River Palms

Anyone who was here last August when I posted my initial thoughts on Laughlin poker rooms knows that I rated the River Palms very highly, yet said that they were, unfortunately, dead.

Well, the ownership has changed hands a time or two since then, the poker room has been moved a couple of times as well, and things are finally coming together for the River Palms.

Supposedly, they have all new management who sees the advantages of having a healthy poker room.

Now they are running at least seven tournaments per week at 6:30pm.

Sign-ups start at 4pm. The buy-in is $25. There is NO JUICE on these tourneys, but $5 does go to the dealer's tips. Each player has a $5 bounty on his head.

Players start with 500 (300 for the $20, 200 additional for the $5 dealer's tips add-on). Unlimited rebuys are $10 for 500 chips during the first hour.

One optional add-on is $20 for 2000 chips.

Players who have played 3 live hours prior to the tourney (any 3 hours that day) receive an additional 200 bonus chips.

TDA rules apply.

The blinds start at 5/15 and increase every 15 minutes. A digital timer is used, they do not yet have The Clock.

The "bubble" prize is a free entry into any tourney.

The prize pool is distributed as follows:

Two tables or less: 1st=50%, 2nd=30%, 3rd=20%

Three tables: 1st=45%, 2nd=25%, 3rd=15%, 4th=10%, 5th=5%

Four or more: 1st=36%, 2nd=18%, 3rd=11%, 4th=10%, 5th=7%, 6th=6%, 7th=5%, 8th=4%, 9th=3%

On July 4th they have two special tourneys. Both are NLHE. The 10am one has $500 added, the 6:30pm one has $1000 added.

The schedule is as follows for daily tourneys:

Mon: Omaha 8

Tue: Stud 8 with 2 pr. qualifier for high

Wed: NLHE

Thur: LHE with river card like stud (dealt down to each player)

Fri: PL Omaha High

Sat: Omaha 8

Sun: NLHE

----------------------------

I don't think I have to tell any of you how much I am loving this. These games are easily beatable for the decent tournament player. No juice is fantastic. Added money, even better.

Right now the Palms has six tables. They are expanding immediately to add another three. If things go well for them, they are tearing down a wall behind the desk to add an undetermined number of tables.

The poker room manager is new. He is young (about 30) and seems very innovative and motivated. I think he would appreciate suggestions and help. The staff assures me that they are doing everything they can to revive poker at the Palms. The rake is low (max $3) and comps are easy to get with the swipe of a card. I'm not sure if we accumulate hourly or if it is a set minimum.

When I stayed there last August they gave me a poker room rate of $35. While this is great for Vegas, it is pretty high for Laughlin, so I hope that they are offering a better rate now. I didn't get a chance to ask. I'll make sure to address that in my tourney report.

If you've never played in Laughlin, there is no better time to come down. It's easy money!