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Open Letter to Casino Card Room Managers in Canada.
Open Letter to Casino Card Room Managers in Canada.
Like many players today, I am relatively new to poker. I have been playing seriously for just over one year and have caught the bug really bad.
The reason for this letter is to try to have you open the industry up for more tournaments and to raise the level of competition in them.
For a little back round on myself, I first became interested in playing poker a few years ago at a casino about 2 hours from Toronto. How hard could this game be? After putting my money down in a holdem game, and loosing it a few times, I decided to learn more before I tried it again. Then the World Poker Tour came on TV, and through the advertising, I found out you could play poker on line. Through practice and reading I have done well although I have not quit my day job yet.
My frustration has come to the lack of good bricks and mortar tournaments in the Southern Ontario region. I have played in the local tournaments at Casino Rama, Great Blue Heron and Brantford and I would like to suggest the following:
• Have regular tournaments, twice per month. Most casinos do not want to shut down there card rooms to have tournaments as they don’t make as much money during tournaments. I suggest having 50 to 60 percent of your tables in the tournaments, this way you still have money making tables. The benefit of this is at the end of each day, or as the tournament finishes, you will have a full card room.
• Have the tournaments over 4 to 7 days. This will bring up the prize money to a level that will bring the good players. Go off in heats on 50-55 per day, with the final table of each day returning on the last day of the tournament.
• Have the tournaments during reasonable hours. Some tournaments have them in the morning. Not really practical to day time workers. Alternate, have some start at 10 AM and the next one at 7 PM.
• Be good to your players. Some casinos have food and beverages available for the tournament players during each break. Some other casinos give you nothing. After playing in these tournaments I really will not miss the ones that go that extra mile.
• Allow at lease 50 percent of the players to register by phone. Give them up until one week before the tournament to confirm in person. Allow the final table from the last tournament to have reserved seats in the next one (not a free roll).
I have been looking for other casinos to play in and seeing the format of the Casino Regina’s Harvest Poker classic seems like a good format. It is not as described above, but multiple tournaments. I am sure there card room is not empty.
Bottom line is, make it easy for us to play and we will pay you back in spades!
Dead Money
www.pokerfourm.ca
Like many players today, I am relatively new to poker. I have been playing seriously for just over one year and have caught the bug really bad.
The reason for this letter is to try to have you open the industry up for more tournaments and to raise the level of competition in them.
For a little back round on myself, I first became interested in playing poker a few years ago at a casino about 2 hours from Toronto. How hard could this game be? After putting my money down in a holdem game, and loosing it a few times, I decided to learn more before I tried it again. Then the World Poker Tour came on TV, and through the advertising, I found out you could play poker on line. Through practice and reading I have done well although I have not quit my day job yet.
My frustration has come to the lack of good bricks and mortar tournaments in the Southern Ontario region. I have played in the local tournaments at Casino Rama, Great Blue Heron and Brantford and I would like to suggest the following:
• Have regular tournaments, twice per month. Most casinos do not want to shut down there card rooms to have tournaments as they don’t make as much money during tournaments. I suggest having 50 to 60 percent of your tables in the tournaments, this way you still have money making tables. The benefit of this is at the end of each day, or as the tournament finishes, you will have a full card room.
• Have the tournaments over 4 to 7 days. This will bring up the prize money to a level that will bring the good players. Go off in heats on 50-55 per day, with the final table of each day returning on the last day of the tournament.
• Have the tournaments during reasonable hours. Some tournaments have them in the morning. Not really practical to day time workers. Alternate, have some start at 10 AM and the next one at 7 PM.
• Be good to your players. Some casinos have food and beverages available for the tournament players during each break. Some other casinos give you nothing. After playing in these tournaments I really will not miss the ones that go that extra mile.
• Allow at lease 50 percent of the players to register by phone. Give them up until one week before the tournament to confirm in person. Allow the final table from the last tournament to have reserved seats in the next one (not a free roll).
I have been looking for other casinos to play in and seeing the format of the Casino Regina’s Harvest Poker classic seems like a good format. It is not as described above, but multiple tournaments. I am sure there card room is not empty.
Bottom line is, make it easy for us to play and we will pay you back in spades!
Dead Money
www.pokerfourm.ca
Comments
Very good point. Also, the following (from another thread) is an absolute disaster from the casino's point of view:
Don't get me wrong here... I'm all for more more more in terms of poker (tournaments or whatever) in casinos from my own point of view. But don't forget that casinos are a business, and have economic decisions to make when finding the optimal ways to use their space and personnel.
I believe there is some complication with casinos in Ontario not being able to accept payments by credit card, which is a significant barrier to taking phone registrations.
Much more importantly, demand (in Brantford for example) has been such that there is no problem selling out their tournaments in a matter of hours using the method which is most convenient (i.e. probably generates the least amount of work for their staff) to the casino. That is, having everyone line up ready to go with ID and money. From the casino's point of view, what's their incentive to change the procedure?
ScottyZ
Slot machines are definately a bigger money maker, but..
I don't know the official stat but I'd say about 50% of slot machines in the casino are being played all the time. 100% of spots at the poker tables are being played.
They already do. The vast majority of casino patrons in Ontario want to play slot machines.
ScottyZ
On the subject of casino tournament improvements, the single biggest problem with Ontario ones is the blind structures, IMHO. I've said it here many times, but I always welcome the opportunity to say it again.
Regards,
all_aces
ahem.....
http://www.slotforum.ca
As far as blind structure goes, having never been out west how different is the blind structure out there. I take it you mean longer duration between increases.
I spoke to a pit boss last week at the Fallsview resort and the word there is that both Casino Niagara and Fallsview casino will have poker rooms ready for January. Fallsview casino I have a feeling will cater more to the highroller crowd so look for some high limit tables there. I hope they hold monthly tournaments.
Red
?? This is the first I've ever heard of a pokerroom at fallsview... You sure the guy wasnt referring to the soon to open poker room in the old casino?
Red
Once upon a time players wanted poker game. Now, because of TV, players want tournaments. For most new players, their first foray into a traditional cardroom is for a tournament.
Here I do not agree. I can't imagine the WPT calibre players coming for a tournament that can only play 50 players a day. Ugh.
Second... why does everyone want the "good players?" I am not saying we don't. But, I think it is a valid question to ask. What is the best thing for poker in Canada? Personally, I think the best long term move is to develop a solid base of affordable tournaments. The backbone of poker is NOT the WPT and the big names. The backbone of poker is amateur players who should be catered to. If you want to meet and play against the "big names" then make a roadtrip.
This is simply customer service. Right now the casinos are overwhelmed. They are doing the best that they can. We will get through this.
All a matter of personal preference I think....
Especially for guys like me who are relatively new to the game.
There is a newly scheduled CPT major event at Casino Edmonton (Argyll) which is a $300 freeze out. It is on November 27th.
Online is fun, but there is something about live tournements which is so much better.
See everyone in Regina next week.
Black 99
Red
Port Perry has those sitngo tourneys but you only start with 40 chips?? what a crap shoot. I emailed them and they basically said its the preferred way.
Also why do i have to wait 2hrs to get a seat when there are more than 10 people on the list and there are open tables??
Yes i know they delay you hoping you will play slots--but i refuse to play slots as any math-minded poker player would also do.
so if we can over come these problems i would be more likely to make more than a monthly trip to the B&M
PS-- problems are the same at Rama and GBH
I didnt see that at Rama the couple of times I was there. My wait was very short and as soon as there was enough people interested to make a new table they started a new table. Within 30 minutes of me getting there, there were 3 extra tables open. I found that they are willing to open tables as soon there is enough people to make it worth while.
Red