Poker's Top Guns Taking all Comers at Chinook Winds Casino
Got what it takes to go up against the best? Top poker pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi will host the 18 event series PacWest Poker Classic at Chinook Winds Casino Resort. (Photo courtesy of Deepstacks Poker)
By Larry Coonrod Of the News-Times
LINCOLN CITY--Deepstacks Poker's company motto is "Play where the pros play," and starting Feb. 9, two of the top professional poker players in the world will host the PacWest Poker Classic at Chinook Winds Casino Resort.
Players could find themselves sitting across from Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and two-time World Poker Tour winner Randal "Randallin" Flowers in cash and tournament Texas Hold'em games The PacWest Poker Classic runs for 10 days and features 18 separate tournaments culminating in the $100,000 main event starting Saturday, Feb. 16, and ending with the final table showdown on Feb. 18.
"The cool thing about poker is for a tank of gas, a hotel room and a buy-in, you're able to sit with a pro like the Grinder and potentially eliminate him and win the tournament," says Deepstacks founder Chris Torina. A former narcotics detective in Seminole County, Fla., Torina began playing poker eight years ago and founded Deepstacks in 2007.
"I left my job five years ago in April, and since that day it's grown from doing live training camps to online tutorials to now a televised poker show," he said.
In his own poker career, Torina quickly realized that not regularly playing with people who shared his enthusiasm for the game limited his growth as a player. Now, Deepstacks aims to make players better through the online Deepstacks University and live camps with professional players. Drawing from his own experience of not being able to afford the $10,000 buy-in tournaments to play against the game's top guns, Torina sets his tournament main event entry fee at $1,100. He compares it to people paying to attend fantasy sports camps with professional athletes.
"It's the same thing; you're paying the fee to have that experience of playing with the pros. Maybe you'll win and maybe you won't, but you'll learn something," he said.
Players who don't want to jump in at the $1,100 main event can participate in tournament tables with buy-ins as low as $55 during the PacWest Poker Classic. Satellite tournaments will give players a shot at winning an entry ticket to the main event at a fraction of the buy-in. Deepstacks plans to live stream the main event over the Internet.
Playing against the Pros
What's the biggest difference between a professional player and a skilled amateur? Fear, Torina says.
"For the amount of money people are playing for in the main event, it's for some people the most amount of money they've ever played for," Torina said. "A pro goes 'OK, if I bust this tournament, next week I'm in Los Angeles for the next one.' Where an amateur looks at it and goes, 'If I bust this tournament, I may not play for another six months at that level.'"
Torina said successful players up their game by training and playing.
"Put some hours in and get comfortable with it before you take that leap to a $1,000 tournament," he advises.
And what better way to learn how to beat the pros than at a live training session with The Grinder and Flowers on Feb. 15? Mizrachi will dish out the secrets that at the age of 32 have already earned him more than $13 million in earnings, 21 career titles and 117 career cashes.
First for Chinook Winds
Chinook Winds has seven live poker tables with regular tournaments, but the PacWest Poker Classic is the largest tournament ever held at the casino.
"We're bringing in 60 tables and 75 dealers," said Eric Smileuske, Chinook Winds marketing director.
Smileuske said the casino is looking to capitalize on the popularity of poker and jumped at the chance to work with Deepstacks. The two companies are already planning a return engagement in October with a state poker championship.
Next month's PacWest Classic has been well received with players signing up in advance through the casino's online ticketing. Player club members (free membership also available online) receive special discount room rates.
"For this neck of the woods, anytime you get a Mizrachi in town, there is all kinds of excitement," Smileuske said. "Poker players love to play against poker pros. Win lose or draw, you can say, 'I played with The Grinder, and it was phenomenal .'"
For more information, go to www.deepstacks.com. Advance entries to any of the PacWest Poker Classic's 18 tournament events can be purchased online at https:// tickets.chinookwindscasino .com/Online/ Contact
Assistant Editor Larry Coonrod at 541-265-8571 ext. 211 or email larry@newportnewstimes .com.
