The beautiful Summerlin area of Las Vegas is home to the Suncoast Hotel & Casino, and its poker room hosts one of the most unusual and longest-running games in the area.
It’s called the “Hoggy” game. If you’re looking for something other than hold’em, it just might be the game for you. The game is $2-$10 stud/8 with a double qualifier. The low hand must be eight or better and the high hand must be jacks or better. If there’s no qualifying low, the high hand scoops the pot, but if there’s no qualifying high the low hand takes it all. In the rare case where there’s no qualifying hand on either end, the pot is split. On seventh street, the betting jumps to $2-$20. It’s called the Hoggy because on any scooped pot of $100 or more, the winner posts $10, which becomes the bring-in. The pots can get large.
Manager Daryl Boykin said this game has been spread around various Vegas poker rooms since the 1970s and has been at the Suncoast for several years. It runs regularly at 11 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
The comfortable 10-table room also spreads limit hold’em and NLHE, of course, as well as Omaha/8 and the traditional stud/8. Daily $45 tournaments run at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Popular among the locals, the Suncoast is worth the drive for tourists as well.
HOLLYWOOD POKER OPEN: The second Hollywood Poker Open returns to the M Resort on June 25-29, with $235 satellites starting the first day. The three-day, $2,500 championship starts June 27 and offers a $500K guarantee. (See the ad in our June 2014 issue.) Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series champion, serves as HPO’s ambassador and will be in the championship.
ARIA & WPT: The announcement of the Aria Classic included the big news that the popular room was joining forces with the World Poker Tour for its featured event. The series, scheduled June 11-July 6, will finish with the WPT 500. This $565 event will have six starting days, beginning July 1. Day 2, the final day, will resume on July 6. That morning, the final starting day will be a turbo with 15-minute levels and a 9 a.m. start. The earlier Day 1s will all have 30- and 40-minute levels. The tournament has a $1 million guarantee.
All Day 1s may have one re-entry and players may enter multiple flights with the biggest stack advancing to Day 2.
Other events include $235 PLO on June 16, $235 seniors June 19, $235 deuce-to-seven triple draw June 23 and a $235 ladies event June 26.
Offered throughout the series are $175 bounty events and plenty of $235 and $340 NLHE events. There also will be $125 satellites for entry into the WPT 500.
BINION’S: The eighth annual Binion’s Classic runs until June 25. The two-day, $1K championship starts June 18. Also featured is the Legends Classic, a three-day event beginning June 7 with two starting days and a $240 buy-in. Unusual for a seniors event, players as young as 45 may enter. There are plenty of HORSE, Omaha and PLO events in addition to NLHE. A $200 ladies event wraps up the series June 25.
PLANET HOLLYWOOD: Phamous Poker Series V, running June 6-July 6, will be the room’s first summer event. It will start and finish with $560 tournaments with $250K guaranteed each on June 6 and July 6. The first-place finisher in both events is guaranteed $100K and both are one-day events. The other Saturdays during the series will offer $300 tournaments with $100K guarantees and $40K first-place guarantees.
WYNN: The Wynn Classic runs June 11-July 14, with all events having guarantees. There are three two-day, three-starting flight events for $600 each with $250K guarantees. The $1,600 championship has two starting days beginning July 11 and offers a $300K guarantee.
BELLAGIO: Two summer series are featured at the famed room. First up is the Summer High Roller Series. This is a series of six one-day, $10,200 tournaments spread out over a month, between May 29 and June 27. Bellagio Cup X runs July 9-July 15, highlighted by a five-day, $10,300 tournament beginning July 10.
VENETIAN: The main event of Deep Stack Extravaganza II finished April 21 with the $90K first prize going to Eric Blair of Los Angeles. The event had 420 entrants and a prize pool was $413K. Paul Lee, also of Los Angeles, took second for $56K and Joshua Pollock of Las Vegas earned $40K for third.
The Venetian will host the Mid-States Poker Tour June 2-3, a $1,100 buy-in with a $300K guarantee. The event will be part of Venetian’s DSE III.
TREASURE ISLAND: Christopher Coffin, who managed the Mirage poker room until last year, is the new cardroom manager at Treasure Island.
— Email Rob Solomon at rob@allvegaspoker.com. Follow him on Twitter @Robvegaspoker and read his blog at robvegaspoker.blogspot.com.
