[mxp2004]

IMHO, the answer is "no": the 1/2 NL games will not be much different the week of the tournament. The players who pony up $10,000 to enter the main event don't usually sit down at a 1/2 NL game when they bust out. Although, last fall, Steve Zolotow sat down at a 1/2 table next to mine with some young girl that was with him, and then proceeded to take down one huge pot when his draw hit.

I like to go down on the first day of the big Borgata tournaments (i.e., the Winter Open, the Summer Open, and the Borgata Open). Sometimes the Borgata holds the main event right in the poker room, and other times, it sets up tables in a ballroom. When the event is held in the poker room, you can walk right up to the tables and practically stand over the shoulders of your favorite players. When the event is in the ballroom, the Borgata sets up a rail around the perimeter, and you can't see much except for the tables near the edge.

I don't know why they do it differently from time to time (although now that I think about it, I can only remember the main event being in the poker room once). When the game is in the cardroom, the only effect on the cash games is the wait. While you typically never to have wait much for a 1/2 NL table at the B, you can wind up waiting an hour or more when the main event is in the room.

Putting aside the impact on the cash games, I think it's pretty cool to go down on the first day of the event. This really is a major poker tournament and draws nearly all of the players that you see on TV. Last winter, I saw all of the following on the first day: Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nyugen, Vanessa Rousso, John Juanda, Jamie Gold, Gavin Smith, Michael Binger, Paul Wasicka, Men the Master, Tuan Le, Scott Fischman, Carlos Mortensen, David Williams, Ted Forest, Cindy Violette, Kathy Liebert, Barry Greenstein, Jon D'Agonstino, etc. The list really does go on, and almost all of these players were approachable and friendly during the breaks. This is one of the great things about poker that it distinguishes it from other major sports.

Bottom line: the tournament won't have a huge impact on the cash games in terms of competition, but it's a great atmosphere and chance to meet your favorite players.