Blackjack Insider Newsletter, March 2004, #50

Today was the first day of play in the Stardust tournament. One of the main reasons I'm in Las Vegas this week was a report that the Stardust event was short quite a few players, and might provide a big overlay as a result. That is, the prize money might be much higher than the total entry fees.

Well, it's true that the Stardust was having trouble filling up this event, and as a result they changed the format a little, and dropped the prize pool from $135K to $100K. However, the event is now full at a revised limit of 200 players. The first place prize stayed the same as the advertised $75K, but all the other prizes were reduced. Second place in the tournament pays $10K.

This tournament has an entry fee of $375, which is not too bad for a shot at winning $75K. However, there's another factor that can make this an expensive play. Each round is played with live money, and each player must buy-in for $600 in cash for each round. Whatever chips you win are yours to keep, but likewise whatever you lose is real money.

The initial round has 6 players at each table. Each round is 30 hands, dealt face down from two decks. Betting limits for each hand are $5 to $300 and the two highest chip totals advance to round two. Players who don't advance can buy a reentry if available, for $175. There were apparently supposed to be guaranteed reentries available, but that didn't happen. Some players were unable to reenter, while at least one player played three times. That's happened before at the Stardust, and it's been a complaint of many players. It looks like they still haven't resolved this issue.