Jerome Stone was born March 16, 1966 in Webster, South Dakota. He graduated from Kadoka High School in 1984 with a football scholarship to Black Hills State University. He left college in 1987 and moved to Watertown, South Dakota to join the family business.
When gaming was legalized in South Dakota in 1992 Jerome went to work for Dakota Sioux Casino as a poker dealer. He was made Assistant Poker Room Manager in 1993 and in 1994 he was appointed Poker Room Manager.
In 1997 Jerome left Dakota Sioux Casino to accept the position of Poker Room Manager at San Juan Casino and Resort in San Juan, New Mexico.
In 1998 he left the gaming industry to pursue a career in Real Estate with Mark Chacon.
In 2000 Jerome tendered his Real Estate career to join the tournament circuit as a poker dealer. His first stop on the tournament trail was in Tunica and within three years he was dealing at the World Series of Poker and was promoted to Shift Manager for the WSOP in 2005.
In February of 2005 he accepted a permanent position at the Rio as a poker dealer. In April of 2005 he began the position of Dual/Rate and after the 2005 WSOP he was promoted to Shift Supervisor and in March of 2006 he was appointed Poker Room manager of the Rio.
At present Jerome is overseeing a 14 table cardroom with a staff of 33 full-time employees and 19 extra board and temp dealers.
DB: Have you made any major changes in the poker room since you were appointed Poker Room Manager?
JS: When we return from this years WSOP the room will completely renovated.
DB: Will you be increasing the amount of poker tables?
JS: Actually we are downsizing to a 10 table room. We are installing all new chairs and tables and they will all have the WSOP logo on them. When the new room opens we will be instituting a new tracking system where the hours played will transfer to the players Total Rewards Card just as if they were playing in the pit or slots.
DB: What live action is offered in the Rio poker room?
JS: The main game is a $2-$5 no-limit with a $100 to $500 buy-in, on weekends we spread four to five tables. We also offer a $1-$2 no-limit with a $60 minimum buy-in and a $200 maximum and a $5-$10 no-limit with a $200 minimum buy-in and no maximum. We spread three limit hold'em games, a $2-$4, $4-$8 and $6-$12 and the closer we get to the WSOP the more often we spread $2-$5 pot limit Omaha.
DB: Does the Rio offer any daily tournaments?
JS: Yes, every day at noon we hold a no-limit event with a $40 buy-in and one $40 add-on. First place averages around $1,500 to $2,000. We also have a monthly freeroll tournament that is open to all live players that log in 80 hours of play. We will be giving away two seats in June for this year's main event at the WSOP. We will continue running it every month until next year's event as well.
DB: What is your prediction for this year's main event and how many do you believe will come from the internet?
JS: I believe it will be close to 8,000 based on information coming out everyday. As for the amount of players coming from the internet, that's a hard one.
DB: If players sign up now for the main event can they pick their start day?
JS: Yes, as long as the days are available. We are scheduled to run four flights of 2,000 players per flight but we are set up to accommodate more that 9,000 players so if we need to increase the flights to 2,300 we are ready for that.
DB: Some people have predicted this year's event might be as large as 10,000 players, how will you handle that situation?
JS: I'm confident that Harrah's would find a way to accommodate everyone. According to the schedule August 3 is a day off to give the players a day to relax after all the flights have been played. I imagine if we do draw 10,000 players we could always run an extra flight on that day.
DB: The location of the room in which the event is being held cause several problems last year, one was the lack of bathrooms, another was the lack of convenient places to purchase food and last was the problem of parking, has anything been done regarding these concerns?
JS: Absolutely, as for the bathrooms, we have brought in the same trailers that the Pro Golf tour used. These are not your typical portable toilets, they are very upscale. We have built a food court right outside the event room within 50 feet that is air conditioned and will offer a variety of food choices. There will also be a beer tent adjacent to the food court. We will also be offering valet parking in the back lot this year. I believe the players will be pleasantly surprised with all of the changes we've made to make this years WSOP a pleasant experience.
DB: Will the main poker room at the Rio be closed during the WSOP.
JS: Yes but we will have 50 tables of live action during the WSOP. We also have a commitment that the big game will be coming back this year.
DB: What will your role be at the WSOP?
JS: I will be the Poker Room Manager of the live section. My entire staff will be working the WSOP, Andy Rich will be the Daytime Supervisor, Mike Shaffer will be running Swing Shift and Graveyard will be handled by Dean Whitted and Josh Trego. Tony Sheldon will be coming in to run the big game.
