For players in the World Tavern Poker league, it’s time to fold ’em.
After eight years, local league play ended last month, with a potluck at the final night’s competition.
As many as 48 players converged on the Harbor Bar at one time for tournaments held twice weekly during the peak of league play.
“We’ve had some great times down there. We had a Canadian film crew in a few years back, and they said, ‘This is magical,’” said bar owner Mike Ward, who also served as tournament director and game referee.
The league started in 2006, during the rise in popularity of “Texas hold ’em,” a poker game played with “community cards” and up to four rounds of betting. It rode on the coattails of the World Series of Poker, the biggest poker event in the world. Winners at the tavern league could qualify for a $10,000 seat at the World Series event after winning in a Las Vegas tournament. “That was the allure. You had a chance to climb the ladder,” Ward said.
Recent closure of the bar spelled the end of the league, as well as the end of karaoke Thursdays there. “Right now, due to the economy, we’re shut down and I’m considering other options. The future at this point is unknown,” Ward said.
The players in the league said they’ll miss the twice-weekly games. Dean Risley twice qualified to play in the World Tavern Poker tournaments in Las Vegas. “I’ve played in tournaments that were six hours long. It’s fun. I got to meet people from all over the world. It draws a wide variety of people, that’s for sure.”
Risley said the game’s fascination didn’t wear off. “Poker is a lot of luck and a little bit of skill. The purpose is figuring out how the luck works. I haven’t figured that out yet… Either you love (poker) or you hate it, and most likely you’ve got both of those going at the same time.”
Business owner Joyce Town said she learned to play poker at the Harbor. She and husband Kerry were regulars on poker nights.
The all-comers nature of the games allowed players to come and go, and for visitors to sit in for a night of play, Town said. Town said she got to know new people playing poker and the atmosphere was friendly. “You’ve got a certain niche and you’ve got a place to do it. You could leave your purse on the table and not worry about it. You can’t do that anywhere else in the world.”
Town also credited Ward for paying monthly membership fees in the league and for helping pay for trips to Las Vegas for qualifying players. “Mike did a lot to make sure we got on the map.”