Beau Rivage Resort & Casino and World Poker Tour host 2010 Southern Poker Championship

By David Sasseman

There will be 33 Events during 22 days, January 6th – 27th, 2010. Don’t miss the special appearance by professional poker star and poker coach Vanessa Rousso.

Happy New Year from Biloxi, Mississippi USA (January 5, 2010) – Being surrounded by stunning décor, free drinks, exquisite dining, poker pros, and seductive nightlife will be great and all that, but I am here for the poker! Herald in the new year with the first World Poker Tour® (WPT) event of the year. There will be 33 events culminating in the USD 10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Main Event. Which will be filmed for broadcast on Fox Sports Net (FSN) in the United States.

The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino (a MGM MIRAGE property) will host this 22 day poker spectacular. Both the cash games and tournaments are sensational. I play USD 1/2 and USD 2/5 no-limit hold’em and last year there were over 200 players on the cash game waiting list! There are big no-limit, Omaha, and mixed-games up in the tournament room where players are counting out handfuls of USD 100 dollar bills and throwing them into the pot. By the time they count the money, ‚run it twice‘, discuss the odds, and split the pots up, I have seen them only play eight hands in an hour in a high low split game. It is fun just to be a railbird.

Having the largest prize pools and the most players of any tournament in the South, the play is competitive and exciting. There are 33 main events with buy-ins from USD 200 to USD 10,000, single table sit-n-gos from USD 45 to USD 450, mega satellites, the nightly USD 175+25 tournaments, and plenty of interesting characters and fun. Mixed events include a Seven Card Stud/Stud 8 or Better (USD 300+40) and also a Limit A-5 Lowball/2-7Lowball/Badugi (USD 1,000+70). The tournaments have a great turnout, a good variety of games, and a player friendly blind structure. Ken Lambert and his crew really do a fine job. I expect 400-600 in the tournaments and up to 200 players on the waiting list for cash games. First prize in the Main Event anticipated to be $ 1,000,000 and will also include a bracelet and a $ 25,000 seat in the WPT World Championship at Bellagio for April 2010.

Vanessa „Lady Maverick“ Rousso, will be in Biloxi, playing poker, signing autographs, partying, and teaching a boot camp! She is great. I went to her boot camp last year and she improved my game immensely. Her game theory made my game more relaxed and many decisions easier. Her short stacked game is one of the best in the world and she shares some of it with you. Take her poker tournament theory two-day boot camp on January 22-23, it is well worth the USD 299. Also on January 23rd Rousso will sign autographs from 6pm-7pm and then join the other main event poker players for a party.

Want to play with Venessa Rousso but do not have the USD 10,000 entry for the Main WPT Event? At 2pm on January 23 (she will be busy on the 23rd) Rousso will play in her own „Vanessa Rousso Bounty Event“. The buy-in is only USD 200+ USD 30.

The Beau has it all, 10 restaurants like BR Prime, Jia for Asian, and MemphisQ makes my mouth water with anticipation. The buffet is one of the best in the Southeastern U.S., the swimming pool, live entertainment, boating, fishing, beach, fitness center, spa, and golf course (designed exclusively for the Beau Rivage by Tom Fazio) are heaven. The rooms are spacious and newly remodeled . Table game and the 2,100 slot machines are going 24/7. To wake up in this glorious Gulf Resort is such a great way to start a poker day. Poker player get a room rate of only about USD 69 during the week and USD 99 during weekends (call for details). Come and play at the Beau Rivage.