FTP Winners Choice Sat: Which would you choose?

[Superfluous Man]

On Saturday, I won a Full Tilt Winners Choice satellite, so I get to choose one of five 10k buyin donkaments. So, here's a thinly-veiled brag post in which you see if I have my thinking straight about where I should play. The choices are:

9/15-18: Borgata Poker Open
Pros: Only like a 5 hour drive away, and the Borg is my favorite place to play in AC. It's in AC, so the field should be big and soft. A group of my friends might be planning a trip to AC that weekend anyway, so I could hang out with them then.
Cons: It's WPT (this applies for all but one event, I guess) and thus there's that whole waiver issue. Playing the event might make me inaccesible to hang out with said friends during the duration of the weekend.

10/3-10/7: United States Poker Championship
Pros: Driving distance again. Soft field again. Not WPT, so the waiver issue is moot.
Cons: I've never liked the Taj, but after I bust I can go gamble at the Borg anyway.

10/15-10/19: Festa Al Lago
Pros: Probably will be very well-run, as the Bellagio is a classy joint all around. It's hard not to have fun in Vegas. The weather should be nicer, as opposed to unbearably hot like it was during the WSOP.
Cons: Tougher field. I'd actually have to fly to Vegas, which would cost money and involve all the lines and [censored] that flying entails.

10/25-10/29: North American Poker Championship
Pros: I'd get to hang out with all the cool under-21 people who play poker and wouldn't get to play other events.
Cons: Crossing the border is a bitch. This is also probably like a 10 hour drive. Who knows if the casino will run the tournament competently?

11/11-11/16: Foxwoods World Poker Finals
Pros: Huge field, thus huge prize pool. Probably also a very soft field because they run tons of sats for it (I think; maybe "Jackpot Jay" Lovinger was trying to get into some other donkament). Also, I've never been to Foxwoods and should visit it at some point. Oh, and since it's the latest tournament on this list, I'd have more time to practice playing live and perhaps stop being a damned tellbox.
Cons: Longish drive (8-9 hours or so). WPT waiver stuff.

As of now, I'm leaning towards the Borgata tournament, but I could possibly be persuaded otherwise by good arguments.

Anyway, feel free point out stuff I'm overlooking (such as cost of hotel and any other factors regarding the individual casinos, how the tournaments are run, and how the fields are). I probably missed a bunch of stuff.

[tubasteve]

[censored] the wpt i voted uspc

[MaizeNBlue]

USPC. The TV coverage is a nice added plus, and considering the size of it, lots of folks get on TV.

[TomHimself]

uspc if its televised again this year. very good strucuture too. 20k with 25/50 to start i think

If an enjoyable vacation is your top priority, then go with Festa Al Lago (I assume they put you up in the Bellagio for this)?

If TV coverage is your top priority, then go with the USPC, obviously.

If having a beer with me is your top priority, then go with the Borgata Poker Open.

[professormike]

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[censored] the wpt i voted uspc

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[THEOSU]

bellagio and borgata are clearly the nicest places on the list.

the USPC is probably the best structure on the list.

foxwoods will have the biggest prize.

the NAPC might really, really suck.


IMO it depends what your priorities are. The NAPC is right out for anybody who either 1) is 21 or older or 2) doesn't live in the area. Other than that, though, any of the choices make sense depending on your criteria.

[Superfluous Man]

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USPC. The TV coverage is a nice added plus, and considering the size of it, lots of folks get on TV.

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Meh, getting on TV isn't really a goal of mine; it's actually more of a necessary evil of going deep. Both times I was on TV it ended in embarrassment and deep psychological trauma. If anything, the possibility of being on TV without already having won a bunch of money is a disincentive.

[Superfluous Man]

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uspc if its televised again this year. very good strucuture too. 20k with 25/50 to start i think

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I didn't think about structure at all; I'll have to look into it. I'm sure that they all start out with at least 150 BBs and 90 minute levels, right?

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Both times I was on TV it ended in embarrassment and deep psychological trauma.

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Trip report?