So I guess you are planning to play in the $550 on the 28th at PG then Mike?

What's the deal with Stardust? I hear it might be opening this month. Website is still down. Anyone have any real info?

Website is down due to license issues - they don't have one from KGC yet. Once they do they will open I assume. Who knows when that will be though...

FML, I have a climbing comp that I HAVE to be at for sponsors that day, but is anyone playing the 2500 at cas on the 20th ?

Where did you get your info about them not having their KGC license?

Also I doubt the rumors about Four Aces reopening are legit. Unless there is some heavy outside investment, the current owner will never be able to get it rolling again successfully. They made a lot of mistakes running that room but are not naive enough to think it is worth re-opening. One of the major issues with that place is maintenance cost of the building, there is 0 isolation and hydro bills are astronomical in the winter.

You can get that info from the KGC website - it's public information. This is also where you can learn that the KGC only allows 3 licenses at the same time, and that Four Aces license was reinstated at the end of last year.

[Edit: I read this at one point last summer, but I quickly reviewed the regulations and I don't see it now. I'm not sure if anything has changed or I just haven't looked in the right place.]

I don't think Four Aces is going to open again, but the equipment is (likely) all still there and there is a license in place. Which is more than Stardust can say.

Whatever the situation, I hope Stardust gets things settled soon - I'm curious about how they plan to compete...

There is pdf that says Four Aces License was re-instated Nov 8, 2011.
I believe the KGC will only give out 3 license but I have never been able to find where it actually says that.
I am sure Four Aces doesn't want to give up their license. I thought they might try to sell it but from the rules they can't sell it. I imagine Stardust just has to wait up to 6 months( my guess) until Four aces hasn't been able to re-open and thereby I assume forfeits there license. I am sure there is all sorts of backdoor/under the table negotiations gong on. I mean if I was playground I would pay fouraces like 5k a month just to pretend they are going to re-open.

This:


Just got quite a bit of information on the subject from a reliable inside source today and while I cannot divulge too much information, I confirm Stardust does not have their license. The KGC once told its poker rooms they would not issue more than 3 permits but for the right price I'm almost certain there is no KGC policy that they wouldn't change. It's incredible the amount of money that was put into the Stardust project in the "hopes" a license would be issued. Best of luck to them, I know many of their staff and they are really struggling at the moment, many of them having already left their previous employers expecting a mid-December opening date. I'll keep you guys posted as I hear more.

Four Aces does have a valid license at the moment and their equipment is all still in place, the room has not been touched since the closing. Whether or not the place will be re-open is another question. I am going to find out for myself but doubt I will be able to share any information publicly on the subject.

I heard from one of my friends tonight that in fact everything including the KGC license is in place, but there's one key piece of certification that has been delayed and is holding up the whole thing. They again sent out invites to a VIP opening that they had to postpone, but apparently it's very very close to opening to the point of running "trial" tournaments from start to finish to get all the bugs worked out.

Again, though, the key issue is that we're at the point where it's going to become critical that the Kahnawake rooms are able to expand the player pool, not just compete for the existing players. I know a couple of Snakes regs who have moved over almost exclusively to PG since the recent changes at Snakes (which doesn't bode well for them), and the Casino still has by far the best cash game traffic (and by far the softest tables, which I think is related).

So every night right now there are between 120 - 180 players in tournaments on the south shore and more on weekends. If that same pool, currently divided between 2 rooms, is to be divided by 3 rooms then I think all three rooms will have difficulties (some more than others). I think 60 players is the minimum number required to contribute to a prize pool that's meaningful compared to the amount of time a nightly tournament takes at $100 or less - which means that 180 players per night is the bare minimum that will have to come out to play. Really, the every day player pool (and I'm using tournaments just because the player numbers are best identified in this format) must expand by at least 40-50 players for this to work. At least if all three rooms are going to thrive (or even just stay alive).

And since tournaments feed the bulk of the $1-$2 tables, tournament player numbers are relevant for cash games as well.

I think the following should be considered:

1. A "Kahnawake is safe" PR campaign, non-room-specific.

2. Some kind of regular bus service from Angrignon or elsewhere on the island.

3. Even more effort to demystify the game of poker and get newbies and home game players in the door.

4. Provide services to regular micro-stakes home games (special mini-tournaments etc.)

5. Online satellites to larger tournaments plus the ability to win tournament tickets for dailies in some kind of satellite setup.

What else?

I'm not a Montreal resident, but coming in first weekend in February to see some hockey and play poker. The regular bus service from the Angrinon metro stop might mean the difference between me coming into PG for the evening tournament or just going to Casino to play cash. I know a lot of Montreal residents don't own cars, it seems the shuttle service would be a no-brainer. Even if they charged $5-10 a trip to cover expenses, it would still be a good deal. Anyone know what a taxi will cost me from Angrinon metro to PG?

If you're planning to play the tourney you can take the normal south shore bus from Angrignon to PG because it will be running at that time. The issue will be the return trip IMO. And a cab would probably run around the $20 mark I would assume.

Cab will be about 20$

Thanks for the replies on the cab question. Bus is a good idea.

The BBJ at Playground is now over $100K. A qui la chance?

Also - there is a $550 tournament next Saturday that has almost sold out (I think 170 places, maybe 150 though). I'm definitely playing (brag: won a sit n go satellite for my ticket).

DEALER FOR HIRE

How did you do last night Mike? You looked like you were on the right track when I left with 28 players left...

Nice brag BTW

Ugh, yet again bubbled. Should have won, really truly. Made a crazy bad fold with about 20 left. Right before the break the guy on my left raises my bet with AT (top pair top kicker, no flush problems) to 40K and I shove over top - he calls with A9 (second pair top kicker). A nine comes on the turn (boo) and a ten on the river (yay) so I doubled up to 160K.

So a few minutes after the break I have JJ and the now short-stacked guy on my left open shoves, fold fold fold and Levon shoves over top with about 90K. Like an idiot I fold. A2 against AK for Levon. A deuce on the turn wins the hand, and not only do the results indicate that I should have called, but the stats for JJ against those hands PLUS the opportunity to take out those two guys. Boo.

I'm new to Montreal, was going to check out the casino tonight. Anyone going to be out there? Any advice?

The $550 tourney at PG was great today. 203 players total for a prize pool over $100K. There are 8 left now (according to Facebook) with Chan K, Piquette and others still in it. PG staff Jimmy L and Shonna both made deep runs and cashed. Jimmy was chip lead of the tourney for long stretches of the day as well - not sure how he busted because it seemed like he was a monster.

I played well (if I do say so myself) but ended up busting in exactly 60th (of 203) with AK vs AA. Oof - it was a super easy fold I should have made... It's completely irrational but I should fold the last hand before the break no matter WHAT I'm holding.

Anyhow Martin and Dave and Jody and the whole team did a great job

Apparently already over 16 confirmed participants for the March 1,2,3 $2k Heads-Up event.

$2k+$200 Buyin
Maximum 32 Players
Players start with 20 000 chips
Blinds every 15 Minutes
2 out of 3
Day1a : Thurday March 1st at 12:00
Day1b : Friday March 2nd at 12:00
Day2 : Final Saturday March 3rd at 8:00

Wow that's sick! I wonder how many HU tournaments at that buy-in are held annually in North America? I bet not many.

Word is that Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari are scheduled to play. There'll also be a $300 (with $100 bounty) and a $550 event in the same week.

As for how many annually in North America I can't comment, but I do know this is the first one in the MTL area since I started playing... Not that I will be participating in this - too rich for me...

Yeah that's kind of my point - my impression is that Playground is starting to frequently run events at stakes that should eventually attract a very wide group of players, including some of the US-based young online stars etc. Obviously compared with Borgata or Foxwoods it's a small room, but with events like this it should be able to make a mark.

Not that I want to see fields get any tougher, but at the same time I'm a big booster of businesses I like and "scenes" I'm involved so I'm very happy to see PG keep building and improving in this way. And being a local I can often satellite into bigger events, which is nice...

Yeah, and this month there are like three Sunday night sats for $100 (freeze) to the $550. Usually the sats are some form of rebuy+addon so it's cool to see one that is a freeze instead.