No matter who you are, and no matter where you play, things are different for poker players today. It used to be said that you needed a great poker face to succeed in poker. Now you can’t even see most of one’s face as many poker rooms have taken the necessary safety measures that need to be taken during a global pandemic.
The Seminole Hard Rock has done exactly this with its Safe+Sound protocols. It takes thorough diligence and effort to create a safe environment for players, while not only maintaining the standard of professionalism that already existed, but being flexible and improving it.
In addition to mandatory mask-wearing, plexiglass has been installed at every table, separating players from each other on both sides while leaving enough room underneath a plexiglass panel in front to allow for normal betting action.
A thorough sanitization process is also in effect for every time a seat is vacated. If a player steps away from his or her seat for even a moment, the dealers have a bottle of hand sanitizer ready to give the player upon returning. If a player is eliminated from a tournament or leaves the seat for good, thorough washing of the glass, rail, and chair is done within minutes.
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With it being the one-year anniversary of the Guitar Hotel grand opening, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Room ran the October Anniversary Special, an $1,100 No-limit Hold’em single re-entry tournament, which boasted a $100,000 guarantee. With two starting days and a player cap of 105 per flight, the guarantee was easily eclipsed as 259 entries generated a prize pool of $251,230.
Among those who participated was Poker Vlogger Brad Owen.
With more than 259,000 YouTube subscribers to his channel and a 2018 GPI People’s Choice Award, Owen’s popularity in the poker community is prevalent. His influence has a far reach, but like everyone else, he has had to adapt to the current times in both the world in general and in poker.
“It’s a big adjustment,” Owen said. “Not just for me, but for everybody. Casinos are trying to do their best to make it a safe environment so they can get people back in the card rooms, and still have it be enjoyable. I think so far most casinos are doing pretty well. The Seminole Hard Rock, in my opinion, is doing the best job out of any property that I’ve been to since the pandemic started.”
Like most people, Owen patiently waited to see what was going to happen specifically with regard to poker during the first few months after Covid-19. Once poker rooms implemented safety procedures, Owen felt comfortable getting back to the tables.
“I’ve probably played about 10 live sessions. The first one was in June, and it was important for me to play a session in order to get content and keep the channel’s momentum going essentially, so I was happy to play and film kind of as soon as we had the green light to do so in Las Vegas, and to show people watching what live poker looks like today.”
Does he feel safe with what he’s seen so far?
“Absolutely,” Owen said. “I’ve been really impressed with what some poker rooms have done, especially here at the Seminole Hard Rock. They really make the players feel safe. I’ve loved everything about the Seminole Hard Rock. It’s been great to come out here and experience these Florida no-limit cash games and tournaments. I haven’t had too many chances to come out here and this is actually only my third time playing in Florida I believe, but I really enjoy it so far. There’s a lot to do. Cool things not only at the Casino but also just around it in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and everything.”
Owen’s run in the October Anniversary Special ended in the middle of Day 1B when a bluff didn’t get through, but that’s just a part of the game and one he’ll talk about on the Vlog.
“Things were going fine, but after I was moved to a new table my Ace-King lost to King-Jack. Then I tried to push a guy off a hand and it didn’t work out, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. It’s been a great experience here.”
Be sure to subscribe to Brad’s YouTube channel to check out his Seminole Hard Rock feature coming soon!