Degree Poker Championship
Hey guys. I just came across a press release for the new "Degree Poker Championship" tournament while checking the scores on the tsn website. The tournament has no registration free and the winner gets $100k, plus a seat into the 2005 WSOP. Registration is done online at http://www.degreepoker.com. Here are the juicy details:
Do you have what it takes to compete against Canada's most cunning poker players?
TSN announced today the launch of the Degree Poker Championship - the first annual Canadian Texas Hold 'Em tournament that features the country's richest poker purse of $100,000, a paid seat at the 2005 World Series of Poker and a chance to win an additional $1 million. The Degree Poker Championship will be officially hosted by the elegant Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., and the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C.
TSN will televise the tournament nationally, airing six one-hour prime time broadcasts during September 2005 with TSN original Michael Landsberg serving as tournament host. In association with WhistleStop Productions Inc., TSN's coverage of the event will be produced in High Definition. The complete broadcast schedule is as follows:
* Thursday Sept 15 8 - 10 pm ET Playoff #1 and #2
* Friday Sept 16 7 - 8 pm ET Playoff #3
* Friday Sept 23 7:30 - 8:30 pm ET Playoff #4
* Saturday Sept 24 8 - 10 pm ET Playoff #5 and Championship
TSN will also televise encore broadcasts of all six episodes in Western prime time.
The Degree Poker Championship begins in June with East and West regional competitions held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., and at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. Participants compete at the regional competitions for a limited number of seats in the tournament's televised playoff and championship rounds, held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort later that month.
Registration for the regional events is free and open to Canadians over the age of 21 (excluding residents of Quebec) through on-line entry at www.degreepoker.com. The dedicated website also features strategy tips, poker trivia and a general overview of the Degree Poker Championship events.
The grand prize winner will receive $100,000 in prize money and automatic qualification and paid U.S. $10,000 entry fee to the 2005 World Series of Poker also broadcast on TSN and ESPN, which will be held at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas in July. The grand prize includes travel and accomodation for the championship winner and a guest. The winner will also compete for a chance to win up to $1 million in a dramatic final-hand Texas Hold 'Em showdown. Finalists will also be awarded cash prizes.
"The Degree Poker Championship is the ultimate event for Canadian poker players and offers a truly authentic experience for participants and viewers," said Adam Ashton, Vice-President of Marketing, TSN and TSN Events. "The competition gives players the rare opportunity to feel the pressure of competing in front of a national televised audience."
This year's tournament marks the first year of a three-year deal between TSN Events and Unilever's Degree antiperspirant brand, the event's title sponsor. The Degree Poker Championship has been developed in coordination with TSN Events, Segal Communications and Casino Amusements Canada.
"Degree is extremely proud to partner with TSN to bring Canada its first national poker championship," said Stephen Kouri, Vice-President of Marketing, Unilever Canada. "Degree for Men helps men who are ready to take a calculated risk and maintain their confidence in those make or break moments."
TSN has been televising world-class poker since 1998, and its increasing popularity runs parallel to TSN's growing poker broadcast schedule. TSN's poker roster currently consists of the annual World Series of Poker, Poker Million and the European Open Poker Championships.
Degree is a brand of Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately U.S. $48 billion in 2003. Unilever operates in 100 countries around the globe and employs approximately 250,000 people.
"Canada's premier poker championship deserves to be hosted by Canada's premier gaming and entertainment complex," said Larry Lewin, President, Niagara Casinos. "I have no doubt this partnership will create one of the world's great poker events."
www.tsn.ca/poker
Do you have what it takes to compete against Canada's most cunning poker players?
TSN announced today the launch of the Degree Poker Championship - the first annual Canadian Texas Hold 'Em tournament that features the country's richest poker purse of $100,000, a paid seat at the 2005 World Series of Poker and a chance to win an additional $1 million. The Degree Poker Championship will be officially hosted by the elegant Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., and the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C.
TSN will televise the tournament nationally, airing six one-hour prime time broadcasts during September 2005 with TSN original Michael Landsberg serving as tournament host. In association with WhistleStop Productions Inc., TSN's coverage of the event will be produced in High Definition. The complete broadcast schedule is as follows:
* Thursday Sept 15 8 - 10 pm ET Playoff #1 and #2
* Friday Sept 16 7 - 8 pm ET Playoff #3
* Friday Sept 23 7:30 - 8:30 pm ET Playoff #4
* Saturday Sept 24 8 - 10 pm ET Playoff #5 and Championship
TSN will also televise encore broadcasts of all six episodes in Western prime time.
The Degree Poker Championship begins in June with East and West regional competitions held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., and at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. Participants compete at the regional competitions for a limited number of seats in the tournament's televised playoff and championship rounds, held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort later that month.
Registration for the regional events is free and open to Canadians over the age of 21 (excluding residents of Quebec) through on-line entry at www.degreepoker.com. The dedicated website also features strategy tips, poker trivia and a general overview of the Degree Poker Championship events.
The grand prize winner will receive $100,000 in prize money and automatic qualification and paid U.S. $10,000 entry fee to the 2005 World Series of Poker also broadcast on TSN and ESPN, which will be held at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas in July. The grand prize includes travel and accomodation for the championship winner and a guest. The winner will also compete for a chance to win up to $1 million in a dramatic final-hand Texas Hold 'Em showdown. Finalists will also be awarded cash prizes.
"The Degree Poker Championship is the ultimate event for Canadian poker players and offers a truly authentic experience for participants and viewers," said Adam Ashton, Vice-President of Marketing, TSN and TSN Events. "The competition gives players the rare opportunity to feel the pressure of competing in front of a national televised audience."
This year's tournament marks the first year of a three-year deal between TSN Events and Unilever's Degree antiperspirant brand, the event's title sponsor. The Degree Poker Championship has been developed in coordination with TSN Events, Segal Communications and Casino Amusements Canada.
"Degree is extremely proud to partner with TSN to bring Canada its first national poker championship," said Stephen Kouri, Vice-President of Marketing, Unilever Canada. "Degree for Men helps men who are ready to take a calculated risk and maintain their confidence in those make or break moments."
TSN has been televising world-class poker since 1998, and its increasing popularity runs parallel to TSN's growing poker broadcast schedule. TSN's poker roster currently consists of the annual World Series of Poker, Poker Million and the European Open Poker Championships.
Degree is a brand of Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately U.S. $48 billion in 2003. Unilever operates in 100 countries around the globe and employs approximately 250,000 people.
"Canada's premier poker championship deserves to be hosted by Canada's premier gaming and entertainment complex," said Larry Lewin, President, Niagara Casinos. "I have no doubt this partnership will create one of the world's great poker events."
www.tsn.ca/poker
Comments
Thanks for posting!
ScottyZ
I hope not...
"Registration for the regional events is free and open to Canadians over the age of 21 (excluding residents of Quebec)"
Can this mean the championship event will co$t?
No friggin kidding..... I can't wait till the end of november .... It just adds insult to injury that all my friends are turning 21 before me
My Canada includes Quebec...,hahahahhahhah
I'd be weary of Niagara falls...they can't even run an 8 table poker room!
Also..as a tax paying Ontarioan...i am not givng them one more red cent ...read below how
they fleeced us;( from the Globe and Mail)
Gaming officials demand casino shape up
Niagara isn't earning enough
Promised tourist attraction missing
KEVIN DONOVAN
STAFF REPORTER
Ontario's casino boss has slammed the operators of the new Niagara Falls casino, saying the province has "serious concerns" about the way the $1 billion gaming palace is being run.
The complaints, contained in a stiffly worded letter from Ontario's gaming corporation, are threefold: The Niagara casino operators have not built the tourist attractions promised when they bid for the lucrative contract; they're not making enough money for the province; and they've failed to develop policies for the successful operation of the casino.
"We are writing to express Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's serious concerns regarding the performance by Falls Management Corporation of its obligations," states Duncan Brown, chief executive officer of the crown corporation that oversees gambling in Ontario.
Brown says that if the Niagara casino's international operators don't do the job properly, the province will penalize them financially. Brown wrote the letter to Falls Management four weeks ago, and the Star obtained a copy.
Brown's spokesperson, Joe Vecsi, said in an interview Friday that the gaming corporation's complaints haven't been resolved. "It's a major performance issue here. We expected more and we expected it sooner."
Falls Management wrote back last week, explaining that it is "working hard" to respond to the complaints, a top company executive says. It has commissioned a study into tourist attraction needs, plans a marketing blitz to boost revenues and will be developing policies for the casino.
"The owner (the gaming corporation) had some concerns and we've answered them," said Clare Copeland, former chair of Ontario Place, who was hired as Falls Management's chief executive officer three months ago. He told the Star he plans to develop a good tourist attraction as part of the casino.
A gaming corporation official said the corporation "influenced" the casino's move to hire Copeland and other employees with specific marketing skills. It was unhappy with how the property was managed when the five companies involved in the operating consortium shared responsibility for its management. Copeland's job, a new position, is supposed to fix that.
The casino business means good money, but the government won't reveal how much each operator earns.
Falls Management earns money from both the first Niagara Casino and the new gambling house, through several revenue streams, including an "operators fee," a sort of bonus tied to performance. That's an annual pot of about $60 million to $75 million in pure profit, which is split among the three consortiums that run casinos in Ontario.
Plus, the casinos receive an unknown share of the hundreds of millions it actually costs to operate the casinos.
Concerns about the winning bidder were first raised by a Toronto Star investigation in 1998, when the contract was awarded to Falls Management, a consortium that included Toronto's wealthy Latner family (owners of Dynacare labs and Greenwin Properties); Hyatt Development Corp.; a Chicago realtor; and two businessmen, Paul Snyder and Andrzej Kepinski. All five remain involved today.
The Star stories revealed that Falls Management was chosen even though two other bidders were ranked higher on their plans to build tourist attractions that would benefit Niagara Falls as a visitor destination. Falls Management scored third in the tourist attractor part of the bid, but first in the ability to manage a casino.
The Star investigation also showed that Conservative lobbyists and donors (the Conservatives were in power in Ontario at the time) were behind the winning Falls Management bid. Also, the consulting firm the provincial government used to structure the bid process was used by the winning bidder in preparing its bid.
After the news stories were published, the government called in a reviewer to probe the awarding of the contract. Two months later, the reviewer, lawyer Stanley Beck, found the selection process was "beyond reproach," and Ontario gave Falls Management the okay to build what the government said would be a $411 million casino. The bid included an amphitheatre for concerts and a computer simulator theatre.
The new 2.5-million-square-foot Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort opened its doors last June, with 3,000 slot machines, 150 gaming tables, a 1,500-seat theatre and a health spa. Construction costs had zoomed to $1 billion, government documents show.
But the tourism attractors promised by Falls Management — a large indoor/outdoor amphitheatre and a computer simulator theatre for children — were never built.
The gaming corporation was involved closely in construction, which stretched from 1998 to last summer, but didn't raise objections to the lack of a tourist attraction until recently.
When the concept of Niagara as a casino location gained traction in the mid-1990s, the Conservatives stressed how important a major tourism development was to the project. A casino was great, the Tories and local politicians said, but Niagara Falls had to be developed as a true "Gateway to Canada."
Some bidders took it to heart. Donald Trump, a British casino company and Niagara hoteliers, partnered with a Phoenix casino company, all put in bids with strong tourism components.
The best, according to the judging panel, was the bid from the real estate developers who own the Sheraton Fallsview. Their $905 million bid was half-casino, half-tourism, with an enclosed water park larger than the SkyDome, a convention centre and a championship golf course. Their bid lost.
But Falls Management, whose plan placed third in the tourism factor, won.
To date, the company's total tourism contribution has been a $7.5 million payment to Marineland, according to a government spokesperson.
As for the retail side of the business, the gaming corporation considers the number of stores that have moved into the complex to be meagre.
All this has the corporation angry.
Duncan Brown is the new boss there, after a successful run as head of Ontario's gambling and booze regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. His letter, dated Feb. 16, notes that the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort has shown a "disappointing financial performance."
Falls Management boss Copeland blames poor returns in part to border-crossing woes tied to 9/11, SARS and competition in upstate New York. But he says the casino is working on plans to bring in more gamblers.
As to the lack of a tourist attraction, Copeland and the gaming corporation now say that the promised amphitheatre may be the wrong way to go. The study the casino has commissioned will try to determine what Niagara Falls really needs to draw more tourists, before the casino company shells out to create the attraction. "There are lots of little things we are looking at for an attractor," Copeland says.
But Vecsi, of the gaming corporation, says the time for studies is over. "This whole idea has been studied to death. We are pressing them to get moving."
Meanwhile, casino revenues in Ontario generally are down.
It's too early for figures on the new Niagara casino, but as of spring 2004, revenues across the province were down almost $200 million from the year before. That means less money to government coffers and less to the operators.
Gross revenue figures for the first three commercial casinos (Windsor, the first Niagara casino and Casino Rama) dropped to $1.5 billion in 2004 from $1.7 billion in 2003.
In his letter, Brown says that if the casino company doesn't deliver on its promise to create a bona fide tourist attraction, the government will stop paying certain fees to Falls Management, amounts unspecified in the letter.
Brown stresses that his concerns are "serious" and that he hopes they "are addressed by a renewed and enhanced commitment" by Falls Management.
So in one year, Ontario gaming takes 1.5 billion dollars out of the gambling economy... Sounds to me liike they're fleecing the gamblers quick.. Where do the new ones come from when everyone loses?
mark@degreepoker.com (it;s on the website)
tell them to give the money to chariites rather than Fallsview....
and really...can you call a poker game Canadian and exclude Quebec?
tsk.tsk...i forever boycott Unilever products!!!!!!!!!!
shame...shame....another sign of Canadian ineptness when you have a USA nob
like larry lewin running fallsview.
This has nothing to do with Degree/Unilever.
ScottyZ
Better yet, move it to Richmond Hill where a casino was supposed to go!!
Yes.
To: mark@degreepoker.com
Hi Mark,
I am part of a forum that has 1231 members, quite a few of us have registered for this degreepoker tournament. But just to let you know there are alot of people in our forum that are not happy with the Fallsview Casino.
Here is one thread about your tournament and the degree company's involvement....
http://www.pokerforum.ca/forum/index.php?board=6;topic=4140.13#msg34813
And if you search the B&M part of the forum, you will find other threads on the displeasure of players who have played there.
I just thought that maybe you could address some of the players concerns, and give some insight to this issue as most of us are from Southern Ontario, and spend quite a few dollars playing cards and would like to be involved in this event.
Regards,
Rob Spence
www.boltonpoker.com
(Oops, an affiliate link.)
www.tiltcentral.com
www.pokerforum.ca
Remove me from Mailing list: postmaster@boltonpoker.com
LMAO, but it is probably true.
Hi Rob,
Thank you very much for taking the time to write me this email.Â
We are very excited about hosting our tournament at the Fallsview and River Rock casino's. I appreciate you sending me this information, and I have already forwarded your email to the casino's.Â
It sounds like all of the people on this forum are experienced card player's and I hope that some of them get to play in our tournament. We will be sending out an email to all of those who have entered their email addressee's on our website to let them know when registration has for the tournament has officially opened.
Thank you for your interest in the Degree Poker Championship.
Regards,
Mark
Original Message
From: Rob@BoltonPoker [mailto:info@boltonpoker.com]
Sent: May 2, 2005 5:44 PM
To: mark@degreepoker.com
Subject: News article
So, uh, I guess this means he has no opinion on anyones concerns, cause he's gettin payed anyways. And if you build it, no matter how bad it is built, someone will come.
Oh yeah, sorry about the affi. link Scotty, forgot to remove it.
Just received my email. I'm trying to figure out how seats are given via the in room promotion at the Fallsview? I called but they said to check the website. Good luck.
Same here, I received mine at about 6:30 this morning. That week is busy for me. 3 Birthdays, IF I get in Degreepoker Wed, and hopefully Thurs, Fri...KWSOP..Fri, and hopefully Sat and Sun.
God it would be nice to play poker all week
You're not too far off - there's a total of 1000 entrants in the western half, 800 are selected randomly from the website, the other 200 River Rock gets to pick. Of those 1000, 20 get to go to the final at Fallsview. Eastern half presumably works the same way, with 20 making it through. Then 5 can be picked by the Degree folks (up to 3 designated wild cards and up to 2 selected randomly), for a total final round 45. Winner of that round gets the big prize. So the eventual winner should be a decent tournament player (or at least wildly lucky, which can't hurt), but getting there will take a lottery win in all likelihood.