Billy Takacs, the new poker room manager at the Meadows and an avid tournament player, has revamped the poker tournament schedule with the idea of being more player friendly. Takacs has promised several new changes over the coming months to accommodate the serious poker tournament players.

The major change is the increase of the blind levels from 18 minutes to 20 minutes in keeping with the standard in the region. Additionally, the starting times for weekday tourneys are now 11:00 AM  and 8:00 PM daily.

The weekend tournaments are a 5:00 PM Saturday $175  ($150+20+5) deep stack with $15,000 in starting chips with a $5,000 dealer add on.  Sunday has a featured $65 Turbo at 11:00pm, this Sunday night special is a popular  tournament in Las Vegas, and will give the late night poker player an opportunity to enjoy the game on an evening that is usually slow for most poker players.  Late night tourneys are especially popular in this area and a good turnout is anticipated.

In addition to tournaments, the Meadows poker room also spreads all games at player request. ($1-$3 no limit and up).

The complete schedule of poker tournaments are listed below.  For further information contact the poker room at (724)503-1239 or wtakacs@meadowsgaming.com

Chris Moneymaker, 2003 WSOP (World Series Of Poker) main event champion and host of the Steel City Classic will play in the $175 bounty event. The Meadows Casino Poker room is offering a $500 bounty to the player that KO’s Moneymaker, while a standard bounty of $25 is placed on all other players.

Turnout is expected to reach over 200 entrants for this bounty event. The last three special monthly events at the Meadows brought in more than 500 entrants combined with prizepools exceeding $50K.

Sponsored by ESPN’s Division Of Poker radio show, the Steel City Classic series began Tuesday and will culminate in a $335 main event held on Saturday, May 21st at 1:30pm.  Dan Harkenrider, host of the poker radio show said Moneymaker will arrive at the Meadows poker room on Friday afternoon and will be on hand for photo’s, autographs and to meet local poker players.

Moneymaker will be in the poker room all day Saturday as well, playing a cash game starting at 12 noon. Players will have a rare opportunity to watch and talk to Moneymaker as he plays in both cash and tournaments this weekend.

Live updates and chip counts on the poker tournament will be listed in the left sidebar of the Pennsylvania Poker Players blog. Further details on all events in The Steel City Classic are available by calling the poker room’s direct line at 724-503-1700.

The Meadows poker room in Washington Pa will host a series of poker tournaments featuring special guest Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 WSOP (World Series of Poker) Main event champion. The Meadows is billing the series, “The Steel City Classic” poker tournament. Moneymaker will lecture on poker in an audience participation session as well as play cash games and the main event of the Steel City Classic poker tournament.

The featured event of the Steel City classic poker tournaments series will be a $335 buy in held on Saturday May 20th, 2011 at 1:30pm EST. Several satellite tournaments are held the week before for as little as $45. The first satellite will begin on May 13th at 7:30pm. Each satellite will award one seat for every 10 runners.

The Steel City Classic will kick off with a few medium buy in tourneys beginning on the 17th. On Tuesday May 17th a $150 buy No Limit Texas Holdem tournament begins at 7:30pm. On Wednesday May 18th, a featured $125 Pot Limit Omaha  tournament at 1:00pm and a $230 HOSE poker tournament at 7:30pm will fill out the day. Thursday May 19th A $150 NL Hold em poker tournament held at 7:30pm and Friday the 20th a $175 bounty No Limit Texas Holdem tourney with a $25 bounty per player is featured at 8:00pm.

The main event of the Steel City Classic is a $335 buy in NL Texas Hold em poker tournament starting at 1:30pm Saturday May 21st. A 10:30am and 12pm satellite are held the same day to allow last chance entry into the main event. Chris Moneymaker will play in this event as well.

In addition to the Tournaments, cash games are spread including 1-2, 2-5 and 5-10 NL as well as 2-4 limit and Omaha. Additional games are by request at the poker podium.

Turnout for the Steel City Classic is expected to surpass the last several featured tournaments held at the Meadows. Total anticipated prize pools will exceed more than $50,000. The April attendance brought out more than 500 tournament entrants combined. ESPN’s Division of Poker Radio show is sponsoring this event, bringing entrants from the tri-state area of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The Main Event will ensure plenty of play with the 30 minute blind structure and $15,000 starting chips (additional dealer add on available).
The Meadows Poker room has 26 tables with additional tables available for tournaments. Situated in the downstairs near the race track, the poker room is elegantly appointed and well-lit with lounge and food service readily available at the entrance. Handicapped access and an accommodating staff are on hand to tend to poker players requiring assistance. The poker room direct line is 724-503-1700.

Chris Moneymaker, a former accountant, won the 2003 WSOP main event in Las Vegas for more than $2.5 million dollars. Born November 21, 1975 in Atlanta Georgia, He currently resides in Nashville Tennessee with his wife, Christina and daughter Ashley. Moneymaker is a member of team pokerstars and Authored the book Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker. Moneymaker has earned 1 WSOP Bracelet and 4 WSOP cashes totaling $2,548,593.

A re-entry tournament allows players who bust out to buy back in on the second day. The first Day (1A) got underway today at 12 noon with 86 entrants. Anticipation from staff and management is that there will be as many as 200 more entrants on Day 1B.

All events in the WSOP circuit are ring events, in which first place winners will receive an official WSOP ring. Harrahs is displaying a case with all 9 rings and a pendant for the Ladies event, in the front of the poker room.

A complete schedule of the events can be found on the WSOP site, a brief overview is listed below:

Thu, Apr 28th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event         Event #1: No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) 3-Day
$345

Fri, Apr 29th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event         Event #1: No Limit Hold’em – Day 1B (RE-ENTRY)
$345

Sat, Apr 30th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #2: No Limit Hold’em
$555

Sun, May 1st
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #3 No Limit Hold’em

$345

Mon, May 2nd
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #4 – Omaha 8 or Better

$345

Tue, May 3rd
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #5 – No Limit Hold’em

$345

Wed, May 4th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #6: H.O.S.E.

$345

Thu, May 5th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #7: Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em

$345

Fri, May 6th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #8 – No Limit Hold’em

$555

Fri, May 6th
4:00 PM
1-Day Event         Mega Satellite (Non-Ring Event)

Mega-Satellite for Event#9, WSOP Circuit Main Event         $235

Fri, May 6th
7:00 PM
1-Day Event         Mega Satellite (Non-Ring Event)

Mega-Satellite for Event #9, WSOP Circuit Main Event.         $235

Sat, May 7th
12:00 PM
1-Day Event         Super Satellite (Re-Buys) (20 Seats Guaranteed) (Non-Ring Event)

Super Satellite w/Re-buys for Event #9, WSOP Circuit Main Event. 20 seats guaranteed!         $70

Sat, May 7th
4:00 PM
1-Day Event         Mega Satellite (Non-Ring Event)

Mega Satellite for Event #9, WSOP Circuit Main Event.         $345
Sat, May 7th
7:00 PM
1-Day Event         Mega Satellite (Non-Ring Event)

Sun, May 8th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event         Event #9 – Main Event: No Limit Hold’em Championship (3-day event)

Mon, May 9th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event         Event #10 – No Limit Hold’em

Mon, May 9th
2:00 PM
1-Day Event         Ladies No Limit Hold’em (Non-Ring Event)

In addition to the WSOP circuit events, a $245 and $120 tournament is held each day at 4:00pm and 7:00pm respectively.

For further details Contact The Poker Room Directly at 484-490-2217.

The events for the February Big Poker Weekend are as follows:

(All events are No Limit Texas Holdem Poker tournaments)

Event 1 – $150 Bounty – Friday, 2-18-11 @ 8pm

Event 2 – $50 Midnight Madness Donkament Fri. 2/18/11 evening @ 12:30 am

Event 3 – $330 Main Event, Saturday, 2-19-11 @ 1:30 pm

Event 4 – $120 Plan B, Saturday, 2-19-11 @ 9 pm

Event 5 – $150 Plan C, Sunday, 2-20-11 @ 2pm

Event 6 – $120 Last Chance, Monday, 2-21-11 @ 2 pm.

Satellite tourneys into the $330 Main event are held as follows:

Thur 2/17/11
7:30 pm $45 (33+12) 1 RB 5,000

Fri.2/18/11 (Single Table SNG)
Sit N Go 12:00 pm $45  ( 1 seat ) 2,000
Sit N Go 4:30 pm $80  ( 2 seats) 3,000

Sat. 2/19/11
10:30 am $45 Turbo 5,500

Registration for the main event is open now until 1st level of the tourney. optional Dealer addon is available in all tourneys.

The previous Big Poker Weekend events attracted more than 500 players and total prize pools of over $100,000.  ESPN’s Division of Poker radio host Dan Harkenrider will emcee and play in the events this weekend as well as professional poker player Victor Ramdin.

Good Luck and hope to see you there!

You may call the poker room direct at 724-503-1700 for more information on these events.

Victor Ramdin will host three FREE  live interactive sessions on Friday February 18th beginning at 10:00 am. (subsequent sessions are at 3:00pm and 6:00 pm). Ramdin will also play cash games and is anticipated to play in at least one of the satellite events into the $330 main event also held that weekend.

Poker players will have the opportunity to learn from a professional poker player some of the strategies that has helped Ramdin win more than $2.5 million in his poker career. Seating is limited and registration for the poker camps is encouraged. You may call the poker room direct at 724-503-1700 for more information and to register.

About Victor Ramdin:

Victor (Annand) Ramdin, was born in Guyana and grew up in the Bronx. A successful businessman before he began playing as a professional poker player in 2002, Victor has acheived impressive results in his style of play in some of the largest poker events in the world.

Totaling over 2.5 million in tournament cashes, Ramdin’s career highlight was his 1st place 2006 win at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods Poker Classic. Ramdin has also garnered a total of 11 WSOP (World Series of Poker) cashes, including his highest Main Event finish in 2008 at 64th place (out of 6844 entrants).

Additional cashes on Ramdin’s resume include the LAPT (Latin America Poker Tour) and the EPT. Ramdin is a Pokerstars pro and plays online as well as most major events across the globe.

In addition to his professional poker career, Ramdin also supports several charitable causes including Guyana Watch, a medical outreach program in his home country.

The first event of the month was a $225 bounty tournament which saw 60 runners vie for a 1st place prize of over $3,000. In addition to the prize money paid down to the final 7 players, each player knocking out an opponent in the field received a $50 bounty.

The generous blind levels of 30 minutes afforded the best player experience in this poker tournament. Staff at the rivers casino put together a well orchestrated event and I expect that the future large buy in poker tournaments at the Rivers will do just as well.

The line up for this month includes the following NL Holdem Poker tournaments:

Saturday February 12th $545 (500+45+5) 30 minute levels $15,000 in chips (with optional $5 dealer add on)

Saturday February 19th $545 (500+45+5) 30 minute levels $15,000 in chips (with optional $5 dealer add on)

Saturday February 26th $1100 (1000+95+5) 40 minute levels with $20,000 in chips (with optional $5 dealer add on)

Sunday February 27th $330 (300+25+5) 30 minute levels $15,000 in chips (with optional $5 dealer add on)

The Friday prior to each large buy in event, a satellite will be held awarding the winners a seat in the larger buy in poker tournament. The first satellite event is February 11th at noon and 7:30pm. $65 buy in awarding one seat for every ten runners. the blind levels in the satellites are 20 minuites with 5K in chips and an optional 1k dealer add on for $5.

On the 25th, the satellites are $130 for the $1100 buy in held on the 26th. These events will also offer one seat for each 10 players and start with 5K in chips with an optional 1k dealer add on for $5.

In addition to the regular schedule of daily poker tournaments at 12:00 noon and 7:30 pm, the Rivers also holds $65 Single Table sit n go poker tournaments every day at player request.

Tournament players are required to obtain a players card in order to play in any poker tournament, a valid photo ID will be necessary when registering. In addition, keep in mind the house rules regarding hoodies at the Rivers casino.

For more information, contact The Rivers poker room at 412.566.4606

The event will offer one seat to the winner with expected cash prizes for the final table. The winner of the WSOP satellite will receive the $10,000 buy in to the main event in Las Vegas in July, 2011 and $2,000 cash for expenses.

The buyin to the satellite is $125 ($100+25) for a starting stack of 12,000 with an additional dealer add on of 3000. The blind levels will be 20 minutes long.

Registration is limited to the first 200 entrants, so you must register early, as it is expected this event will fill up fast. For those that will miss the entry for this event Wheeling Island is also offering a WSOP satellite on the same day at 1:00pm. The Wheeling event is $130 buyin with 10K in chips.

The Meadows Casino expects to run at least one WSOP satellite each month through the end of June, so you will have plenty of opportunities to play in the event of a lifetime.

Good luck and hope to see you there!

The December event saw more than 500 participants for the entire Big Poker Weekend. Staff at the meadows poker room anticipates a much larger crowd with as many as 200 in the main event.

The line up for the Big Poker Weekend is as follows:

Friday January 7th 8:00pm $150 buy in Bounty event, players begin with 15,ooo in chips (extra 5,000 dealer add on for $10). The blind levels are 20 minutes long, and each KO will earn you a bounty. Money-earners will accrue points toward the Big Poker Weekend championship, which also awards a cash prize for the point leader.

Saturday January 8th 1:30pm Main Event $330 Buy-in, players start with 20,000 and an extra 5,000 for $15 dealer add-on. The blind levels are 30 minutes long. This is a TWO-Day event. The main event poker tournament will award points for the Big Poker Weekend series championship.

Sunday, January 9th, 2:oopm The last Chance poker tournament offers an opportunity to try one last time to cash in this exciting series event. The starting chip stack is 12,000 with 20 minute levels. buy in for the last chance is $120.

As an added bonus, there is a ‘Donkament series’, offering two $50 poker tournaments on Friday at ‘midnight thirty’ and another on saturday at 9:00pm. These tourneys are similar in format to the Meadows poker room weekly midnite madness tournaments. The donkament series awards points to money finishers, where the point leader is crowned ‘King of the Donkeys’ and will receive a cash prize in addition to their cash winnings.

Satellite events for the Main event are on Thursday January 6th at 7:30pm ($45 buy in, 1 $30 Rebuy) and on Saturday morning ($45 buy in), as well as single table sit n go poker tournaments upon re4quest. One out of every 10 runners are awarded a seat to the $330 main event.

Click for Blind Schedule |        Click Event Flyer here

ESPN radio will be on hand broadcasting from the Poker room.

Further Details call the Meadows Poker room @ 724-503-1200