Would you boycott the Venetian Poker Room?

Shells

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The Venetian Poker Room in Las Vegas is hosting a $250 buy-in tournament in October. The event has created some commotion among the poker community are calling for a boycott.

Is the possibility of a boycott going a little too far or do you feel it is justified? (find out more in the article by Jon Sofen)

Should Las Vegas Poker Community Boycott Venetian Poker Room?
 
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Luvulongtime99

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Justified. They are the main reason (The owner) why we don't have online poker in the USA. It's a absolute joke that they are taking anything over Guaranteed money it's straight up stealing from the poker community.
 
HobokenNJ

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It sounds like a very unfavorable format for players. Cardschat etc. are right to bring this top players' attentions -- and players should avoid it.
 
Pokerguy6666

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I would boycott that casino just because of its association with Sheldon Adelson. The planet will be a better place once he's dead, and judging by his appearance, the grim reaper is not far behind him.
 
smallfrie

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The Venetian Poker Room in Las Vegas is hosting a $250 buy-in tournament in October. The event has created some commotion among the poker community are calling for a boycott.

Is the possibility of a boycott going a little too far or do you feel it is justified? (find out more in the article by Jon Sofen)

Should Las Vegas Poker Community Boycott Venetian Poker Room?
Isn't this about their anything above $150,000 is all rake tournament? I think the Venetian will learn their lesson, when they see how much money they don't make from this tournament, unless players are a lot dumber than I think they are.
 
roger perkins

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here is the problem i see. if this is successful once then the casinos will start to work this structure more often. then as it proves to be very profitable it will become the norm. casinos will screw you in every way possible. Take blackjack for instance. it use to be blackjack paid 2 to 1. then they started the 3 to 2 ratio with the lower stakes tables. now online is mostly 3 to 2 payoff giving the house a bigger advantage. in saying that this tournament if not boycotted will eventually become the norm.
 
Shells

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here is the problem i see. if this is successful once then the casinos will start to work this structure more often. then as it proves to be very profitable it will become the norm. casinos will screw you in every way possible. Take blackjack for instance. it use to be blackjack paid 2 to 1. then they started the 3 to 2 ratio with the lower stakes tables. now online is mostly 3 to 2 payoff giving the house a bigger advantage. in saying that this tournament if not boycotted will eventually become the norm.

You do make some interesting points, Roger. If there is enough interest in the tournament, then yes, all the big casinos will take on the same formats. I don't play live poker but I do watch it - this format just doesn't make sense to even consider playing it, at least to me. Surely, there are other tournaments worth waiting for - am I right? or way off?
 
roger perkins

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You do make some interesting points, Roger. If there is enough interest in the tournament, then yes, all the big casinos will take on the same formats. I don't play live poker but I do watch it - this format just doesn't make sense to even consider playing it, at least to me. Surely, there are other tournaments worth waiting for - am I right? or way off?
you are correct but often things like this go unnoticed by the recreational player. there was a local room i played at quite often that slowly over a matter of time raised its rake on tournaments up to 38% on the smaller buy ins. it was gradual so no one really noticed. at least no one that only played at that room. since i play all over it was easy to see they were raking a lot more than the other rooms. the circuit players noticed and started to avoid the room. the recreation players still played.
 
Cam54

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I think this is a load of horse crap just on the face, and I agree 100% with Roger this will be the standard if they get away with it ...

I would add that no poker player, American or even a player on holiday from another country, should ever spend a dime in any establishment that is in any way connected to Sheldon Adelson whatever it is ... he wants to destroy online poker for Americans then we should destroy any of his future revenue in any possible way we can.
 
Poker_Mike

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You guys make good points about the poker room charging what the market will bear. The Venetian is testing those boundaries.

But really - lol - as long as they don't meet the guarantee - there is no rake - right?

And I posted about this on the main newspage…..isn't there already a standing poker boycott of the Venetian poker room?
 
rrickir

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This is interesting I've never heard of a casino doing this in a buy in e tournament usually the money over the guaranteed goes to the prize pool.. but I haven't played a live tournament in quite a long time so I don't know what is the normal now... I have seen some tourneys like this online though ,,,but once we closed over the guarantee they don't add any more to it I forget which site I've experienced that with online... venetian is definitely trying to get very greedy there.. I don't know if enough players will , boycott the Venetian though because the recreational players will still probably want to play that tournament unless they fully understand what's happening .tho
 
Shells

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You guys make good points about the poker room charging what the market will bear. The Venetian is testing those boundaries.

But really - lol - as long as they don't meet the guarantee - there is no rake - right?

And I posted about this on the main newspage…..isn't there already a standing poker boycott of the Venetian poker room?


This is the only boycott I know of regarding the Venetian. You mean there is more boycotting going on?
 
57noona

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I would boycott this event. I hope they don't exceed the buy ins for this event. The casino doesn't desire one cent over the guarantee.
 
wyoming4paul

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Boycott, no. Not play in a tournament with poor odds, yes.
 
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LotharMcDowner

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This just seems like a shameless money grab from rec players. Totally agree that players should avoid the Venetian not only because of this but because Adelson is such a horrible human.
 
zinzir

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I boycott by default any tournament with a buy-in over 50 cents online, and I have never entered a casino in my entire life. But from a theoretical point of view, I agree with everything Doug Polk said in his youtube video.
 
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All I can say is WOW! I have never heard of a capped guarantee. With 6 day ones, there is no way that it will not blow past the guarantee. With that said, I think "boycotting" something is silly. If you are a rec having a good time then play it. If you are a pro and you think the field is super soft, then play it. If the structure takes away from the soft field, then don't play. We vote with our wallets, and if it is bad for recs and pros, then the casino will not do this to lose money.

Don't just boycott to do it, do what is right for you. It's just poker folks. We aren't saving the forest or anything here :)
 
Poker_Mike

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This is the only boycott I know of regarding the Venetian. You mean there is more boycotting going on?


Without finding historical sources - there has been a "call" for a boycott of all poker properties associated with Sheldon due to his opposition to online poker.

He has spent a lot of money on lobbying efforts of US lawmakers to prohibit online poker.

Shells you must have previously started a thread years ago on this news topic?

I do understand a "new" call to boycott this specific poker event.

But again....this would be a GREAT tournament payout structure if they don't meet the guarantee!

Good luck !
 
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fundiver199

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But again....this would be a GREAT tournament payout structure if they don't meet the guarantee!

A guaranteed price sum is nothing new. Like 99% of all tournaments, live or online, has that already. The difference is, that when the guarantee is reached - which it nearly always is - then additional money goes to the price pool and not 100% to the house.

For instance if you play online in a 5+0,5$ MTT with a 500$ guarantee, and 120 players register, the price pool will be 600$, and the poker site will collect 60$ in fees. With the Venetian format however the poker site would collect 160$ in fees, and the price pool would still only be 500$.

This is just such a laughably bad deal for players, that I can only agree with those, who advice to not play it. Or at least register at the very last moment, so you know, how many players you are going to compete against.
 
Shells

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Without finding historical sources - there has been a "call" for a boycott of all poker properties associated with Sheldon due to his opposition to online poker.

He has spent a lot of money on lobbying efforts of US lawmakers to prohibit online poker.

Shells you must have previously started a thread years ago on this news topic?

I do understand a "new" call to boycott this specific poker event.

But again....this would be a GREAT tournament payout structure if they don't meet the guarantee!

Good luck !

I likely didn't post something re: boycotting, years ago but when I get a little time, I will look for something in this regard.

It's true, though! If the guaranteed wasn't met, then it would be a great tournament.
 
swoopdonk

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I always assumed the guarantee was there to cement the prize pool in case not enough players sign up not so the casino can steal the overage.. The Venetian is basically trying to make stealing legal.
 
Poker_Mike

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A guaranteed price sum is nothing new. Like 99% of all tournaments, live or online, has that already. The difference is, that when the guarantee is reached - which it nearly always is - then additional money goes to the price pool and not 100% to the house.

For instance if you play online in a 5+0,5$ MTT with a 500$ guarantee, and 120 players register, the price pool will be 600$, and the poker site will collect 60$ in fees. With the Venetian format however the poker site would collect 160$ in fees, and the price pool would still only be 500$.

This is just such a laughably bad deal for players, that I can only agree with those, who advice to not play it. Or at least register at the very last moment, so you know, how many players you are going to compete against.


Probably you are not aware of the weird payout structure of this tournament.

If they don't meet the guarantee then there is NO rake. LOL - no rake! But yes, once the guarantee is met then the excess is 100% rake.

It is weird but that is why I keep saying that if they don't meet the guarantee then it is a great tournament.

It is like a "gamble" of whether they will meet the guarantee or not. And you are correct - they usually exceed the guarantee.

At least this is my understanding of what I read. I could be wrong and I suppose they could change it due to protest.

Good luck !
 
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