The St. Louis market is a sturdy, albeit often not noted, poker marketplace. The vicinity has half a dozen casinos and the Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis, which was formerly a Caesars Entertainment asset. 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, 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, including 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 of my first days at the ground, the other floor character interrupted, leaving me to observe 12 video games. I consider standing in 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 was known as me and said he became 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 crushed straight away by the number of foot site visitors and movement that area drew in. At the time, the poker room had 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 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 to move, and Table Games oversaw poker in-between periods. I had a good running relationship with the table games director from when I previously labored here, so she leaned on me quite a bit with poker desires. After a quick time, the poker manager function becomes published, and I carried it 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 such a great supply of 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 to 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, nearly a hundred players were 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 dealing with this inflow is 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 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 count 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 began 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.
