One of the most welcomed sites in poker, other than holding the nuts and watching your opponent move all-in, is when a tournament has an overlay. That is, when there is a guaranteed prize pool, but the total buy-ins don’t reach the guarantee, so the casino or tournament organizer must make up the difference. Free money!
But what happens when the casino doesn’t honor the guarantee? Unfortunately, the answer is usually, “nothing.” This exact scenario played out on Monday during the RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix at MGM National Harbor in Maryland.
The ten-event tour stop ran October 27 through November 3. Most buy-ins were under $1,000 and over half of the non-satellite events had guarantees. One such tournament was Event 9, the $2,200 buy-in Purple Chip Bounty, held on the final day of the poker festival. It was the most expensive tournament of the week and advertised a $40,000 guaranteed prize pool.
As $2,000 of the $2,200 went to the prize pool, that means the tournament needed 20 players to hit the guarantee. Unfortunately for MGM National Harbor, just 11 players entered, so the casino (and/or the RunGood Poker Series, whoever was responsible for the guarantee) was on the hook for $18,000, the difference between the $40,000 guarantee and the $22,000 generated by the player buy-ins.
But, as Mac Chatham reported on social media, MGM National Harbor did not honor the guarantee. Andy Huene went on to win the event and claimed the $12,675 first prize. Just one other player cashed: Russ Dunlevy for $6,825.
*This writer is not exactly sure what caused the discrepancy between the total payouts and the expected prize pool. It could be an extra percent taken out for dealers and staff. The Hendon Mob’s database has the tournament listed as $1,700 + $500, but that doesn’t add up, either. Nor do the bounty figures, but none of it really matters for this discussion.
On Wednesday, MGM National Harbor’s Executive Director of Poker Strategy & Development Sean McCormack posted an explanation, saying there was a “mix-up” on the “website calendar,” and “a flyer with the same error briefly circulated, corrected in advance of the event.”
He added, “Correct info was posted in-room, on receipts, and tournament clocks. Appreciate everyone’s understanding.”
Chatham did post a photo of that flyer, commenting that he was told by someone at the casino that the $40,000 guarantee was not listed on the printed paper. He obviously showed that it was and McCormack confirmed it.
The error was never corrected on the website. In fact, it is still there days later.
