Last week Pala Casino in San Diego County, California, tried a different kind of poker tournament, one more suited to Los Angeles or even Las Vegas.
Pala hosted the RiverCard Quest for the Cup 2016 Super Mega Event poker tournament, which had a potential to net $150,000 for the final winner, although the final prize was actually $89,000.
George Arsenis the poker room manager, explained to the Roadrunner newspaper what the goal of the tournament was: “We’re trying to do a Los Angeles or even a Las Vegas style tournament without players having to drive two and a half hours to L.A., or even longer to Vegas.”
Morgan Brown created the RiverCard poker series tournament. He regularly takes it to various San Diego casinos, and has moved it to Las Vegas several times. He praised Arsenis: “George is setting a new standard for these kinds of tournaments,” he said. “While other casinos are scaling down their poker rooms and doing the same kinds of tournaments over and over, George is creating an entirely new standard. We’re giving them a real tournament with a capital ‘T’!”
Pala charges less per poker hand than its neighboring casinos: $4 compared to $6. It also offers a promotion where poker players can earn back $400 in cash if they play for 80 hours.
Arsenis commented, “RiverCard is growing as a community. It’s become a stable tournament that players flock to because there are a lot participants, the biggest bang for the buck and there is a huge social thing to it where people know each other. It’s like a reunion. It’s like a little small family in southern California.”
