One of the largest tournaments in the Mid-South region of the United States, the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge V, is set to put cards in the air starting on October 30th.
The Cherokee Casino in Catoosa, OK (just outside of Tulsa) will once again play host to a tournament that has become quite successful despite not being tied to any of the major poker tours in the U. S., such as the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour. As their poker ambassador, 2008 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. champion Scotty Nguyen has acted as the host of the tournament since its inception in 2005.
One of the unique features of the tournament schedule is the variety of poker that is played. In a time when some tournament schedules are dominated by No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge has always featured tournaments outside of that spectrum including both disciplines of Omaha (Pot Limit and Eight or better), a H.O.R.S.E. tournament and a Short Handed (six player) event. It is something that the CEO of Cherokee Nations Enterprises, David Stewart, said the players wanted.
“Our local players and poker pros from all over the country look forward to this tournament each year,” Stewart stated. “We’ve also listened to what they’ve been saying and made some changes we feel are really positive. We’ve moved the tournament to our second floor grand ballroom, which will allow for more live cash games in the poker room, and we’ve shortened the length of the tournament but added more events each day.”
As preparations continue, the Cherokee Casino poker staff is ready for the onslaught of poker players. “We have pretty much everything in place,” said Chris Hyams, the Tournament Director for the SNPC, to Poker News Daily. “There will be thirty tables in the ballroom for the tournament and any overflow will be down in the poker room. We are also ready to offer cash games in any form of poker in the poker room once tournament players have moved upstairs. We are ready to welcome the players from across the region.”
When asked about some of the changes for this year, Hyams was confident that participants in the tournaments will find them acceptable and attractive. “We have adjusted the blind structures to accommodate local players, who may not be able to miss work by participating in a tournament over several days. We have also cut the Championship Event buy-in down to $3000 from the $5000 in year’s past due in part to the current economy. For our Cherokee Poker Classic in May, where we tested some of these changes, we still had great numbers,” Hyams stated. “We may not beat last year’s record attendance at the SNPC, where we had around 5,500 players and generated around $2.5 million in prize pools, but we will be close to that again this year.”
Single table satellites are currently running for the tournament at the Cherokee Casino poker room that range in cost from $45 to $335 and there will be special Mega Super Satellite days held during the run of the SNPC. Those Mega Super Satellites will cost $340 and will be run on November 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th, with two on November 8th.
The Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge has always drawn some of the top professionals to take part in the Championship Event, which starts on November 9th. California based pros Kido Pham and Nam Le have previously laid claim to the championship and 2007’s version of the SNPC featured one of the most difficult final tables in its history.
On a table that featured the namesake of the tournament, Scotty Nguyen, and top pros Bill Edler and Canadian Gavin Smith, it was one of the old Texas “road gamblers” who captured the top prize. T. J. Cloutier, who has the distinction of winning the most large buy-in tournaments (over $5000) in poker history, added to his legend by taking the championship. Cloutier is expected back to defend his title and a host of other professionals and the best the Mid-South region has to offer will attempt to prevent a repeat from the six-time WSOP bracelet winner.
The Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge V promises to be one of the best values for a poker players bankroll and will present challenges at every turn. For more details on the SNPC V, visit www.cherokeecasino.com for a complete list of the tournament schedules as well as special hotel deals that are available for competitors in the event.
