Borgata

Yesterday was September 11th, and at the start of play Tab asked for a moment of silence to remember those lost on that tragic day 7 years ago, and the families who are still suffering. I am horrified that a group of people could do such a terrible thing. I also think about our servicemen and women who are serving in Iraq and other hostile environments. I was playing next to a young petty officer a couple of days ago who was on leave and would return to duty in a few days. As a veteran myself, I am somewhat disturbed by how normal things are for us here and just how hard our troops have it. I am not a big fan of the war in Iraq, but I am a huge supporter of our troops and the work they do for us. I feel that they were put in harm's way without much forethought and the expense has been far too great. I am not talking about the money, which has been wasted as well; I am talking about the human expense, the lives lost and those wounded. Our soldiers are spouses and parents, children and family members and before they are put in harm's way the risk and benefit should be carefully weighed.

I have been playing at the Borgata for the past several days. I am staying in the new tower, The Water Club, and it is truly a 1^st class hotel. The regular tower is quite nice, but this is even better. I have made it to the money in almost every event I have played, although not into the money. The exceptions being yesterday in the $500 buy in when on the third hand I have top two run into bottom set and I'm out. I probably should have been able to get away from the hand, but my game plan was to play aggressively and it didn't go so well.

I have been about even in the cash games I have been playing and will not have much more time for those now that the events are picking up. Today I'm playing the 5k, which should attract more than 200 players. Usually the 5k events have the smallest and toughest fields. Most players will take a shot at the main event and bypass this one. So it usually has the highest concentration of pro's.

Tomorrow Tab, the tournament director, runs a 2k satellite to the main event where 1 in 5 wins a seat. It has a great structure and it is the only one of its kind I have seen out there. I am not usually a big fan of mega's, usually preferring single tables, but this one I love. The 10k main event is guaranteeing 5 million, which means they must attract a field of over 500 to avoid an overlay. With many WPT events experiencing a decline in main event participation, I wouldn't be surprised to see numbers here hold steady, or even increase.

Dennis Phillips is arriving today and it will be good to catch up with him. I am enjoying working with him and I'm excited about his upcoming final table. My good friend Jay Berger will also be out here and it will be good to see him. We have been working on his game quite a bit and it will be good to see how he fares in the events.

For more information on Roy Winston, you can visit his website: www.oraclepoker.net or send him an email. The contents presented herein on this blog are purely the opinions of Roy Winston, and are not intended to reflect or promote the opinions of any other person, group, or entity. If you like what I write than thanks for reading, and if not well, thanks anyway.