The St. Louis market is a sturdy, albeit often not noted, poker marketplace. The vicinity has half a dozen casinos, along with the Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis, which was formerly a Caesars Entertainment assets. The old venue used to play host to the World Series of Poker Circuit, but now it’s home to the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT).
In fact, the HPT become there returned in March which is when Bill Byrnes topped a 444-entry area to win the $1,650 Main Event for $$148,587. Craig Welko additionally won three side activities at some point of the forestall which includes Event #1: $350 NLH, an event that attracted a Missouri nation report of 1,283 entries.
PokerNews recently had the danger to speak with Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis poker room supervisor Mike Williams (pictured above far right next to Bill Byrnes and VP of Casino Operations Hollywood/River City Lowell Jacobsen) to analyze extra approximately the prevent and poker in his a part of the united states of America.
When and the way did you input the poker global?
I have become very inquisitive about poker/cards at a young age. I can bear in mind my grandma showing me how to play 5-card draw, Stud, or even maintain returned after I changed into 5 or six years vintage. We started out playing weekly video games and I become hooked. I knew that I desired to be around playing cards. Fast ahead a decade and a 1/2 to 2004 when I enrolled in poker provider college at this property (Harrah’s at the time).
Within three months of becoming a poker supplier, I changed into promoted to Dual Rate Supervisor which changed into a large deal to me; I turned into so excited. On one in all my first days at the ground, the other floor character went to interrupt leaving me to observe 12 video games and I consider standing on the front of the room watching over the games and wondering to myself, 21 years antique and I’m supervising a poker site, that is it; that is where I need to be.
Within 3 months, I became promoted to Full-Time Supervisor. Then, six months later, to Shift Manager. In 2010, my buddy Randy is known as me and said he became simply named poker site manager at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and I genuinely needed to come to test the place out. So I headed out that week. I become straight away crushed by means of the amount of foot site visitors and movement that area drew in. At the time, the poker room became 24 tables and it becomes complete at almost any given time, I just had to get in on the motion. Not long after that, I headed lower back out to interview for Poker Shift Manager. I received and popular an activity provides.
What led to you taking a position at Hollywood St. Louis?
I moved returned to St. Louis in 2014 to be with my pals and circle of relatives and took a job as Poker Supervisor. During this timeframe, the poker supervisor was permitted move and Table Games was overseeing poker inside the period in-between. I had a good running relationship with the director of table games from when I labored here previously so she leaned on me quite a bit with poker desires. After a quick quantity of time, the poker manager function becomes published and I carried out. After some rounds of interviews, I turned into supplied and standard the placement.
What sort of promotions does Hollywood St. Louis offer poker gamers?
We have any such great supplying for poker gamers it genuinely makes me jealous that I can’t play right here. Every day we start with 21 “Made Hand” jackpots and thirteen “Sets Cracked” jackpots worth at the least $one hundred every (greater if they carryover), not to mention our Bad Beat Jackpot.
We offer players a $15 meals voucher for 4 hours of coins play further to their hourly comps. We award tier factors for poker play which enables “degreed up” your rewards card, earning you extra benefits in any respect of our homes nationwide. We also host fourteen tournaments each week with purchase-ins starting from $60 to $550.
You currently hosted your first HPT. How did that pass and how did players reply?
Throughout my profession, I’ve been lucky enough to host/facilitate the WSOPC and the Hollywood Poker Open and I even have in no way visible something like the HPT at Hollywood Casino St. Louis. We had just finished orientation with the final group of HPT personnel and we walked out to the match vicinity at 9: fifty-five a.M. On a Wednesday to locate nearly a hundred players already registered to play the $eighty five satellite to Event 1. I without delay became to the shift supervisor, Joe Hahs, and said this whole series is about to head off two times what we anticipated; begin calling dealers and converting schedules! The poker team here on belongings coupled with the temp HPT body of workers dealt with this inflow higher than any group I’ve ever visible.
In your years in poker, what is the wildest aspect you’ve ever visible?
I don’t forget the floor name I took in 2009. It becomes the very last table of an event, and I pay attention the provider says “Um, floor” then a Player A leaping up and saying “BS I had the nuts,”
I approach the table and ask the dealer what occurred. The provider said Player A bet, Player Braised, Player A went all in, and Player B called. Player B flipped over a directly. I stated good enough, what did Player A have? The supplier responded, “He doesn’t have playing cards.”
I said, “Ok, sir (Player A) how did you need to win this pot at showdown?”
He said: “I changed into going to show over my playing cards however now they’re gone and I had the nuts.”
We took a peek below the table and the rail, nothing. I had the supplier be counted down the stub and muck to find out the cards were in reality somewhere. I appear to look at a rolling desk at the back of him and noticed it had a fresh beer sitting on it. I requested, “Sir did you buy that beer?”
He said: “Yes but I’m not drunk, I simply misplaced my cards. Don’t disqualify me.”
I said I want you to get up, which he did. I said take out your wallet, which he did. I said: “Now take the nine-Clubs10-Clubs from your pockets.”
He became beginning to say “Why the…” as he opened his wallet to find the nine-Clubs10-Clubs. It became the nearest I’ve ever been to appearing a magic trick and the biggest cheer I’ve ever received from making a floor call. Don’t fear, Player B got the pot.