20 min levels
50/100
100/200
150/300
200/400
300/600
400/800
600/1200
800/1600
1k/2k
1500/3000
2k/4k
3k/6k
4k/8k
6k/12k
8k/16k

We got a 1/2 plo game off a few months ago. Gotta work the room they won't do it for you.

STRUCTURE???
JUSTIFY IT????
Dude, it's only a $125 tourney.
If you're going to get your panties all in a bunch over a $125 tourney, maybe you should stick with the $1 PokerStars tourneys.

I can argue both sides on this:

In the original poster's defense, I don't blame him for wanting to justify spending $125 on a badly structured tourney. It's not a $40 or $50 sit-n-go we're talking about here. Las Vegas -- save for Venetian and a few other places -- has some of the worst tournament structures I've ever seen. Most of the east coast casinos (Ct, NJ) have great structures and appropriate starting stacks.

I've run tournaments for a decade as a business and I've played in many tournaments on both coasts, and the Harrah's structure, for a no-ante, is right up there with some of the better ones.

In the other person's defense, you're starting with 15k in chips! That alone is justification for playing. Most $120 tourneys (Borgata, etc.) only start you with 10k, and most of those tourneys have antes.

The only $120-plus buy-in tournament I would refuse to play is at Tropicana. As I alluded to, it's a horrible blinds structure.

This comment seems totally out of line to me.
Most $100 tournaments have bad structures. But some have slightly better structures than others. And given the a player has many choices as to where to play a $100 tournament, why not play in one that has a slightly better structure?
Isn't that the sort of information that forums like this are supposed to provide?

TS2- Thanks.

Jim215- I barely have time to play anymore and simply wanted the most bang for my buck on a Saturday afternoon. Money wasn't a factor. I know the Borg has the best tourney on Saturday, but would have been late and trying to beat the clock. NickMPK hit it right on the head as there are many places to play a tourney beyond the Borg on a Sat and simply wanted to see how Harrah's is...dude

Is there a 2/5 game at harrahs tonight?

Sorry, Templeowl.
You need to appreciate that the comment came from a competitive former Villanova Wildcat.
The Friday night and Saturday afternoon tourneys at Harrah's AC with 15,000 starting chips are indeed a good value for $105+$20. I have played them frequently and always enjoyed it because it's almost like a "home game" at Harrah's where a lot of the players are regulars (and frequently older like me) and even assist newbies.
One thing to watch out for though is that Harrah's tournament chips have no value printed on them (one of very few casinos to do this). So, be careful that you memorize the chip values because if you toss a red chip (5,000) in the pot, it stays there.
On another note, the 15,000 in starting chips represents 150 big blinds to start (Harrah's first blind level is 50-100). A slightly better deal can be found weekdays at Borgata where their $100+$20 tourneys start with 10,000 chips but give you 200 big blinds to begin as the first level at Borgata is only 25-50.
The tourneys shown above at Harrah's and Borgata each have the same 20-minute levels.
Good luck.

Heading down to Harrahs next Thursday for the first time in about two years. How has the room been there? Are starting stacks for weekday tourneys still $10k? I also can't recall if the blind structure is the same as the one listed for weekend deep stacks.

Even the regulars seem to have abandoned the 2-5 game before about 4ish PM. Plenty of 1-2 games and 2-4 limit games going. But if you want to play a little higher, all I can say is sleep in, go to the pool, have dinner, and then come into the room.

Interesting 7 Star incident to report, since I LOVE they way they are treated in the poker room to begin with. The 2-5 game had a Yankees Baseball game on for 2 hours...and then a 7 Star guy showed up (Lee I know it wasn't you, so dont take my head off) and demanded that the Phillies game be put on. When everyone complained, he laughed and said he didn't want to have to pull his "rank" but that he always gets what he wants in there, and then proceeded to yank out the 7 Star card and tell the floor to change the channel. The three floor guys couldn't run to grab the remote control and change the channel fast enough. Nice work guys. Nice work. Of course, 7 minutes after the channel was changed, he went off on one of his hour long walkabouts...but at least the Yankees game was on...just in case he got back early, which he didn't.

I understand about 7 Star Cards. They are the ones paying the electric bills. But they aren't paying them by sitting in the poker room are they? If they play EVERY hand, the rake is the same. If they drop $2,000 to me in the 2-5 game, the rake is the same. As a matter of fact, if anything the rake is hurt by their 1 1/2 dinner breaks. If anything, Mr Harrah's shouldn't give them ANY privilages or "special consideration" in the poker room...because if they spent more time out on the floor playing the carnival games, they would be losing more money to Mr Harrah's.

On a last note, I'm sorry to see one of the true personalities of the Harrah's Poker Room leaving to move to the Hard Rock-Fort Lauderdale. Closer to St Maarten? Yes. But a bummer for the rest of us. And she leaves a trail of broken 60+ year old men's hearts behind. And I can certainly see why. At least she wore the black skirt the last time I ever got to see her, so I'll always have that...lol. (BTW D, that reggae beach bar wasn't hitting on much Sunday night...lol...but at least you know who this is.)

She leaves us somewhat (not much, but somewhat) under 60 year olds with broken hearts as well. Mine, at any rate.

I'm curious as to who this 7 Star is. Whoever it is - he shouldn't be getting away with this sort of thing. Just my humble opinion. Please PM me with the name.

Thanks.

Lee

your right the rake is basiclalyt he same with him their
but what makes sense
pissing off some poker players who genrate next to nothing or pissing off the guy who pays the bills?

Excellent question, as to piss off.

9 Diamond and Platinum Players or 1 Seven Star who is a complete jerkoff every time he steps foot into this poker room. The same guy was ENRAGED to the point of demanding to see the Casino Manager (not the poker room manager) because the floor bagged his chips after he was gone for 1 1/2 hours a couple of months ago. (Harrah's has a 20 minute vacant seat policy for the rest of us, and they will pick you up in a heart beat)

So Harrah's has to decide who they prefer; which they have. So now the other players have to decide how much of this crap they are going to take; which they seem to have done by voting with their feet. Middle of summer. Mid-week, and they can't get a lousy 2-5 game off until 4 or 5 pm.

Want to find your missing players Mr Harrah's? They moved with me over to the Borgata. And damn you for making us move to a huge room with every game known to man, great tables, shuffle machines that actually work, chairs that swival-roll-and height adjust, no silly rules on what you can order to drink that are based on your rewards card type and tier credits, hot hot hot waitresses, 15 floor persons who actually know the rules, or tables that are not completely full of locals who are only there to accumulate tier credits as they chase the elusive Seven Star Card.

Yes I say damn you for making us move...

Now I know who you are refering to. A first class jerk, if ever there was one! Sorry that I wasn't there to shut him up.

I'm not even sure that he's 7 Star anymore. Might have lost it last year.

I'll check - just for the fun of it. He might have someone's companion card though, I dunno. I'll find out. And be sure to shut him up, or at least not let him bully the table and floor, the next time he acts up and I'm there.

Lee

Does anybody know how late the 1-5 stud game usually runs on Friday nights? My wife wants to play that instead of hold'em tonight but I can't get to the casino any earlier than 830p. Also, what is the game selection like in general? I know there is always 2/4 limit and 1/2NL, but what else could possibly run? Thanks.

4/8 'mini-blind' LHE, $1 SB/$2 BB. Usually one table and sometimes a must-move. Also 2/5 NLHE, but not sure how many tables.

I've also seen lists for 2/4 O8, 5/10 stud, and 1/2 PLO, but never actually saw any games go.

BTW, the 1-5 stud game isn't as regular as it used to be. Maybe the .50 ante scared off all the ol' timers...

anyone have a general idea how many runners typically play the saturday 8:15pm tourney?

thx in advance

I've never seen any runners at all playing the tournaments. The players are always sitting.

Lee

Counting down the days and getting psyched for my Thursday trip.

Does Harrah's still have those awful cash chips with (I think) the silver in the middle that are hard to handle? Did they ever get around to putting denominations on their tourney chips?

so i arrive at harrahs at 7 on sat and fml the parking lot is packed with cars circling for spots... looked around til 7:50 gave up n left for borgata... told my sob story at the gate and didnt have to pay at least

I think I'm officially done with Harrah's. I've been a diamond for two years. Live in DC area, and typically head to AC 1 to 2 times a month, and Vegas 3-4 times a year. Play mainly poker, but also some black jack and video poker (particularly while drinking at the bar). Got a Borgata black card in March (by showing my Diamond).

Just got back from 8 days in Vegas, during which I played EXCLUSIVELY had HET (mainly Bally's and IP). Plated 42 hours of poker, and dropped over $2000 in video poker (certainly not a huge sum, but not chump change, either).

Long story short -- I log on to Harrah's web site to make a reservation for AC this weekend. They give me a $10 discount on the crappy Harbour tower room, and (here's the kicker) offer me a HIGHER rate than tha general public for the Waterfront tower. SERIOUSLY?

I'm a mere 1,687 points from the 11,000 needed for Diamond this year. And you know what? Forget them. I'm heading for Borgata, where I'd prefer to play anyway. I'll miss the Diamond check in lines in Vegas, but screw it - I'm done with Harrah's.

In related news . . . anyone know how hard it will be to rack up 900 points at Borgata by March to keep the Black card?

So you try and book a weekend room in a beach town in the busiest time of year 3 days before you are making the trip and are surprised to not get good deals?

As often as you play, I am sure you will keep the Black Card at the Borgata if you are going to play there exclusively. Poker alone would be very difficult to make 900 points, but with the other areas added in, I suspect you will have litttle trouble. With the number of trips you put in every year, you really need to get a BJ or slot host to make certain you are taken care of.

How "points" are generated is a mystery when it comes to table games. Borgata's tracking is no different from anyone else's. It is dependent on the pit boss's attention (or lack thereof) of your play. An old adage works well here. "The squeeky wheel gets the oil." And if you get a pit boss who seems more concerned with talking to the waitresses and dealers, than they are in watching your table....you are screwed.

But like I said, its no different than any other casino. Of course the poker room is 10x busier, and the floor guys in that room are 10x more efficient, but I guess thats not what you asked...lol.

I'm suprised that they are charging me MORE for a waterfront room when I'm logged in than when I'm not. Also, I checked rates for a weekend in late September -- minimal discount for the old Harbour rooms, and NO discount on Waterfront. In short, that sort of pisses me off . . .

well you dont have a diamond card