Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.
The Caesars Palace poker room has hosted special events such as World Series of Poker circuit tournaments and the made-for-TV National Heads-Up Poker Championship as well as its regular slate of smaller tournaments.
Yet it's the inaugural Caesars Palace Classic, a standalone tournament scheduled for Oct. 12-24 capped by a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em championship event, that should firmly establish Caesars as a poker tournament destination, said Jason Halperin, Caesars Palace poker tournament director.
The championship event, set to run Oct. 22-24, carries a guaranteed first prize of $1 million. Players can win their way into the $10,000 tournament through satellites scheduled daily throughout the classic or by winning preliminary tournaments.
"The $1 million guarantee is the biggest draw, but we believe the entire event is really going to put Caesars Palace on the map in the poker world," Halperin said.
Among the daily preliminary tournaments are a $1,060 limit hold 'em event, a $550 Omaha 8 or better event, a $2,080 pot-limit Omaha event and a $340 "ladies only" event. Those games were included in response to demand from players who said they wanted a chance to compete in other games besides no-limit hold 'em, the modern-day king of tournament poker games.
The Caesars Palace Classic joins a crowded field of big buy-in poker tournaments in Las Vegas, including regularly scheduled World Poker Tour events at MGM-Mirage properties, World Series circuit events at Harrah's-owned casinos and special events such as an annual tournament at the Wynn that also features a $10,000 buy-in main event.
"Unlike a lot of other properties that have to set up their (tournament) tables in a ballroom, we're able to accommodate a much larger field right in the poker room at Caesars," Halperin said.
"We saw a sweet spot on the poker calendar, and we did not want to compete with the circuit events. We wanted to be able to kick off the poker year with this tournament."
HORSE play
Perhaps as a result of the growing interest in forms of poker other than no-limit Texas hold 'em among tournament players, the next stop on the World Series of Poker Academy trail - a series of multiday camp s filled with seminars, instruction and practice drills - will be devoted to HORSE, the popular mixed-game event.
The camp is scheduled for Nov. 2-4 at Caesars Palace and carries a price tag of $2,199 (wsopacademy.com) . Previous camps have sold out.
The scheduled instructors are Howard Lederer in Texas hold 'em (the H in HORSE), Annie Duke in Omaha 8 or better (the O), Mark Seif in razz (the R), Andy Block in 7-card stud (the S), and 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg Raymer in 7-card stud 8 or better (the E, from the "Eight" part).
At this year's World Series, Raymer said that as an instructor he encounters players of varying skill levels. Sometimes, two players could make the same strange-looking play in a hold 'em drill but for entirely different reasons.
"One of them is a genius and one is a moron," Raymer said. "The bad player will say he did it because, 'Well, I might flop a monster.' That's not a good reason.
"A good player might have done the same thing for very good reasons, (saying), 'Well, we have deep stacks, I have the implied odds, I have control over the other people in the hand.' They can tell you the reasons their decision will make a long-term profit."
New 'capper
As its name suggests, the radio show "Poker Straight from the Hilton" (3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, KLAV 1230-AM) usually focuses on all things poker, but the recent edition previewing the NFL season had some noteworthy sports betting news.
Former Las Vegas sports book director Rich Baccellieri, a guest on the program, announced plans to offer his football handicapping analysis this season for G&J Sports Information Services, the Las Vegas-based odds and betting line provider.
Baccellieri joins a small but eclectic roster of handicappers at G&J including Las Vegas' Bryan Leonard and, oddly enough, notorious former Las Vegan Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal.
Baccellieri, who managed several sports books in the city including, most recently, the Palms ' , plans to provide college and pro football analysis on the G&J Web site, gjupdate.com.
The site offers fee-based services providing real-time and slightly delayed odds from various sports books along with other sports information. It targets professional gamblers and licensed bookmakers as customers.
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