Don Bartee, better known as "Bear" was born in Lancaster, Ohio on August 30, 1945. At the age of six his family moved to Battle Creek, Nebraska where he graduated from high school in 1963.
Right out of high school at the age of 17 Bear joined the Air Force and after receiving an honorable discharge in 1967 he moved back to Battle Creek.
In 1968 after settling back down in Battle Creek, Don decided to venture into the bar business and bought a tavern. In 1974 he sold the tavern and bought a night club in Hastings, Nebraska.
In 1981 Bear sold his night club and joined some of his friends in Laughlin, Nevada. His first endeavor into the gaming industry came when he took a position at Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort and Casino dealing blackjack and craps.
In 1987 he pulled up stakes in Laughlin and bought another night club, this time in Grand Island, Nebraska.
In 1992 the gaming bug struck again and he sold his night club and moved to Deadwood, South Dakota to manage the Tin Lizzy Casino.
In 1993 went to the Gold Dust Casino to deal poker.
In 1994 he left Deadwood and went back to Laughlin as the Executive Host at the Ramada Express.
In 1997 Bear took a position of Director of Player Development at the River Palms Casino in Laughlin.
In 1999 he was asked to return to the Riverside Resort and Casino as their Casino Host and in 2002 he took over as the Poker Room Manager.
In December of 2005 Bear moved to Las Vegas to take the position of Cardroom Manager of the Tuscany. He now oversees a five table cardroom with a staff of 16.
DB: What changes have you made since your appointment as Cardroom manager?
Bear: The only real change has been the changes we made to the structure of the live games.
DB: What live games can players expect to have spread in the Tuscany poker room?
Bear: We spread $3-$6 and $4-$8 limit hold'em and a $1-$2 blind no-limit game, with a $50 minimum and $200 maximum buy-in.
DB: What daily tournaments does the Tuscany offer it's poker players? Bear: We run two tournaments a day, seven days a week. Both tournaments are no-limit with a $22 buy-in at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
DB: Do you offer any freerolls or qualifying events?
Bear: Yes, we have a $25,000 guaranteed nolimit hold'em freeroll that only requires 80 hours of live play within a three month period. Our next qualifying period begins on September 18, 2006 and runs through December 17, 2006. We run those every quarter and first place pays $9,000.
DB: What incentives does the Tuscany offer their poker players?
Bear: We have daily high hands that range from $50 to $599. We pay $100 for any four deuces, three or fours, four fives through nines receive $75 and tens through aces pay $50.
