WPBT Winter Gathering FAQ

How fitting that post #600 on this little blog is a FAQ for the WPBT Winter Gathering. As of now, we officially have more people registered for the tourney than the total attendees at the Orleans debacle. Not surprising, as the Winter part-ay always has more folks. So here's a list of the Frequently Asked Questions that I've been getting about the Winter Gathering.

1) When is it?

December 6 - 10 in Las Vegas.

2) When and Where is the Tournament?

December 8th at 2PM at the Venetian.

UPDATE - Time is now 3PM

3) What's the buy-in?

$125 + an optional $10 dealer toke for more chips. $25 of the initial buy-in is juice.

4) Why so much?

It's getting harder to find people that are interested in hosting a private tournament, and fewer facilities are able to host a group of our size without going to the banquet department. Plus the Venetian is a really nice room, and they've allowed us to manipulate the structure slightly to make it more player-friendly.

5) Is there anything else going on?

Yes - since the WPBT isn't an "official" group and has no "official" leadership and frankly is made up of a bunch of people who frequently sneer at most things that are "official," it should come as no surprise that there aren't any "official" events. More like traditions. So here are the "traditional" gatherings that will be taking place.

Thursday Night - Drinking and Pai Gow at the Geisha Bar - Imperial Palace.

This event has been known to cause tall Aussies to wear Elvis glasses, Maigrey to be called the Pai Gow Princess and F-Train to terrify small Asian dealers (yes, there are people smaller than F-Train) by screaming "Pai Gow" at the top of his lungs. It could also lead to hookers rubbing themselves against portions of your body heretofore unhookered at the craps table, and you might find yourself in either a wheelchair or a restroom of an inappropriate gender.

Those are all true stories.

UPDATE - With the early Thursday arrival of the Gcox duo, karaoke may well happen this night as well.

Friday Night - Mixed Games at the MGM and Drinking at the Sports Book

This event has been known to cause bloggers to mysteriously fall down and splash and entire beer in their face, random blogger to play other random bloggers' chip stacks in a cash game, the introduction of "the rock" to a 3-6 table, and lots and lots of overtipping. It can also lead to your drunk ass sleeping through the tournament regardless of how late in the day we start. I warned you not to try to drink with Al. I've only seen a couple of trained professional livers manage the feat (Big Mike and Pauly). The rest of us (Otis) just fall down.

UPDATE - mixed games begin at 7ish. By 'ish' I mean I need two tables worth of people there at around 6:30 to lock up our tables.

Sunday Morning (I use the term "morning" loosely) - Sports Book at the Mandalay Bay

This event has in recent history moved to the sports book at the IP due to ease of takeover. Check with Al for actual location of this last stand of debauchery. I've never managed to drag my ass out of bed to get there. This year will be no different, I'm sure.

Random events - Storming the Castle - at some point the call will go out and we will assemble at the Excalibur to play like donkeys and make prop bets on wheel spins. If you've never played the Excalibur and don't know of what I speak, then you probably don't want to miss this. It's the site of DonkeyPuncher catching runner-runner quads on me and the site of G-Rob singlehandedly funding AJ's education by betting Joe Speaker on the color of the wheel spin and losing 312 spins in a row. Statistically impossible, you say? Well, science claims that hummingbirds can't possibly fly.

6) Can I invite my friends?

Yes. This event has a history of having friends, spouses and non-bloggers playing. Most of my home game is coming. Al is bringing some of the Riverchasers folks. Friends are welcome. Especially if they suck at poker. Some readers have come to this event and started blogging afterwards, which is also cool.

7) What should I wear?

Kilts are required garb for the WPBT Winter Gathering.

Yes, I'm serious.

No, I don't expect anyone to believe me.

Yes, I will be wearing my kilt for the tournament again. But I need a new one since I lost weight. So I better order one quick like bunny.

UPDATE - Utilikilt is sold out of kilts my size, so there might not be a kilted Falstaff at the WPBT.

8) What else do I need to know?

I'm hopeful that Pauly will repost his list of tips from a couple years ago. Or email me.

9) How do I sign up?

Email me at johnhartness AT gmail DOT com and I'll send you the spreadsheet link. That's where you put your blog name, real name (if you want), whether or not you're playing the tourney, cell phone # (if you want), and where you're staying. It makes a helpful repository for folks who don't know many people, and we've got a bunch of new folks coming out this time.

If you haven't emailed me, please do, so I can keep the sheet updated. I'll email everyone with a final list the week before we go out.

UPDATE - Some of you (DAWN, CC, Schaubs) have emailed me but haven't input your information yet. Some of you may not have emailed me yet. I will be sending the contact list early next week. We are currently (11/29) over 100 players for the tournament. I will take whatever number we end up with and add one table's worth to it when I go to the Venetian Saturday, so the slackers among us (and assorted hookers, groupies and readers that we may pick up) can have a seat. That sentence is in no way meant to say that members of our group must be any of the following - slackers, hookers, groupies or readers. It is also not meant to say that people may not be hookers, groupies AND slackers. After all, there is always F-Train.

Email me with questions. Do it often. I want everyone to have a great time. And answering emails and updating this FAQ means I actually spend less time working, which is +EV.