Gambling & Games: The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch, Tucson Weekly

Screw The Roses, Chocolate and (Fleeting) Chance at Sex: It's Time to Celebrate WSOP Day

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:02:59 -0700

It was already lining up to be a quite unproductive workday for yours truly, what with the after-effects of attending the Die Hard marathon — Lord help you if you pay money solely to see the fifth installment — still rattling my psyche.

Then the World Series of Poker announced the 2013 series schedule, and any chance of workflow was lost.…

Casino Del Sol's Double Shot: Something For the Ladies, and Something For Fans of Rich Guys With Strange Fashion Sense

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:36:48 -0700

My Valentine's Day plans are all set up. Have been so for quite some time, thanks to my obsession with details and planning ahead.…

Here's Your Chance to Cross 'Got Caught Bluffing Against a Celebrity' Off Your Bucket List

Brian J. Pedersen — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:33:33 -0700

My New Year's resolutions are a mixed bag of the usual (lose weight; manage money better) and unachievable (dunk a basketball; cross a name off my 'List'), along with some that just happen to have a chance of happening real soon thanks to Casino del Sol:

- I resolve to win a big pot off Andre Reed, then reassure the former Buffalo Bills wide receiver that this shouldn't feel as bad as all those Super Bowl losses.

- I resolve to catch cards on the turn and river to bust former UA great Antoine Cason, then ask him if he thinks this is what Norv Turner felt like at the end of each season with the San Diego Chargers.…

If an ASU Student Wins The World Series of Poker, I'm Quitting the Game

Brian J. Pedersen — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:56:12 -0700

There are three players remaining in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament that began in July with nearly 6,600 entrants and resumed Monday night with just the final nine.

Among those still alive: 21-year-old Jake Balsiger, an Arizona State University political science 'major' who would be the younger WSOP Main Event winner ever if he were to emerge victorious this evening at the Penn & Teller Theater inside the Rio in Las Vegas.…

If Casino Del Sol Isn't Part of Your Halloween Plans, Here's Why it Should Be

Brian J. Pedersen — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:00:43 -0700

Is that costume you're planning to wear for Halloween contest-worthy? Is it one that would also enable you guzzle drinks, gamble and gyrate to devil-themed music?…

The Desert Diamond Casino Poker Overhaul

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:30:32 -0700

Some of the fondest memories of my post-first-marriage years involve playing poker in Desert Diamond Casino's old rickety, wobbly, cramped quintuple-wide trailer that served as a poker room for several years in the mid-2000s. With its own bathrooms, parking away from the rest of the casino and a door blocking out all the slot player smoke, that room was the hotbed of poker action in Southern Arizona for years.…

Two Left to Hold the Torch for Tucson in Vegas [Updated]

Brian J. Pedersen — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:11:45 -0700

And then there were two ...

It appears both poker players with ties to the Tucson area have made it into the money at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament at the Rio in Las Vegas.…

There Are People From Tucson Still Alive at the World Series of Poker

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:32:21 -0700

The world's largest poker tournament is entering its sixth day of competition in Las Vegas, and believe it or not, but there are still four people from around these parts still alive.

The $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event began with 6,598 entrants, the fifth-most ever, and only 1,765 of them remain in contention for the $8.5 million first prize.…

Let's Watch People Win Absurd Amounts of Money

Brian J. Pedersen — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:00:01 -0700

Eight men are going to sit around a poker table this afternoon in Las Vegas, all of them already insanely wealthy. But at the end of the night one of them is going to walk away with the largest prize ever awarding in a poker tournament.…

Someone Gonna Fall For This: Hot Slots Edition

Brian J. Pedersen — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:00:37 -0700

Like any good scam, the trick is finding a large pocket of gullible marks that are ripe to be preyed upon.

What better place to start than at the casino?

On my most recent trip to Casino del Sol — hey, I have weaknesses; don't judge me — my peripheral vision caught site of a creepy looking wall display regarding the Oracles of Insight, Del Sol's newest attraction that is meant to point out ... ahem ... hot and ready slot machines.…

How To Screw Up A Good Thing, Casino Del Sol-Style

Brian J. Pedersen — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:00:21 -0700

In January we wrote about Casino del Sol's ridiculously bad decision to revamp its Cosmic Bingo event by, among other things, parting ways with fun and flirtatious drag queen MC Lucinda Holliday. The goal, casino officials said, was the revive a format that had gotten stale, which is hard to believe about something that involved a 6-foot-tall dude in a wig and dress holding a microphone with a fuzzy penis cover and encouraging grandmas to yell 'ohhhhhh, sixty-nine!'

Well, looks like instead of reviving it with these changes, Casino del Sol killed one of its most fun and unique entertainment options.…

The Degenerates, They Keep On Losing

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:00:06 -0700

No matter how tough the economy is, sin is always a lucrative business.

Nowhere is this more prevalent in Arizona than in the casino industry, as for the seventh consecutive quarter the state's 22 tribal casinos contributed an increased share of all that money we drop into slots, at the blackjack table and on ridiculously overpriced drinks.…

Finally, the In-Depth Freecell Article You Asked For

Dan Gibson — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:09:26 -0700

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who spends absurd amounts of time thinking about subjects like whether all the games on Freecell can be solved, but then, every once and awhile, there's a brilliant moment of validation, like "Unbeatable," a feature on The Gameological Society (a new spinoff of the AV Club, which was a spinoff from The Onion). It turns out, only one game is unbeatable, #11,982:

Members reported other troublesome hands across the participating newsgroups.…
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Got a Spare Milly Sitting Around, Waiting To Be Spent?

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:30:04 -0700

Now that the Occupy (Enter Name Here) fad has seemed to die down and the one-percenters no longer have to concern themselves with defending their frivolous spending, it's time for the richest of the rich to get back to finding ways to blow through large wads of cash.

May I suggest, then, the Big One For One Drop?

The Big One is a $1 million buy-in poker tournament that is being held at the Rio in Las Vegas in July, as an officially sanctioned World Series of Poker bracelet event.…

Golf and Poker, The Gambler's Version of Surf and Turf

Brian J. Pedersen — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:00:22 -0700

If you like the links, and are a fan of the felt, clear your schedule for March 31.

That's when Casino del Sol is hosting its 11th annual Golf & Poker Scramble, a gathering that just screams action junky.…

2012 World Series of Poker Schedule Revealed; All Is Right With The World

Brian J. Pedersen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:59 -0700

I was having a pretty crappy week until late Tuesday afternoon when, during a routine view of my Twitter feed, I got a bit of news that I've been anxiously awaiting for months: the unveiling of the 2012 World Series of Poker schedule.

This day is like Christmas, Easter, Arbor Day and March Madness all wrapped into one for me, and for thousands of other poker players throughout the world.…

Sean Getzwiller, Propping Up Tucson Poker Yet Again {UPDATED}

Brian J. Pedersen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:26:58 -0700

It's been a pretty good eight months for Sean Getzwiller.

The former Tucson-area resident, who learned to play poker at the local casinos (as well as the underground games) while also riding the wave of the region's rising and falling real estate market, made his fourth deep run in a major tournament since June by finishing third late Monday in the World Series of Poker Circuit championship event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.…

Where's a Bingo MC Drag Queen When You Need One?

Brian J. Pedersen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:00:56 -0700

This past Saturday night my wife and I were excited to share with some friends a guilty pleasure of ours: Cosmic Bingo at Casino del Sol. And not because of the chance to win $100 in a cramped, smoky bingo hall.…

Play Poker, Give to Charity, Meet a Former Local Star Baseball Player

Brian J. Pedersen — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:24:05 -0700

There are many levels of celebrity status for athletes, ranging from the 'even your mother knows who they are' names such as Barry Bonds and Derek Jeter, all the way down to those that are only considered big-time to the community they hail from.

Where Shelley Duncan falls is a matter of debate.…

Roger Craig, Human King of "Jeopardy!"

Dan Gibson — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:30:13 -0700

Roger Craig is pretty good at the game show Jeopardy!, nailing two "true Daily Doubles" in a row yesterday, but at the end of the day, he knows there's a IBM computer out there ready to humiliate and destroy him. And that's what he has to live with.…

For The Starbucks-Loving Gambler With No Time To Spare, Your Prayers Have Been Answered.

Brian J. Pedersen — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:00:06 -0700

Nothing says convenience and special accommodation like designated parking spots.

It's available in spades for handicapped drivers and passengers, while many shopping centers offer specific spaces for expectant mothers.…

Casino Del Sol's New Hotel Gets All Numerological For Its Granding Opening

Brian J. Pedersen — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:00:32 -0700

When our forefathers created Veterans Day many decades ago, I don’t think they envisioned it as a day to honor one’s hope of hitting a penny slot jackpot.

Nevertheless, because of the numerical significance of this year’s holiday (11/11/11), it also coincides with the grand opening of Casino del Sol’s long-in-the-works hotel complex on West Valencia Road.…

This Week In Ridiculous Gambling News

Brian J. Pedersen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:30:20 -0700

From time to time a story comes along about someone actually taking it to the casinos, winning loads of money against all odds, smiling in the face of a stacked deck.

This week, there could be two.…

The Year of Sean Getzwiller, Tucson Poker Professional [UPDATED]

Brian J. Pedersen — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:00:20 -0700

Sean Getzwiller is not a household name when it comes to professional poker.

But if the Tucsonan continues to run as good as he has in 2011, that’s not going to be the case for long.…

World Class Scrabble Players Might Cheat Just Like People on Words With Friends

Dan Gibson — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:00:33 -0700

Cheaters are the scourge of word-based competitions, and although Ed Martin might be innocent this time, it's time to crack down hard on those skirting the rules of fair play. I'm looking at you, Words With Friends cheaters!

England's Ed Martin was accused of hiding a letter 'G' during a match.…
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