I stayed at this Motel 6 for one night back in the beginning of August (think it was the same one in question. It was across from Hooters Casino and on Tropicana). Got one of the renovated European-style rooms for like $49 at the time, which was a steal compared to anything on the Strip (think the Imperial Palace was fully booked at the time). Room was very nice actually. Widescreen TV (with AV hookups and HDMI hookups, so PS3/XBOX 360 accessible), decently comfortable bed, shower with hot enough water. Took me a while to figure out how to turn on the lights, as you had to turn on one switch up and then turn the individual switches for each light up. Only thing was there was like 1 or 2 towels when I checked in. Room was very clean though.

Some of the clientele did seem sketchy, but was just there for the night, so wasn't too worried. The 24 hour convenience store was helpful ($1 Arizona Iced teas, chips, smokes, etc.). Was really tired, as I had just gotten done playing 15 hours of live poker and had walked there from the Venetian (something I regretted halfway through, but I am a huge cheapskate and didn't think twice about getting a taxi) so was able to sleep fairly well. Do remember people talking loudly right outside my door around 3AM though, and think one of them was a security guard talking to someone. They stood right by my door for quite a while actually. One of the good things about the location of the Motel 6 is that it was like a $7 taxi ride to the airport (not too cheap to walk to the airport).

All in all, I was impressed with the quality of the room for the price, but like 66366 said, the other factors might not make it worthwhile if you're going to be going back to your room at 3-4AM with wads of hundreds on you. Just be super aware of your surroundings I guess if you do decide to stay there. Always make sure you're not being followed from the casino back to your room.

For what raisin are you making people play 12/60 minute levels a day, I doubt there will be SO many people playing that it's necessary to do this to fit it in 3 days.

Funny you should mention Venetian and Motel 6 in the same sentence.. this summer during Deepstack series a few times I finished up Day 1's play around 2:30am, spent a couple of hours getting something to eat and having a couple of quiet beers and then took the bus on Spring Mountain in front of Fashion Show at 5:30am going down Koval that stops right in front of Motel 6 where they allowed early check-in from around 6am. This way instead of paying Venetian's poker rate of $149+resort fee during WSOP for 2 nights, I didn't pay anything for the first night, still had time to sleep 7hrs and turn up fresh for Day 2's play at 2pm, and only paying $33 for the second night. Usually I did this after staying at Venetian or IP for a few days and then this little trick would save me around $200 each time. I did it once a week for 3 weeks and that's $600 saved. Luckily each time I went deep to final 2 tables so came out ahead handsomely ;p

Of course some would say what a cheapass I am... and they might be right but hey $600 saved over 3 events is $600 saved(in fact that paid for one event entry pretty much so I was freerolling the third event in a sense after doing it 3 times..), and the profit from event payout was just a bonus lol.

However the MGM seems to be offering much better poker rates to begin with so I think at least during the week staying at MGM while playing is a good deal. I think between $33 at Motel 6 or $69 at MGM even including resort fee, I'd choose MGM instead... better bed/room, can use the gym, no dodgy characters, etc etc.

/tl;dr

Well the weekday difference would be 33 total at motel 6 and 101 total at mgm. Will the casino hold chips/cash for you if you're not a hotel guest? That would make it easy to not have to walk back to motel 6 with so much money. Good to see that some of you are even cheaper then me though lol.

Yes, tournament players will be eligible for $10 comps for all events except the AVP rake free event.

Michael

Jared,

We are planning for a large turnout for every event. It will be easier to adjust for smaller fields, if necessary.

Thanks,
Michael

Wow I love this! Thanks MGM and Mike, Going to VEGAS for 1st time ever and I only play Poker!!! Sister and Family going together and we are staying at the MGM GRAND! YES! I get there on the 12th and I am just in time for the 1st event! I do have a couple of questions tho.

1> Do I need to pre register or have a player card or anything like this to play in the events?

2> Even tho my sister booked 3 rooms (one for me) can I still get a discount on my room rate for playing in the event(s)?

Thanks for your help, can't wait to get to VEGAS baby!!!

everyone requires a card these days

I registered for the mlife card. I got my player card number, but when I go on to logon to the player account it gets a error and won't let me log in. It says go to the mlife players desk with my number tho to get my card, so I guess I can just pick it up at the MGM when I get there?

Thanks for your help.

Also, does anyone know what "withholding" of winnings from someone living in Canada. And if so how much is the withholding (% wise) of any winnings. Thank you

30% of your winnings if your profit from any particular event exceeds $5,000 minus the buyin itself. You can claim it back in the next calendar year anyway by filing your tax in the U.S... or should be able to do so.

I've never logged on but it's really easy to get a new/replacement card if you have valid ID

So if I win like 4k there is no withholding?

thanks for your help

yep, and usually for say a $500 buyin event of 300 entrants you can just roughly think of it as "if I make the final table I will need to pay tax otherwise no"..

Nickybro27,

I know some of your questions have been answered already, but I will just confirm. Yes, you will need a Mlife card, if you have already filled out the application online, just take your photo ID to the Mlife desk or the Poker Room and we will print a card for you.

The room rate could be tricky, depending on how your room was booked. If your sister used a 3rd party vendor, we might not be able to help you. The best thing to do is call Dale Baca at 1-877-757-0007 between 8a-4p. He is the Poker Room coordinator and will be able to look up your reservation and make any adjustments, if possible.

As far as withholding, Canadians are subject to 30% withholding on any net wins above $5,001. There is a process to file for a refund and many companies offer this service.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Thanks,
Michael S.

Thank you! Great move :-)

Thanks for all the info Michael. I do have a number in which I register with a player id, So I will do to the desk and get my card Excited to play in this event, hope for a great turnout!

My sister booked directly with MGM Reservations I think. I will ask her and contact the above person to see if there is anymore savings to be had ( I think she got a pretty good deal anyways )

Well take care and see you guys in a couple of weeks !!!

Nick

Michael. Tourny schedule looks great and I commend you for listening to the players and changing the structure. I feel like some tournament series' at MGM will really help the room. I hadn't played there in a few years but spent some time playing cash during the world series this summer and enjoyed it. I was planning on playing the WSOP circuit series in Hammond in Oct but I may jump on a flight and come down to this series instead.

Whats your best estimation as far as runners go for the main event?

Thx.

sorry if its been said before, but has the structure for main or prelims been changed? thanks

Calabrese16,

I would just be wildly guessing if I were to try and put a number on the Main Event. I think after our first weekend we will have a better idea of how the series will go overall. Keep following the thread and I will update the numbers each event. Overall, the event has been receiving a lot of interest and buzz.

Thanks,
Michael S.

Wildman75,

The structure for the Main Event added two levels. A link to the new structure: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...edit?hl=en_US#

Michael S.

Does anyone know if the room rates for the weekend were able to be improved for this series?

Mr_jmac,

The room rates remain at $149 for the weekend; however, we have a limited number (less than 10 as of today) of rooms we can offer at a weekend rate of $99. You will need to book at least both weekend days to receive this rate.

Any TwoPlusTwo members that want to take advantage of this rate, please send me a direct message and I will provide you with a rate code. These rates will be on a first come-first serve basis.

Thanks,
Michael S.

why not add the extra levels to the prelims for us poor boys? Looks like pretty much the best structure around for those buy-ins, but I wouldn't mind the extra levels.

Onthegrind2,

Please remember that all $340 and highger buy-in events offer a complimentary seat into the MGM Grand Executive Invitational with an expected prize pool of $300,000 in cash and promo chips. That's a great value for poker players.

Hope to see you at the Grand,

Michael S.

Michael

Looks good, will be curious to see what type of turnout the events will get.


Please please please get the marble edges off the tables that is the only complaint I have to the MGM Poker room.