BARGE History and Time Line

This page provides a brief history and time line of the BARGE event, held annually in Las Vegas, NV.

This document should be considered very preliminary. We are actively soliciting additional information that isn't listed here and corrections. Consequently, this page should be viewed as very much a work in progress.

1991

The SIGGRAPH conference (on high-end computer graphics) was held in Las Vegas at about the first weekend in August, 1991. Several regular participants of the rec.gambling USENET newsgroup decided to meet up at this conference, and thus BARGE was born. Despite the lack of planned activities and despite the fact that the "BARGE" label wasn't applied until next year [I think], we count this as the first BARGE.

1992

In early August of 1992 ten intrepid rec.gamblers got together in a hotel room at the Mirage and held a private poker tournament. The participants were Edmond Hack, Steve Jacobs, Alan Mintz, John Tais, Martin Veneroso, Tyler Wong, and Mike Zimmers. Believed to be in attendance were Blair Houghton, Mike McClain, and Jonathan Rosenberg. In the tournament, Steve Jacobs won, Edmund Hack came in second, and John Tais finished third. Also at the second BARGE, an impromptu blackjack tournament was held. Note, that at this BARGE was Mike Zimmers, eventual BARGE organizer and current BARGE organizer emeritus. Also hanging around and perhaps participating in the blackjack tournament were Abdul Jalib M'Hall, Jeff Jennings, and Doug Shy.

1993

A second meet-up was planned at the Rio, and 18 people played in a two-table poker tournament at that venue. Roy Hashimoto was the eventual winner. He flew into town the day of the tournament, and flew out after winning. It isn't known who finished second, but Steve "Bozo" Blackstock finished 3rd. Also at the event was BARGE organizer and current BARGE organizer emeritus, Chuck Weinstock. It is unknown who set up the tournament at the Rio.

1994

Chuck and Mike organized BARGE 1994 which was held at the Luxor. 60 players entered the poker tournament which was won by Dave Hughes. It isn't known who finished second, but it is believed that Cliff "Deadhead" Matthews finished 3rd. For the first time, a second event was added, a blackjack tournament. We have no record of who won this event. As this was the first "organized" BARGE, attendance really took off here. Much of what BARGE has become can be traced to this event.

1995

In 1995 Tom Sims beat out 112 other people to win the NL hold'em tournament. Michael Buck took second, Doug Gifford finished 3rd. Gillian Groves won the blackjack tournament, Rudy Tatay finished second. This was BARGE's first year at Binion's Horseshoe (as it was called at the time.) A majority of BARGEs from this point on would be held at the same venue. At the Symposium, poker author Mason Malmuth spoke. This was the first invited speaker at any BARGE event. This was the first BARGE for eventual organizer Nick Christenson.

1996

BARGE 1996 was held at the Horseshoe. The NL tournament was won by organizer Mike "KidZee" Zimmers. Steve Jacobs won the blackjack tournament, Andy Latto finished second, and Frank Irwin finished third. This is the first year in which a video poker tournament was held, although we have no record of who won the event. The banquet was held at Yollie's, a Brazilian steakhouse on Paradise Blvd.. The speaker was poker author Mike Caro. Because he couldn't be heard in the dining room, the restaurant kindly allowed us to hold our seminar on the roof of the restaurant. Caro gave his talk while quite literally pacing back and forth along the ledge of the roof. This was the first time the BARGE speaker spoke at the banquet. This was the first BARGE for eventual organizer Peter Secor.

1997

The 1997 BARGE was also held at the Horseshoe. Steve Brecher won the NL tournament, which had 166 entries. John Reeves finished second, and Steve Russel finished third. 18 places were paid. Barry Tanenbaum won the blackjack event. The first BARGE wedding (Kfish and Ratly) was held at BARGE 1997. It was officiated by Arnold "The Bishop" Snyder, reverend of the First Church of Blackjack. Snyder was also the speaker at the banquet, held for the first time at the Golden Nugget. This year was also the first year that Chowaha was played in a licensed casino. 1997 was also the year of the David Sklansky BARGE Charity Freeze Out.

1998

Once again, at Binion's Horseshoe, 184 players competed in the NL hold'em tournament. Lee "I do *so* have a sense of humor" Jones won. Steve "Crunch" Daniel finished second, and Peter "Taki" Caldes finished third. Andy Latto won the blackjack tournament and Steve Jacobs finished second. This reversed their positions from the same event in 1996. Mike Caro was, again, the banquet speaker, this time at the Golden Nugget. Caro holds the distinction of being the only repeat banquet speaker in the history of BARGE. A second Sklansky Charity Freeze Out was held in which Russ Rosenblum beat David Skalansky in just a few hands.

1999

BARGE was held at the Orleans this year for the first and only time (to date.) The NL hold'em tournament saw 177 people enter. John Harkness won, Russ Rosenblum finished second, and Doug Langdon finished third. Rick Mombourquette won the blackjack tournament. 1999 marked the first year in which the "virgin" class was specifically called out. Mike Sexton spoke at the banquet.

2000

The year 2000 marked BARGE's return to the Horseshoe. Jeff Bartoszewicz won the NL hold'em tournament, John "JRX" Reed finished second, and Steve "Bozo" Blackstock finished 3rd. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was the banquet speaker and winner of the chip castle building contest. No video poker or blackjack tournament was held this year, this was the first year for the Tournament of Champions-style event, in honor of BARGEr and ToC winner, Spencer "Zorak" Sun. The winner of this event was Tony "Karma" Goldstein. Peter "Fold'em" Secor finished second, and Jeff Siegel finished third. The History of Poker event was played here, featuring alternating rounds of 5-card stud, 5-card draw high, and 5-card draw lowball. After the early rounds, 5-card stud was removed and the other games were played no-limit. In the final rounds, only lowball was played. Michael Hunter, Stephen Landrum, and Bill Chen chopped the prize pool when it got to 3-handed.

2001

In 2001, BARGE was again at Binion's Horseshoe. Events included the NL tournament, ToC-style tournament, and History of Poker tournament. The banquet was held at the Golden Nugget, the speaker was Phil Hellmuth. The NL winner was Russ Fox. The BARGE Chip Committee was formed and created this year's set. No VP or BJ, I think. Eventual organizer Michael Patterson's first BARGE.

2002

As usual, BARGE was hosted at the Horseshoe again this year. The banquet took place at the Golden Nugget. At the banquet, Linda Johnson and Steve Lipscomb gave us a sneak preview of a television show with which they were involved that would hit the airwaves a year later, the World Poker Tour. Mike McBride won the NL hold'em tournament. This was Peter Secor's first BARGE as an organizer. BJ, Stud SO

2003

After 2003, BARGE would still have a home at Binion's, but this is the last year the building would bear the "Horseshoe" name (and be run by a Binion.) Howard Lederer spoke at the banquet which was held upstairs at Binion's. The NL hold'em tournament winner was Paul Person, Patti Beadles finished second. Mike Zimmers helped organize this year's BARGE event, but he chose not to attend, marking the end of his illustrious career as BARGE organizer.

2004

Binion's again played host to BARGE in 2004. Newly crowned WSOP main event champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer spoke at the banquet, which was held at the Four Queens. The winner of the NL hold'em tournament was Gavin Smith. Frank "ADB Nut-Z" was second, and Dan Nussbaum was third. Dave Orr won the charity triple draw deuce-to-seven tournament. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer finished second, and Sabyl Cohen finished third. Barry Tanenbaum won the blackjack tournament and Dave McVay won the video poker tournament. The "Math Is Hard 5" won the Team CHORSE event. Dave Fruchter won the ToC-style event. Jim "Bullbert" Bullard finished second, Chris "ADB Ploink" Straghalis finished third. Peter "Taki" Caldes won the Stud Shootout. In second place was Sabyl Cohen. Perry "The Baiter" Friedman finished in third.

2005

In 2005, downtown Las Vegas was, again, host to BARGE. This time, though, the host casino was the Plaza. The banquet was held at sister property, the Las Vegas Club, and Wil Wheaton was the speaker. The NL tournament winner was Don "Trythat" Perry. Nick Christenson finished second, and Dave McVay came in third. Guy "Grizz" Berentsen won the charity pot-limit Omaha high tournament. Sarah Boston came in second and Matthew Kursar finished third. Steven Markowitz won the blackjack tournament, and Connie Kellers won the video poker tournament. Alex Ziselman won the Lowball event. Mark Trombley finished second, and Barry Tanenbaum came in third. "Luck Factor Zero" won the Team CHORSE event. Sabyl Cohen won the stud shootout. Ross Poppel came in second, followed by Don "ADB Bingo" Rieck in third. Mike "Oz" Osborne won the ToC-style event. David Kusnick finished second, and Sabyl Cohen was third.

2006

BARGE had some last minute problems finding a home in 2006, ostensibly due to licensing issues surrounding some online poker providers for the event. Originally, the event was going to be held at the Plaza again, but they pulled out at the 11th hour. Caesars and The Palms were discussed as possible hosts, but in the end the Venetian stepped up and did a fabulous job hosting BARGE. The banquet was held at the Venetian and Phil Gordon was the speaker. The NL tournament winner was Mordecai Schwartz. David "Heldar" Heller finished second, and Don "ADB Bingo" Rieck came in third. The Tuesday tournament in 2006 was Lazy Pineapple, and that was won by Keith Troell, followed by Warren Sander in second and Claude Carlson in third. In the newly christened "Mike Zimmers Memorial" lowball event Kenny Shei won with Bob Jones and Randy "Schmengie" Collack coming in second and third. The "Icicles" won the Team CHORSE event. Jeff Landgraf won the stud shootout with Daniel Lykins in second and Nolan "ADB Darkside" Dalla in third. Don Condit won the ToC-style event with Steve "Lunchbox" Forcash and Bill Campion close behind. In an upset, or so Perry insists, Barry Goren beat tiltboy Perry "The Baiter" Friedman in the World Roshambo Championship. Rick "Zbigniew" Bevan was awarded the prize for best chip castle.

2007

In 2007, BARGE was hosted again by its usual home, Binion's. The banquet was back at the Golden Nugget where Gavin Smith gave the keynote. John Pickels won the NL hold'em tournament. Don "ADB Bingo" Rieck came in second, followed by Dave "ADB Iceman" Trinidad in third. The Tuesday event with 7-card stud 8-or-better, won by Andy Bloch, Tim "ts4z" Showalter placed, and Chris "ADB Ploink" Straghalis showed. Nolan Hee won the blackjack event, Michael "Mickdog" Patterson won the video poker event. Patti Beadles won the Zimmers Memorial lowball tournament, with Warren Sander in second and Nolan "ADB Darkside" Dalla in third. Team Chinese Pocker [sic] won the Team CHORSE event. Chic Natkins won the stud shootout with John Harkness coming in second and Chieu "Choo Choo" Tran in third. The ToC-style event was won by Kenny Shei. Second place went to Stevan "Goldiefish" Goldman, and coming in third was Dave "BronzeDodger" O'Grady. This was Michael Patterson's first BARGE as an organizer.

2008

Once gain, BARGE enjoyed the hospitality of our good friends at Binion's. And, again, the banquet was held at the Golden Nugget where Tom Schneider spoke. While the team CHORSE even took place at the Nugget, the other tournament events took place at Binion's. The NL hold'em tournament was won by Dan Chevrie. Mark "Dagon" Rafn came in second, and Steve "Lunchbox" Forcash finished third. The Tuesday event was the sadistic no-limit hold'em shootout transitioning to limit HORSE. This event was won by Guy "Grizz" Berentsen. In second was Chris "Jepstonian" Jepson. Bob Ogus finished in third place. Matt "Grapes" Grapenthein won the blackjack event and Chic Natkins won the video poker tournament. In the Zimmers Memorial Lowball event, Richard "Quiet Lion" Brodie took first place. He was followed by Chris "Tom Bayes" Mecklin in second and Ken "ADB QB" Kubey in third. Through means nobody quite understands, Team Moosecock won the Team CHORSE event (even though there where, what, only two real Canadians on the team?) Steve "BIA" Nissman won the stud shootout followed by Stephen "Marlin" Cohen and Greg Pappas. Barry Tanenbaum emerged victorious in the ToC-style event. Marc "The Occupant" Gilutin came in second and Chuck Weinstock was third. This was Chuck Weinstock's last BARGE as organizer, although he continues as honored organizer emeritus. This was also Nick Christenson's first BARGE as an organizer.

2009

BARGErs enjoyed the hospitality of Binion's for the third straight year. This year's banquet was held at the Golden Nugget where Doyle Brunson spoke. The Tuesday event was pot-limit Courchevel, played for high-only with five cards. The winner was Rick Mombourquette, followed by Rodney Chen and Guy "Grizz" Berenstein. On Wednesday the traditional blackjack and video poker tournaments were held for the second year in a row, first and second place in blackjack were taken down by Matt "Grapes" Grapenthien and "Chic" Natkins, respectively. Rich "Omaholic" Bremer won the video poker event, with last year's winner "Chic" Natkins finishing second. Gillian Groves won the Wednesday night California lowball event with Rick "Zbigniew" Bevan and Steve Bartnyk finishing second and third. On Thursday the team CHORSE event was won by "The Math Is Hard 5 Sans That Talentless Commie Bastard". David Kluchman won the stud shootout with Cliff "Deadhead" Matthews and Michael "pygmyhipo" Maurer finishing second and third. Michael Maurer also won the Tournament of Champions-style event followed in the standings by Doug Grismore and Stephanie Wasserman. The no-limit hold'em event was won by David "Heldar" Heller with Brenda Mowrey coming in second and Bruce "ADB Bigboy" Kramer finishing third.