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MGM National Harbor takes funds out of Bad Beat Jackpot for tournament seats (also, apparently there are harmful fumes in the poker room)
Two unflattering stories out of the DC area, regarding poker at MGM National Harbor.
First, they just held a tournament, where the 3 Main Event seats awarded could possibly come from the cash game bad beat jackpot:
Look at the term next to the red arrow.
Quote:
MGM National Harbor is Guaranteeing 3 Main Event Seats daily.
Any shortfalls from the guarantee will be paid from the poker jackpot reserve fund.
So basically, if a particular day doesn't get enough buyins, they will dip into the cash game bad beat jackpot to pay for the 3 Main Event seats they're guaranteeing as prizes.
Shaaaaaaaaaaady.
Is this legal?
Yes.
Since the money is coming from poker players and being paid back to poker players, the legal requirements for the Bad Beat Jackpot are being satisfied.
Did it happen?
I don't know. Nobody reported it did. Apparently this is a well-attended series, so the chance of this happening isn't too high.
They did it the same way in 2017, and this is what Tournament Director Johnny Grooms had to say about it:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Grooms
In the process of adressing. Will likely deduct 1% from all tourney prize pools to add to the jackpot reserve. This accomplishes the contribution some players like to see.
I understand your position, but hopefully you can see that using the BBJ reserve to cover these is +EV for the room. It attracts players to cash games that otherwise likely wouldn't be there. In the strictest terms, i wish there was no BBJ or promotions, but it's there, and competitors use it to their advantage. Were I not to do this, I would be at a competitive disadvantage.
I actually did the tournament deductions at Beau Rivage in MS.... will have to examine whether MLGCA will allow.
Source: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/s...postcount=2388
The 1% idea (proposed last year) doesn't help any. It's just a shell game. If that were done, and the guarantee WAS hit, then 1% of the tournament prize pool would be siphoned into the cash games, which is just as bad.
As far as I can see, they didn't end up taking the 1% this year, and I'm assuming that idea died.
What would be fair?
Either don't guarantee those seats (or don't have them in the first place), or at the very minimum, take a percentage out of each tournament buyin for a tournament-only reserve fund, which could be used in these situations.
Since they went with this "take from the BBJ fund if necessary" approach again in 2018, it appears that's what they're going to stick with.
FYI, Johnny Grooms was the tournament director for the WSOP when it first came to the Rio in 2005. He was the one who awarded me my bracelet. I heard rumors that he left the WSOP under suspicious circumstances, but I never got confirmation of this. Jack Effel took over his job in 2007.
