A member writes, 'Dear Geno: I have a question for you. I have been playing a lot of poker for the past year or so in my home town of Amarillo, Texas. We have home games and we play at some of the fraternal clubs around the city. I have done pretty well in the win department. In fact, I can honestly say I am pretty much the big winner in our group. I work part time for a company, but the majority of my money is made playing poker. I have accumulated a bankroll and am thinking of moving to Las Vegas so I can pursue my true passion, which happens to be playing poker. My question to you is this: when is a person ready for Las Vegas? Sincerely, Tom J., Amarillo, TX.'
Good old Amarillo! When I worked as a reporter in Clovis, N.M., I would travel there once a week to cover the weekly professional wrestling matches promoted by Bob Stephens. Amarillo was the home town of Dory Funk, a pro wrestler whose entire family was involved in the sport.
Tom asks a good question, and it isn't an easy one to answer. When is a person ready for the big time as a poker player? It doesn't get any bigger than Las Vegas.
Tom is going to find a different caliber of poker players in Las Vegas. The players may or may not be as good as the ones he is used to playing against in Amarillo. But if he can do well against them, as he apparently has been doing, he should be able to control his bankroll and be a regular winner in Las Vegas.
The first thing he would have to do is to find a good poker room that fits his needs. The poker action moves around Las Vegas, by the way. Some of the casinos where I played in the past may not be as good as they were when I played there -- or they could be better. It depends on the type of players the poker rooms attract.
I would recommend that once Tom arrives in Las Vegas, he takes his time and feel out the rooms. Start in the downtown area. Check out poker rooms at the Golden Nugget, the Horseshoe, the Union Plaza and any other places that provide live poker.
Then head down Las Vegas Boulevard. Drop in at the Bellagio, the Mirage, the Apia and some of the new poker rooms that are operating. Get to know the poker room management and the dealers. Talk to people. Learn what games they spread and play in a tournament or two if you are a tournament player.
Check out The Orleans, one of my favorite casinos. The Orleans hosts two tournaments a day, at noon and 7 p.m. It offers a variety of games from Omaha High-Low to Texas Hold'em and sometimes other games as well. The games range from limit to pot limit and include no-limit.
Once you find a room where you feel comfortable, start playing there on a regular basis. The perks offered in Las Vegas are generous compared with most Indian-owned casinos. They may offer you anywhere from $1 to $2 in food comps for each hour played. Until Tom finds a place to stay, they will give him good rates for a room.
I would also urge Tom not to develop any leaks. He doesn't want to lose the money he wins at poker on dice, roulette, sports betting or the horses. That would not be a very smart thing to do.
Try living in Las Vegas for six months. If you end up a winner, take a lease on an apartment, condo or a rental house and hang around for a while. That's the way all the good players started out -- the Doyle Brunsons, Phil Iveys, Phil Hellmuths and the others.
After a year, write to me again and let me know how your luck has turned out. I hope you have a good story to tell me.
Las Vegas is a good city to live in and I think you'll like it there. You'll find a lot of attractions within an hour or two and you should take the time to visit places like Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest and the valley of the dinosaur bones. Somebody once told me that a person who wears out a pair of boots in the desert would be trapped there for the rest of his life. It happened to me and I am still there or thinking about returning there. Good luck.
Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
