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On last week’s podcast of Filthy Limper Radio (a podcast I highly recommend you check out) the hosts got into a discussion about Mike Sexton’s recent blog post, particularly Sexton’s denouncement of the way poker players dress at final tables. The hosts were pretty much in agreement that the #1 factor should be comfort, and that if you are playing for the biggest prize of your life this should take precedent over all else.

Now, I touched on this blog last week, but I think it’s a good idea to revisit my initial thoughts on the topic, specifically in terms of the dress code. Normally I agree with the Filthy Limper guys, but on this one we have a major disagreement:

I’m sorry if you don’t want to wear a collared shirt, pants, and at the least sneakers at the final table of a major tournament, but you know what? If you don’t like it go play a cash-game.  You are not entitled to be comfortable at a poker tournament any more than the dealer pitching you cards is entitled to be out of uniform.  If you step foot in a casino you must abide by their rules, and if you enter a tournament you should be aware that there may be additional rules you must adhere to.

Would anyone NOT play in a poker tournament because they required a collared shirt should you be fortunate enough to make the final table??? Comfort goes out the window when you are representing a brand (The WPT or EPT or WSOP) and when you are representing what is supposed to be the best of the poker world.

Poker players may think the job gives them complete independence, but it doesn’t. The argument that you play poker to make your own schedule or to be your own person doesn’t apply either. In any walk of life there are certain rules and structures that must be followed: If you make a reservation at a Michelin Star restaurant and show up in cargo shorts and flip-flops guess what, GET OUT! Don’t care that you are rich, get out! If you show up at a wedding in ripped jeans and a t-shirt don’t be surprised if you are on the receiving end of a lot of shit, and in certain circumstances will be asked to leave.

During the radio show one of the hosts, Johnny Sep, made the observation that poker needs to bring in new, younger, players and viewers, which I totally agree with. He then made the false comparison that nobody has ever gotten famous in poker by wearing a suit, and went on to talk about Phil Laak, Phil Hellmuth and a few other players who are known for their quirky attire. The point is: Would Laak or Hellmuth be any less popular if they wore suits, or simply polo shirts? Aren’t young viewers influenced by what they see on TV anyway, and the manner the pros conduct themselves?

I’m not in favor of forced-suit-wearing, but I think there needs to be a cutoff of what is and isn’t appropriate attire at a final table (and realistically I think any tournament should be able to extend these rules as far out as they want). Is it too much to ask for to maybe an iron to be used on a collared shirt and maybe put on a pair of slacks? What is so uncomfortable about this?

Whether a person wants to look like a scrub is up to them when it comes to shaving and fixing their hair, but at the very least you can at least give off the appearance that you haven’t been awake for 4 days straight and have more personal possessions than the clothes on your back. Hell, you couldn’t even walk into most European casinos wearing that crap.

Aside from the superstars, look at the people who are invited to celebrity TV poker games: Andy Frankenberger, Sam Trickett, Andrew Feldman, and so on. What do they all have in common besides being good poker players? They dress nicely and look professional, it’s not a coincidence. Even guys like Elky, Dwan, Cates, Seiver, Katchalov, Negreanu, and so on dress for the occasion (most of the time). Look at how Gianetti, Ben Lamb, and Phil Collins dressed at the WSOP final table; these guys got it, they understand the situation and that it was an occasion to shave, get a haircut, and throw on a button-down shirt.

Personally, I think if you make a WPT final table and dress in a hoodie, cargo shorts, hat, sunglasses and flip-flops you are already -EV in terms of sponsorship dollars. Pius Heinz is lucky he won, because he looked like an a-hole with the hood pulled over his head, same with Duhamel the year before (although Duhamel gets it now as evidenced by his PokerStars Big Game attire).

Nobody is calling for a poker world full of Tony Dunst’s and Marcel Luske’s, where whatever you want on Day’s 1-4 of a tournament or when playing cash-games, but is it too much to ask that you dress nicely WHEN you make a final table?

This week Daniel Negreanu took a more positive approach to his weekly rant, spending much of the over 20-minute long vlog listing the top female poker players in the game. Negreanu separated the ladies into three different groups, listing some old-school players, some up-and-coming talent, and the four women he feels are at their top of their game right now.

Getting the nod in the old-school department were Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Cyndi Violette; for up -and-coming players Negreanu threw out two names, Annette Obrestad and Melanie Weisner; and for the top four players he listed Liv Boeree, Vanessa Selbst, Maria Ho, and Vanessa Rousso.

Daniel listed each woman’s poker skills, including making a distinction between tournament and cash-game players (with Violette, Maria Ho, and Jen Harman falling primarily into the cash-game category) as well as their marketability and even their work-ethic.

While I think Daniel’s list is pretty spot-on, let me list a few other players who deserve to be mentioned in this conversation. You can check out Daniel’s vlog at his YouTube Channel at the following link: Weekly Rant

Old School Players:

Barbara Enright – Enright was one of the first female poker players to compete with the boys, and is still the only female player to ever make the final table of the WSOP Main Event. Enright has been competing in tournament poker since the mid-1980′s and has amassed nearly $1.4 million in career tournament earnings. Barbara is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner (one an open-event-win and the other a Ladies tournament victory) an accomplishment dwarfed only by her 5^th place finish in the 1995 Main Event.

JJ Liu – JJ Liu is a tournament grinder! With over $2.5 million in career tournament earnings JJ has been putting up results for years. Perhaps only JJ’s hat collection exceeds her poker skills. JJ has two WPT final tables, including a second-place finish, as well as a third-place finish in a WSOP tournament, and wins at the DeepStacks Extravaganza IV and the 2005 World Poker Challenge in Reno.

Up-and-Coming Players:

Xuan Liu – Liu is one of the hottest poker players in poker at the moment (in terms of looks and skills) including a 3^rd place showing at the EPT San Remo and a  4^th place finish at the 2012 PCA. Overall Liu has booked more than $1.2 million in career tournament earnings, most of which coming in the past year.

La Sengphet – Sengphet has been a dominant force on the WSOP Circuit Series, after rededicating herself to poker in 2009; Sengphet has won almost $280,000 in tournaments, despite playing in mostly smaller buy-in tournaments.

Established Pros:

Sandra Naujoks – The Black Mamba has an EPT Championship on her resume and over $1.7 million in tournament earnings.

Victoria Coren – Coren has booked nearly $1.5 million in career tournament earnings and is a major part of poker media in the UK.

There were already plenty of online tournament series on the horizon, with PokerStars SCOOP tournament series coming soon, as well as the second major online tournament series hosted by Lock Poker the LockOps tournament series; now players can also choose to play in the Party Poker Pokerfest II.

The Party Poker Pokerfest will be a 47 tournament series that will take place from the 22^nd of April until the 6^th of May; when the $1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event is scheduled to run. Altogether the Party Poker Pokerfest II is guaranteeing $3.5 million in prize-pools, making it one of the largest poker tournament series in the site’s history.

Party Poker will also be running special jackpot prizes for players who manage some exceptional feats during the tournament series, as well as the usual leader-board contest.

Here is a look at the Jackpot prizes Party Poker is offering:

• Win any three Pokerfest II tournaments: $20,000 + $14,000 WSOP 2012 prize package
• Final table in any 10 Pokerfest II tournaments: $15,000 + iPad
• Final table in any five Pokerfest II tournaments: $7,500 + iPad
• Finish in the money in any 20 Pokerfest II tournament: $5,000 + iPad
• Finish in the money in any 10 Pokerfest II tournaments: $2,500 + iPad

Pokerfest II will feature three separate leader-boards (one for events with Party Point buy-ins, low buy-in events, and one for high buy-in events):

• The Party Points leader-board will award a total of $2,500 with the top 250 finishers receiving a prize. The Top prize of $250 will go to the winner of the leader-board at the end of the series.
• The Low-Buy-In leader-board ($6-$33) will award a total of $15,000 with the top 500 finishers receiving a prize. The Top prize of $1,250 will go to the winner of the leader-board at the end of the series.
• The High-Buy-In leader-board will award a total of $32,500 with the top 500 finishers receiving a prize. The Top prize of $2,500 will go to the winner of the leader-board at the end of the series.

Here is a look at the complete Party Poker Pokerfest II schedule:

For more information on Pokerfest II you can visit the Party Poker website at www.partypoker.com

Mike Sexton’s recent column has really touched a nerve in the poker industry, and perhaps no exchange better illustrates this than the Twitter debate between Matt Savage and WSOP bracelet winner Sean Getzwiller.

Getzwiller was making some valid arguments (one I happen to disagree with, but still valid) up until he questioned Mike Sexton’s perspective on the matter, and whether he was in a position to call out the players, so to speak. Getzwiller made the following comments during the back and forth with Savage:

“Mike has become a rich man from the Outside of poker.he shld respect the players that r in the poss he once was”

“Aren’t u selling”Never Lose a Dime Playing Poker Again”4WPT Website? What have u given back to players that made ur career?” [bold mine]

And here is the flawed logic of some poker players. You did not bring the game to the level it is, the game brought you to this level. I have been a part of the poker community since before the poker boom, and let me tell Sean Getzwiller and all the other younger players that if you think it’s hard to get a game post-Black Friday, or that the poker economy is hurting right now, you should have seen what it was like pre-Moneymaker!

If Sean Getzwiller thinks Mike Sexton is throwing him under a bus because he doesn’t make his money directly at the tables, he doesn’t understand the recent history of this game. Mike Sexton is far more responsible for the success of modern players than Sean Getzwiller, or even Daniel Negreanu, is for Mike Sexton’s success.

Mike Sexton ushered in the potential for $1 million tournaments and high-stakes cash-games across the country. Pre-WPT and Chris Moneymaker card-rooms were closing their doors faster than online sites were opening. The WPT, partly due to Mike Sexton, changed all of that, and totally changed the way poker was viewed by the general public.

The people “Outside” of poker, the Mike Sexton’s, Matt Savage’s, and Henry Orenstein’s are more than credible when it comes to speaking up about player behavior or actions. This a self-policing game and people like Mike Sexton, who is a Poker Hall of Famer, have every right to speak his mind, and whether you agree with them or not, their words should carry weight.

Poker is not popular because of the players, players are popular because of poker, and this is something I don’t think enough young players understand. It doesn’t matter who is sitting at the WSOP Main Event final table (as we saw when Phil Ivey or Mike Mizrachi were there) people are going to tune in because of the game and the enormous prize-money.

Here is a look at more of the exchange between Savage and Getzwiller:

Matt Savage: Really? @SeanGetzPoker say what you want about @MikeSexton_WPT’s article but to ask him “what have you given back” is beyond ridiculous!

Sean Getzwiller: @SavagePoker @MikeSexton_WPT Mike has become a rich man from the Outside of poker.he shld respect the players that r in the poss he once was

Matt Savage: @SeanGetzPoker Please talk to @MikeSexton_WPT or hundreds that know him. I guarantee you he has never forgotten his roots or where he’s been

Sean Getzwiller: @SavagePoker “Giving Back” and “Directly Profiting” are two very dif things. I’ll just have to be the “bad guy” for speaking up I guess

The $100k+ buy-in Manilla millions High-Roller tournament is looking like it might be one of the best-attended High-Roller tournaments in poker history, despite not being part of a major international tournament. The tournament will take place during the Asian Poker Tour stop in the Philippines, but that isn’t stopping a slew of top poker talent from making the trek to Manila, which at last count had 30 entrants.

Even with the last-minute withdrawal of Sam Trickett from the event the tournament will feature some of the biggest names in poker, all willing to put up the $1 million HKD buy-in (which equates to about $112,000 USD).  The tournament is scheduled to take place on April 20^th, 2012, and appears to be a one-day event, giving the amateur players a better shot at taking home a win than a slower-structured event which favors the professional poker players.

According to the Asian Poker Tour website, “Elton Tsang, Anson Wong, and Devan Tang, as well as AsianLogic’s Tom Hall, Asian Poker Tour founder Chris Parker, and the Poker King Club’s Winfred Yu,” will be playing in the tournament, as will poker superstars Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan.

A number of other players have expressed interest in the tournament including Andrew Robl, Sam Trickett (who announced he would not be making the trip to Manila earlier today), Johnny Chan, Jonathan Duhamel, and John Juanda. Other potential participants include some of the better-known players who are confirmed for the APT Philippines Main Event like Aussie Millions champ Oliver Speidel, JC Tran and Nam Le.

With reports already putting the total number of entrants at 30, the tournament could very well get to 40 and possibly 50 entrants by the time it gets underway Friday. And with a mix of poker pros and wealthy businessmen the tournament could be looking like a +EV event to many of the younger talented poker pros on the circuit.

Here is a look at the press release issued a few weeks ago for the tournament:

“April 10, 2012 – The Asian Poker Tour has announced the creation of a new ‘Manila Millions’ super high roller poker tournament to be held during APT Philippines at Resorts World Manila on Friday April 20, 2012. Presented jointly by APT and Resorts World Manila, the Manila Millions will feature a HKD $1 million (USD $129,000) buy-in, which will make it the largest buy-in tournament ever witnessed in Asia.

“The prestigious event is set to take place amidst the luxurious surroundings of Resorts World Manila’s Genting Club. Early expectations are there will be around 25-30 players parting with the HKD $1 million buy-in for the Manila Millions and a number of top professionals have already confirmed their attendance. These include Phil Ivey and Tom “durrrr” Dwan, along with other big names to be announced soon.”

For more information on the Manila Millions or the APT you can head over to the Asian Poker Tour website

Occasionally you’ll see a World Poker Tour or European Poker Tour final table that looks like an all-star lineup of poker players, but this isn’t an everyday occurrence at the smaller regional events like the WSOP Circuit Series or the heartland Poker Tour.  That was until the final table of the most recent HPT Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With a final table that included five of the top young poker players in the game, it was 2011 WSOP November Niner Phil “USCPhildo” Collins who came out victorious, outlasting Matt Marifioti, Leo Wolpert, Dan O’Brien, and Steve “gboro780″ Gross, as well as the lesser known but just as formidable Terry Pressley.

Collins, best known for his online skills prior to his epic run at the 2011 WSOP Main Event, picked up his first major live tournament victory, and after besting the field of almost 200 other top-notch players it seems like USCPhildo is looking at a repeat performance at the upcoming WSOP.

Collins beat another online star in Matt Marifioti, but the youngster has quietly amassed nearly $2 million in career live tournament earnings as well.

Steve Gross is still looking for his first live tournament victory, although he has cashed for over $800k in the live tournament arena -far from the millions he has won online though.

Dan O’Brien is yet another online poker pro turned live tournament pro, closing in on $1.5 million in career earnings. O’Brien made two WSOP final tables in 2011, his third WSOP final table overall.

Leo Wolpert is a WSOP bracelet winner (which he won at the 2009 WSOP in the $10k Heads-Up Championship) who has career tournament winnings of over $900k.

Terry Pressley was the only unknown entity at the final table, but if his performance was any indication this may be the beginning of a solid tournament career.

1.       Phil Collins — $71,556

2.       Matt Marafioti — $41,570

3.       Steve Gross — $25,897

4.       Leo Wolpert — $22,489

5.       Dan O’Brien — $17,173

6.       Terry Presley — $14,666

The final table nearly included another well-known poker pro, as Dutch Boyd, one of the first players to be featured on ESPN’s coverage of the 2003 WSOP finished in 7^th place, missing the “official” final table by a single spot.

The Heartland Poker Tour has been chugging along since Black Friday, one of the few tournament series that seems to have been unaffected by the online poker shutdown in the United States. The HPT has also managed to survive after being purchased by the Epic Poker League. Thed sale was never completed, and despite owing the HPT millions of dollars the Epic Poker League is still technically the owner of the HPT -at least until the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is sorted out.

Becoming a successful poker player is a journey that requires a lot of hard work and experience. Players need to study the math of the game, learn the theories and concepts, and spend plenty of time studying their stats, their opponents’ stats, and staying up-to-date on the latest poker talk.

All that said, there are also thing you can do to increase your bottom line that take little effort at all. In this article I’m going to detail five different things that any poker player can do, but the vast majority of players simply disregard.

Here are the five things you can do to instantly improve your bottom line playing poker:

1. Check the tables
2. Take a walk
3. Just pay attention
4. Reevaluate the table
5. Keep notes

Number one on the list is to check the tables, which I’ll discuss now.

Check the tables

This seems simple enough, but most players (especially in live poker where wait-lists are long and seats are scarce) simply jump into the first available game and seat that falls within their range of poker formats and stakes. Players simply don’t want to lose an hour of playing time waiting for a seat to open up in a juicier game when they could be playing poker NOW.

The problem is that taking a bad seat, or sitting in a bad game could cost you well more than an hour of your time. If you sit in the first available seat and you very well could be sitting in a break-even game. On the other hand, if you scout out the tables beforehand and choose only the most profitable tables (even if the wait time will be significantly longer) that lost hour will more than be made up for by the end of the night.

Another trick I use is to ask the dealers I know if they are dealing any good games or if you are friendly with a floor-person the same question could pay off big time.

You can generally get a feel for the table dynamic in less than 10 hands. Here are a few things to look for:

• Upbeat players and pleasant table-talk

This is the universal sign of a good game. Quiet players and stern looks are the hallmarks of serious players.

• A lot of chips on the tables

A lot of chips on the table mean two things: First, the table is not overrun with nits and short-stackers. Second, people are more likely to take chances when they are up, opposed to when they are trying to find a spot to get the remainder of their chips in the pot.

• Look to see what the players are drinking

This takes all of 10 seconds; look around the table and see who is drinking and who isn’t, and pay particular attention to the players who have been drinking to see if you can tell how much they have imbibed.

• The bigger the pot the better

If you stand behind a table for five hands and every pot is half a rack of chips you are likely looking at a good game. If on the other hand, the action is tame and the pots are barely above the minimum rake, you are looking at a rock garden.

• Signs of new players

New players are easy to spot and are a sure sign that the game is good. There are the obvious signs of fumbling chips and such, but with so many internet players this isn’t as reliable as it once was. Better ways to identify new players is to look for players who do not know the rules, players that ask the dealer game-play questions and players that telegraph their folds.

• Are the players observant of one another?

After a few hands you should be able to spot which players are observant of their opponents and which players could simply care less. A table full of sunglasses wearing players staring at their opponents’ every move, all looking at their hole-card in turn is a really bad sign.

The Party Poker Big Game is one of the most ambitious undertakings in televised poker. The game, a 48-hour cash game with a revolving group of players starts off like any televised cash-game; a full table of high-stakes poker players ready to battle in a game $25/$50 NLHE with a forced $100 straddle, but soon thereafter the Party Poker Big Game takes on a life of its own.

The first wrinkle is that after every hour a player is voted off by viewing public, which means the players (if they want to keep playing) need to be splashing around in pots and entertain the viewers. The next wrinkle is that players can come and go as they please, leaving the game and rejoining later on by adding their name to the waiting list. Additionally, once the original roster has been depleted ANYONE can pull up a chair and play in the game, whether you are Phil Hellmuth or some random player with $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket.

This year the lineup included a number of the biggest names in poker including Phil Laak, Tony G, Roberto Romanello, Scott Seiver, Daniel Cates, and Alec Torelli. Torelli and Laak both found themselves involved in two of the biggest pots of the game, and Tony G made one of the craziest calls I’ve ever seen in poker.

Here is a look at two of those pots:

Tony G calls with Queen High

The world known Tony G doesn’t like to fold, but during the Big Game the Party Poker spokesman thought very little of calling a river bet with just Queen High. Needless to say this wasn’t a matter of Tony channeling the late Stu Ungar (who made an infamous WINNING call with just Ten High) as it more seemed like Tony just wanted to see his opponent’s cards, as the pot wasn’t overly large or dramatic.

Phil Laak mucks the winning hand

In one of the crazier moments in televised poker history, Phil Laak found himself all-in against AK holding just A6. What made the hand so bizarre was Phil’s reluctance to turn over his hand. Phil actually caught a 6 on the turn to take the lead, but when his opponent turned over his hand Phil inexplicably mucked the winner!

Making the hand all the more interesting was a side bet between Alec Torelli, Scott Seiver, and Tony G over whether Phil had the best hand or not. There is no word yet on how the three settled the bet since technically Phil had the best hand, but he mucked it making it the loser!

It should be noted there is some talk regarding whether or not Phil did in fact have A6, since the hole card cam did not explicitly show the viewers the hand, but the announcers assured us that he did in fact have A6, and Phil later said the same thing.

As we roll into the one-year anniversary weekend of Black Friday, the shutdown of the three largest US-friendly poker rooms that occurred last April 15 has been on everyone’s mind. From players wondering if they will ever receive the estimated $300 million owed by Full Tilt Poker to poker advocacy groups fighting for legalization and regulation in the US, there are still many issues unfolding in the wake of Black Friday.

Two of these groups have been making big pushes during the Black Friday anniversary, the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). The AGA has been contacting members and supporters and laying out the groundwork for their continued lobbying efforts, while the grassroots PPA has been urging members to “Never Fold” and continue contacting their elected representatives.

A visit to the PPA website directs poker advocates to the following message along with a video by Representative Joe Barton (R-TX):

“One year ago, U.S. government action resulted in the shutdown of major U.S.-facing poker websites. To mark the anniversary of this day and to send the message to our elected representatives that we demand action on legislation to license online poker, let’s all tell Congress that the poker players and enthusiasts of this great nation will never fold in the fight for the right to play America’s favorite card game!”

As always, the PPA has provided an easy to use contact letter, allowing pro-poker-minded people to quickly let their representatives in Congress know where they stand on the issue of legalizing and regulating online poker.

Here is a look at a statement issued by Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), on the Anniversary of Black Friday:

“On Friday, April 15, 2011, the FBI shut down the websites of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker charging the companies and several of their executives with money laundering and bank fraud. This Sunday marks the one year anniversary of that date, dubbed “Black Friday” by those in the online poker business. Yet, in spite of Department of Justice (DOJ) action against several other illegal Internet gambling companies in the year since, hundreds of illegal, offshore Internet sites are still operating.

“As long as these sites are operating outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement and with little to no regulation, the millions of Americans who continue to patronize them will be at risk of being defrauded. After a year of Congressional inaction, the fact remains: Until the U.S. changes existing laws to ensure that only licensed, taxed, and highly regulated companies can operate in the U.S. it is certain that illegal activities will go largely unchecked.

“In order to correct this situation, Congress needs to adopt changes that modernize and strengthen the Wire Act of 1961 with conforming amendments to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that would unambiguously eliminate illegal Internet gambling.

“It is also essential that current law be modified to establish federal guidelines so there will be consistent regulations for online gambling in all states that choose to authorize it.  Such federal guidelines would keep minors from gambling online, prevent fraud and money laundering, address problem gambling and ensure players aren’t being cheated. Without a federal overlay, there will be a patchwork quilt of rules and regulations that will prove confusing for customers and difficult for law enforcement to manage.”

For more information on the AGA you can visit their website at www.americangaming.org

After passing landmark legislation that will see three mega-casinos built in Massachusetts the state has now put together a panel of five people that will review all of the proposed locations for the casinos. A single casino will be located in Southeastern Massachusetts, in the Boston-area of the state, as well as out in the Western portion of the state.

One of the proposed licenses, in the Southeastern area of the state, will give the Wampanoag Tribe first crack at securing the license; however there are now two competing factions for the Southeastern location.

Each proposed location will have to pass a local referendum by a 2/3 margin before the panel will even review the location. This referendum will definitely need a major lobbying effort in order to convince area residents to vote in favor of bringing a mega-casino into their area; as the saying goes, “Everyone wants to be able to go to a casino, but nobody wants it in their backyard.” Here is a look at some of the proposed locations, as well as the casino groups that are behind them:

Proposed Southeastern Boston Casino Locations:

• Freetown/Lakeview, Massachusetts – Wampanoag Tribe
• Taunton, Massachusetts – Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Proposed Boston Area Casino Locations:

• Foxborough, Massachusetts – Wynn Casinos
• Suffolk Downs, Boston, Massachusetts – Caesar’s Entertainment
• Milford, Massachusetts – David Nunes, Land Developer

Proposed Western Massachusetts Casino Locations:

• Palmer, Massachusetts – Mohegan Sun
• Springfield, Massachusetts – Ameristar Casinos
• Brimfield, Massachusetts – MGM Resorts
• Hard Rock and Penn National are also looking at locations in Western Massachusetts

The three front-runners at the moment include the Suffolk Downs/Caesars collaboration; the Freetown/Lakeview proposal by the Wampanoag Tribe; and the Mohegan Sun proposal in Palmer, MA.

Major concerns for area residents, and likely stumbling points when it comes to the referendum vote, will be traffic and of course the stigma that casinos increase crime rates and are bad for the economy -both of which are very debatable points, but often cited by opponents of casinos.

The panel that will oversee the process includes the following five people according to the Boston.com:

“The new members are James F. McHugh, who served on both the Superior Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 1985 until his retirement earlier this year, and Bruce Stebbins, the business development administrator for the city of Springfield. Stebbins is a former Springfield city councilor and was an aide to former president George H.W. Bush, according to a biography supplied by the state.”

“The new members join chairman Steve Crosby, appointed by Patrick; former New Jersey Lieutenant Colonel Gayle Cameron, appointed by Coakley; and Enrique Zuniga, appointed by Grossman, on what is formally known as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.”