Las Vegas Nevada News Feed

The Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino plays host to the inaugural Nathan Adelson Hospice Charity Poker Tournament on Wednesday, Sept. 16 beginning at 6 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to compete against 1983 World Series of Poker (W.S.O.P.) Main Event bracelet winner Tom McEvoy.

The winner of the Nathan Adelson Hospice Charity Poker Tournament will receive live poker instruction from poker greats at the W.S.O.P. Academy in Las Vegas (a $1,800 value). Additional prizes and places will be determined based on the number of entries.

Raffles, door prizes and contests will take place throughout the evening. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the tournament is limited to 100 seats.

The buy in for the poker tournament is $60 and provides the player with $3,000 in tournament chips. During the first four rounds, participants will be able to purchase additional chips and add ons are permitted at any table. A portion of all proceeds raised from the tournament will go to the Nathan Adelson Hospice.

Businesses interested in sponsoring seats, tables or door prizes should contact Jeff VonAlst or Troy Tillet at 775-751-6508. Individuals with questions about the Nathan Adelson Hospice should call Tonya Brum at 775-751-5601.

The Nathan Adelson Hospice was formed as a non-profit program to provide quality care and compassionate support for patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and life expectancy that can be measured in weeks or months, rather than years. For additional information about the Nathan Adelson Hospice, visit http://www.nah.org/.

Follow the Pahrump Nugget on Facebook and for more information visit http://www.pahrumpnugget.com/.

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What happens when you combine the greatest legend in the game of poker with the ultimate party house in the United States? Well poker players at Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel have a chance to find out for themselves. Poker Television Network and Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel are teaming up for the “Millionaire Experience” poker extravaganza. Tournament winners will feel like celebrities as they are whisked away in a private jet to party through the day and night at the Playboy Mansion on Saturday, September 12.

Binion’s will host a series of qualifying tournaments each Sunday and Wednesday leading up to a final tournament on Friday, September 11. For every 50 players registered in qualifying tournaments, one Playboy Mansion package will be awarded. Package winners will receive free accommodations at Binion’s, luxury transfer to and from the Las Vegas airport, a private jet to Los Angeles, and luxury transfer to the Playboy Mansion where they will rub elbows with the celebrity party crowd at a catered reception featuring gourmet food and drinks. After the reception, Binion’s winners will have ringside seats for a televised professional boxing match. But the party doesn’t stop there. After the festivities at The Mansion, it’s time to jet back to Vegas for another free night at Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel.

There are qualifying tournaments on Sundays and Wednesdays throughout August until September 9. Registration opens for each qualifier at 10:00 a.m. for a noon start time. Buy in is $240 for 8,000 starting chips with a $100 rebuy for 8,000 chips available any time in the first hour. After the qualifying rounds are complete, all package winners will compete in the final tournament at Binion’s famed poker room on September 11 for the chance to add significant cash payouts to their “Millionaire Experience” trip to the Playboy Mansion.

The newly formed Poker Television Network, the first all-poker, all-the-time television network, will be on hand to film all of the action, from qualifying through the big party at the Playboy Mansion on September 12.

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Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel

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The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino will host its second annual Grand Poker Series June 6 – July 5.

This month-long event will feature daily tournaments at noon in The Grand, the property’s luxurious events center, as well as hold cash games and much more, including special tournaments for seniors and ladies.

“We are pleased to bring back the Grand Poker Series for its second year,” said John Colville, director of Golden Nugget poker. “Players were extremely pleased with the first series and we want to make it bigger and better this year, while still delivering the level of play and customer service our poker players expect.”

The inaugural Grand Poker Series in 2008 hosted more than 15,000 players from across the globe, handing out in excess of $1.2 million in total prize money and raised more than $250,000 for charity through two celebrity charity tournaments.

Tournament games such as Hold ‘em, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and Seven Card Stud, including pot limit, no limit and limit, will be held, as well as two bracelet tournaments. There will also be Super Sunday events which will feature a variety of No Limit Hold ‘em tournaments with various buy-ins, daily cash giveaways totaling $1,000, and a $1,080 seat giveaway into the series’ July 4th Grand Finale tournament.

The series will also host two daily No Limit Hold ‘em Bank Roll Builder Tournaments. These $125 buy-in tournaments begin at 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Additionally, the series will continue the Golden Nugget’s very popular daily $65 No Limit Hold ‘em tournaments at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 a.m.

On July 1, the series will hold the Susie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament benefiting The Boys and Girls Club, where first place will win the unprecedented opportunity to star on NBC’s hit poker program Poker After Dark. The tournament is open to the public and the winner will receive a $20,000 seat on the top-rated, late-night poker program, giving them the opportunity to win $120,000 in cash. Players can even win a seat into the charity tournament by playing in any noon Grand Poker Series tournament June 6 through 30. The $20,000 Poker After Dark seat will be donated by Full Tilt Poker.net and additional prizes will be donated by the Golden Nugget and other sponsors. No poker tournament has ever awarded a seat on a nationally televised 6-seat poker program with the chance to become poker’s next television star.

Players can register for the Grand Poker Series by calling 800-777-4658, ext. 8164, emailing poker@goldennugget.com or stop by the Golden Nugget Poker Room.

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino

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How often do you get to rub elbows – literally – with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and in sports and do it in front of a national television audience on ESPN? The 2009 Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Poker Tournament on Thursday, July 2 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas gives you this special opportunity as the only event of its kind where the general public can participate.

This No-Limit Hold’em poker tournament has an entry fee of $5,000, and puts you side-by-side with Hollywood hotshots, superstar athletes and poker professionals, battling it out in a unique charity tournament where you can walk away with a six-figure payday and contribute to a great cause too.

Celebrities and athletes all over are gearing up to return and will join poker’s most notable players to raise public awareness and funds to support the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, at the 3rd annual Ante Up For Africa (AUFA) tournament during the 2009 World Series of Poker®.

Created by Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and Celebrity Apprentice star and WSOP bracelet winner Annie Duke, the Ante Up for Africa tournament will begin at 2 p.m. on July 2nd at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino, home of the 40th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). To date, Ante Up For Africa has raised close to $2 million for the cause.

This year Ante Up For Africa will host an exclusive party for the players and stars at PURE, one of Vegas’ hottest night clubs. The 3rd Annual Ante Up for Africa Tournament will be televised on ESPN on Tuesday, August 11 from 8-10 PM ET.

“It is an honor and very exciting to have ESPN turn the cameras on for our event,” said Annie Duke. “This will make great strides in raising awareness about this ongoing crisis.”

Among those confirmed to participate, subject to availability, are: Cheadle, Matt Damon, Jason Alexander, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Montel Williams, Herschel Walker, Hank Azaria, Brad Garrett, Reggie Miller, Marlon Wayans, Sarah Silverman and Casey Affleck, with many more in the process of being confirmed and expressing their interest to play. Also playing, subject to availability, will be poker professionals Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel and Phil Hellmuth with many more to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

The tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours. Seating for the tournament is open to anyone age 21 or older. Players can register in person at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, or online up to two weeks prior to the event at www.worldseriesofpoker.com under the registration tab.

“I am very pleased that we have raised almost 2 million to date and appreciative of everyone who has participated and donated to help us on our mission of bringing the plight of the refugees of Darfur to the forefront of people’s minds”, said Cheadle.

This event, as is every World Series of Poker tournament, is open to the public for viewing and admission is free. The event will take place in the famed Amazon Ballroom in the Rio Convention Center, just one day prior to the start of the WSOP Main Event, the game’s most prestigious event.

“We are eagerly anticipating the 3rd annual Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity poker tournament,” said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “We commend the work Don and Annie are doing on behalf of this charity and are excited to partner with them again for what is the most fun-filled day at the World Series of Poker.”

Cheadle, an accomplished poker player, and Duke, who has more than $4 million in tournament winnings, are committed to raising both public awareness about the tragedy in Darfur and funds to aid its victims. As the world’s richest sporting event, the WSOP awarded more than $180 million in 2008 and attracted participants from a record 124 nations.

Nevada Gaming laws prohibit money being given directly from the prize pool to the charity. Accordingly, in the previous events, many of the in the money finishers volunteered to donate half of their winnings to the charity and Ante Up for Africa encourages participants to do the same this year.

More information about the tournament is available at www.worldseriesofpoker.com. If you would like more information regarding the organization, please log onto www.anteupforafrica.org and on twitter at www.twitter.com/anteupforafrica. For press coverage and to schedule an interview, please contact Danika Berry at 323.544.1482 or via email at danika@dbagencypr.com

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money. The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN year over year. The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

ABOUT ANTE UP FOR AFRICA

Ante Up For Africa (AUFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke and Norman Epstein. We are dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need. To date, Ante Up For Africa has raised close to $2 million for the cause and has donated to organizations such as Not On Our Watch (NOOW), ENOUGH and The International Rescue Committee. For more information, please log onto www.AnteUpForAfrica.org.

Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino

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The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino will host the inaugural Suzie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament benefiting the Boys and Girls Club July 1, where first place will win an unprecedented seat on NBC’s hit poker program Poker After Dark.

The tournament is open to the public and the winner will receive a $20,000 seat on the top-rated, late-night poker program, giving them the opportunity to become a television poker star and win $120,000 in cash. The $20,000 Poker After Dark seat will be donated by Full Tilt Poker.net and additional prizes will be donated by the Golden Nugget and other sponsors.

“This is a very exciting and almost unbelievable poker opportunity,” said John Colville, director of Golden Nugget poker. “To not only be able to give our tournament winner a seat on nationally televised Poker After Dark, but also be able to help raise money for these great kids, is fantastic. This is simply huge for everyone involved.”

The charity tournament festivities kick off in The Grand events center at 4 p.m. Buy-in for this tournament is $330 and will feature $200 multi re-buys and $100 add-ons. Registration for the event begins at noon July 1, or participants can register early in the Golden Nugget Poker Room.

In conjunction with the charity tournament, Suzie and Howard Lederer will also host all the fun, games and some of the best food around during their annual World Series of Barbeque. Celebrities and pro poker players alike will enjoy great food, entertainment and friendly competition, while spending some quality time with their friends away from the tables. This seventh annual party begins at 6 p.m. at The Tank, the Golden Nugget’s $30-million pool and shark aquarium, and will be capped with a special fireworks display at 10:10 p.m., immediately after the Fremont Street Experience Viva Vision lightshow. The Barbeque is open to invited guests, select media and participants who play in the Charity Poker Tournament and re-buy at least two times.

The Golden Nugget, in conjunction with its Second Annual Grand Poker Series and in support of the Suzie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament, will also be giving away seats to the celebrity charity event. Simply buy-in to any Grand Poker Series main tournament each day at noon through June 30 and receive a chance to win a seat in the charity tournament. One seat will be given away each day.

The month-long Grand Poker Series will run June 6 through July 5 and feature daily tournaments in The Grand events center. The series will hold cash games, sit & go satellites and much more, including special tournaments for seniors and ladies. Tournament games such as Hold ‘em, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E. and Seven Card Stud, including pot limit, no limit and limit, will be held, as well as two bracelet tournaments. Registration for all Grand Poker Series events is now open. For more information on The Grand Poker Series or for a complete schedule of events, please visit www.goldennugget.com.

For more information or to register for the Suzie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament, call 800-777-4658, ext. 8164, email poker@goldennugget.com or stop by the Golden Nugget Poker Room.

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino

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The advent of Summer brings more poker to Las Vegas than any other time of year.  Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, with an unmatched poker lineage in both years and reputation, will usher in the season with the 3rd Annual Binion’s Poker Classic.  Tournament play begins May 25 and culminates with a two-day No Limit Hold’em main event July 7 and 8.  All-in-all, Binion’s will seat players for 45 different events over 45 straight days.

With the wide variety of games and affordable buy-ins that characterize the Binion’s Poker Classic, players of all levels are sure to find events in which to compete.  The ever-popular No Limit Hold’em is the most featured, with 29 events scheduled, including Ladies Only on June 4.  New to the schedule this year are Crazy Pineapple and a second H.O.R.S.E event.  The Championship Event will take place July 7 and 8 and has the highest buy-in of the Poker Classic at $1,000.  Some events are as little as $100 buy-ins, while most fall within $150-$300 range with three $500 events.

“The players appreciate Binion’s highly qualified staff and the very reasonable buy-ins at the Poker Classic, especially when it helps build their bankroll for World Series of Poker events,” said Brad Thomte, Binion’s tournament director. “The schedule at Binion’s is about two days ahead of the Rio, so players get a great value and a little practice at the same time.”

Generally, the buy-ins at the Binion’s Poker Classic are about one-tenth of the World Series of Poker events.  Registered players in this year’s Poker Classic also will be extended a special room rate.  To participate in any of the Binion’s Poker Classic events, players simply register the day of the event in which they would like to play.  For No Limit Hold’em events, registration opens three hours prior to the start time.  For all other games, registration opens two hours ahead of time.  Last year, 8,400 people played in the Poker Classic.

About Binion’s Poker
Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, iconic among poker players for its unparalleled legacy in the game, opened the brand new Hall of Fame Poker Room in October 2008.  The new poker room features 10 tables in a contemporary setting and some of the best deals in the game including a max rake of $3 on all live games, $2 comps per hour of live poker play, tableside food service and special room rates. Historic photos are spaced around the room with eleven 42 and 50-inch plasma televisions for player viewing and entertainment. The Binion’s Gallery of Champions and Poker Hall of Fame are located in the upscale concierge area.  In addition to live play, Binion’s offers daily poker tournaments, a monthly $50,000 Freeroll and several signature tournaments throughout the year.

Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel

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The Five Star World Poker Classic tournament returns to Bellagio Wednesday, April 1 with the first of 13 No Limit Hold ‘em tournaments. The month-long event concludes April 18-25 with the Season VII World Poker Tour® (WPT) World Championship. To compete, players may either pay the $25,000 entry fee or earn a seat by participating in one of the seven super-satellite tournaments held throughout the first three weeks.

The WPT World Championship begins Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 at noon with two separate flights. The event continues Monday, April 20 with all competitors who have retained chips from their original allocation and concludes with the televised final table Saturday, April 25.

The Seniors No Limit Hold ‘em tournament also will return to Bellagio April 13-15 along with the Club WPT No Limit Hold ‘em tournament scheduled for Thursday, April 23. Entry fees for all of the tournaments range from $500-$5,000. Participants can register for all of the Five Star World Poker Classic tournaments in the Bellagio Poker Room.

Jack McClelland, director of poker tournament operations at Bellagio, is hopeful for another strong championship and said, “Our no limit tournaments and satellite events always have been well-attended and we hope to continue the trend this year. We anticipate more than 500 participants in this year’s championship including a heavy international contingent from countries including England, France, Denmark, Germany and Turkey, among others.”

California resident David Chiu captured the 2008 WPT World Championship at Bellagio in what was one of the largest comebacks in poker tournament history. He earned his first WPT title and the first place prize of $3,389,140 after two-and-a-half hours of heads up play against three-time WPT Champion Gus Hansen. Hansen, who finished second among the 545-player field, earned $1,714,800 for his second-place outing. The four players Hansen knocked out at the final table included former NFL Kicker John Roveto, well-known professional poker player Cory Carroll, Tommy Le (brother of WPT Champion Nam Le) and amateur Jeff King.

WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WPTE) is one of the most recognized names in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online and mobile. WPTE has led innovation in the sport of poker since 2002 when it ignited the global poker boom with the creation of the World Poker Tour® (WPT) television show. Based on a series of high stakes poker tournaments, WPT now is broadcast globally and will premiere its all-new seventh season on Fox Sports Net’s national sports network in the United States in 2009.

WPTE also offers a unique online subscription and sweepstakes-based poker club, ClubWPT.com, which operates in 38 states across the U.S. Additionally, WPTE owns and operates WPT China, a multi-media company based in Beijing specializing in television production, online and mobile games supporting the WPT China National Traktor Poker Tour™. WPTE has a 10-year exclusive partnership with the China Leisure Sports Administrative Center to market and build the sport of poker in China. WPTE also participates in strategic brand license, partnership and sponsorship opportunities. For more information visit www.worldpokertour.com. WPTE is a majority owned subsidiary of Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: LACO).

Bellagio Resort and Casino

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