JayFublerHarvey.com

Those who were elected to run and/or do actually run our Buckeye state have long deemed Casino gambling to be ooooh evil-nasty-bad for your teeth-worst for your soul.

What’s perfectly OK? Lottery….Scratch Tickets…Bingo…even Horse Racing. The proceeds from some go to help our schools…. *coughbullshitcough*

Selective gambling is the name of the game here. We must be protected from ourselves! They know what’s good for us, and that’s that. Of course…that’s only as long as we’re within the state’s boundaries….

Fortunately, the Lords and Ladies of Michigan, New York and West Virginia have provided us with the real deal right over the border. All it takes is a three hour drive; It’s like we’ve escaped from the tunnels and come up on the west side of the wall. (I can hear Nena and David Hasslehoff already…)

Strange it was, that I emerged from the tunnel this time…and found myself in downtown Cleveland. Enter the grand NorthCoast experiment…Poker down by the river.

The Nautica Charity Poker Festival is offering Texas Hold ‘Em ring games and tournaments every Thursday thru Sunday from now through the Labor Day weekend, right off of the Cuyahoga river in the formerly famous Flats district. Each week benefits a different charity…it had better since the charities themselves are the ones providing the volunteer dealers and personnel.

There’d been a lot of questions about the whole set up, so since I checked it out this past Friday, I’ll throw down the lowdown….

The Positives

• For a temporary event, the sturdiness of the whole tent was impressive. Very solid makeshift floors. Well thought-out layout, both at the tables and the waiting area
• Excellent air conditioning!
• Comfortable professional tables. Not casino level, but you wouldn’t expect that from a temporary setup.
• Decent concessions, both on the floor and off. They give you special cup holders when getting refreshments at the table too.
• Excellent tournament blind structure (starts at 25-50, blinds increase every 20 minutes) and starting chip count (1500). (At least in the $50 sit-n-go)
• Mega props to the volunteer dealer that was at my table. Knew the game…knew how to deal…was amusing as well as informative
• Plenty of shade-wearing, hat-pulled-down, i-play-like-the-WPT fools at the tourneys
• Plenty of security and floor personnel visible at all times
• Plenty of alcohol and entertainment within a 2 minute walk (It’s the flats, after all)
• Hey…it *is* for charity ^_^

The Negatives

• Money only ring games! Yes, actual US currency is used in the ring games instead of chips. (Anyone with a decent slight of hand could make money without having to play a hand)
• With a $10-15 per hour seat fee, plus the blinds (at the ring games), the charity “rake” is pretty hefty in comparison to the casinos
• Tournaments only pay out to 2 positions (originally it was three)
• They have no problem putting 11 people at a preset 10 people sit-n-go table
• Had to wait over an hour for enough dealers to show up so that a second sit-n-go tourney could start. Meanwhile, 5/10 and 10/20 tables were filling up all over the place. (The charity does make more money via the ring games)
• According to my dealer, most of the volunteer dealers are mediocre to bad to even ignorant of the basics of the game. Charity is charity, but they should at least know the difference between a straight and a flush…
• Bad initial press: On the very first day, some lady left her kid alone on the outside of the tent for three hours…all caught on videotape for ‘film at 11′ viewing
• Zero security outside of the tent. A friend of mine who didn’t play, but just came to check it out got accosted on the outside. (Better park close and wear your running shoes)

The End Result: I played in a $50 Sit-n-Go tournament with a total of an unexpected 11 people (they called one too many people to the table and didn’t want any hassle). An hour and fifteen minutes later, I’d won the whole shebang. :) I was given my first prize money…in a plastic baggie. (Yellow and Blue really do make Green!)

Is It Worth It?: That’s up for you to decide. I’m going back…there were too many fools not too. But I’ll make sure to include my Louisville Slugger as a trunk accessory…

Courtesy of CardPlayer.com…

Best looking WSOP bracelet wearer ever!

I have to give the Luxor points for having an easily acessible, friendly and entertaining poker room. I enjoyed myself immensely the majority of the time there. Playing a little $2/$4 hold-em outside of the regular weekly gang was a great experience.

But if you’re going announce that you have a Non-Smoking Poker Room, how about enforcing it? Last time I checked, smoke has always been unwieldy…never seems to stay exactly where it’s blown. Letting players smoke only 1 foot outside of the Poker Room is a fucking joke…better start enforcing shit! It’s already caused me to try another room next time I go….