Year’s End
Bonnie Demos
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. -T.S. Eliot
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on. The year 2007 will no doubt leave an indelible markon the evolution of poker in the Midwest. New casinos and card rooms were appearing on the scene in record numbers, and expansions of existing properties accelerated to meet the demands of a poker-hungry public.
We witnessed the opening of the largest all electronic poker room in the country at The Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, MI. We were awed by the unveiling of the renovated Motor City Casino in downtown Detroit, MI by renowned designer-turned-TV-star Chip Foose. This followed the equally spectacular renovation of the area’s Casino Windsor.
The Heartland Poker Tour exploded in popularity, building on its already steady growth and adding more tournaments to its schedule along with steadily increasing prize pools. The Majestic Star’s HPT events shattered all previous records, and finished the year with a prize pool topping $800,000 at the final event in December.
Properties added bigger and better tournaments to their venues, with plans for even more in the coming year. It was a great year to be a poker player in the Midwest, and the ensuing year promises to bring even more unprecedented growth and change to the poker industry in the area, and along with it, more opportunities for local and visiting poker players alike.
Midwesterners, up to their eyeballs in ice and snow by this time of year, always welcome the New Year with the anticipation of the spring and summer soon to follow. However, with all of the poker action scheduled for 2008, the chill of our inclement climate has been melted by the hot action at the tables.
Whatever your poker resolutions may be for the New Year, opportunity awaits everywhere in the Midwest. Cherokee Casino located in Tulsa, OK kicks off the New Year with The Oklahoma State Championships, a twelveday event beginning on February 14 with a special Valentine’s Day Jack and Jill event. Qualifiers and single seat satellites began on New Year’s Day.
Most Memorable Midwest Poker Moment in 2007 November 9, 2007- A bad beat jackpot hit for $61,950.00 at Menominee Casino’s Forest Edge Poker Room in Keshena, WI. The hand, aces-full-of-jacks over aces-full-of-tens, although not an everyday occurrence, is not totally unusual. What made this bad beat jackpot so historical was that it was split between a husband and wife. Dick and Deb Skinner gave new meaning to the old adage, “The couple who plays together, stays together.”
Dick’s winning hand resulted in Deb’s bad beat win of $24,780. Dickmanaged to put out his wife, win a large pot, and take home his share of the bad beat jackpot totaling $12,390. What are the odds?
My personal resolution this year is to keep you posted on all of the exciting news, events, and results throughout the coming year. Happy 2008 to all!
Bonnie Demos from the midwest, Gambler, poker player and award winning chef, has enjoyed working in the gaming industry for the past several years.
Filed under: Poker News