Bicycle Hotel & Casino Tournament Director Mo Fathipour Expands Quantum Tournaments

Do you want more options when you play and in how much you invest to play a poker tournament? Do you want to win big money for a small buy-in?

If so, get ready for the next big thing that could boost your tournament bankroll. It’s a tournament concept called Quantum Tournaments patented by The Bicycle Hotel & Casino Tournament Director Mo Fathipour. Fathipour has been running tournaments at one of the largest poker rooms in the country for years.

Daily Tournaments

Quantum tournaments offer low, affordable buy-ins and a generous tournament structure. Players can choose their own buy-in level, choose to come early, pay less, or buy-in during a later session, pay a little more for more starting chips. Each player has an option for one add-on per entry.

Major Tournaments

Quantum offers two different major buy-in options;

Option A: Any multi-day tournament, the casino can offer a day 2 direct buy-in with average chips.

For example; If in 10 flights of a multi-day tournament with 10 percent advancing to day 2, day 2 direct buy-in for average chips will cost 10 times the original day 1 buy-in.
Day 1 buy-in is $100, then day 2 direct buy-in for average chip stack will be $1,000.
Day 1 buy-in is $200, then day 2 direct buy-in for average chip stack will be $2,000.

Concept B; Any multi-day tournament could be on a different day with a different buy-in amount and with different starting chips.

For example;Day 1A, Buy-in $100, 10,000 chips, 10 percent advance to day 2. Average chips will be 100,000
Day 1B, Buy-in $200, 15,000 chips, 15 percent advance to day 2. Average chips will be 100,000
Day 1C, Buy-in $300, 20,000 chips, 20 percent advance to day 2. Average chips will be 100,000
Now on day 2, if average chips are 100,000, then day 2 direct buy-in will be $1,000 for 100,000 chips.

For the past six years, the Quantum concept was only used at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino due to a partnership Fathipour had with the World Poker Tour. That partnership with WPT ended early this year, and Fathipour can proudly announce the addition of Kevin Pound to the Quantum Tournament Team.

Card Player Poker Tour Event Offering Quantum Tournament Concept

This excellent tournament concept will be used for two upcoming Card Player Poker Tour stops. Bicycle Hotel & Casino (Jul 1st -13th) will offer a smaller price point tournament.

First day flights will have a buy-in of $240 (15,000 chips 15 percent advance to day 2). When players advance to day 2 at the end of each flight, they will receive $300 cash when they bag and tag for day 2. This process will repeat for three days and day 2 direct buy-ins will pay $1,500 for average chips. (Day 2 players are not in the money until we reach one third of the day 2 field.) From Oct. 1 – 22, the Bicycle Hotel & Casino will run a larger CPPT event using the Quantum format with a $1,100 buy in for first three starting days (25 percent of each flight will advance to day 2) and a $4,300 direct buy-in for day 2.

Fathipour explains. “The Mega Million tournament series at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino is a Quantum Concept and players can pay $160, $550, or $4,300. They can try and qualify cheaper or just pay the full day 2 buy-in price. Imagine that with a $160 buy in there is a chance to win $300,000. That is reality! At the Bike, the last Mega Million winner won $268,000 for a $260 investment.” Wow!

The Mega Million, which runs each March and August, is the Bicycle’s signature tournament series. It runs over 11 days, with two sessions a day and buy-ins ranging from $160 to the Day 2 $4,300 direct buy in. The Bicycle Casino also runs daily tournaments seven days a week. Five of those days are Quantum Reload tournaments, with the Saturday $30 + $10 with one $30 optional rebuy boasting a whopping $30,000 guarantee. Similar events Friday ($8,000 guarantee) and Sunday ($12,000 guarantee) are also extremely popular.

Casino Benefit

“This is the best option for a casino to run a major tournament,” Fathipour explains. “Many casinos are currently running four, five, or six-day multi-day tournaments. With the Quantum Concept, now on Day 2 without any extra expense, a new player comes in, pays more money, and is equal to 10 players on an earlier day. This will help casinos meet guarantees, make prize pools larger, attract bigger, more notable players, and elevate the cash games. It’s a win-win for the casino and the players.”

He says the Quantum tournaments are two concepts. First, a casino can run a multi-day tournament with the same buy-in each starting day. Quantum adds a Day 2 with a different buy-in; a more expensive price point where players pay a bigger buy-in and get average starting chips.

Second, “different day, different price” option. For example, Fathipour says the upcoming event will offer a $130 buy-in for day 1A, $240 buy-in for day 1B, $300 buy-in for day 1C, and an $1,100 day 2 direct buy-in. Imagine getting to play in a $1,100 tournament for a small fraction of the price. It’s like a tournament with a satellite built in. The day one players with a smaller buy-in have a chance to run good and build up a more than average stack going into day 2.

Players First

Fathipour, originally from Iran, has played poker for nearly 30 years. Within a month of arriving in the US, he started playing weekly in $0.25 five-card draw and lowball games he found in the major Los Angeles card rooms, and he played there consistently for 14 years.

He continued as a player, eventually evolving into a high-stakes regular. Despite managing a medical office, he has always played the larger ($10-$25 no limit hold’em, $5,000 buy-in no cap) cash games and has six-figures in lifetime tournament earnings. His favorite games are the mixed variety including: badugi, deuce-to-seven, badeucey and badacey, and he still plays these games semi-regularly.

He joined the Bicycle Hotel & Casino in 2004, working as a public relations player, then became a no-limit poker host in the high-stakes section. In June of 2010, he began coordinating tournaments at the casino and helped grow the Bike into the premier daily tournament room in the Los Angeles area.

“I know what the players want,” he says. “I’m a player too. I know and can appreciate what today’s players want and expect from a tournament. With Quantum tournaments, we offer low buy-ins, with big money guarantees. To date we have successfully run 14 Mega Million events with a $160 buy-in. All of them were Quantum style and each one exceeded the million dollar guarantee.”

For more information about the upcoming Card Player Poker Tour events, go to www.cardplayerpokertour.com ♠