PEROGIES WITH ONIONS AND BACON BITS is one of the tasty additions to tonight's Prime Rib buffet in the Terrace Dining Room from 5 to 8 p.m. Call 885-3330 to reserve for tonight or upcoming Thursdays.  All-you-can-eat $14.95.

LAST CHANCE!  What rhymes with 2010?  Earn $50!  You have until tomorrow midnight (Friday) to come up with a catchy racing slogan that rhymes with 2010.  Here's what one entrant submitted:  "Assiniboia Downs in 2010.  Odds are you'll have fun again."  Can you top that?  The winner gets $50, a Prime Rib buffet for two and a year's worth of bragging rights.  Email theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com

Skip the linen, please!

HAPPY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY, INSIDER!   Today's column marks the beginning of the fifth year of The Insider--in other words, this is our 4th anniversary, symbolized by LINEN! Oh joy! You can help celebrate by going out and buying me a fancy embroidered linen . . . yah, sure. I think I'll wait until the fifth anniversary, the one symbolized by WOOD, to really celebrate, if you know what I mean.

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Let the games begin!   The Downs is your Olympic Viewing Headquarters ___________ Predict Canada's medal count! Win cash after each medal!

Bye-bye, thoughts of winter!  And hello to hot new horseplayer tournaments, hello to the Winter Games with cash prizes every time Canada wins a medal and hello to a countdown to the poker finals where three trips to Las Vegas are at stake.  That will take us right to the Florida Derby on the first day of spring, March 20.  So the next couple of months look very survivable, don't they, even if you're not lying on a beach in Mexico.

Of special interest to the better horseplayers out there will be the Elite Winter Games Horseplayer Tournament on the Louis Riel holiday Monday, Feb. 15.  That contest will carry a $100 entry fee.  At last, hotshots will have an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. Do you have what it takes?  Hmm.

So, in chronological order, here are  . . .

1. SCORE-A-GRAND TOURNEY:  New rules!  More fun!

A new horseplayer tournament which will be held on the last Saturday of each month will kick off Saturday, Jan. 30, Sunshine Millions Day.  Called Score-a-Grand, the tourney will be held from January to April.  The top five finishers in each contest will earn cash prizes and the top overall player will receive the grand prize of $1,000. 

Enter Score-a-Grand tournament on Saturday, Jan. 30

New rules!  Entrants will start with an imaginary $250 bankroll, $200 OF WHICH THEY CAN BET EXACTLY AS THEY PLEASE to win, place or show on 10 contest races.  The only compulsory aspect is to bet $5 to win on a horse in each of those 10 races.  These rules are more in keeping with the way players should play to make money.

Entry fee:  $25 up to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29.  Last minute entries on Saturday, Jan. 30:  $40. 

Guaranteed minimum prizes:  The top five finishers of each contest will be GUARANTEED $500, $100, $50, $25 and $25.  But PRIZE MONEY WILL INCREASE with the number of entries and will be distributed as follows:  60%, 20%, 10%, 5% and 5% to the top five finishers.  BONUS!  The winner will receive a $100 bonus if he or she bet $5 at the windows on each of the 10 contest horses.

2. SUPER BOWL SUNDAY FEB. 7:  Predict field goals

On Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, predict five show horses at your favourite track on Sunday afternoon.  Best entrant wins $100 and the top 10 get to predict the total number of field goals in the Super Bowl.  The winner gets $50, doubled to $100 if the winner is present after the game.  Also, look for delicious $5 wings special during Super Sunday.  Watch for earlier post times at West Coast tracks that day.

3. PREDICT CANADA'S MEDALS:   Win $500

How many gold, silver and bronze medals will Canada win in the Winter Olympics?  Predict correctly and win $500.  (In the last Winter Games, Canada won seven gold, 10 silver and

Every time Canada wins one of these, you have two chances to win cash

seven bronze medals.) Email your prediction by Thursday midnight, Feb. 11 to theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com.  IMPORTANT TIE-BREAKER INFO:  Also predict THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MEDALS the U.S. will win in the Games.  That number will be used in the event of a tie.  One entry per person and one entry per email address please.

BONUS PRIZES WHEN CANADA SCORES:  All contest entries will also be eligible for additional cash prizes!  Every time Canada wins any kind of medal, a draw will take place from entries and that person will receive $50 and an Olympic Games souvenir.  Must be present in the Clubhouse to win.  If the medal win occurs after the Race Book closes, the draw will be made the following day at noon.

4. WHEN CANADA WINS, YOU WIN!   Watch Games at ASD

Besides the above draw when Canada wins a medal, there will be a SECOND draw from people entering their names into a draw each day in the Race Book.  That prize will also be $50 and an Olympic souvenir. Remember, the Downs is your Olympic Games Viewing Headquarters.  WATCH FOR MORE EXCITING VIEWING NEWS!   Also, enjoy ribs 'n' wings specials every night at the Downs during the Games!

5. ELITE HORSEPLAYER TOURNEY:   Prove your worth

Do you have what it takes?  Enter the Elite Winter Games Horseplayer Tournament on

Do yourself proud on Louis Riel holiday Monday

Louis Riel holiday Monday, Feb. 15, and prove it. This contest is not for triflers. The entry fee is $100 and the prizes are expected to be large.  Prize distribution:  60%, 20%, 10%, 5% and 5% of the total of the entry fees to the top five finishers. 

Rules:  You will start with an imaginary $260 bankroll.  You must bet $10 win/place on three compulsory races at three different tracks.  Aside from that, you can bet your remaining $200 as you see fit to win, place or show on those three races or up to seven other races of your choice from those three contest tracks.

Feb. 15 is also Presidents' Day in the U.S., so the racing will be top-notch.  There will be a pre-tournament seminar in the Terrace Dining Room and those in attendance receive a free share in a group pick-6 ticket.  Also, get DOUBLE THE REWARDS POINTS on any bets you make that day.

6. PLAY "OLYMPIC" POKER:   Top players get souvenir

Play poker during the Olympic games and you could receive souvenir playing cards depicting the official Quatchi mascot in addition to the regular prizes and points. 

7. POKER FINALS SET FOR MARCH 13 & 14

Three trips to Las Vegas and entry into the World Series of Poker will be awarded Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, in the poker finals.  The top 100 male players and the top

Poker organizer Kerran with $1,000 chip. Players get this extra chip for every point they earned.

100 female players will play in simultaneous games Saturday.  On Sunday, 200 will participate in a coed tournament for an additional trip. Each player's base bankroll will be $25,000 in chips.  Extra chips will be awarded to those who accumulated points during the regular Friday and Saturday freeroll games:  Every point is worth an additional $1,000.  (The top eight players in each game receive points in this fashion: 5,4,3,2,1,1,1. )   Registration for the finals is 1:00 p.m.  The games begin at 2:00 p.m.  How big will your starting stack be?  There's seven weeks remaining to build it up! See current point standings here.

Friday/Saturday poker play at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. will continue uninterrupted, even while the finals are going on.

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WACKY WINNERS

What goes with Lets Make Ideal?  Lucky Hall, of course!

A casual $2 player has uncanny success winning exactors by connecting horses with logically-fitting names.  He paired Shocking with a horse named Crime Scene ("shocking crime scene") in the Melbourne Cup last November and cashed a $252 exactor when they finished one-two.  He saw a connection in the 7th race at Woodbine harness last Thursday and coupled Lets

Darren Malbranck Steroid test pending?

Make Ideal with Lucky Hall because the name reminded him of Monty Hall, the one-time host of Let's Make A Deal.  He collected $42. Some bettors make it seem so easy--and it gives them something interesting to talk about, too!

"GENEROUS BOB" SHARES $1,700 PAYOFF FOR $12:  At one time in history (and maybe still), people performed good deeds to earn a favourable afterlife.  Armed forces retiree Bob Pirson could certainly lay claim to such a destiny after selling half of his $24 place-pick-all ticket on Golden Gate to a friend when the ticket was still alive going into the final leg last Thursday.  The ticket hit and they shared more than $1,700.  Hey, Bob, if you ever need a partner .....

CONTEST GLORY

Harness buffs scoop 5-Alive at substitute track

TWO SHARE 5-ALIVE JACKPOT:  Because Sam Houston was cancelled last Friday night, the 5-Alive contest reverted to Woodbine harness and two players happily shared the $100 jackpot by predicting three show horses, a place horse and winner in races 3 to 7:  Probation officer Glen Burke and Manitoba Lotteries employee Reg Pluchinske.  Nice going, harness buffs!  Tomorrow's 5-Alive returns to Houston.  The two 35-second betting spree winners blanked.  I'm waiting to hear about someone's big betting spree win.  Get involved tomorrow!

FRIDAY'S FREEROLL POKER:   I think poker player Colleen Geller snuck some horseshoes to the final table.  She made quad 6's and was dealt a pair of aces twice in her march to victory in the 7:30 p.m. game.  Retired nurse Roz McLean won her first-ever Texas hold 'em game at 10:30 p.m. with a full house.  Current standings (each point is worth $1,000 in extra chips in the finals)

SATURDAY'S FREEROLL:  Chief financial officer Mike Palitsky got hit by the "betty bus" and won the 7:30 p.m. game by eliminating 40 riders.  What's the betty bus?  Ask Kerran, the poker organizer, tomorrow night.  Saturday's 10:30 p.m. game went to golf course superintendent Art Solvason who "flushed" three rivals out of the game at the final table.

LADIES' NITE SPA WINNER--FRIDAY:  Financial service rep Kathy Pirson was drawn to win the $300 pampering package courtesy of Fabutan and Finger & Toes.  Ten $10 winners were also drawn.  See special VLT events calendar here.

READERS WRITE:   What sums up decade? Synthetic

Ivan:  What word do I think sums up the first decade of the millennium? Synthetic.  From the surface debates, to the endless stream of medications manufactured, to the artificially enhanced bloodstock prices of the early decade I think this word describes it all.  -- Everett Shade