I o C, Bettendorf $15K Bracket Buster

[ee4life66]

As part of my due diligence to promote tournament play I am providing a plagiarized copy of the rules for the Isle of Capri Bettendorf $15K Bracket Buster Blackjack Tournament. I will put it in quotes to keep all the legal eagles at bay.
Have fun over analyzing it while I go have fun playing in it. :laugh:
I will report back on my opinion of the format and turn out after my first session.

“

$15,000 Bracket Buster BJ Tournament
March 21 – March 22, 2009
$15,000 Guaranteed​

Rules & Regulations

1. As used herein, “Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel” means Isle of Capri, Inc and any of its subsidiaries.
2. Tournament is limited to a maximum of 500 entrants with 60 minimum required to hold the tournament.
3. All entries are processed on a first come first serve basis.
4. There is a $35.00 entry fee per entrant/re-buy. $25.00 is house money and $10.00 goes to dealer gratuity. Players may re-buy only after completing a round of play in the first session. The first Session is defined as that Session conducted on Saturday, March 21, 2009. Re-buys are on a space available basis and can be purchased more than once. However re-buys must be done one at a time and only after finishing each round of play in the first session. Re-buys are not allowed in the 2nd Session. The second Session is defined as that Session conducted on Sunday, March 22, 2009. Players will be allowed one round of play in both sessions for each entry and re-buy. However, only the player’s highest score for each session will be totaled for prize distribution purposes. Players are not allowed to receive more than one prize.
5. Advanced entry is available at the casino cage beginning January 30, 2009, payable in cash or check only, no credit cards accepted. See a Casino Host or Pit Supervisor for details. Entrants/re-buys may continue to sign up until 4:30 pm on 03/21/09 and/or until such time that the tournament has no vacancies remaining in the first Session.
6. All entry fee/re-buys are non-refundable unless the tournament is cancelled.
7. Seat assignment for the first and second session will be held on the second deck of the casino on Friday, March 20, 2009 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Late seat assignment will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2009 beginning at approximately 8:00 am. Failure to report for your selected seat assignment and scheduled round in any session will result in a score of Zero for that round.
8. First session of tournament play will begin at approximately 9:00 am on Saturday, March 21, 2009. Second and final session of tournament play will begin at approximately 9:00 am on Sunday, March 22, 2009.
9. All participants must be at least 21 years of age to participate.
10. Trespassed guests are not eligible to participate in the tournament.
11. This is a non live-action tournament with players receiving $1500 in non-value chips at the beginning of each session.
12. All tournament players will participate in 2 sessions of play. At the end of each session, the player’s chips will be totaled, signed for and recorded. Players are not allowed carryover of chips from one session to the next. At the end of 2 sessions, the player’s placement in the tournament is determined by the highest combined total of chips from sessions descending to the lowest combined total of the chips. In the event of a tie score, the prize money will be totaled and divided by the participants for that particular and subsequent finishing position. (Example: 2 guest tie for 3rd, prize pool for 3rd and 4th is added and divided equally)
13. Distribution of players at tables will be done as equitably as possible with no more than 6 players at each table.
14. Each player must bet a minimum of $50.00 on each hand. Maximum bet is $500.00. Bets must be in $25.00 increments.
15. Players may not leave the table during tournament play. This may result in an immediate disqualification from the tournament.
16. Games will be dealt from a six deck shoe.
17. A rotating marker is used to determine the dealing and betting order. This will start at the first base position and move to the third base position. The puck will move after each hand.
18. No coaching is allowed and may be reason for disqualification from the tournament. Players are responsible for playing their own hand.
19. Each session consists of 18 hands. There will be no surrender but insurance is allowed. Blackjack pays 2 to 1 and players can request even money on Blackjack.
20. Clear an concise hand signals must be made whether to stand or hit on each player’s hand before play will move on to the next player.
21. All chips must remain on the table in view of the other players at all times.
22. At the conclusion of 18 hands of play, the dealer will count down each player’s chips and announce the total.
23. Players not adhering to tournament rules are subject to disqualification at the discretion of management.
24. Once any bet is made, it cannot be changed.
25. If an incorrect payout occurs or error occurs and it is brought to the attention to the dealer before the beginning of the next hand, the error will be corrected.
26. Any dispute or situation that is not covered by stated rules will be resolved by the Isle of Capri Casino management in a manner deemed by them to be the fairest to all concerned. Decisions will be final and/or binding for all participants.
27. All winners must show valid picture identification and/or social security card in order to redeem their prize. A participant’s winnings will be taxed if necessary in accordance with federal and state guidelines. Disbursement of funds is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, etc. All prizes must be signed for upon receipt. Scores will be publicly displayed and finishing order announced. Casino personnel are not allowed to discuss scores during the second session of the tournament.
28. Unless otherwise stated in this rule submission, all IRGC approved Blackjack rules are applicable.
29. Employees of Isle of Capri, Inc and Rhythm City are not eligible.
30. All applicable federal and state taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner.
31. The interpretation of rules and eligibility are at the sole discretion of Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel. All decisions are final.
32. Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel reserves the right to modify and/or cancel this promotion at any time, for any reason, subject to all applicable regulatory approval, provided that such modification shall not, as of the date of such modification, materially alter or change any participants prize previously won.
33. All prizes must be claimed within 60 days. Failure to claim prizes within the prescribed time frame will result in their forfeiture.”

"Prize Structure:
1st - $6,000 ($5500 cash and $500 in promo chips)
2nd - $2,500 ($2000 cash and $500 in promo chips)
3rd - $1,500 ($1250 cash and $250 in promo chips)
4th - $1,000 ($750 cash and $250 in promo chips)
5th - $750 ($600 cash and $150 in promo chips)
6th - $400 ($300 cash and $100 in promo chips)
7th- $250 ($200 cash and $50 in promo chips)
8th thru 10th - $200 ($150 cash and $50 in promo chips)
11th thru 30th - $100 cash"

 

[toolman1]

Just a suggestion here.

It is more effective to post the main tournament details on the Calendar. Postings on the Forum tend to get lost and cannot be easily located after a brief period. I would suggest posting highlights like prize payouts, unusual rules, how players advance, betting range, registration time & procedures, meals & hotel that come with the entry fee, and playing times on the Calendar. Then post the detail rules, if you want, on the Forum. Also, noting the state location of the casino can be helpful. Not everyone knows this tournament is in Iowa unless they are already familiar with the casino.

PS:
In this case the event is already on the calendar but details are sketchy at best. So editing the calendar posting would be appropriate (as opposed to making a new entry). Any member can edit a calendar posting - not just the member who did the original posting.

 

[toolman1]

[*]Tournament is limited to a maximum of 500 entrants with 60 minimum required to hold the tournament.

[*]There is a $35.00 entry fee per entrant/re-buy. $25.00 is house money and $10.00 goes to dealer gratuity. Players may re-buy only after completing a round of play in the first session. The first Session is defined as that Session conducted on Saturday, March 21, 2009. Re-buys are on a space available basis and can be purchased more than once. However re-buys must be done one at a time and only after finishing each round of play in the first session.

[*]All tournament players will participate in 2 sessions of play. At the end of each session, the player’s chips will be totaled, signed for and recorded. Players are not allowed carryover of chips from one session to the next. At the end of 2 sessions, the player’s placement in the tournament is determined by the highest combined total of chips from sessions descending to the lowest combined total of the chips.

I just reproduced the 3 rules that interest me and here are my comments:

If $10 from each player goes to "dealer gratuity" and they get a full house of 500 players that's $5,000 in tips for a tournament with a prize pool of $15,000 or 33% tip rate. I'd rather deal than play.

This is strictly an accumulation format tournament - 2 rounds added together and that's it. Although getting 1st place will be tough, the combination of a low entry fee coupled with the way prize money is distributed make this a cheap day out. The SV (Seat Value) is not great especially if the event is full but to play just for the fun it would be okay.

The effect of the re-buys is what really caught my eye. The re-buy rules give a player 2 or 3 (or maybe 4) chances to accumulate a large bankroll in session 1. Yes, only the highest score will count but one can have many chances to get that one huge bankroll. So I would re-buy as much as possible then bet big and I mean really big to go for a huge total from session 1. For all rounds/sessions, I would bet $500 (the max) on every hand and be aggressive, but not stupid, on DDs/splits when situations arise. Many on this site will not agree with that but that's okay. Wong's rule is out the window on this one.

I certainly would not travel a great distance to attend. A max driving time of 2 hours one way would be my max.

 

[Jonny21]

Nice analysis Toolman

Those were just about my thoughts when I heard the details. I do live just about two hours away and decided not to go, when adding in the overnight stay and the so-so playing conditions in the Quad cities.

 

[ee4life66]

IOC 2009 Bracket Buster Blackjack Tournament

From my estimation 109 players participated in the 2009 Bracket Buster Blackjack Tournament. I will give kudos to the supervisors and tournament support staff. They put in a lot of long hours to keep all the re-entries and table assignments running smooth. The casino and staff obviously put time and effort in the planning of this event.
The format could be best described as a “boomers buy-in”, you go bet max ($500) you get paid or you go buy in again. First days top three were $8200, $7500, $7250 or something like that. I did not stick around to see what the finals ended up being that 5 hour drive was looming large. I believe I heard that the top chip count was in the $15Ks for the two day total. My little $8K+ probably won’t even make the break even payouts.

I did meet a lot of very nice people and had a lot of fun; even learned a new strategy consideration that I well test out Wednesday.

My Opinion Ratings:
Accommodation Value: B
Accommodation Condition: C
Casino Atmosphere: C (small and poor air quality but really nice dealers)
Tournament Organization: A
Tournament Format: F (no skill required buy-in, boom, repeat)
Side Notes: Downstairs slots are extremely loose.

 

[Billy C]

Thanks!

ee4life for the report. Your opinion ratings are a nice touch that I and others could also be using.
The crapshoot type format isn't appealing but as others suggest it's low cost and something to do if not distance prohibitive.

Billy C

 

[ee4life66]

Adding all the rules to the calendar page

Just a suggestion here.

It is more effective to post the main tournament details on the Calendar. Postings on the Forum tend to get lost and cannot be easily located after a brief period. I would suggest posting highlights like prize payouts, unusual rules, how players advance, betting range, registration time & procedures, meals & hotel that come with the entry fee, and playing times on the Calendar. Then post the detail rules, if you want, on the Forum. Also, noting the state location of the casino can be helpful. Not everyone knows this tournament is in Iowa unless they are already familiar with the casino.

PS:
In this case the event is already on the calendar but details are sketchy at best. So editing the calendar posting would be appropriate (as opposed to making a new entry). Any member can edit a calendar posting - not just the member who did the original posting.

I agree this should be done to help other players make an informed choice. I does ugly up the event page.
I edited the IOC Bracket Buster as a trail. Let me know if it is as ugly as I think it is. There is very limited formating in the details section making the rules hard to look nice.

 

[toolman1]

Let me know if it is as ugly as I think it is. There is very limited formating in the details section making the rules hard to look nice.

Just for clarification, your quote refers to the Calendar posting of this event. I'm making this post only because you asked.

Your Calendar post goes into much too much details - an exact reprint of the rules is not necessary. Generally speaking, members here are primarily interested in:
Are rooms included with the entry fee?
Tournament registration time and playing times.
Re-buy details.
How players advance.
Betting limits.
Shoe or pitch game.
Unusual rules such as no insurance, surrender allowed, BJ pay 2:1, etc.
Your opinion, from experience, on past tournaments at the casino in question.
Other things that would be of interest.

Put the details in your own concise words. Copying the applicable rules as printed by the casino results in a rather "ugly" (to use your word) posting. Members want concise information without the legalese.

Things that are common to virtually all tournaments need not be mentioned such as no coaching, cannot leave table, chip stacking, mis-deals, director has final say in disputes, etc.

You may want to browse through some other Calendar postings to get the feel for what others do.

One of my pet peeves - which does not apply to your posting - is when a Calendar posting says something like "should be similar to other events at this casino". Well, if I've never been there then how am I supposed to know what "similar" means? It only takes a minute to "copy and paste" the details from a previous event at a given casino to a new Calendar posting.

Finally, I think it's great that you want to keep others informed. I wish there were more with your attitude.