I came to Pendleton OR with a friend to play in the fall roundup series. The first day we arrived, I played the turbo $100 + $10 + $10 (which is actually $95 + $5 + $10 + $10, ($95 to the prize pool, $5 taken off the top with no disclosure about it, $10 entry fee, and $10 dealer bonus. I busted in that one in the upper half of the field but short of the money. My friend won $1,000 or so playing $1-$3 NL cash games.

The next day (Wednesday), I played in the senior event open to all 50 years and above. 278 players entered that one despite late registration only lasting 30 or 60 minutes (not sure which). This shorter than normal late registration period is a plus for me, I'm used to ridiculously long late reg and re-entry tournaments where the richer players gain an edge by giving themselves as many buyins as they need to stay in the tournament.

I busted out in the senior event which is a $190 + $10 + $15 + $10 ($190 to the prize pool even though it's advertised as $200, + $10 non-disclosed hidden fee for the house, + $15 for the house + $10 dealer bonus addon.

I decided I didn't want to play at Pendleton any more because of the hidden fees, so was about to check out of the Motel 6 (my friend was fine with that too) when I took out my calculator and realized that despite the shady business practice, for my bottom line, I'm better off staying put for one more day. They give you a free dinner buffet, free coffee and soft drinks, and the atmosphere is friendly.

I played today in another tournament with the exact same structure as the senior event yesterday ($190 + $10 hidden fee + $15 + $10) and busted in about 150th out of exactly 300 players.

I'm more upset about losing than the unethical business practices they employ because in each tournament I feel I had an edge over the average player and my latest 3 tournament losses makes 13 or 14 tourneys in a row without a cash (yeah, yeah, I know...the real reason I've lost that many in a row is I suck at poker), but I would come again if they ever decide to disclose the 5% fee they take in each and every tournament without bothering to disclose that to the players.