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A man plays poker during the richest poker tournament in Ohio history at The Reserve Poker Club, Feb. 15, in Toledo.
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Low-key Toledo poker club hosts $1.7 million poker tourney, richest in state history

THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR

Low-key Toledo poker club hosts $1.7 million poker tourney, richest in state history

A strip-mall poker club in Toledo this month is working with a Dayton poker club to hold the richest poker tournament in Ohio history with total prize winnings expected to top $1.7 million.

The Texas Hold’em tournament finals are scheduled for Monday at The Reserve Poker Club at 5105 Glendale Ave.

The winner can expect to walk away with $250,000 to $300,000, depending on the total number of entries taken during 12 days of preliminary play that began Feb. 1, said Jim Kanderski, a Toledo native who owns The Reserve with his fiancée and business partner Marissa Rodriguez.

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That last table for all the chips will be livestreamed on the club’s YouTube channel using equipment every bit as sophisticated as that employed for a World Series of Poker broadcast.

“We’re projecting our tournament to be the largest ever in the state of Ohio,” Mr. Kanderski said in an interview Wednesday as he continued with preparations for the final weekend of tournament play, which began with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

The Reserve Poker Club is the mainstay of a low-profile poker culture in Toledo that includes other clubs, but won’t be low-key for long hosting $1 million livestreamed tournaments. This month’s tournament is a collaboration with Mad River Poker Club in Dayton, which has also held first-round action throughout the month.

Mr. Kanderski and Ms. Rodriguez opened The Reserve in a section of a former Kroger shopping mall about three years ago to offer players another option beyond Hollywood Casino Toledo, whose poker tournaments halted because of the pandemic, he said.

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Mr. Kanderski, 46, said the operation is legal since it is a social club whose members pay dues built into the house fees for playing.

For example, the so-called buy-in for this month’s big tournament is $600 per person, with $500 of that going to the prize pool and $100 for entry. The Reserve and Mad River also offered players a $65 “satellite” option to qualify for the competition.

He said when the dealing’s done, the tournament will have attracted between 3,000 and 3,500 players between the two clubs.

Jessica Franks, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, said the commission does not regulate these poker clubs. And without knowing the exact structure of individual clubs and how they operate, she declined to speculate whether they are operating “within the confines of the law.”

The commission, she said, regulates and enforces laws pertaining to casinos, sports betting, fantasy sports, and skill games, including pinball and arcade claw games. If complaints are raised against poker clubs, they would likely be passed along to local law enforcement agencies, she said.

Mr. Kanderski said he would welcome the state bringing poker clubs under the casino commission’s auspices so that uniform standards could be set for their operation.

Sylvania resident Mike Flynn, a retired auto parts executive, said he and his wife Jacqueline have played often at The Reserve since moving from the Detroit area 18 months ago.

Mr. Flynn said he has played casinos from around the world during business and leisure trips, and the professionalism of The Reserve is on a par with any of them.

The dealers are skilled, staff courteous, and there’s armed security and a relaxed atmosphere, with attractive tables and chairs coupled with the best poker livestreaming experience in the Midwest, he said.

“It’s not just a place to gamble,” Mr. Flynn said. “There’s a social aspect there that you won’t find at other places.”

He said he and his wife have made friends among other players, with whom they dine and play golf.

When The Reserve opened for its Tuesday session at 5 p.m., the crowd of patrons paying to play looked mostly blue collar in T-shirts, jeans, and flannels.

Mr. Kanderski said customers represent a broad social spectrum, from lawyers and executives to autoworkers and retirees.

Mr. Flynn said he and his wife go as much to socialize as compete.

And that competition is much more relaxed than you’ll typically see at casino tables “where people are there to take your money,” Mr. Kanderski said.

Mr. Flynn said he found out about The Reserve at the suggestion of his wife’s father and mother, Maverick and Joanne Elchert of Tiffin, who are long-time poker enthusiasts themselves.

Mr. Elchert, in fact, took seventh place in a Super Bowl tournament that The Reserve held last Sunday.

Mr. Kanderski said the $1 million tournament’s scope has attracted both amateurs and professionals to the pool, including players from Las Vegas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.

“It’s a big poker environment at a smaller buy-in,” he said.

The outside of The Reserve is nondescript, with a parking lot that needs work and little signage except the name of the club professionally scripted on the building.

Inside, it is well-lit, with a large lobby for breaks and 17 attractively trimmed poker tables with The Reserve logo on their felt.

Three of those tables are in the room for live streaming big events, including the primary table where the final nine contestants in the $1 million tournament will vie Monday for a grand prize of at least $250,000.

Mr. Kanderski said he spent about $100,000 for the livestreaming equipment and studio with modern touches that include readers on the main table that can identify the cards players are initially dealt and kept hidden from their opponents.

Announcers describe the action for YouTube watchers, who see the action on a time-delay basis.

His initial investment in opening the club was $60,000 helped by the fact that he had previously bought the poker tables at a steep discount and broke them down for safe keeping in a storage unit.

He said he and Ms. Rodriguez in July bought out their other partners in the business. Mr. Kanderski said he is a decent poker player who fulfilled a dream by opening The Reserve.

The club is growing so fast that the couple will need to either expand into nearby space or find a new building, Mr. Kanderski said. The Reserve has a half-dozen employees and 11 dealers who circulate through, including three who have worked at World Series of Poker events in Las Vegas.

He said he’s OK with the spartan appearance of the exterior as long as the players are comfortable inside.

“I’d rather put the money in here — make sure we have a high level of equipment,” he said.

First Published February 18, 2024, 2:30 p.m.

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A man plays poker during the richest poker tournament in Ohio history at The Reserve Poker Club, Feb. 15, in Toledo.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
A man plays poker.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
A dealer deals cards.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
Vic Gauger deals cards.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
Jim Kanderski, owner and founder of The Reserve Poker Club.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
Mike Flynn, patron, at The Reserve Poker Club.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
Marissa Rodriguez, business partner, at The Reserve Poker Club.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
People play poker.  (THE BLADE/JONATHAN AGUILAR)  Buy Image
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