Poker News

Byron Liggett

Poker players fly. And nowadays, like everybody, they spend a lot of time in and around airports. They’ve become leisure centers. Nobody runs through airports anymore; if you did, you’d be shot.

Airports have become a place for a lot of things besides airplanes — fast foodemporiums, exquisite restaurants, chic clothing shops, bars, bookstores, and boutiques. But no poker rooms!

Poker players can fly only so far without a Flop! If you’ve got time to see “The River”, before you do the sky, there’s often a poker room within minutes of the airport. The San Francisco International Airport is a popular hangout. Yet, just five minutes away, on the other side of the airport in San Bruno, is handsome ARTICHOKE JOE’S. If you’ve got time to land a hand, there’s no finer Hold’em hanger to park it in.

Just phone Artichoke’s, from the airport and they’ll put you in a Hold’em pattern. As soon as you touch down, you’ll be in line for a seat.

Poker Controller Langdon Bachman directs all table traffic. He says they’ve got seats in both first class and economy games and, he promises, “you won’t wait long to take-off”. If you find yourself at the San Jose International Airport, you’ve got two great places to go. A lot of First Class flyers flop at BAY 101. Games range from light flights to long hauls. Bay 101 is where they film that poker drama, “The Shooting Star Tournament” every Spring. Matt Savage directs the production. Matt’s become a superstar of stage and screen.

Games are always departing at Bay 101. Monday and Thursdays at midnight players can catch the red-eye special, a $70 spread limit Hold’em flight with a $60 rebuy. All the passengers try to be the last one off.

THE GARDEN CITY Casino, also in San Jose, is a favorite landing field for local poker pilots as well as fly-by players. Here, the flops fly high and low.

Garden City games range from light flights to long hauls, but they’re all First Class seats. Just fasten your seat belts and wait for take-off. After the cards are in the air, players must remain in their seats.

If you’re stuck in the Portland International Airport, you’re about 15 minutes from a big blind. Just taxi across the Columbia River and up the I-5 Freeway about 10 miles, take the La Center exit and you’re soon in a Northwest Poker Paradise. La Center is a gathering place for poker aviators. THE LAST FRONTIER is a popular jump-off point for the final frontier. Here, if you’ve got The Right Stuff, you can break the chip-barrier. Launch Control Manager Eliot Peskin oversees all table take-offs and landings. No airline snacks here. Instead, players can enjoy delicious dining or cocktails during their flight. Heading due north, the next big international airport is SeaTac, serving the greater Seattle/Tacoma urban center. Get grounded here and you’re in real luck.

From SeaTac, a poker pilot only has to set a course for the NORTHSTAR Casino and you’ll be flyin’ flops in minutes. Poker Stewardess-in-Charge Ramona Pendleton will make sure you fly right (don’t try stunts).

The Northstar is a favorite landing spot for Seattle area Flop Jocks. They’re all here, high flyers, low riders, jet-set bettors, and no-limit aviators. This is home base for a lot a “frequent flyers.” There’s always a game about to take-off.

A Seattle action attraction, Northstar is also one of the most popular nightclubs and dining destinations in south

Filed under: Poker News