HPWS 2014 Diary

[Immanuel Kant]

Thought I might keep a running account of my trip to Vegas courtesy of THE ORLEANS HOTEL and PACE ADVANTAGE

From the moment I won "player of the year" here at PA everything in preparation for my trip has gone perfectly.

Jay Trotter put me in touch with Debbie Flaig at the Orleans and
I have been treated royally....room booked, entry to the HPWS taken care of and airfare reimbursed.

I fly out on Tuesday morning.........can't wait........... giving myself two days to get used to Pacific Time (and much better weather than we have here in Toronto), before the 3 day contest begins and will report back here once I have registered on Wednesday.

Cheers,

IK

[nijinski]

Wow , this is great ! You are officially Royal ! Best Of Luck to You !

[horses4courses]

The very best of luck to you, IK

You have nothing to prove to all at PA.
Anyone who pays attention knows you're a fine handicapper.
Sure be sweet to bring home a nice chunk of change, though.

Do it!!! :ThmbUp:

[098poi]

Best of luck!! :ThmbUp::ThmbUp:

[Si2see]

Look forward to seeing you there !! I am coming from the east coast and will only have Wednesday to get used to the time change, plus my first trip to vegas, and first live handicapping tourney. Should be fun but overwhelming I'm sure...

Has anyone from PA ever taken down one of the bigger tournaments ?

[cutchemist42]

Whats the major difference between the HPWS and NHC? Will we be able to follow Immanuel's progress during it?

[Valuist]

Best of luck, Immanuel. I will be there as well.

[Jay Trotter]

Best of luck Sheldon. I hope you enjoy the experience and look forward to reading your blog.

Do us proud! :ThmbUp:

[jefftune]

Good luck to those here that are playing the tourney!

[PaceAdvantage]

So happy to hear everything is going smoothly for you IK...

SmHeP9Sve48

[jballscalls]

Have a great trip and come home with a new tax bracket!!

[Charli125]

Whats the major difference between the HPWS and NHC? Will we be able to follow Immanuel's progress during it?

There are a lot of differences.

HPWS is usually pretty good about updating the leaderboard, so Immanuel should be able to keep you updated.

There are 15 races a day, 3 days of competition, and there are no mandatory races.

[cutchemist42]

There are a lot of differences.

HPWS is usually pretty good about updating the leaderboard, so Immanuel should be able to keep you updated.

There are 15 races a day, 3 days of competition, and there are no mandatory races.

Very cool, I would love to watch the races and players' picks from this site in real time to cheer them on!

[Ted Craven]

Very best wishes Sheldon - hope you bring back the big prize, and in US Dollars, too!

Something tells me that, even if he wins the whole thing, as a Canadian - it won't be changing his tax bracket ;)

Looking forward to your reports!

Ted

[KidCapper]

Good Luck ! Debbie is great. Have spoke with her numerous times at other contests at the Orleans. They treat horseplayers awesome there.

KidCapper

[Track Collector]

Sheldon,

Enjoy your experience and may good skill be with you!

Simply getting to this tournament shows that you are a winner.


Chris

[Zaf]

Best of luck !!!!! :ThmbUp:

[precocity]

congrats for being there now bring back all that $$$$$$$$ good luck!!!

[Fwizard]

Great luck , looking forward to following your progress,,,

[Immanuel Kant]

Thanks for all the well wishes......

My flight was fine and upon landing in Vegas received an immediate gift of beautiful weather.....what a treat after the winter we on the Eastern side have been dealing with...........

My hotel room is great and the staff at the Orleans have been terrific......I get the sense they really understand horseplayers..

There is a real buzz in the hotel...this tourney will have over 830 entries....it's like a horseplayer convention......I've seen about thirty people I know from various tourneys.

I'm ready for Day 1..............to be competitive, I believe a target of 2.5 times bankroll is needed......I don't think that will win but I think it will get me in the conversation.......

Because the races are all optional, there is more handicapping needed than in a contest where some races are mandatory.
Day One uses 7 tracks....If my handicapping is right I think I'll be playing Oaklawn heavy tomorrow. I'm having trouble finding 15 races that meet my 6/1 ML minimum criteria...but once the day starts I'm sure I'll be OK.......organization is key and I have created a cheat sheet in chronological order to ensure I don`t miss my plays...it can get very hectic in the moment!

I"ll report back after Day One's smoke has cleared.

Cheers,

[NJ Stinks]

Sounds like a dream trip for sure!

Good luck tomorrow. :ThmbUp:

[duncan04]

Good luck! :ThmbUp:

[Jingle]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us and Good handicapping in the contest.

[Ted Craven]

I made this little banner - hope it appears atop PA shortly, and for the weekend :)

http://www.sartinmethodology.com/images/pa/PACS2014-HPWS.GO.IK.png


.

[Ted Craven]

For those that don't know, Sheldon ('Immanuel Kant') won this trip and entry to the HPWS via the 2013 PaceAdvantage Player of the Year award through the year-long Contest Series we hold here each year.

FYI, the 2014 edition of these PaceAdvantage Contests are going on right now and all are welcomed to join in the ongoing Series (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=92).

We have not yet established a sponsor for the overall Player of the Year award for this year 2014, but are trying to convince the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas (http://www.orleanscasino.com/play/race-and-sports-book/horse-player-world-series) to give it a go again and sponsor this award as they did for last year.

If any other HPWS attendees have positive experiences from the Contest and their stay at the Orleans they'd like to share, or anyone else planning to visit Las Vegas and give the Orleans some of your business - here would be a great place to share that.

I will make this Thread available to the powers that be at the Orleans as part of convincing them that PaceAdvantage members are an excellent target audience to promote their establishment to.

Thanks - and GO SHELDON GO!

Ted

[woodtoo]

Best of luck Sheldon!!:ThmbUp:

[cutchemist42]

Thanks Orleans for doing this. I'll remember this when my friend's bachelor party eventually goes to Vegas!

[rubicon55]

Very best of luck, hope you pull down some big numbers. Most of all have a good time.

[Immanuel Kant]

Day One is in the books and here are the numbers....

749 entries

leader has 1625 points

I have 288

Aqu race 2, I like the bomb and think the chalk coming up from Florida is a toss....I DON'T play it... pays 40.40, 14.20

Had a few close calls but they count for squat. A problem for me today that I could not overcome was chalk scratching, thereby lowering the value of my selections below acceptable odds...as I said a problem that I could not solve but for which there were solutions

My sole winner was FG 3, Lahaina.......20.80, 8.00

Dinner was comped by the Orleans and was delicious at the Prime Rib Loft right in the casino.

This contest can test your concentration and stamina......I'm sitting here in my room handicapping 9 tracks for tomorrow....there's plenty of time left for me to make a run, but I have to have a good day tomorrow.....

As horseplayers we all know that the next race is where we start our winning streak.....

Day Two offers hope and promise.............

[JustRalph]

Is there a link to the leaderboard online?

[cutchemist42]

Is there an online leaderboard or online pick tracker? Do players in this contest know the picks of other players?

[Jay Trotter]

I emailed Debbie Flag at The Orleans to see if she will send me the Daily Results for the tournament. Hopefully, she'll come through and then I'll post them here each day.

There is no online leaderboard throughout the day as the contest is blind, otherwise guys would just be taking the longest shots possible. Only real fair way to do it. Saying that though, they really should do a better job of making the results available online after each day is over. Not sure why they wouldn't want to do this as I believe it could only grow interest.

[Immanuel Kant]

Here's my recap of Day 2

....better than Day One but not nearly enough to get in the hunt.....I had 2 wins and a second for a total of 696 points.....my two day total is 984. The leader is at 2300.

I hit TAM 5----Shogun Rua, 29.40, 12.00------414 points in my 2nd play of the day and thought I was off and running

I was shut out!!!! of LRL 6------Cutty Shark 35.20, 10.80!!!!!

(nobody to blame for being shut out but myself.......he who hesitates is lost)

My 5th play was a winner at LRL 7 with------Late Night Action,15.20, 6.20, 214 points.....I played the horse at 9to1....he went off at 6to 1

I just couldn t find prices.......my plays were just not running

my 10th play was GP 10-----Jupiter good for 6.80 to place

....and that was the end of my scoring as SA proved to be the Van Dyke chalk fest!

Had a fine Mexican meal ...thanks Orleans!

Will be going for the gusto on day 3 as will everyone.....if the prices start to hit who knows

This is a grind where the most determined and focused survive.....3 days of handicapping a total of 25 cards is not an easy task.....but I love it

Heres to luck, skill and big prices

Cheers

[Stillriledup]

Go get em IK!

I know how you feel about missing out on a bomb in a tourney, i was in a Vegas tourney many moons ago and had a longshot that i wanted to play and just "forgot" about the race and had to watch him win without me and pay a big price..so, i know how you are feeling.

Keep grinding, GL!

[davew]

Good luck in contest

I was trying to find format/structure - could you correct where I have it wrong?

3 days total - accumulated points for ranking

15 total bets per day
each bet is $20W $20P and points are $ returned from bet
- max pay-off is 19/1 for W and 9/1 for P after first $2 which is full pay-off
- no max number of bets (horses) per race




So if I thought a turf graded stakes was wide open I could bet 4 live long-shots to count as 4 of my 15 bets?
Do the winners hit a couple homeruns or many singles?

[PICSIX]

Christian Hellmers has won First Place In Case anyone is wondering. Made big move from top 7 to win in the last hour. He is the real deal and he played a great tournament from day one

[LottaKash]

Christian Hellmers has won First Place In Case anyone is wondering. Made big move from top 7 to win in the last hour. He is the real deal and he played a great tournament from day one

I've just gotta get a Pyramid....:jump:

[Immanuel Kant]

Day 3 was a slugfest as prices started dropping from the opening bell.....I tried but to no avail....one price that managed 2nd for 114 points.......

It was a "unique " experience.....I prefer the NHC format where half the races are mandatory...it helps me focus.....

This takes nothing away from the tremendous hospitality of The Orleans and Debbie Flaig in particular who has been wonderfully gracious

Of course thanks go to PaceAdvantage as well.....this was (and is) a wonderful prize and I am very thankful.

Onwards to Sunday's cash contest...then home on Monday

Cheers,

[NJ Stinks]

You must be exhausted after this marathon, IK. Vegas will do that to you on a regular trip without adding the burden of handicapping 9 cards daily.

Good luck tomorrow and a safe trip home. :ThmbUp:

[Stillriledup]

I've just gotta get a Pyramid....:jump:

Or a teammate. ;)

[Valuist]

The staff at the Orleans did a great job as usual. They had a review questionnaire that was in all the packets and one of the questions was, should they change formats and go to a live money format?

I think the HPWS is better than the NHC, but a live bankroll, IMO, would be best because it would encompass the betting portion as much as the handicapping. When one's own money is on the line, they are less likely to stab at an overmatched 28-1 shot.

Pretty strong field as the last two NHC winners, Arias and Benes, were both in. I thought Beychok was going to be there, but I never saw him.

[Jay Trotter]

Well, I never did hear back from The Orleans with regard to the standings. I couldn't find a detailed standings list anywhere online either. It seems kind of a shame that they don't want to put this info out there.

I did come across a list of the Top Ten on DRF:

[Stillriledup]

Well, I never did hear back from The Orleans with regard to the standings. I couldn't find a detailed standings list anywhere online either. It seems kind of a shame that they don't want to put this info out there.

I did come across a list of the Top Ten on DRF:

So i guess they werent willing to show which horses the top 10 finishers wagered on thru the tournament? Maybe its a big secret?