cash-game players looking for a good game, and we anticipate having some big games. We host either a $50-$100 or $100-$200 no-limit hold'em game twice a week, and we believe it will run for the duration of the
World Series.
CP: Do you do anything special for high-limit players?
KR: We treat all players as if they are high-stakes players, as far as the services we offer. For high-stakes players, we offer butler service from our restaurants and complimentary drinks, as well. We try to offer as much as they could expect at any other casino, or more.
CP: Do you have an estimate of field sizes for the events?
KR: We estimate fields ranging from 250 to 500 entrants. During our first tournaments, we got between 250 and 400 entrants, and that was without the
World Series crowd. In a $1,000 event, that's a $500,000 prize pool. We also are taking a half of a percent from each event's prize pool and establishing a pool for the best overall player award. We think we're going to do a 40 percent-30 percent-20 percent-10 percent payout structure for the top-four overall players across the series.
CP: Will you be offering satellites?
KR: Yes. They will start at 8 a.m. and run until 11 p.m. We will offer them for all of our events.
CP: What time do the events start?
KR: All of the events will start at noon. Play will go until 2 a.m. or the final table, whichever comes first, with the final table beginning the next day.
CP: Do you have a prize pool estimate for the whole event?
KR: We think $5 million is doable, and that's based on only 250- to 350-entrant fields.
CP: Whom should players contact with questions?
KR: They can e-mail our tournament director, Tim Mix, at
[email protected], go to Venetian.com, or call the poker room at (702) 414-1000.
