The third day of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival at Resorts World Las Vegas was pretty chill, with players mostly focusing on the cash game action, which, once again, lasted until the wee hours of the night.
Things kicked off with a free Drawmaha lesson provided by Lupe Soto, the founder of the Ladies International Poker Series, and Robbie Strazynski, the Cardplayer Lifestyle founder and the man responsible for bringing mixed games to the masses.
The cash game action started around noon, with one table to kick things off and another one opening a couple of hours later. Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra, a five-time WSOP bracelet winner and a big fan of mixed games, popped in to say hi and play for a bit, and it was truly a pleasure to see him drop way below his regular stakes to show his support for the event and light up the room.
You never know who will come visit our Mixed Game Festivals…
Thanks to Poker Hall of Famer @elielezra1 for joining us today 😁❤️ pic.twitter.com/znXQJFkXJS
— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) February 18, 2025
Discovering the Fun of Drawmaha Poker
The first hour of the day was reserved for a free poker seminar, where everyone was invited to take a seat at the table and learn the intricacies of several different variations of Drawmaha poker.
The lesson attracted a fairly small crowd, but it worked pretty well for those who did attend, as they had an opportunity to ask questions and understand some finer points of this fun but somewhat complicated game and its sub-variants.
Shortly after, the first cash game table got underway, playing the usual $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice mix, and the action continued late into the night, expanding to two tables for the majority of that time.
Drawmaha High-Dugi lessons, featuring @cardplayerlife, @MrsLedr, @chuckspoker and @PokerLupe to start Mixed Game Festival X Day 3 😁 pic.twitter.com/J4B4OVh5Xd
— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) February 18, 2025
PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: Michelin Massey
There is never a lack of first-timers at Mixed Game Festivals who end up joining the action either on purpose or by pure chance.
Michelin Massey from Denver is a consultant working in the automotive industry who happened to be in Las Vegas for work and staying at the Resorts World at just the right time.
Massey has been playing poker for 25 years, focusing mainly on mixed games for the last 15. He’s been staying at Resorts World during his trip, and when he realized there was a really interesting mix of games happening at the Festival cash game tables, he simply couldn’t resist the temptation to pull up a chair.
Although he doesn’t get to play much in Denver as the mixed game offering in the casinos is quite limited, he visits Las Vegas and Los Angeles fairly regularly to have some fun and enjoy his time at the tables. He says jokingly that his only real ambition in poker is “to not to go broke playing.”
Despite rarely playing Hold’em, the greatest highlight of Massey’s poker endeavors happened in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, where he made a deep run, making it to the last few hundred players and banking around $30,000 for his efforts.
Outside of work and poker, he’s a simple guy who enjoys traveling, spending time with his friends and family, and watching soccer. Having been picked as the Player of the Day, Massey receives a one-month subscription to PokerCoaching.com, which should help him accomplish his fairly modest goal of not going broke!
RunGoodGear.com Dealer of the Day: Carmen Bono
The first two Dealer of the Day honors at Mixed Game Festival X went to people who took up dealing as more of a side gig or occasional activity. Carmen Bono is the exact opposite, having dealt in nine different poker rooms over the course of his 20-year-long career and being with the Resorts World from Day 1 (nearly four years ago).
He’s seen his fair share of poker action, distributing cards in East Coast poker rooms like the Tropicana, Borgata, Parx, MGM National Harbor, and more.
Bono has worked as a dealer and supervisor for over two decades, so he is one of the true veterans of the felt. Although he spent a big part of his career on the East Coast, he (and many of his colleagues) came to Las Vegas following Gary Hager, the man who he describes as the best poker room director he’s ever had the privilege to work with.
His favorite thing about being a dealer is the ability to interact with people and have fun while doing his job. As a long-time professional, Bono is also honest about Hold’em being his favorite game to deal, simply because it is faster, but he does enjoy the technical aspect of mixed games and the skills required to keep everything flowing.
In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, recreationally playing drums, and (surprise, surprise) playing poker. Perhaps he’ll be rocking his brand new RunGoodGear Mixed Game Festival shirt on the slopes!
Women’s Wednesday Ahead: All Ladies Welcome
Day 4 of the Mixed Game Festival X is reserved for the ladies (at least for a couple hours in the morning), with a special program organized by the Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS), starting at 10am at Resorts World.
The program will be hosted by Women in Poker Hall of Famers Lupe Soto and Jeanne David, and it is designed to teach the basics of stud games, such as 7 Card Stud, Razz, and 7 Card Stud 8 or Better.
There are already 30+ ladies registered for the event, so it will be a nice crowd to kick things off. Cash game action will once again commence at noon.
*Our coverage of Mixed Game Festival X is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of our presenting sponsor, the PokerGO Tour.
About The Author
