Oklahoma is fast becoming the home of some of the biggest, baddest poker tournaments around, and now the Downstream Casino, a relative newcomer on the scene, is getting into the action with their new offering, The Four States Poker Championship. You will find complete details of this exciting new event in their ad, in this issue of Poker Player Newspaper.

Situated on the tri-state corners of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas, Downstream Casino offers an elegant resort setting and state of the art poker room. Poker room manager Elliott Schecter brings years of experience, and his expertise and knowledge are clearly apparent in this poker room as well as in the polished and cordial crew.

I recently spoke to Elliot about his poker room and The Four States Poker championship.

POKER ROOM INFO

a. Number of Tables: 14

b. Hours/Days of Operation: 24-7

c. Games: hold 'em and Omaha

d. Spreads: $1-$2 no-limit hold 'em, $2-$5 no-limit hold 'em, $5-$10 no-limit hold 'em, $3-$6 limit hold 'em, $1-$2 pot-limit Omaha, $1-$2 HO (half no-limit Hold 'em, half pot-limit Omaha), $2-$5 HO

e. Badbeat Details: Our bad beat progressive jackpot is $71,555.

f. Accommodations/Poker Rate: The hotel has 222 rooms and suites. The number for reservations is 1-888-DWNSTRM (396-7876).

g. Décor/Details: DCR has quite a unique poker room, as exemplified by the color changing LED lighting in the ceiling and by our very wide and incredibly comfortable chairs. Also in our poker room are nine, 42" plasmas showing all available sporting events in HD, personal listening devices so players may listen to whatever is showing on any of the screens, food service to your seat from any restaurant or menu in the resort, and software that automatically sends text messages to players when their seats are available. We have one of the best poker staffs in the region. The staff here at DCR is dedicated to putting the customer first and making every visit to our poker room as pleasant and memorable as possible.

POKER ROOM MANAGER

a. How long have been at Downstream? I spent the past three years at the Palms in Las Vegas and as a day one team member, I've been here almost a year.

b. What is your favorite thing about the poker room at Downstream? Again, I would have to go with the Staff. They go out of their way to make everyone's job easier. The team at DCR really has a feel for the customer base of the region. The guests always feel welcome.

c. Any comment you would like to make or be quoted on? We are really looking forward to the Four States Poker Championship becoming a permanent fixture on the Mid-South's poker scene.

FOUR STATES POKER CHAMPIONSHIP

a. I noticed that you are starting with a larger chip count, and the blinds will go up significantly slower, what is the reasoning behind this structure? We want to make sure there is good play and great value in our tournament events. Each event pays 10 places or 10 percent of the field, whichever is greater.

b. Who created the tournament? The tournament was the brainchild of JR Mathews, the Quapaw Tribal Vice-Chairman, who is also an avid poker player. DCR plans on holding this event every year. Although, the current four-day format will probably be lengthened.

c. Where can players obtain info? Information is available at www.downstreamcasino.com as well as by calling the poker room directly at 918.919.6209. Advance registration will be available in June by calling the poker room. Credit card payment allows early entrants to claim their seats through will-call. Rates during our upcoming event will be $69 weekdays and $109 weekends. Just mention Four-States Poker when you book your reservation.

d. How does the team championship work? We are experimenting with a new tournament format. Couples, tag-team, and "Jack-&-Jill" events are popular in the region. We wanted to try and let all teammates play simultaneously. This way, there is no boredom while waiting for your turn to play and one bad beat won't be able to wipe out an entire team.

e. The ad states play on Day 1 will run through all 9 levels and resume on Day 2. Explain how this works. For the main event of the tournament, in order to add value for the players, we wanted to avoid having a marathon session. So, play will be suspended at the end of the ninth blind level and will resume the following day.

f. The dealer appreciation add-on-At what point in the game is that an option? All dealer appreciation add-ons may be made before a player plays his first hand. Players late to an event and alternate entrants may still make the add-on before they play a hand.

Results for the Four States Poker Championship, as well as news, badbeats, our future tournament listings regarding this exceptional poker room will be posted in future issues of Poker Player Newspaper.

Bonnie Demos is a poker player and award winning chef, and has enjoyed working in the gaming industry for the past several years. Write her at bdemos1@wi.rr.com