Great showing guys! Monkey 2, Billy 3, Jonny 4. How about a round of applause for three of our own representing!!!!
Don't know if everyone noticed but all good things are coming to an end. New management new rules. Next tournament in June is not going to guaranteed. The prize pool will be seeded prize pool based on entries. No more $50.00 for play now it will be 3 $10.00 match play vouchers. No more cash back mailers it will all be credits on your card. No more gas vouches . Just could not get the players to show and keep this going.
I'm signing off for the night, but I wanted to tell my three buddies how awesome it was to see all three of you great guys/great players on the final table together. I felt for Jonny as he calmly stayed ahead of the pack until the last couple of hands when he was dealt junk. Pro betting/play to build a lead, just lousy luck at the end.... Monkey and Billy both played like pros as well. Monkey nailed a Blackjack and Billy won a gutsy double on the last hand to earn their positions. Nice work guys!! Look forward to the next one.
Members of this site have done very well at the Kewadin events over the years. A clear demonstration that skill and experience overcome the luck factor in the end. Congratulations to all three of you. Well done and well deserved!
Thanks, guys, Always a lot of fun to see the old buddies at Kewadin events, and being lucky enough to make the final table (doubling on 12 and catching a 9 with a max bet in the semis) with Billy and Monkey was about as fun as it gets.
Thanks, guys! It was a great weekend, for sure... my best finish ever at Kewadin. Next time we'll make it a clean sweep for the bjt.com family!
Even though I finished third rather than first, this was the funnest final table I've EVER been on. Playing against two good friends in a final is a really fun experience. The other four guys at the table were all pleasant fellows, too. Thanks to Cadillac Tim for his extra support (pics, postings, etc. while he watched all 42 hands) for us 3 BJT members. Also, thanks to the others offering congrats here. Much appreciated! Billy C
Has anyone signed up for the 4/24 Sault Ste. Marie event yet? Wife called yesterday and was told things have changed (again). $200 entry fee (per person) includes 3 match plays and 2 $7 food vouchers. No option to include hotel room any longer. (WTH?). Rooms will be at current rate or comped based on play? I want to call myself to confirm but from the listing on their website, it seems to be true. We were told that the prize pool was being seeded at $250 per entrant while at St. Ignace but it would appear that this tourney is only at $175/player? Anyone else hear the same story? Thanks, Pill
Sadly, what you see is what you get. I've gotten a few stories from others, some minor variations but essentially similar. They've been steadily downgrading the tournament package for years and the entry counts have steadily declined in response. It's been a vicious cycle - they downgrade, entries drop, they downgrade again in response, and so on. This time they gutted it and it's probably the death knell for our beloved Kewadin BJT's. P.S. The rooms are being charged at an astounding $90 per night. I don't play the game of paying for a room and hoping they will comp all or part of it later, been burned on that deal far too many times.
I just spoke with Ron yesterday. The tournament entry is $200, $175 of which goes into the prize pool and there is no guaranteed prize pool or first place prize, whereas before the prize pool was guaranteed at $30K and $200 from each player went into the prize pool. We get two $7 food coupons plus the Friday night buffet in the tournament area, so they've done away with the $14 food coupon. They've replaced the $50 cashback for getting 200 points or 4 hrs. with three $10 match plays for the same play level. They no longer cover our rooms, for which we will now be charged $90/night. I told Ron that I would call him back after shopping for a room in town, if I could find a better deal. The room is the deal breaker here, as far as I'm concerned. I won't be driving eight hours each way and paying $180 for a mediocre room for a $175 seeded tournament. The casino manager they hired from the Tropicana to run their operations at Kewadin has a lot to learn about running a Native casino in the Midwest. I hope he either changes his tune or they let him go. Maybe he wants to intentionally discourage us traveling players and turn this tournament into something for locals.
I wish I had time to say more on this but I'm in the midst of selling my business right now. I WILL say that what the new Kewadin "bean counter" is doing is total horse****!!!!!!!!!!! Let's all do the April event and make it perfectly clear that it's our LAST time playing unfavorable tourney conditions. I'm going to the awards event in early April and I intend to meet and talk TO this new fellow and I do mean--------talk TO!!! I actually fear that there may not even be an April tourney and my pessimistic self says that (both Kewadin and Tama) will never restart cancelled tournaments and I hate that distinct possibility. Billy C
We fans of the Kewadin tournaments can coordinate amongst ourselves to share rooms and split the cost. Nothing says we have to stay at the casino hotel at $90/night either. There are rooms out in town on Priceline for substantially less than that.
I cannot be there now. There were two important things for me to do that weekend, one being to take my Mom someplace she really wanted to go. No way to do both. When the word came down on the Kewadin changes, I committed to the Mom thing and can't back out of that now.
I was debating attending the banquet. When Ron called I told him maybe. I think I will go and like Billy voice my opinion. The banquet seems to be a better place to voice our concerns than that the tournament when you don't even know if the new guy will be there.
We have been denied an invite to the banquet by Ron. Also, Jim got an invite to the banquet and the rooms are not included! At least that is what he was told, they said he could use his comps to cover the room though. Does anybody even know if the banquet will be giving away the magnitude of prizes as in years past? Or have these been cut also? I did look on the website under booking to see room rate and with Northern Rewards membership the rooms are $72/night for the tourney weekend in April. We won't be driving 850 round trip to the SOO for anymore tournies with these cuts. 100 entrants x $175 x 30% for 1st = $5,250 is not worth my time or effort. We are going to wait and see what shakes out at Sault Ste. Marie in June. Other than this, if we have a camping trip planned to the area we might partake in an event. I'm with Monkey on this, seems they are being geared more toward a locals event without the lodging, maybe that's the intent? Pill
