1. The tournament will be held on Sunday, December 29 – Monday, December 30, 2024, in pit 6 located near The Pines Modern Steakhouse.
2. Sunday, December 29: Preliminary Rounds
   1. Club Serrano members may register to participate in the preliminary rounds for the tournament from 12:00pm to 4:30pm.
   2. Tournament play time is from 12:30pm to 5:00pm.
   3. Tournament entry fee is $200 and may only be paid in exact cash or standard betting chips.
   4. Members may re-buy in. Re-buys are unlimited but restricted based on total participants per day. The maximum number of participants for the preliminary round is 288.
   5. Seating assignments will be provided by Table Games tournament official on a first come, first serve basis. 
   6. ThrillAgains may be purchased for $100 for the preliminary rounds. ThrillAgains may only be purchased in exact cash or standard betting chips. 
   7. Preliminary rounds are sit-and-go style, in which winners are determined by highest final chip count.
       
   8. Registered players may not be able to redeem their buy-in if they request a seat after 5:00pm. 
   9. The top thirty-six (36) players with the highest chip count from the preliminary rounds will advance to the quarter-final rounds on Monday, December 30.
3. Monday, December 30: Wild Card Drawing, Quarter-final, Semi-final, Final Table, and Bonus Drawing
   1. Tournament play time is from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. 
   2. ThrillAgains may be purchased for $100 for the quarter-final and semi-final round, and $500 for the final round. ThrillAgains may only be purchased in exact cash or standard betting chips. 
4. Wild Card Drawing
   1. Prior to registration, there will be a Wild Card Drawing for preliminary round participants from Sunday, December 29.
   2. Only participants from preliminary rounds who have not qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament are eligible for the Wild Card drawing.
   3. Participants can activate their entry by swiping at any kiosk and tapping on the “Wild Card drawing” tile from 11:00am - 11:45am.
   4. At 11:50am, two (2) winners will be drawn to receive a seat in the quarter-final round. Winners will have five (5) minutes to claim. Redraws may be conducted until a winner is identified. 
5. Quarter-final Round
   1. Registration for qualified quarter-finalists will be held from 12:00pm to 12:50pm.
   2. Ten (10) invited players will join the thirty-eight (38) qualified quarter-finalists for a maximum of forty-eight (48) quarter-finalists.
   3. In the event that qualified quarter-finalists do not register within the registration period, their seat(s) may be replaced by an additional Wild Card winner(s). 
      1. If Wild Card drawing is conducted, it will follow the end of quarter final registration. 
      2. Winners will have five (5) minutes to claim. Redraws may be conducted until all winners are identified. 
   4. There will be no buy-ins/rebuys for the Monday, December 30 tournament. 
   5. Quarter-final rounds will begin approximately at 1:00pm. 
   6. There will be up to eight (8) tables of six (6) players.
   7. The player with the highest chip count from each table will advance to the semi-finals for a total of eight (8) advancing players. 
6. Semi-final Round
   1. Invited semi-finalists must register by 1:40pm.
   2. Semi-final round will begin approximately at 2:00pm.
   3. Ten (10) invited players will join the eight (8) advancers from the quarter-finals for a maximum of eighteen (18) semi-finalists.
   4. There will be up to three (3) tables of six (6) players. The two (2) players with the highest chip count from each table will advance to the final table.
7. Final Table
   1. The final table will begin approximately at 3:00pm and is winner-take-all. The winner will have the option to collect a cash prize or promotional chip prize. The winner will also receive a “First Blackjack Champion of 2025” Trophy. 
   2. Players must complete the final table. There will be no option to split the cash or promotional chip prize amongst the final table players.  
8. Bonus Drawing
   1. At the conclusion of the tournament, a bonus drawing will be held for day 2 tournament participants, excluding the tournament winner(s).
   2. Five (5) winners will be drawn to receive $1,000 in promotional chips. Winners will have five (5) minutes to claim their prize. There will be no redraws.
9. Participation into a tournament is not guaranteed if a member is unable to register during the times stated in these official rules. No special circumstances will warrant the delaying of a tournament to be able to accommodate individuals or groups of individuals.
10. All Promotional Chips are non-transferable. If Promotional Chips are given away participants will be subject to not be able to participate in future tournaments.
11. ThrillAgains:
    1. A “ThrillAgain” is defined as the moment a participant chooses to discard one (1) of their current cards and replace it with another. It can be used to replace one (1) of the first two (2) cards, but once action has been taken on the hand, the ThrillAgain can only replace the most recent “hit” card. The player can then continue to have action on the hand once the card has been replaced. The replacement card will be the next card in the “shoe”.
    2. ThrillAgains may only be used once.
    3. If a player does not use their ThrillAgain chip, the chip is forfeited at the end of each round or when the player is eliminated.
    4. ThrillAgains can be purchased once per round. 
12. Standard Betting Rules:
    1. Non-negotiable tournament chips will be used in each round. Tournament chips may not be used for any other purpose and must be returned at the end of each session.
    2. Each player starts with $10,000 in tournament chips.
    3. Play will consist of 18 hands during preliminary and quarter-final rounds and 24 hands during semi and final rounds.
    4. Minimum bet amount is $100. There is no max bet.
    5. The top chip amounts at each semi-final table will advance to the final round.  The method of determining how many from each table go to the final round will be determined by the number of semi-final tables.
    6. All Yaamava’ House Rules for Blackjack will apply. With the following exceptions:
       1. Natural blackjacks will be paid at two (2) to one (1).
       2. Players will not be allowed to take insurance on their hand.
       3. Players will not be allowed to surrender their hand.
13. Tournament Procedures:
    1. When the tournament is about to begin, the tournament format, rules and betting structure will be conveyed to the players by a tournament official. 
    2. Members may only purchase one (1) tournament entry and Thrillagain (when applicable) at a time. Any unused buy-ins and/or Thrillagains will be forfeited.
    3. Buy-in, rebuy and Thrillagain transactions are final. No refunds will be issued.
    4. In the 1st round of play, if a player has not shown up at their assigned time when it is time to start play, and repeated attempts to locate the player have been unsuccessful, a player who is scheduled for a later round that wishes to play in the earlier round may be allowed to play in the missing player’s spot. An attempt will be made to find a seat for the missing player in a later 1st round, although once a player has missed their scheduled time, play in a later round is not guaranteed.
    5. Players may not change tables or seats without a tournament official’s approval.
    6. It may become necessary to reassign tables or seats to accommodate players with special needs.
    7. In order to keep betting and play fair and even for all players, a rotating Dealer button will be used. The Dealer button will start in the 1st seat to the Dealer’s right and will rotate clockwise around the table requiring a different player to place their bet first in each hand. This negates any sort of seating advantage and keeps the players on an even playing field.
    8. If a player is not in their assigned seat at the start of the round, no cards will be dealt to their spot. The required amount of starting chips will be placed on the missing player’s spot, and a minimum bet in tournament chips will be deducted from their chip stack for each hand missed for the first five (5) hands.
    9. If the player does not begin play prior to the start of the sixth (6) hand, the player will then be disqualified by default and their chips removed from play.
    10. If a player has not started play before the end time of the tournament they will forfeit their spot in the tournament and ThrillAgain purchase, if bought.  
    11. For the final round, if they are not at their table at the start of the round they will be disqualified. 
    12. Players will place bets, receive cards and act on their hand in order, with the player sitting to the left of the Dealer button betting first, receiving cards first and acting on their hand first.
    13. Chips must be visible and stacked by denomination at all times.
    14. The player with the Dealer button will always act last. After the last player has acted on their hand, the Dealer will receive their cards and expose their hand.
    15. Every player must make a minimum bet on every deal or they may bet the maximum bet if so inclined.
    16. When it is a player’s turn to bet, and they have released chips in the betting circle, their bet amount cannot be changed.
    17. Bets made out of turn will not be binding. If a player places a bet in their betting circle before it is their turn to bet, when it is their turn to bet, they may either let the bet stand or remove the bet and bet a different amount.
    18. A player sitting at the table may not sit out a hand and must bet at least the minimum bet every hand.
    19. If a player misses a hand because they have left the table, they will not be dealt a hand. When the hand is finished, the Dealer will remove one minimum bet chip from the player’s stack and place the chip in the Dealer’s rack. After (5) hands if the player has not returned, they will be disqualified by default, and their chips will be picked up.
    20. Misdealt hands that cannot be backed up will void all hands. Bets may be adjusted by the players in betting order, and a replacement hand will be completed. 
    21. Once the Dealer has exposed their hand, the Dealer will pay winning hands and collect from losing hands in accordance with standard Blackjack procedures.
    22. At the end of the semi-finals and final round, all of the players’ chips will be counted and the player(s) with the most chips will be declared the table winner(s).
    23. If more than one player is to advance, the players who have the most chips will be the ones to advance.
    24. Ties - If two or more players are tied, each remaining participant will receive $10,000 in tournament chips and a four (4) hand playoff will be used to determine the advancing player or winner. If still tied after four (4) hands, there will be a sudden death playoff, which will continue until a winner is decided. Players will draw for seat position. The button will start to the right of the dealer.
    25. If all of the players lose all of their chips on the same hand, the player(s) who started the hand with the most chips will be considered the table winner(s).
        1. If the players started with the same amount of chips, it will be ranked as a tie and prizes will be divided equally between them.
    26. Players may not be coached while at the table, whether the player is in a hand or in-between hands.
    27. Players will be required to use English only while at the table. 
    28. By participating in the tournament, each participant agrees to and acknowledges that they will abide by the official rules, regulations and procedures of the tournament. 
    29. In the event of a dispute, the tournament official’s decision will be final.
    30. Any violations of the tournament rules may result in immediate disqualification of the player(s) involved.
    31. Any players caught playing unethically, especially those in collusion, may be disqualified from the tournament and/or permanently banned from play in future tournaments.
        Persons who violate any rule, gain an unfair advantage in participating in the contest, or obtain winner status using fraudulent means will be disqualified. 
    32. Withholding taxes will be collected upon issuance of prize money as required by applicable laws.
    33. By participating in this promotion, you grant Yaamava’ Resort and Casino permission to print, publish, televise, or otherwise use your name, city, state, photograph, or any likeness of you for promotional purposes.
    34. Yaamava’ independent representatives/agents, employees and members of their immediate families are not eligible to participate in the tournament. 
    35. Persons who have voluntarily or involuntarily been excluded from the property or who have requested self-exclusion from the property are not eligible to participate in the tournament. 
14. The Gaming Operation reserves the right to cancel or modify this tournament at any time.

Prize Structure

1st | $102,025 Cash OR $202,025 Promotional Chips