Ante Up Magazine

By Scott Long
When the Ante Up Poker Tour returns to Atlantis Casino Resort Spa for the second time this August, players will see a lot of what they liked last year, a few new twists and plenty of price points in events and satellites to meet bankrolls of all types.

“Tournament Director Andy Patton and I like our series to have balance: different buy-in levels for different bankrolls, some fun twists on no-limit hold’em tournaments, a few non-no-limit-hold’em tournaments and plenty of satellites to swell the fields where we have big guarantees.” said Keith Dames, poker room manager at Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nev. “Our players love bounties, so we have different buy-in bounty events where the bounty represents a different percentage of the prize pool. Events like the Black Chip Bounty have strategy considerations that differ from a standard freeze-out.”

This year’s series runs Aug. 15-25 and features $350,000 in guaranteed money spread over 19 events, the highlight of which is the $1,100 buy-in two-flight Main Event with a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool. The winner of that event will appear on the cover of the October issue of Ante Up Magazine and get a seat in the 2020 Ante Up World Championship, in addition to lots of cash. PokerNews.com’s live-reporting team will be on hand for the Main Event as well.

Dames and Patton like to put their own stamp on the schedule, making for a couple of fun events that break up the monotony of no-limit hold’em events that dominate most every series’ schedule.

“For several years, our Special Games Coordinator Jaime Navarro has been running a pot-limit dealer’s choice cash game on Monday nights. The idea for our 8-game tournament is to introduce players to some of the games that they haven’t played before so that they might feel comfortable in our stranger cash games,” Dames said. “The Kitchen Sink tournament is where I throw everything in but the kitchen sink. It is a 6-max, win-the-button, bounty event with half-price re-buys. The re-buy adds an additional bounty to the field as well as money to the prize pool. At half the price of the initial entry, there is no excuse to exit the tournament before the late-entry/re-buy period ends. It should be an action event to close out the series.”

Seniors also get their due at Atlantis, with two events on the schedule: a $200 Western Seniors Poker Series event with a $15,000 guaranteed prize pool followed the next day by a $260 Battle of the Ages event with a $10,000 guarantee that splits the field into two age brackets before combining at the end.

“Al and Darrell from Western Seniors Poker Series are great guys who want to promote poker,” Dames said. “Working with them gives us an extra avenue to attract senior players from Northern California. Players who play in seniors events at the Atlantis or at Stones Gambling Hall earn points towards a poker cruise.”

Satellites have a prominent place on the series schedule, with all featuring seat guarantees, and four days before the series begins, there will be a $200 buy-in satellite that guarantees 10 Main Event seats and five seats in the $400 Event #2, which has a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool.

“In my mind, it goes back to what attracts people to poker in the first place. Anyone can win on a given day. The amateur can beat the pro. Satellites create Moneymaker moments!,” Dames said. “I want as many players as possible to have the chance to play in the events with larger buy-ins so they will be comfortable with and have a shot at the big guarantees.”

And the series plays out in one of the most unique tournament areas around.

“Our tournament area at the Atlantis is on the second floor, right above the poker room and race and sports book. We have floor-to-ceiling windows stretching wall to wall that offer breathtaking views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains.”

“Our tournament area at the Atlantis is on the second floor, right above the poker room and race and sports book. We have floor-to-ceiling windows stretching wall to wall that offer breathtaking views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains,” Dames said. “I refer to it on Twitter as #PokerWithAView. Speaking of Twitter, follow @PokerAtlantis for updates, scheduling info, hotel rates and other fun things.”

Between tournaments, players will have plenty of cash game options from which to choose.

“Our pot-limit dealer’s choice will probably run several days as well as PLO, Drawmaha and the standard limit and no-limit hold’em games,” Dames said. “Lately, we’ve been running a $2/3 no-limit 6-max game that is gaining popularity and will probably run most days during the series. We offer $4 an hour in comps 24/7 for carded play, which is the highest rate anywhere. Promotions include bonus cash for quads or better, Aces Cracked and an EZ Bad Beat Jackpot. Between comps and promotions, there is no reason to play anywhere else when in Reno!”

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is a AAA Four Diamond resort, with a luxuriously appointed Concierge Tower. All rooms in that tower and the Luxury Tower feature custom desks with a multimedia launch pad where guests can connect their laptop to the 42-inch flatscreen HDTV. Players can get discounted room rates by calling (800) 723-6500 and mentioning offer code MANTE19, and players who pre-register and pay for their Main Event seat online by Aug. 14 will get one complimentary room night. Guests can choose from eight award-winning restaurants, including Bistro Napa, a winner of the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, and Toucan Charlie’s Buffet & Grille, which has been voted Best Buffet by locals. Atlantis has a 30,000-square-foot spa, 50,000 square feet of convention space and a casino that offers 1,400 slot machines, table games, race and sports book, keno lounge and a comfortable, non-smoking poker room.

“The biggest benefit to partnering with Ante Up is the year-round aspect of the relationship. The Atlantis Poker Room offers the region’s best comps and promotions. Ante Up allows us to broadcast that to poker players every month,” Dames said. “A partnership like this also works really well when the people on the other side are folks you like to have a drink with! We love having Ante Up Publisher Scott Long out for the series – it gives us an excuse to go to Reno’s Best Happy Hour: Social Hour at the Bistro Napa!”