The buy-ins are much lower throughout the tournament than they were in FW's
December tournament. Out of the 10 events that are scheduled 4 can be entered
with a $220 buy-in and 3 can be entered for $120.
It looks like FW, by stretching it out for 10 nites, may be trying to turn a
relatively wimpy tournament into a "get the gamblers here and they'll blow it
on our profitable tables" tournament.
In any event ...
You will probably not see too many of the Vegas and California pros there
since the entry fees (thus the payoffs) do not make the trip worthwhile. So
the competition won't be as tough as that you may have seen in the December
event.
But be aware that the locals will all be there in force. And many of them
can make a stand against the best in the business. Here are a few names to
keep an eye on (an admittedly personal ranking):
Mike Salem
Ernie Romano
Billy Dalton (Vegas based, but spends a lot of time at FW)
Domenic Apostolico
Peter Strear
David (Sudsy) Sudkin
Peter Aborn
Howie Tolman
Burt Bramble (uneven, but he DOES win a lot of local tournaments)
Thomas (T.C.) Yerrington (a former dealer at FW)
Jeff Albert
Alan Miller
Gil Koss
Vicki Cattel
Frank Sordi (one of the more solid middle stakes players)
Rosie Musumeci
Robbie Johnson
As I said earlier, this is a personal ranking; my apologies to those who
deserve to be on this list who have escaped my notice.
While I don't expect to see a lot of Vegas/West Coast/Gulf Coast people here,
always be aware that Jim Boyd (Martinsburg WV) loves Foxwoods ... and Jimmy
can take it all.
Plus there has been a HUGE presence, and some serious contenders, from the
Maryland/DC area. A few years ago I had to ask why so many GREAT players
were coming from the beltway ... but that was B4 I knew about the sanctioned
poker venues in Maryland.
Bill Alan