The latter used to be a significant source of income for my spouse and me. It seemed that we had at least one tournanent opportunity on many weekends and sometimes had to scramble to participate in two on the same weekend. For us, the entries to these tournaments we always free, based on our play. Prize pools of $50,000 or more were fairly common, and I was able to play in a few blackjack
tournaments at what was the Las Vegas Hilton (now the Westgate) with prize pools of $100,000. Alas, many of those tournaments have dried up since the recession of 2008.
From the players' point of view, the main problem with playing in a tournament has been the time commitment involved. Typically, you would get an invitation in the mail, to which you would have to respond by phone or e-mail to reserve a place. Then you would have to go to the casio during a specified time, usually a couple of hours during the day before the tournament, to register. At registration you would be assigned your times to play, usually in from two to four sessions during the weekend. Sometimes you would get some choice of when to play (but often sessions were linked so you could pick your morning times but the afternoons times would be set at, say, two hours later in an attempt to keep you in the casino). Sometimes you would have to take the times you were given. Often it was difficult to plan other activities, such as playing in another tournament, around these times.
The M Resort in Las Vegas has come up with what to me is a better tournament format that makes things easier not only for the participants but also for the casino's special events staff. About once a month the casino invites both local and out-of-town players to a slot tournament worth about $35,000 with a $10,000 first prize. The first great thing about these tournaments is that you don't have to call to reserve a spot, which means you also don't have to call if you need to cancel. Your plans can remain flexible right up to the first day of the tournament.
The next great thing is that you don't have to show up in person to register. In fact, you don't have to register at all. But wait, there's more! There are only two sessions, one each on Saturday and Sunday. You can play them any time you want, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Before playing, you print out a ticket at a special tournament kiosk. I sure wish this format had been in effect when we were trying to play in two or more tournaments on some weekends.
Given that the traditional tournament format requires players to spend a lot more time in the casino, you might be wondering why the M would allow players to "hit and run." There are, I think, a couple of anwers. First, players know they won't be invited to these events if they don't maintain a certain level of play. They just don't have to do it on the tournament weekend. Second, the M provides some incentives to get people play during the tournament and on the day before. Starting Friday, players can earn up to two extra entries for Saturday and two for Sunday by earning 1,500 base points on slots or 3,000 on video poker for each extra entry. During the same period they can earn entries in a $5,000 drawing at 5,000 base points per entry. The same base points can count towards the extra tournanent entries and the drawing entries.
The M also has slot or video poker tournaments Tuesdays as part of its seniors' day and Thursdays for everyone. Seniors get one free entry on Tuesdays. On both days, a maximum of five entries can be earned for 250 base points each. Also on both days, you can use these same points toward a free dinner buffet, which requires 1.300 same-day base points on video poker, fewer on reels (you keep the points).
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