By A.C. Clark
Greetings readers, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the new Northwest Region Sales Representative for Poker Player Newspaper. As implied by the title of my column, which I must give credit to my beautiful and witty wife for coming up with the name, I will be writing about what is happening in the northwest region, starting with Washington and Northern Quest Resort & Casino. It’s a truly world-class casino in Airway Heights, conveniently located near Spokane’s International Airport. All-in tip: Northern Quest offers a free shuttle service from the airport to the casino that is quick and easy. Don’t hesitate to use it.
Recently I spent some of my winter break playing poker in Northern Quest’s state-of-the-art poker room. It’s all about no-limit Texas hold’em in this nine-table, non-smoking poker room with at least two small limit $3-$6 hold’em tables and a spread limit $2-$200 up to $5-$500. During tournaments, a tenth table is usually set up to accommodate late arrivals. If you like Omaha/8, there is a morning group that plays on a $4-$8 table regularly.
The place has been abuzz lately with Saturday satellites in the morning and Sunday satellites in the evening, both offering entries to their upcoming Best of the West $50,000 first place guaranteed Challenge. During both Saturday satellites I attended, poker room manager Marc Gottbreht was busy dealing with the many players who showed up early to play but missed the cut off. Marc, however, acted quickly and allowed the massive list of alternates to play the next morning, offering another nearly 20 entries to the $440 buy-in with a $10 staff appreciation fee.
For the daily player, morning tournaments are held seven days a week at 10:30 a.m., all deep stack, nolimit, bounty tournaments. At least 40 people regularly show up, but don’t be surprised to encounter 100 on a Saturday morning. Re-buys are the norm as the cash flows and pots build quickly. Nightly tournaments run Sunday through Thursday at 7p.m. The competition is stiff and the players take full advantage of offered addons. For more details, call the poker room directly at 509.481.2237.
If you take a break from poker or have a spouse who enjoys playing the slots (as I do), Northern Quest has plenty to offer: a massive gaming floor, over 22,000 square feet of slots and progressives, numerous table games, live Keno, off-track betting, a luxury spa and salon, star-studded entertainment and fourteen restaurants and lounges, including Masselow’s, an elegant dining experience near the hotel’s entrance with the finest selection of regional wines, The Q, a full bar that stands behind its “Ultimate Sports Experience” with its massive thirty-foot HDTV, Legends of Fire, a unique cigar lounge, and my family favorite, the River’s Edge Buffet, filled with the best selection of fine food at a fair price. The hotel boasts 250 luxury rooms and suites and offers gaming packages as low as $119, a screaming deal for this AAA four diamond-rated resort. This place has it all, including the largest cash-added tournament, and all in the Inland Northwest.
It has been a pleasure sharing my recent experiences in this first article and I look forward to traveling around the northwest region, touring casinos and playing poker. If you are a poker room manager, please feel free to contact me via email aclarkppn@yahoo.com and let me know what is going on in your card room. Let’s do it… I’m all-in.
Andy Clark is in charge of Poker Player’s Northwest advertising sales. He’s an accomplished high school teacher, coach and avid poker player. Father of four, he enjoys travelling with his family. You can contact him at aclarkppn@yahoo.com.
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