Why Play at Niagara.
I have never been able to figure out why people play at the two Niagara Casinos. The rake is $6 per hand. Two minutes across the border at Seneca it is $4.00 per hand. By the way that's $4 whether you are playing 1-2 or 5-10 nl. Same rake.
You phone Niagara an hour before you get there and you still have to wait an hour to get on a table and they have tables not in use. You just show up at Seneca and there is virtually no wait to get on a table. If they have 8 people waiting they immediately open a new table.
You can play Holdem, Stud and Omaha at Seneca. Only holdem in Niagara.
Drinks are free at Seneca including beer and alcohol. No alcohol for free at Niagara.
So, with that being said can someone explain to me why anyone would play at Niagara?
You phone Niagara an hour before you get there and you still have to wait an hour to get on a table and they have tables not in use. You just show up at Seneca and there is virtually no wait to get on a table. If they have 8 people waiting they immediately open a new table.
You can play Holdem, Stud and Omaha at Seneca. Only holdem in Niagara.
Drinks are free at Seneca including beer and alcohol. No alcohol for free at Niagara.
So, with that being said can someone explain to me why anyone would play at Niagara?
Comments
Fallsview 2/5 and up Session fee $6 per 1/2 hr per player.
Take session fee every time they change dealers.
There are many good things that I like about Seneca. I like the low wait times, dumb Americans, and free beer.
There are some bad things as well.
The rake structure at Seneca is $3 on any flop and $1BBJ at 20 and $1 rake at 40.
I have no idea why so many people there play 2/4 limit. The rake structure makes this game an impossible game to beat. I bet everyone playing that game is a loser.
I wish the casino didn't spread 2/4 limit. It means most of the dumbest opponents who are trying poker out are playing in an unbeatable game.
When the bad beat jackpot is high, there will be 5 tables of 2/4 limit... and minimal increase in other games.
Also there are usually 4 or 5 tables of 1/2 100max running and far fewer games of 1/2 200 max(often just 1).
If the rake is 1.5BB/flop, then playing a 50BB stack is tough to beat.
Many people at Seneca have the glamor of homeless people playing unbeatable games.
What would make Seneca better.
Eliminate the 2/4 and 3/6 limit games.
Make your minimum limit game 5/10.
That way it would be possible to beat the rake.
Eliminate the 1/2 100 max games.
Just run 1/2 200 max games.
I was at Casino Niagara on Saturday night and the wait list was insane. I phoned at 5.00pm, arrived around 6:00pm and signed in. There were around 152 players on the wait list. Apparently they sent 8 dealers over to Fallsview to cover for dealers that happened to phone in sick. We got on to a table at 8:30pm or so. Others waited over 5 hours to get on a table. The room is usually full on the weekends with all tables running, and I think about half of the tables were empty on Saturday night due to lack of dealers. Needless to say, there were a lot of unhappy players. I started playing at Casino Niagara last year and everytime I go there are other players grumbling about the service there. It is NOT uncommon to wait around until more staff come in for a shift before they will open new tables. It seems they barely keep adequate numbers of dealers on hand...and they don't seem to care.
As far as Seneca...looking forward to going sometime but, I need a passport first.
Oh, so far this year I am averaging $44.50/hour at Casino Niagara....so I can wait around for awhile for a table to open...
How can the Ontario government claim they are cash strapped when you have to wait well over an hour to play poker at their casinos when they have empty tables and refuse to open them? Bad management at it's finest.
The Seneca Omaha and stud games are raked so high they are unbeatable.
I think it's a combination of:
Wanting you to wait around a do something stupid like play slots or pit games.;
And a shortage of required personal. 1 floor/6 tables plus dealers. The house makes way more money from a blackjack table than a poker table.
The other problem with Seneca is not many 2/5 tables running usually. 90% 1/2 NL. I agree that Seneca is a better option than Fallsview any day of the week, but if you like higher limits, not as much action at Seneca. Not sure if they run 5/5+? Also, I will go out on a limb and say the 2/5 players at Seneca tend to be better than the average 2/5 player on the Canadian side. Although I have been at Seneca where 70% of the table was Canadians.
The omaha and stud games are raked so high they are unbeatable.
Seneca has a $5-$10 nl game on friday and saturday nights. Minimum buy in is $2k
I talked to an old acquaintance of mine who works at Casino Niagara about a year ago. He explained that even with the rake, the casinos lose money on their poker rooms. The reason they exist is because they are kind of "loss leaders". They hope that your girlfriends and wives lose money on the slot machines while you play.
At Seneca, when you incorporate the free drinks, they probably lose a lot of money off the poker.
At $4 per hand - 30 hands an hour - $120/hr - dealer makes $15/hr (at most), there is no way players are drinking $105 in free drinks per hour at a table. (not cost, anyway)
There is a lot more than dealer wage and drinks in the cost per table you know. What about building cost, equipment cost, other employee costs? There is also tax, hydro, water, etc... I really believe casinos don't make money at poker except perhaps in some rare situations.
This poker room does make money because they are not afraid to have dealers on hand to open tables as needed. Plus the dealers keep their own tips unlike Canadian Casino's. Thus they are more apt to give better more friendly service.
If they get to know you they comp. you buffets on regular basis.