World Series of Poker Kicks off at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore

World Series of Poker to bring 'small community' of serious players to Horseshoe Casino

Feb 23, 2015, 2:52pm EST

Share on Google +Share on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on TwitterEmail this article 

Print

View Photos

Jaclyn Borowski

The Horseshoe's poker room has 25 tables, and the casino added 45 poker tables in its special event room to accommodate the tournament.

12 photos

Bizspace Spotlight

Sponsor Listing

Sarah Meehan

Reporter-Baltimore Business Journal

Email  |  Twitter  |  Google+

Cards in the air — the World Series of Poker stops in Baltimore this week.

Six months after the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opened its doors, the South Baltimore gaming venue will host the state's first World Series of Poker event. The World Series of Poker Circuit Event kicks off Feb. 26— six months to the day after the Horseshoe's grand opening — and wraps up March 9.

With buy-ins ranging from $365 to $1,675, the circuit events are designed to give recreational and amateur players the chance to participate in the World Series of Poker at a more affordable price. Baltimore is one of 22 stops on the tour, which began in July. Winners from each of the stops' main events — starting March 6 and 7 in Baltimore — gain automatic entry to the WSOP National Championship in Las Vegas in May.

The event comes to the Horseshoe as the venue is augmenting its table game offerings. Demand for table games in Maryland has exceeded expectations, and both the Horseshoe and Maryland Live! Casino recently received permission to replace hundreds of slot machines with table games to keep up with the demand.

The Horseshoe has already added six tables so far, Assistant General manager Alex Dixonsaid. He expects the new tables to be a mix of black jack, craps and poker derivatives.

"It's going to be a mixture, and it's really going to be based upon customer demand," Dixon said.

The WSOP tournament is expected to attract about 2,500 participants from across the country. Anthony Chester, the poker room's manager, declined to project how much additional revenue the series would generate.

The Horseshoe's poker room has 25 tables, and the casino added 45 poker tables in its special event room to accommodate the tournament.

"People will come here who have never been to Baltimore because we're having this event," Dixon said. "There's a small community who just travels around the circuit."

Sarah covers hospitality/tourism, minority business, marketing and new media

from hamptoninn.com

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore Hotel Package

from the Horseshoe Casino Hotel

Hampton Inn Baltimore Downtown Convention Center

550 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland, 21230,  +1-410-685-5000 

Horseshoe Casino Hotel Package includes:

We promise you'll be a winner every time with Hampton's free hot buffet breakfast and Internet access, all complimentary of course.

• Free hotel valet parking
• $25 gift card
• Buffet Breakfast
• High Speed Internet Access
• Horseshoe Casino Shuttle across the street

CLICK HERE to reserve your Horseshoe Casino Hotel Package and enjoy the  World Series of Poker 

Hampton Inn Baltimore Downtown Convention Center

Pet's Always Welcome at Work in Baltimore

from baltimorebusinessjournal.com

Pets are welcome in these Baltimore-area workplaces

Best Places to Work

        Oct 16, 2014, 11:00am EDT

Enlarge Photo

Jeanie Stambaugh, president of NFD Inc., plays with Max, her three-year-old black lab.

Jenn Ladd

Associate Editor- Baltimore Business Journal

Email  |  Twitter

For some workers, it’s a dream: to have a dog in the office, a furry and affectionate friend to check in on periodically.
But in some Baltimore offices, it’s a reality. This year we asked if pets were allowed at our Best Places to Work. A handful reported yes, and some even have them around regularly.
Frank M. Harvey, president of F.M. Harvey Construction in Hunt Valley, likes to bring his dog to work.
Claire Cann, F.M. Harvey’s controller, said Harvey’s Newfoundland is “a teddy bear. I’ve never heard the dog bark ever in my entire life. He literally sleeps at Frank’s feet for the most part.”
There’s no formal policy, but other employees at the small operation are allowed to bring their dogs in, too, if Harvey signs off on it. “He would ask if the dog was housebroken, make sure it’s friendly so there are no problems with employees or people coming in and out of the office,” Cann said.
So far only one employee — the owner of a Chesapeake Bay retriever — has taken the company up on the offer. Cann said there’s never been any problems with either dog: no begging, excessive barking or puddles in the office.
One of the dogs comes to the F.M. Harvey office at least once a week, Cann said. “I kind of like having them around. they make the work atmosphere a little bit more casual and friendly.”
Jeanie Stambaugh, president of NFD Inc., an interior design firm in Hunt Valley, also likes having her dog in the office occasionally. So do her employees.
Someone brings their dog to NFD every two weeks or so. The 10-person firm learned a lesson when it had two dogs visit on the same day.
“We do it on a one-dog-at-a-time basis,” Stambaugh said. They were running circles around the collaborative area, chasing each other.”
Stambaugh preapproves new dogs — “I usually want to know if they’re friendly and if they bark a lot” — and she said employees know when they shouldn’t bring them in, like when a big client is expected.
She’s observed that pets in the office make employees have fun. “Dogs will go over to them and cause havoc sometimes, and they’ll laugh about that.
“We did have somebody one time bring their bird,” Stambaugh said. “The bird was sick, so she wanted to bring it in. It was actually in a cage. Then it would talk every once in a while, so that was funny.”
The policy at NFD, like the one at F.M. Harvey, is informal.
At Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville, employees register their dogs through a volunteer program. There has to be policy around it because of the nature of employees’ work at Oak Crest, said public affairs manager Jeff Getek. But “it’s pretty simple policy.” The dogs’ shots need to be current, and a supervisor has to approve. About 20 dogs are registered with the program.
Residents of Oak Crest are also allowed to have pets, but some — especially in the assisted living and skilled nursing neighborhood — can’t maintain a pet anymore, Getek said. For those people, employees’ pets can be a particular delight.
“It’s a remarkable connection that those dogs can make between an employee and a resident,” Getek said. “It really just brings them joy for a day to be able to pet a dog or just to interact. Dogs are such amazing social animals, and I think they really enrich the lives of residents who get to spend some time around them.”
And employees take pride in their dogs. “We really tend to think that dogs are part of our families,” Getek said. “So to be able to show them off once a week or once a month, it’s just another way to connect with people.”