I am going to the WOSP event in Calgary and the Deerfoot Inn is sold out in the days I wanted to book. I seem to recall there is a hotel right next to it but I cannot remember what it is called. Could someone from Calgary who know the answer please assist? I am trying to avoid renting a car so I am looking for walking distance. Thank you in advance for any help given.

Service Plus Inns and Suites is walking distance to Deerfoot casino.

Yes thank you. I am booked in there from the 17 to 25th.

For the people who play there is there any word if the series will be cancelled? Covid is spiking big time and Canadians seem more prone to take drastic measures.

Curious about this as well... Will be flying from Toronto and staying there for part of this series. I called the poker room a few days ago and they said there's nothing indicating the series will be cancelled. However I think Ontario is about to announce a lockdown of some sort, which would likely include casino closure. Worried Alberta will follow suit sometime in the upcoming week.

Canada is super strict about covid. If there are already Northeast venues like MGM National Harbor canceling their series, I wouldn't trust that ANY tournament in Canada scheduled for January would happen. Just my opinion.

Yes I am also flying in through Toronto (as I live in Hamilton). My flight leaves on the 17th so I guess I can see if the earlier events go. Hotel and flight can be cancelled up to 48 in Advance so I have some room. Last Poker trip was the 2021 WSOP. I will be going again this year but I was hoping to get to this series in between. I guess we will see.

And yes Canada is very strict but it also to some extant depends on the province and Alberta is about as lax as you can get. If it was Ontario where I live it would be cancelled for sure.

Everything seems to be a go. the first tournament starts tomorrow though I wont be there until the beginning of next week. Good luck to any going.

Yeah looks like the event is on... I'm hoping the field sizes aren't smaller becaus people don't want to risk it. Tho I wouldn't totally blame them. Also wondering if they'll have plexi dividers at the tables and/or do 6 max tables for more room to breathe. I doubt it tho. Regardless, I'm headed there tomorrow and hoping for big turnouts.

You have to wear you mask at all times. 9 to a table and no dividers. Let me know what the turnout is like please. I am coming in Monday night for the $400 Deepstack and the main event. Have not played live since the WSOP. I have friends coming in from BC but if you are still there next week you welcome to join us for a drink.

Kind of you to offer but I'm only there from tomorrow to Sunday. Playing event 1 tomorrow, and then a couple of bullets into event 2, the multiflight. If that fails I'll play event 3 as well and call it a day. I'll let you know how the fields are. 200 would be great tomorrow, and then ideally 800 total entries for event 2 over the four flights.

I am playing the event 8 deepstack and then the main. Please let me know what the numbers look like. They told me they had 50 Tournament tables so they could handle a big crowd (but will they get it). It look like this will be the only tournaments I play between last years WSOP and this years so I want to enjoy it.

I think event number one probably ended up with around 300 entries. Ballpark tho, I busted a while ago. Felt like a turbo, hoping for more play tomorrow. 10 handed tables. Some not wearing masks... You know the type... Nobody is telling them to wear masks. Room is pretty packed... Crazy long line and wait to register this morning. Pre registering accomplishes nothing. I'm told it will get better. Happy to be playing again

Sounds good thanks for the update. Sorry to hear you busted. At the WSOP the registration booths are open 24 7 so i just go down about 7:00 AM of the tournament and there is never more than 5 people. I also cash any previous tournaments at the same time. Let me know about entries to Event 2.

Deerfoot poker is now tweeting updates regularly re field sizes etc, so you're covered there. Today much better organized than yesterday. 9 handed, better structure. I made it deeper to final third of field, not good enough. I wanted to mention a good option if you want to play a nighttime tournament is cash casino. 7pm, 3 or 4 tables re entry. Stakes are low at $70 per bullet but locals and staff both great. Lots of fun to splash around. Made money there but not much, ha

Thanks for the update. If I get knocked out early in the day I will most likely try the $200 satellite into the main event. Might as well save me some money if I can. 10,000 chips and 20 minute blinds its a crapfest but I play a lot of satellites on Poker stars so I may have an advantage (or maybe not, lol). Good luck toady.

Ended up cashing in event two. Just missed the money in event three but won a cpl of bounties. Back home now. Overall I'd say I have mixed impressions of the experience. On one hand, it was what I hoped it would be: reasonable buy-in's with large fields, making it worth the trip.

That said, I guess my biggest issue was the lack of enforcement when it comes to masks and COVID protocol. I'll preface this by saying they make an announcement about masks, and about eating and drinking away from the table. AND I heard them call people out a couple of times.

And most importantly, if I'm not prepared to accept a level of risk, I shouldn't go to an event like this. I know this.

However.

There were multiple instances where the loudest guy in the room would have his mask under his chin, standing up and yelling at friends across the room for ridiculously extended periods of time, almost daring staff to tell him to mask up, and it never happened. And I don't mean one guy once. I mean multiple guys, and multiple times.

In one case it was a very large, very loud, very jovial man. He was getting a massage at his table, mask below his chin for hours. Drinking red wine at the table, nobody asked him not to. The most gregarious guy in the room, buying drinks for his whole table. Everyone laughing loudly.... It was impossible not to see this guy. I was across the room and I saw it. And he was like that for hours. Staff never said a word to him.

I don't think it should be on the dealer (who has to sit next to him) or on fully masked players to ask him to mask up. It should be on the floor staff. And repeatedly, they never did, in situations where it was impossible for them not to notice.

Also, many people were just leaning away from the table to drink, instead of standing up and walking away. Sooooo many people with masks below noses. 10 handed tables, everyone crammed together for long periods of time, breathing the same air. It's a COVID nightmare lol, literally worst case scenario. Yes, I put myself in it. Yes, I expected covidiots to go unmasked with a "come at me bro" attitude. No, I did not expect staff to do nothing about it.

The registration process was terrible.... I spent hours in line despite preregistering. Pre-registering gets you absolutely nothing, you still have to line up with everyone to get a seat card anyway. I was going to give them a pass on the first day, but here's how event four went: go to register two hours before the tournament. Still a big line (did I mention pre registration has no benefit). Go to the tournament at 4pm. Sit down. Get your chips. Told to leave and come back at 430. Go to the hotel room. Go all the way back down at 430. Told to leave and go away til 5. Repeat.

And finally, the food at the Mojave grill gave me the immediate runs, three out of three times, despite ordering different things. Once I switched to getting ubereats delivered to my room, things improved immediately.

So that's about it. It did feel good to play poker again. The dealers were fine. There were some brand new ones but you see that at every big event where they have to call in call-up's. My experience with the cash game poker room was that it was chaos to try and actually get a seat. Just a giant blob of people standing in the entryway, and no order. Additionally if you play a bounty tournament, for some reason they give you black poker chips as bounty tokens that cannot be cashed at the casino cage. They can only be cashed at the poker room cage, which is single cashier, and which every cash game player has to go through, as well as every player eliminated from the bounty event, as well as the chip runners in the cash game room itself. It took... A long time.

The hotel room was fine. Quiet and clean. I was hoping for better from the poker admin side.... It seemed like it was never the same person in charge twice, so as soon as one person started to "get it", you'd never see them again, and it would be someone completely different the next day.

Honestly I had the best time of the trip playing the crappy little $70 tourney at Cash Casino. My Hendon Mob is mid six figs.... I know that isn't **** to some people and doesn't account for all the swings and misses. I only mention it to say I've been around a while... Flown to many tournament events so I do have some means of comparison. There is room for improvement at Deerfoot Casino.

Cheers and best of luck to you.

Thank you for posting such a detailed synopsis. I am going out today if the weather co-operates. I have a flight at 6:30 from Toronto and so far it has not been cancelled. I will let you my thoughts if i make it, lol.

After this we are looking at driving down to Turning stone March 17-28th for their circuit event. Never been there and its not too from the border (300 KLMS). Of course that is if the border is open with no return testing by the end of March. Three of us in the car so far so let me know if you might want to tag along. Lots of time. I think you can send me a message on this site if you know how.

No problem! Yeah that post / rant was partly for you and partly for the staff , tho I doubt they'll ever see it here.

This is the most snow I've seen in Toronto in a long long time. Good luck with the flight.

I wish I could join you at TS but I'll be back in the full work grind at that point. I've driven to many tournament series there, they are pros... Really well-run events, great cash game room, good hotel on site as well. You guys should have a blast. If the weather was nicer they have a variety of great golf courses as well. I had my stag there.

Flight got cancelled due to snowstorm so did not make it. Might hit the venetian deepstack in February for a week.

Prices are rock bottom. Air Canada vacations had a week with flight and hotel all taxes in at $338.00. Even with the resort fees that almost a give away.

That sucks about Calgary, and definitely a steal for the Venetian. Vegas is the best, nothing compares... You're better off.

I'm about to start the full work grind for months, will pm you on the other side of it to see what poker plans you have. Cheers and good luck.