? @ Atlantapokerclub.com/kickasspoker.com

[hoterdoc]

Hey all,
I usually post in the home poker forum, and wasn't really sure where to put this (B&M, MTT, Home,?), so I am posting here.

Due to the following Greenville newspaper article, folks in the upstate are rethinking about how we go about our 5 to 10 table, floating, NLHE MTTs.

I am hoping to get some info on how this group, atlantapokerclub.com, does what they do, which appears to be - hosting series/leagues of small(?medium?) NLHE MTTs at local bars and restaurants, out in the open, for all to see. The bars apparently benefit from the extra traffic.

Perusing their website, they mention planning on getting an APC player into the WSoP next year. If they mean sponsoring his entry, then that imlpies the $ have to come from somewhere. However, from the following Atlanta newspaper article, it sounds like they are truly just playing for "play" points, which accumulate to the season championship.

(1) One of my main lines of interest is - are the really just playing for "points", or is it just a euphemism for "buy-ins / prizes"?

(2) If it truly is just for points, where does the level of play fall on the continuum between the goofy play seen in online play money rooms, vs online real money rooms?

and (3) Is it just a trophy at the end of the season? or what?

Georgia law on gambling does not seem that different from S.C.'s

My long-term (pie in the sky) goal is to hopefully bring poker more into the open, here in the buckle of the bible belt. This would be my small contribution to eventually reverse both poker's general acceptance by the populace at large, and more importantly, in the legislature's eyes.

My short term goal is to find a way to somehow make our games somewhat less likely to get busted in the future.

If anyone has any experience with this set-up with kickasspoker.com or atlantapokerclub.com, any posts here would be appreciated. Even more, PM's with more detailed info would be awesome.

Thanks in advance,
doc

[hoterdoc]

bump

[KKbluff]

My city runs something VERY similiar to what you are talking about.

The points are used to keep track of the player standing.
End of the month tourneys will smaller prizes are offered to the top 10 or 20 depending.
From a business standpoint it keeps the players coming back and makes it more interesting for all.

They play in these tourneys is awful (since it is just for fun basically) MUCH worse than online.

Usually at the end of the season their are a regional tourney invites that players can goto if they are meet a certian point quota. These have bigger prizes and are played a little less poorly.

These tourneys are great for the bars to have (esp on slow days) because it brings in the people.

I have recently started my own version of this and am currently running weekly tourneys at on of the bars around Purdue. It has been doing VERY well and I plan on taking on another bar very soon.

Here is who the other bar pays to host their tournaments. nationwidepokertour.com

Also since these games are FREE (no buyin) and the prizes are GIVEN by the bar they can not be busted because it is not technically gambling.

[pipster]

Living in Atlanta and playing in the APC tournaments I can tell you all you want to know about it...

1) There is no buy-in. It is free to play (normally). Some bars charge a cover or a "2 drink minimum" type of thing. But most of them are free.

2) The bar pays APC to run the tournament for them, and the bar provides the prizes. Generally in the form of "Bar Cash" which can only be spent on Food/Drinks at the restaraunt.

3) Points are kept track of, and at the end of each season (generally 10-15 weeks) a championship is held for the top X points (generally 40 as they run 4 tables of 10). And the bar donates larger prizes, braves tickets, travel vouchers, etc.

APC makes their money from the bar paying for the tourneys to be run, memberships (which get you priority seating at the tourneys), referrals to online poker sites, and merchandise sales (Shirts, chips, tables, etc)

I believe the hook is that if it is "Free" to play (not sure how the cover/2 drink min falls into this) then they are fine to go...

[Zetack]

If you are playing for cash, I don't think there's anyway to make your floating games legal, although I don't know the laws of your state.

I do know some guys who started a poker business in NC running tourneys in bars. They have a great set-up and their company is formal enough to have been incorporated. (And, for what its worth, the money beats the hell out of playing poker for a living).

They had games going in multiple cities. The original idea was that the entry was free, there would be a three month or so season, each weekly tourney at a bar the the top few places would get some gift certificate amount at the bar. At the end of the season the champs from each bar would play a tourney and the winner of that would get a seat to the WSOP.

That plan changed when they got busted in one county. The DA there ended up dismissing the charges but apparently threatened to keep busting the games if they kept having them.

The company eliminated all prizes from their tourneys so now the are completely free and only for bragging rights.

However, there were still threatenening noises from law enforcement agencies including the threat of pulling liquor license from bars that hosted these free tourneys.

The company has sued five different law enforcement agencies. And I don't blame them, because if wagerless, prizeless poker is illegal, so is monopoly, and boy would I hate to be busted for playing monopoly.

--Zetack