The Todd Brunson Montana Challenge

My first Montana tournament was held this past May. Why didn’t you hear about it? Well, this one was kind of like a dry run. We didn’t advertise it outside of Montana. I didn’t even invite many of my close friends.

Scotty Nguyen recently came up to me and said, “Baby, I heard you had a tournament. Why, why, why you not imbite me, Baby?”

Then, Chau Giang walked up to me and said … Well, I don’t know what the hell he said, ’cause I don’t speak Chinamanese English, but I think it was about not being invited to my tournament; I’m still not sure.

Anyway, I explained to both of them that I had never run a tournament before and I wanted the first one to be small just in case I screwed up. The purpose of this first event was to make everyone happy, not to make money. That will come later if it all works out. It did, by the way; it ran very smoothly. But I did not do it alone.

My wife, Anjeleen, ran the cage, and worked over 14 hours a day (with no pay, either!). My cousin Ken did almost as much, with some help from his girlfriend Sasha. My friend Ed Brogdon flew up all the way from Texas to help out. Hoyt Corkins was there, but he mostly drank beer and watched us work.

My partner John Boyle had a few of his friends fly up to help, as well. Andy and Tyson helped organize the actual tournament, as well as the many satellites that we ran. We also had a great dealer coordinator, Cheri, and awesome dealers from all over the state. Thanks a lot, guys, I couldn’t have done it without your generous help!

I actually own my own tables, cards, drop boxes, dealer trays, and chips with all of the Super System authors on them. These are probably the nicest chips I’ve ever seen and were really expensive, so please don’t steal any for souvenirs if you come up. I actually have sets that you can buy if you like them that much.

So, if you want to come to the next one, it’s set for Oct. 7-11, once again at the beautiful lodge at Whitefish Lake. (Check out http://lodgeatwhitefishlake.com/ for more details.) This isn’t a high-roller event; I believe we’re going with a $330 buy-in with two optional rebuys for the main event. We may raise the buy-ins later (the owner wants them to be $10,000!), but I don’t want to shut out the locals, who are often out of work during the winter months.

There’s plenty to do in Whitefish besides play poker, too; the skiing and snowboarding are extreme; if you don’t mind the cold, the lake is still open for boating; the restaurants rival those in Las Vegas; and downtown is famous for its nightspots. In fact, pretty much all of the city is like a college party at spring break!

We have some sort of tournament every day leading up to the main event, and tons of satellites. Live games also run all day and night. We may even do a minicamp if there’s enough interest. There will be many pros there as my guests. This will be more of a vacation for them, as the limits are fairly low, so this is a great chance to chat or have a drink with some of your favorite pros. Gavin Smith and Hoyt Corkins are already signed up for October, and I believe that Scotty Nguyen will be there. My sister Pam will be there (if you really consider her a pro), and most likely my old man, Texas Dolly himself, Doyle Brunson!

If this all goes well, it will become an annual event (actually, they want me to do two normal tournaments and a charity event). I’m in negotiations with the owners and management now, so let’s hope for the best. If you come up, I promise that you will have a good time. Allegiant Airlines flies into Kalispell from many Western cities for as little as $99. So, you have no excuse.

Get up here ASAP!