by Susan, HSM guest contributor

I’m sitting here on PlayStation Home, playing a game of poker over at Digital Leisure’s Paradise Casino. As I am trying an attempt to semi-bluff with this 10/Jack of Clubs, I find myself reflecting on an event that occurred earlier in the day for me. On this particular morning, I was penciled in to meet up with an old friend from Home named Superlatives. Those of you who frequent the casino have either see him or have heard of him. Today we were going to meet up and chat about the new and ongoing casino poker tournaments.

Superlatives sends me a message, saying to meet up today around 3:30 pm eastern time. That is 9:30 am for me, and that works out perfectly. In the message he states that someone with the PSN ID dgitalleisure would be there too. I was just happy he had the time to chat about the casino for a bit. The whole reason I was meeting Superlatives today was because of a chance meeting with him at the casino a couple weeks before.

I was practicing my poker skills to get ready for season three of the casinos poker tournament. I was scouting out people who had entered and was taking notes on their hands played and such. It is a tournament, and that’s something which has been compared to being in a war. Knowledge is a  key to survival, and this poker battlefield is filled with all kind of traps. It also has Lady Luck as one of your adversaries. I was planning on winning. Not that others weren’t, but I was the one that was going to win. In order to accomplish that feat, I must prepare for battle.

And how does one prepare for war? Recon.

New tournaments every month

Superlatives finally shows up and we get to exchanging pleasantries.  I saw earlier he was entered into the tournament and we talked about that for a bit. I told him I was writing about my experience in the tournament series and maybe after it was over we could meet back up and talk about all things casino. He agrees and  we say our goodbyes and such.

So now we forward to this morning. When I get there of course, the person that “Super” said was attending was already there. Turns out it’s the senior project manager and corporate general manager (now I’m getting worried). What came out of my mouth was literally, “Please don’t be like the number two guy in the company.”

And guess what, he wasn’t the number two guy, he was one of two number one guys – Paul Gold,  co-founder of Digital Leisure. I came to chat with Superlatives about casino stuff and now I am in the audience of the guy who is the casino – talk about be careful what you wish for.

I am so screwed.

Superlatives and Paul Gold

“Think before you type.”  That’s what was pounding in my brain while I was eloquently making conversation with questions like, “does your company produce multi  platform games?” “Do you go to E3 every year?” and “If your ham is called bacon, then what is your bacon called?” Those kind of things.

What does one talk about in the company who has given Home not only one of its most successful game spaces in the Casino, but are creators of fun and unique gaming products across all gaming platforms?

I actually tried to keep the conversation light and airy by doing what in Hawai’i is called “talk story.” Between the experience of dread and despair and not being able to curl up in a ball and use a cloak of invincibility, I spent the time listening to a personal side about his experiences on PSH and the likes. We chatted about an ongoing issue at the casino dubbed “chip-dumping”. Superlatives went on to elaborate that the need for an oversight to this illegal activity was being addressed by Digital Leisure. Paul further continued by confirming that a newly appointed sheriff has indeed rode into town with a posse and they have orders to take no prisoners.

A team of ten individuals roam not only the different regions and areas of the casino looking for people engaged in chip dumping, but they also volunteer their time acting as ambassadors for the casino. In other instances where I have come across them they have been very engaging and knowledgeable about casino events and such. Paul also went on to discuss some the possible penalties that would be imposed upon one’s account should you try to play by the ideology that nothing is illegal till you get caught. Superlatives showed us the new clothing items his team will be wearing, which I thought looked very official and will come in both male and female. This, coupled with their PSN IDs will make them very easy to locate and ask for assistance, should that need arise.

If you do find yourself observing and suspecting people involved in chip dumping, they both advised this: take a picture or a short video clip, include  as much detail about the suspected activity as you can and email it to techsupport@digitalleisure.com. Superlatives also showed us of some rewards coming out for people who are winners on the Global leader board and more information about the casino and all its glory can be found here.

I managed to make it to the second round in the aforementioned poker tournament, and when it was all said and done, I finished in ninth place overall – so close to the final table and not bad for my first time, I thought. A few days later I paid my five bucks and entered into the next season’s tournament. No new style of  bracelet was offered and I was told the banners you win for the achieving the second round will be the same as well.

That got me thinking on a couple things.

A new Sheriff is in town..

They are calling each individual tournament a season; why not offer something new each time, if not a new bracelet, then at least offer a new tournament banner each time. It should be should as unique and distinctive as the event. The last tournament had over 400 people entered, which would have brought in for Digital Leisure a little over two grand. I would like to believe there is some meat left on the bone to create these.

Another thing that came to mind was that a  typical poker season is a series of events usually culminating in some type of “winners only” tournament where a season winner is crowned. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) and The World Poker Tour (WPT) are a couple of such events. I could see this type of system being implemented here. Make us grind it out. Design a leaderboard for the tournaments, and then hold a final tournament with the seasons winners and that would determine a season winner. Just a thought.

A thing I did like – and did not know about until later – was people could follow your progress while in the casino poker rooms through an information board. I have not made a final table there yet, but I am wondering if people that are not part of the game could be allowed to enter the space and watch the awesomeness. It always helps to have your posse nearby for that extra added pressure one needs to take home the top prize.

I was pretty confident I would make the first cut – and I did – but my hands were sweating a little bit in the next round. For a time I was the tournament leader, and I hovered around the top seven most of the game. It was six hours of long and excited gameplay the first day, and slowly one by one my friends fell to the wayside. The second day however was over faster than you could say snap-crackle-pop. Only 36 people started this round and I was eliminated in less than 30 minutes. I promptly received the award for completing that event, ninth place – so close.

I have played every Texas Hold-em poker game on Home and this is my top choice, hands down. I prefer tournament poker that is more than just a one table game. The moving around to different tables after completion of a game for me was exciting and fun. I will gladly pay to enter these, but one can’t help asking if the entry fee can be divided up into different options. The current fee is $4.99, but what if another way to enter was to use some of your winnings accumulated in the casino. Price it at something comparable, say, a million in casino winnings.

I believe Paul and his team have done a great job with this concept, and if you are into tournament poker with huge payouts and exciting action, give this game a definite try.  Thank you to Paul Gold and to Superlatives for their contributions to this article and thank you to Olivia for doing her job.

May your raises get re-raised and all your bluffs get called. I’ll see you in the next Digital Leisure’s Paradise Casino Poker Tournament Season.

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One Response to “Shuffle Up and Deal: Digital Leisure’s Paradise Casino Poker Tournaments”

1. Burbie52 says:

   July 23, 2013 at 11:27 am

   Nice read Sue. I like the casino even though gambling isn’t my thing at all. I set myself a goal at the end of last year that I would win the penthouse before the end of this year there and I accomplished it by May, even though I didn’t play every day.
   The tournaments sound fun for those who are into poker a lot, I am not one of those though I do like an occasional hand here and there. I think your idea for adding champion tourneys is a good one.
   Digital Leisure is a company who has always delivered fun things to do in Home and I can’t wait to see what their new western town is like when it appears.

   Reply