The Mid-Atlantic area offers an eclectic collection of facilities in which to play poker. Since this is my first report for Ante Up I thought a little primer on the area was in order. You could say Virginia is a “dry state,” with no poker of any sort, not even charity halls anymore. This leaves West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware.
Delaware
Three gaming facilities are in the state, Delaware Park near Wilmington, Dover Downs in Dover and Harrington Raceway near the Delaware State fairgrounds. While each facility offers cash games, the daily tournaments vary at each site. You can find the times of the daily tournaments in the Where to Play portion of the magazine.
Delaware Park recently expanded its daily tournament schedule, spreading four events each day. To try to attract the former Internet players, there’s a $20 buy-in tournament on Wednesdays and Sundays. On Thursdays and Fridays, Omaha tournaments are offered and major promotional tournaments will take place over Independence Day weekend.
Dover’s Crown Royal Poker Room is hosting the Summer Open on July 8-16 (see ad at left). Also the Delaware State Championship is Sept. 10 with qualifying satellites running daily. It will have a $10K guarantee. Dover hosts numerous series throughout the year. Be sure to check our Where to Play pages each month for dates and schedules.
West Virginia
The two West Virginia facilities in this region are Greenbrier Resort and Hollywood Casino at Charles Town. Greenbrier’s casino is available only for guests of the resort. That being said, the Greenbrier Championship Poker Series features 10 tournaments with a max field of 60 players. With a full field, the top eight win a cash prize of $4,760 and entry into the “Final Table” event on July 23 with a $20,000 winner-take-all cash prize.
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town is the closest casino to D.C. and many players in the District make the commute to this busy room. The casino offers many cash games and recently added tournaments on Tuesday and Wednesday. You may have to wait for a short period before getting on a cash table. Can you tell there’s a pent-up demand for poker in the area?
Washington, D.C.
The City Council passed an ordinance to allow online poker for D.C. residents to play on District-sanctioned poker sites. This would be for D.C. residents as play-money sites begin this month and real-money sites by year’s end. Also, check theppa.org for charity events.
Maryland
While poker isn’t sanctioned by the state, there are many charity events ($20-$150) in the rural areas of Southern Maryland. These usually take place at charity facilities such as firehouses or halls. They’re run well and food and beverages are usually available as part of your entry. For a list of most events go to somd.com/calendar/index.cgi.
— Michael Young is the Ante Up Ambassador for the Mid-Atlantic area. Email him at anteupmike@gmail.com.
