Mark's Page

Mark's July Tournament Preview
By Mark Napolitano

Hi, I was inputting some results on Poker Pages this week and noticed the first result at Ladbrokes Casino San Pablo... $50 tournament, 310 entries, 752 rebuys for a total prize pool of $53,100. This event had a guarantee of $40,000. I realized that there is a need for somebody to preview the tournaments that we cover. I have been given the job as it was my idea!

My intention is to look at every tournament in our schedules and comment on them. I will then give my "Pick of the Month." I will do my best for July. It has obviously already started, but I intend having future months in place by the last day of the proceeding month.

Okay, July has 14 tournaments listed in our schedules as follows:

1. June 16th - July 2nd: Summer Tournament at the Aviation Club de France in Paris. This tournament has already finished so this time I have no comments.

2. June 27th - July 4th: Stars and Stripes 2000 at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Also finished already.

3. July 1st - July 9th: San Francisco Open at Ladbrokes Casino San Pablo in San Francisco. This event boasts a $180,000 guaranteed prize pool over nine days. This event is already under way and fields have been very high. Obviously the guarantees in these events draw the players in.

4. July 1st - July 4th: Oceanside Open at Ocean's Eleven Casino, Oceanside, CA. This event is already over.

5. July 5th - July 7th: Crystal Park Freedom Poker Open at Crystal Park Casino Los Angeles. Three events, all $60 Buy-ins with $40 rebuys. One $10,000 guarantee and two $15,000 guarantees. All three events are likely to go way beyond the guarantees in terms of prize money.

6. July 7th - July 26th: Orleans Open at the Orleans Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. This is a magnificent tournament, both in terms of the way it is run and the value due to the massive fields. Hardly ever a delay in starting even when the fields can be in excess of 1000 players. An absolute must for any serious tournament poker player.

7. July 10th - July 20th: Crazy Eight at Hollywood Park Casino, Los Angeles. Eight events with a total of $70,000 guaranteed. All no rebuy tournaments with $75 buy-ins for all eight. All events should have more than 100 entries.

8. July 20th - July 23rd: Worthersee Trophy at Casino's Austria, Velden, Austria. Three events, all 7-card stud.

9. July 24th - July 26th: Tournament of Champions at the Orleans Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. You have to be qualified to enter this event. It is a three day event with four different disciplines, Omaha hi-lo, 7-Card Stud and Limit Hold 'em on the first two days, then the final day is No-Limit Hold 'em. This is the second year for this event and the prize pool should exceed $1,000,000 this year. Don't forget that Poker Pages will be bringing the final table of the event to viewers over the Internet in the first ever pay-per-view poker tournament.

10. July 27th - July 30th: Cactus Pete's Summer Poker Tournament at Cactus Pete's in Jackpot, NV. Four events with buy-ins ranging from $50 to $120. Half-price room rates available for tournament players.

11. July 27th - August 2nd: Guaranteed Summer Challenge at Crystal Park Hotel and Casino, Los Angeles. Seven events with a total guaranteed prize pool of $195,000. This event should attract very large fields due to these guarantees. Special room rates available for tournament players.

12. July 28th - July 30th: Racing for Dollars, Poker and Ponies at Oceans Eleven, Oceanside, CA. Three poker events over the three days, plus much more included. This will be sold out.

13. July 28th - August 1st: Global Pot Limit/No Limit Open at the Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles. Five tournaments all Pot Limit or No Limit ending with a $2500 No Limit Hold 'em tournament. This event is likely to achieve a very nice prize pool.

14. July 31st - August 30th: Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino Los Angeles. I believe this must be the longest tournament all year. Tournament buy-ins ranging from $50 up to $5,000. This is the biggest event held at the Bicycle Casino all year.

Mark's Pick of the Month for July

My pick for this month is the Orleans Open, this is possibly the best tournament value all year. The buy-ins are affordable and the tournaments are run very professionally. Room rates for poker players are also excellent value at $45 per night for a double room.

This has been a rather rushed first effort, but I assure you that I will have much more time to prepare for August. I will also include much more information on each event and a longer article on my pick of the month.