River Palms - event schedule for May...

TBJPA / TBT - River Palms events schedule for May...

TBJPA / TBT Schedule of events for May 10th – 13th at the River Palms in Laughlin, NV.

Thursday 10th:
10:00 am – 9:00 pm - Satellite events and registration for all the main events.
Entries and number of players will vary.

Friday 11th:
2:00 pm – finish - $150.00 + $15.00 - TBJPA event (Please note: we changed the starting time up two hours to avoid a 3:00 am possible finish), players will be able to play their first rounds from 2:00 pm until 7:00 pm (*note: anyone playing their first round at 7:00 will not be allowed a re-buy). 24 hand sessions will be played, new rounds on the hour, only 1 re-buy guaranteed.

Saturday 12th:
9:00 am – finish - $300.00 + $30.00 - TBT event
24 will be played per session (on a two day events or with more tables we will always try to play 36 hand sessions), 2 re-buys offered.

Sunday 13th:
9:00 am – finish - $150.00 + $15.00 – TBJPA event
24 hands sessions will be played, 2 re-buys offered.

*NOTE: we will only be working with 6 tables, so to play each tournament in one day we have to only play 24 hands per sessions.

Normal rates for May 10th - 13th would run you over $200, but as a TBJPA member use the CODE: TBJPA-07 and you will receive a discounted rate of only $20 per night! Thats right only $80 + taxes for the entire week and that is if you don't get comped out.

I will also have assorted give-a-ways planned for both the tournament rounds and for the players during regular play. Yes, if you play the regular tables you will be able to earn additional prizes (as a TBJPA member).

I hope to see everyone at the River Palms in Laughlin on May 10th - 13th. *Note: anyone wanting to come in on the 9th can still get the $20 per night rate. The River Palms phone number is: 1-800-835-7904, ask for the host dept. for reservations (9:00 am - 10:00 pm) or 1-800-835-7901 host direct line, remember to use the code: TBJPA-07 for your discount.

Or to make it even easier you may e-mail casino host Denise Duvall at:
[email protected] she will need the following infomation:

Name
Address
Phone number
How many rooms
Number of beds needed
Smoking or non-smoking room
Credit card number with exp. date.
Remember to use the code: TBJPA-07 for your discount.

Rick (TXtourplayer)
__________________

How many decks and where is the cut card tx?

tia

Barney Stone said:

How many decks and where is the cut card tx?

Click to expand...

Let's not get picky. Txtourplayer did a lot of work getting this organized. Will the number of decks and location of the cut card make a difference of whether one plays?

Toolman

For me this TBJPA is the most important thing of all, and thats period. I see it as the best event for a person, such as myself, just starting BJT. I thought it was obvious I fully support TBJPA and TBT events

My question is in personal preparation for the event. I know darn well Im in for a fight. Most games I have played have been 2:1 BJ pays. No surrender. High max bets. You name it. For me this event will be the hardest I have played, rules wise; even more so if that guy I cant mention, 3 day vacation, shows up. So, I find it necessary to study any info available for the game Im to play in. Hope to see you at this event or one in the future!

Not sure, but double deck maybe nice...

I will ask about that tomorrow, the way I set up the events is I let the casino use whichever they are use to using (as long as all the tournament tables are dealt the same).

I can request they deal double deck with a deep cut, after all it will just be saving the casinos money on the number of decks they use for the tournaments.

I'll try and get the players what they want as long as the casinos agree...LOL.

I actually just requested double deck be dealt in Tulsa for May after talking to Eric today.

River-Palms

Justed wanted everyone to know that I was able to book rooms at the River-Palms at the $20 rate for the TBT events May 10-13. Great job on coordinating an excellent room rate for your first TBT event Rick. Along with Storm and myself, my mother (azbobcat) is also going to play. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Laughlin NV

How does one get to Laughlin NV.? I would guess: fly to Vegas then rent a car and drive. Right?


tgun

fly and drive

That's the ticket t-gun. I'm arriving on the 1oth, if you are coming that day let me know and you can ride with me from Vegas.

Yes Sir....

That is your best bet, it is about 90 minute drive from Las Vegas.

I have posted discounts for Airfare 5% with American, car rental up to 25% off with Avis, and the $20 per night room rate at the River Palms.

May I suggest talking with other players also coming to the River Palms events and sharing the cost of a rental car. I am sure we will have enough players coming in to form some type of car pool, just a suggestion.

I just sent off an email to reserve my rooms. See y'all there.
Update: Denise responded with my reservation details in under 30 minutes. Nice!

First set of Questions

What do these acronyms mean? How come TBT is only used for the Saturday event?

What does my $40 initiation fee get me? Is this an event fee, a yearly membership or a lifetime deal?

I don't understand the format for satillite events for Thursday with no entry fee. How is that going to work?

River Palms runs their weekly tourney on Thursdays. Isn't that going to get in the way?

Can I book RP for less than four nights, like just Fri/Sat for $20?

So how did this event sprout in little old Laughlin at the River Palms?

-jacks

I'll try and answer your questions...

oneeyedjacks said:

What do these acronyms mean?
TBJPA is the "Tournament Blackjack Players Association". I am trying to establish affordable "OPEN" tournaments. Any TBJPA sanctioned events are going to be opened for "ALL" players and offer the TBJPA rules and format.

TBT is the "Tournament Blackjack Tour". This is a tour designed by the TBJPA. On TBT events players will receive points for players rankings, based on precentages of rounds players advance through out the year in only TBT events.

I feel ranking by precentages based on the rounds players advance give a more fair ranking of the players ablity, if we just award points for every event players went to the top players would always be the players who get to go to the most events.

How come TBT is only used for the Saturday event?
The TBT will only host one event per location at one set of events. The propose is to be as fair to players all over the country to get to play in the TBT events. I am trying to get casinos throught out the country and Canada to host these events and start using the TBJPA format and rules.

What does my $40 initiation fee get me? Is this an event fee, a yearly membership or a lifetime deal?
The $40 TBJPA fee is a membership due, it will be charge at each location hosting a TBT event.
For every $40 TBJPA fee a player pays in, they will receive $50 off their entry of the TBT Championship event (up to 12 events $600 discount). The TBJPA fee will also intitle the member to discounts on hotels, rental cars, airfare, and promotional give aways during the events.

I don't understand the format for satillite events for Thursday with no entry fee. How is that going to work?
We will be offering satellites from one table sit & goes with 6 players, two tables with 12 players, and three tables with 18 players all at assorted entries from $15 on up to about $80. Prices will vary base on number of players and tournament entry fee you are playing for.

River Palms runs their weekly tourney on Thursdays. Isn't that going to get in the way?
I'm not sure how this will effect them.

Can I book RP for less than four nights, like just Fri/Sat for $20?
As long as your a TBJPA member you'll be able to enjoy the $20 rate.

So how did this event sprout in little old Laughlin at the River Palms?
I was contacted by the River Palms about wanting to host the TBJPA/TBT events. That's all it took.
-jacks

Click to expand...

Hope to see you there.

My name is Dan Higginbotham, I am the Table Games Manager at the River Palms in Laughlin, Nv. I will try to monitor this group from time to time and answer any questions you may have, but please understand that due to my schedule I can't do so with any consistency.

As far as the number of decks... I will let Rick decide that, we have no real preference from our point of view. If it is single or double deck, I prefer to deal the game face-up as with a shoe because it moves the game along much faster and you can start your rounds as scheduled.

When it comes to the penetration, I have a different philosophy than most of my peers, all of my BJ games are the same. We cut off 1/2 a deck no matter how many decks are in play. It is just easier for the dealers to have a standard policy to follow than for them to try to remember what each individual floor person prefers.

I look forward to meeting all of you in May and I hope that you all enjoy our property and staff!

Thanks Dan

Now as far as the number of decks used, I will try and be fair to all the players. I think I'll put up a poll and let the players decide what they want.

If we some want shoes and some want double deck, I'll simply use one for one tournament and then try the other way for the next tournament. The TBJPA wants to try and please all of it's members when ever possible.

Just curious

I've never played a live tournament, but this thread set me wondering ...

If you use a single (or even a double) deck for tournament play, do you not slow down the proceedings with lots of shuffling? Is that not an issue?

It's not that bad

Yes it can be, this is why we will deal face up no matter the number of decks used.

Nice catch by the way for never having played in a live game.

TXtourplayer said:

Nice catch by the way for never having played in a live game.

Click to expand...

I have a vivid imagination.

Anyway, good luck with your first event, how ever many decks you use! And good luck to those taking part. Maybe I'll make the trip across the Atlantic for a future event, or perhaps your empire might even expand to include tournaments over here.

River Palms/Columbia Sussex

Thanks Rick for answering the questions and trying so hard for a tour.

I get over to Laughlin about once a month myself. I and others on this forum will be glad to answer any general or specific questions to help the cause.

How about some RP/CS facts to start...

River Palms is now owned by Columbia-Sussex. They have the Westin-Causarina in Vegas and Montbleu in Lake Tahoe too. They recently outbid Pinnacle to buy-out Aztar Corporation. This means they will soon get the keys to both Tropicana casinos (Vegas and A/C) and the Ramada Express in Laughlin.

River Palms used to be the Gold River (Sams Town). It has an old sprawling wing of rooms and one tower totaling 1,000+ rooms. Newbies tend to get confused with the physical set-up. There are three levels for the casino and restaurants. There is just one table games pit located on the second level. I assume they will use the "party pit" down on the north end for the tourney's main events.

River Palms is geared towards the low rollers both in what is offered on the casino floor and in their promotions. They have playable quarter VP at this time which will qualify you for the drawings, promos and cheap food coupons.

Slot Club:

This is a stand alone players card. The card generates banked cashback at .2% for VP at $5/point and a comp account at .1%. River Palms uses kiosks to generate promos and coupons. Your card works like a debit card for comps. If you are 50+ years of age make sure you get the "Young at Heart" sticker. This saves you 10% in the coffee shop and will get you into the special Friday promos (with qualifying play). The slot club has a sheet available with the rundown of the month's promos and deals.

Some RP quirks:

The only late night food option is the buffet, not the coffee shop.

They have a nice pool area that overlooks the river that has extended hours of operation. Last I looked it was 6a-12p.

Free live music in the Bermuda Club, usually Thurs-Sat starting at 8pm.

Java Joe's is your morning coffee outlet, but also serves up a chili-dog. This can be an advantage/quick food play. What makes it special is you get to put on your own grated cheese, chopped onions and sliced jalapeno peppers. Just grab a fresh beer at the VP bar conveniently located a few steps away.

Anyway, I hope to make it over there.

Great report on River Palms!

Thanks oneeyedjacks that was a nice report on the River Palms. I am sure the other members appreciated it as I did. It is members helping other members like this that will help the TBJPA / TBT be successful.

As far as their other properties, I think the TBJPA/TBT will have a pretty good chance at getting some of them for future TBT events, especially if the Laughlin events go over well.

There are several other casinos sending representatives to Laughlin to checkout our TBJPA/TBT events. If they like what they see we may get several other host properties in the near future.

River Palms Marketing Mail/Promos

According to members of vpFREE-Laughlin the mailer for May is arriving for established RP players. Frankly, there has not been info how RP table games action helps your mail.

These mailers now include weekly $$ bounceback coupons and discount/comped room offers.

Here are the promos listed for May at RP for machine (VP) players:

3X Points on Friday-Saturday-Sunday (this adds .4% for cashback for VP action). All players eligible but need to swipe at a kiosk to activate.

Lucky Palms Scratcher promo- in the past this is 250 points ($1,250 coin-in VP/limit 3 a day) gets a scratcher card for cash through the slot club. Adds a couple of tenths and a chance at the $1k prizes.

Food Special- 50 pts ($250 coin-in) activates your account to get a coupon through the kiosks. May's Special- $.99 Angus Burger & Steak Fries in the Cafe starting at 11am.

Repeat Royal promo- get a voucher when you hit a royal. You have 30 days to hit another one in the same denomination for a 500 coin bonus.


***
Other Food Promos in the past that might be going. Breakfast "Deuces Wild" special. Two for One buffet (or half off) coupon with 100 points. Friday free buffet for 200 points.

The key to all these food plays is to earn the points and collect the kiosk coupon in the same slot club day (midnght to midnight). You have 24 hours to burn them after redemption. The coupons are time stamped, so you can use it the next day with good timing.