If you have the gambling itch as the NCAA men's basketball tournament rolls around this month, well, it's just too bad. Like most of the country, gambling on sports is illegal in Michigan, even at area casinos.
"There was a law that put in effect, voted on by congress in the 1980s, that any state that didn't already have a legalized sports book wasn't allowed to have it," Four Winds Casino General Manager Matt Harkness said. "There is only, I believe, maybe three states that have sports books approved. One place that does is obviously Las Vegas."
So for those of us who are hundreds of miles away from Sin City, this leaves tournament prediction pools, which quite frankly makes March Madness what it is, in the hands of offices, homes and circles of friends.
Law enforcement generally seems to cast a blind eye to the prevalence of this misdeed. However, there is still enough paranoia wafting around that Mark, an employee at a local accounting firm, chose to withhold his last name and place of business when describing his hopes of cashing in some green while watching roughly 48 hours of college hoops.
"It would still be a great tourney and fun to watch, but the pools give everyone, including the casual fan that knows nothing about sports, something to root for in every single game," he said.
Participating in a March Madness pool doesn't necessarily equate you with the hardened sports gambler whose running the risk of having their knee caps busted by an angry bookie.
"I'd say it's a different motivation for different people," Mark said. "I do it just as much for the bragging right as for the money. Others might be in it more for the money."
Casinos aren't just for gambling. Sure, everyone likes to try to double their dough at the tables, but for the music-minded, casinos are a good evening hot spot with an eclectic lineup of touring acts and dance club spins.
Little River Casino Resort injects big-time star power in the coming months with tribute shows. Little River will welcome the Chicago Tribute Authority on March 6 and the Australian Bee Gees Show on March 13. The Manistee casino will cap off the month's headlining entertainment on March 27 with Loverboy (the actual band), which boasts such hits as "Working for the Weekend" and "Turn Me Loose."
On March 26 and 27, Island Resort and Casino will feature former Teen Beat poster boy, Rick Springfield. Previously, acts such as Foreigner and REO Speedwagon have stopped by the Upper Peninsula casino.
Firekeepers Casino (Battle Creek) and Four Winds Casino Resort (New Buffalo) don't reel in big-named acts, but make a point to keep the melodies flowing. Firekeepers offers live music Thursday through Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. at its bar, Kabaret, while DJs take over from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. For a change of pace, Firekeepers brings in comedians on Wednesday nights. Four Winds offers live bands on Friday and Saturdays at Stage Bar.
For the concert-goers that want to lose the junk in their trunks, Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort welcomes the infamous afro of fitness guru Richard Simmons on March 5. International pop icon Engelbert Humperdinck has the unenviable task of following up the spandex-clad Simmons in his March 19 performance.
Soaring Eagle also offers live music in its restaurant, Water Lily Lounge, on Fridays and Saturdays while DJs spin all night Thursday through Sunday at the Talon Sports Bar and Night Club, located in the center of the gaming floor.
Little River Casino Resort
1762 U.S. 31, Manistee
littlerivercasino.com, (231) 398-9114
Chicago Tribute Authority
March 6, 8 p.m., $10-$20
Australian Bee Gees Show
March 13, 8 p.m., $10-$20
March 27, 8 p.m., $10-$20
Firekeepers Casino
11177 Michigan Ave. E, Battle Creek
firekeeperscasino.com, (269) 660-5722
Four Winds Casino Resort
11111 Wilson Road, New Buffalo
fourwindscasino.com, (866) 494-6371
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort
2395 South Leaton Road, Mount Pleasant
soaringeaglecasino.com, (989) 775-7777
March 5, 8 p.m., $10-$25
Engelbert Humperdink
March 19, 8 p.m., $20-$40
Island Resort & Casino
W399 Hwy. 2 & 41, Harris
islandresortandcasino.com, (906) 446-2941
March 12-13, 8 p.m., $27
Rick Springfield
March 26-27, 8 p.m., $32
You sit at a slot machine, gazing longingly at the smooth table players while you mechanically push the button that starts up another round of mismatched numbers or sea animals.
Lance Allen, the director of table games at Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, has a remedy for that.
Among all area casinos, Firekeepers is the only one that offers classes where patrons can learn the ins and outs of a couple table games before hitting the gaming floor.
Firekeepers offers hour-long black jack classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and tutorials for the more complicated game of craps on Mondays and Wednesdays. Classes are always held at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on each respective day.
"We have guests that come in who have said they are a little intimidated in sitting down at a table game," Allen said. "We want to be able to alleviate that intimidation so when a guest walks in, we are willing to provide a full-service facility for them so they can feel comfortable sitting down at a black jack or craps table and feel comfortable with the basic skill set they have."
Allen stressed that the classes create an intimidation-free zone for beginners, and newbies shouldn't feel constrained from hitting the live tables right away.
"One of the easier ways is just to come in at a less-crowded time during the week and, this way, you can have the one-on-one time to speak with the dealer and ask your questions," Allen said. "At any point and time you can ask a question of a dealer or a supervisor. That's part of what we do. We don't expect every guest that walks in the door to know everything about everything we have on the floor."
Part of the reason why many casinos haven't found the need for classes or practice tables is the prevalence of both table game information on the Internet and online casinos. Matt Harkness, general manager of Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, said the only thing a player should walk in with is the very basic knowledge of the game.
"If you have even a rudimentary knowledge of card games, I don't think it's that complicated for a novice player, with a helping hand from the staff, to get started," he said.
Harkness, who started his career as a dealer, hammered home that dealers are service providers, not the competition.
"It's not the place of the dealers to tell you what to with your own money," Harkness said. "But, it's certainly the place of the dealers to help people to get an idea what the best type of approach to play is."
But, for those that just can't get along with others, Harkness has yet another solution.
"A lot of casinos, including ours here, offer electronic games that mimic the actual table games," he said. "It's not on all types of table games. ...We're soon going to have black jack. There is less of, I think, an intimidation because you're playing on a machine and it's more similar to a slot machine."
Black Jack Classes
Firekeepers Casino, Battle Creek
Tuesdays, 11 a.m.; Thursdays, 5 p.m.
Craps Classes
Firekeepers Casino
Mondays, 11 a.m.; Wednesdays, 5 p.m.
firekeeperscasino.com, (269) 660-5722
Heartland Poker tournaments are geared toward the every man and woman who don't have the reinforcement of a hefty bank roll, according to President and Co-founder Todd Anderson.
If you don't believe him, meet John Kurfman. He is the quintessential every man.
Kurfman is a 24-year-old farmer from Illinois. He admits that he hates, and is no good with, media interviews. He enjoys playing poker, but never considered himself a pro by any stretch of the imagination.
Last year, Kurfman's weekend of work on the farm was washed out by rain. To kill time, he made his way to the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in nearby Tama, Iowa to compete in one of HPT's stops. A few days later, Kurfman emerged $84,000 richer after a win in just his second live tournament.
"It didn't really set in what had just happened," Kurfman recounted. "It took like two days before it finally all set in."
Stories like Kurfman's are not uncommon to HPT, which for six years, has built a reputation of being affordable enough for newcomers and amateurs while boasting payouts big enough to catch the attention of poker pros.
The tour paraded its "Real People - Unreal Money" mantra through Mount Pleasant's Soaring Eagle Casino last August and November and will return in May for a tournament, and again in November for the Champion's Open.
"It's really a beautiful property for one thing, so it's always a good experience there," Anderson said of HPT's Mid-Michigan stop. "They have great hotel rooms, excellent restaurants. It's one of the nicer places we go, which is the big draw. Also, the fact it's in the middle of Michigan, it pulls in people from Detroit, Chicago, Northern Michigan. It's a nice location."
Buy-in amounts vary for Heartland tournaments. A buy-in straight to the main event generally runs just over $1,500. However, Anderson stressed that players can enter satellite tournaments with buy-ins as low as $50. Winners of those tournaments are fed into the main event.
"We do more of a tour for the average poker enthusiast," Anderson said. "The whole concept was how we can we create an opportunity for people to participate on a televised poker stage without having to come up with a $5,000 or $10,000 buy-in?"
Main event coverage for Heartland events are broadcast internationally, reaching 100 million homes in the United States. Coverage also reaches Europe and the Caribbean. All this might be intimidating to a newbie, but Anderson assures his events are an excellent starting point.
Soaring Eagle's tournament director and table games shift manager Donald Morrow said the casino brought aboard the tournament after its poker rooms experience great popularity. The previous three installments of HPT events have been welcomed with great success, especially last November's Champion's Open.
"It's definitely big for us," Morrow said. "It really relies on the area. We're not Las Vegas, we don't pretend to be. We offer that style of gaming just on a lower scale. We know times are tough everywhere and it gives the average person a shot to do what they see on TV."
Heartland Poker Tour
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, Mt. Pleasant
May 14-23
Must be 18 or older to play
soaringeaglecasino.com, (989) 775-7777
