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There are two big live tournaments running in the U.S. this
month, and both of them are being held in Atlantic City, NJ. The Borgata Poker
Open and the US Poker Championships are tow big draws worth checking out if
you're near the US east coast this month.
Borgata Poker Open
The Borgata Poker Open is the fourth stop on this season's World Poker Tour
schedule. Held at what Doyle Brunson once called "by far the classiest place
I’ve been in Atlantic City," the Borgata Poker Open draws all the big names in
poker. Professional players like Phil Ivey and Cyndy Violette, who cut their
teeth in Atlantic City casinos, get the chance to play for big stakes on home
turf. The rest of the big names come for the $1 million first prize. Last
year's championship event drew 302 players for a total prize pool topping $3
million, 3 times larger than the first year the tournament was held, and this
year's main tournament is sure to be just as big.
 While
the WPT final table might be the reason people know the Borgata Poker Open,
the tournament isn't just for professionals with bankrolls in the millions -
there's a full schedule of super satellites and other tournaments running for
a week and a half at the multi-billion dollar casino. The daily events all
have reasonable blind structures, and even the lowest buy-in events have
levels that last for 60 minutes. You'll get plenty of poker for your money if
you're playing at the Borgata Poker Open. Here's the full breakdown of the
all-no-limit-hold'em tournament schedule at the Borgata this month:
Sept. 5: No-Limit Hold'em, $560 buy-in
Sept. 6: No-Limit Hold'em, $810 buy-in
Sept. 7: Limit Hold'em, $560 buy-in
Sept. 8: No-Limit Hold'em, $1,080 buy-in
Sept. 9: No-Limit Hold'em, $1,600 buy-in
Sept. 10: Ladies No-Limit Hold'em, $300 buy-in
Sept. 11: Seven-Card Stud, $560 buy-in
Sept. 12: No-Limit Hold'em, $2,650 buy-in
Sept. 13: No-Limit Hold'em, $5,200 buy-in
Sept. 14: Super Satellite Day
Sept. 15-19: WPT Championship, $10,000 buy-in
Sept. 16: No-Limit Hold'em, $1,080 buy-in
Sept. 17: No-Limit Hold'em, $810 buy-in
Sept. 18: No-Limit Hold'em, $560 Anyone looking for more information on hotel reservations
for the Borgata Poker Open can call 1-866-MYBORGATA. More information on the
tournaments is available at the
official website.
US Poker Championship
The United States Poker Championships - that's a big and presumptuous name for
a tournament series that isn't always mentioned in the same breath as the big
prizes in the poker world. Of course, there's a history of big names for
tournament series. Amarillo Slim used to host an event called the Super Bowl
of Poker - that's where Stu Ungar played his first no-limit hold'em
tournament. Today we've got Doyle Brunson's North American Poker
Championships, which sounds like a big deal but in reality is just one of many
stops on the World Poker Tour. The World Series of Poker, the grandaddy of
them all when it comes to big names, didn't even draw more than 15 players for
several years after it began!
The USPC isn't as prestigious as the WSOP, but it has a leg up on most of the
WPT tournaments - the poker staff at the Taj Mahal have been running solid
tournaments for most of the last decade, since long before the made-for-TV
final tables on the Travel Channel were a gleam in Steven Lipscomb's eye. And
unlike many other tournaments around the U.S., the directors of the USPC still
believe in letting players choose their own game. In addition to limit and
no-limit hold'em events, players who specialize in Omaha hi-lo, seven card
stud, and seven card stud hi-lo will have a chance to play for big money as
well. It's fitting that the "Beast of the East," seven-card stud, can still
find a home in one Atlantic City's biggest tournaments.
ESPN will be present for the main event, not to mention a cast of some of
poker's biggest names. But before they come to town, there's a full slate of
tournaments that players of almost any limit can afford. The prizes in these
events might not be in the millions, but they're certainly nothing to sneeze
at. Here's the full schedule of events at the 2005 US Poker Championship:
| Event |
Date |
Game |
Buy-in |
| 1 |
9/19 |
Limit Hold'em |
$300+40 |
| 2 |
9/20 |
Seven Card Stud |
$300+40 |
| 3 |
9/21 |
Omaha Hi-Lo |
$300+40 |
| 4 |
9/22 |
Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo |
$300+40 |
| 5 |
9/23 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$300+40 |
| 6 |
9/24 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$500+50 |
| 7 |
9/25 |
Limit Hold'em |
$500+50 |
| 8 |
9/26 |
Seven Card Stud |
$500+50 |
| 9 |
9/27 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$500+50 |
| 10 |
9/28 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$300+40 |
| 11 |
9/29 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$300+40 |
| 12 |
9/30 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$500+50 |
| 13 |
10/1 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$1,000+75 |
| 14 |
10/2 |
Seven Card Stud |
$2,500+100 |
| 15 |
10/3 |
Super Satellite |
$500+50 |
| 16 |
10/4 - 10/8 |
Main Event |
$9,700+300 |
| 17 |
10/5 |
Seven Card Stud |
$300+40 |
| 18 |
10/6 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$300+40 |
| 19 |
10/7 |
No-Limit Hold'em |
$500+50 |
Players interested in room reservations can call 1-800-727-6537. More
information on the US Poker Championships is available at the
Taj Mahal
website.
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