Brantford/Niagara Casino Question
Hello all, I'm looking at hitting either one of these casinos in the near future. I usually play 2/4 or 2/5 limiit depending on the casino. I'm wondering if anyone would tell me the general differences, if there are any, in stepping up to the next level. I know at Niagara it is 3/6 but I don't know what Brantford's is. The reason I'm thinking of trying it is because I've usually found when I go that I can get on one of those tables faster, as well I'd like to try to step up also. Thanks for any input.
Fd
Fd
Comments
5-10 expect to almost always play in a loose passive game. But understand that there's rocks at your table who only nut peddle, so respect thier raises and bluff them out of pots. They like to give up thier hands early to resistance.
Fd
How so? Please be specific...
How so? Please give examples...
Please vote Green Party next election. For now, right your local MP. Maybe they can change the law that the casino must abide by.
Agreed! The poker should be offered in a more secluded area of the facility. Discussions are ongoing with AGCO to ac comadate this situation.
You aren't losing US$ either. Welcome to Canada.
Anything else? Still serious questions.
Fd
Search the threads for Casino Niagara. I'm not going to rehash what has already been written. Since you are such an insider please tell us why Niagara is SO much better.
I was looking for constructive critism to take back to work and try to improve our room.
Thanks for the empty insults!
/rantmodeon
When Fallsview Casino first opened I was there just about every other day or so. One night I called in to put my name on the list for 6/12 same as every other time. When I arrived at the casino I stood in like waiting for my turn to talk to the suit to let her know I was there, same as any other time. My turn came and the suit ignored me for about 5 minutes while she was talking to some regular who was outside the wall. After standing there for a bit and trying to get her attention I finaly said under my breath " Isnt it fun to be ignored" She turned to me and said " If you tried playing higher limits I'd pay attention to you" No word of lie, I was fucking floored. From that day on I've been to Fallsview maybe 5 times. I've been a PAC member since the 2nd year Casino Niagara opened and I've spent lots of time and money in that place and not once asked for shit. I sent an email to CN and they replied with some politicaly correct bullshit response as I expected they would. I understand how it works at a casino when it comes to high rollers. I have some friends that are platinum members and I see how they're treated when I gamble with them. I dont care about that, but to be disrespected in that way is beyond anything I will tolerate. Since that day I've given my time and money to Seneca Casino and Casino Windsor.
As far as the poker rooms go here is what I think needs to be changed
1. Too damn noisy in there. They need a separate room away from all the noise.
2. More tables. Wait times are crazy at Fallsview
3. I hate to be so general but the suits there need to start acting a bit more friendly and less like they work in communist Russia.
4. More tournys, revise the sng's they have running there now and start some regular mutli table tournys.
5. Hire a poker rooms manager that has some poker experience. Its obvious that who ever is running the show there treats poker as another table game. I've heard from several people that work there that management at CN looks on poker as a nuisance and would rather see it go then make it better. Something about its not as profitable as other table games. (NO SHIT)
Other casinos have poker rooms that are worthy of Vegas, what the freaking problem at Niagara? You guys built a whole section for high rollers where only gold or plat. members get to gamble, but you cant build a wall to the ceiling to block out the noise in the poker room.
6. Send your suits over to Seneca for an evening of poker and write it off as training/research and learn how poker rooms should be run.
Now I dont mean to rag on everyone at CN as there are dealers and suits there that are very proffesional and curtious to everyone.
I also understand that every poker room has growing pains, but after a year you guys have a long way to go.
And dont try to blame OLGC and their rules and whatnot, because Casino Windsor is in the same boat as you guys and they have a great poker room with lots of tournys and a variety of games.
/rantmodeoff
BTW, My spelling sucks tonight so please excuse any mistakes.
Red aka Zoran
Then the way to go about it is NOT a line by line disection of a member's post full of snippy comments like voting for the Green party. I was merely pointing out to all the members your obvious bias.
Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns in an intelligent manner. Let me see if I can address some of these issues.
As for your encounter with the Brush after calling in for the 6/12 list, you have my apologies. You certainly were not treated properly regardless of the game you choose to play. Did you get a name or badge number of the Brush? For being a PAC member, you should always ask for something with each visit; as a player myself, I know I deserve it (so do you!), as an employee, I know the casino can do it. Here's the catch: if you are denied a comp, say Thank you and wait till the next time you go. DO NOT go off about how much money you've lost or how long you have been playing or who you know in the offices. Outbursts get noted. Pleasantness will get you further. But you have every right to be offended if some disrespects you.
High Rollers are an interesting thing in the casino biz. You mention that Fallsview built a whole room for big players but no wall to block out sound in the poker room. Those high rollers, that play in the Salon Prive, account for maybe 10% of PAC members but 90% of the revenue. In comparison, even the players that play The Big Game in the poker room (ie: 25-50 NL or better), generate very little revenue for the casino (maybe $10/player/half hour). Not much considering the amount of money in play on that table on any given Saturday night. As I have stated in this forum before, as a poker player, I know that I am worth very little to a casino's bottom line. Anybody that plays any other game, even penny slots, is worth more to a casino's balance sheet.
So, in response to your list, here goes:
1. Noise --- as I stated above I agree. It is not the best place to try and play poker. Things are in the works to get that changed. The room was set up quickly to get it going. The poker room was not in the original design as that was approved long before this recent explosion in popularity. Even a lot of Vegas casinos are just now (or soon will be) opening poker rooms. Dealing with the AGCO is no picnic: to change things, even to move a table 6 inches to the left, requires pages of applications and weeks (months? years?) of waiting for approval. But we do what we can.
2. More table --- Agreed. We could always use more table. But we could use more BJ tables, more roulette tables, more 3-card poker table, more slot machines, more seating in the Buffet, more seating in the Avalon and more parking as well as more poker tables. But that is only for the busy times. For mid-February, Wednesdays, late nights, we have way too many of all of those. So, to run an effective and therefore most profitable business, you have to settle somewhere in the middle. The casino can't have all that it needs for the busiest Saturday night in August sitting empty and unused the rest of the year. BUT, as I have stated already, this room was a quick fix. Things are in the works to make a much better environment for poker players.
3.The suits --- I am a poker player. I've also been almost every other kind of player. BJ. Craps. Baccarat. I was also a dealer for 10 years. Now I am a suit (or more precisely, a Table Games Supervisor). I have to be at work 8 hours each day. I try to make the best of it. Being pleasant wit players and co-workers just comes easy to me. Some supervisors are not like that. Some hate their jobs. Same as other industries. Some hate the Boss. Same as other industries. Some hate their spouse. Again, not un-normal. Some hate the fact that they have to watch the poker players tonight instead of the $10,000 Baccarat action in the Salon. It is hard to keep everyone happy all the time. BUT, I agree, while at work, these suits are paid {well (!?!)} to offer good customer service along with the other duties we have. You should always note names and badge numbers of inferior sups and pass it along to a Pit Manager or fill out a comment card. And do the same for the staff (dealers, suits, waitresses, whatever) that you DO like.
4.TOURNEYS --- Right now, our poker room functions better with ring games than tourneys. However, tourneys are something that are being worked on for the future. Once more, dealing with the AGCO is sometimes difficult; it is not an excuse, just a reality. The powers that be know there is a demand for MTTs, the WPT and WSOP have made that a more sought after thing. There should be the Degree Tournament again this spring/summer and hopefully we will be able to run some large payout (and therefor large buy-in) MTTs, too.
5. Poker Room Manager and other bits --- As above, the Salon Prive keeps the casino afloat (and floating well!). The poker room does not. This is true is most casinos. Poker is growing in popularity now, and casinos can only adapt so quickly. The poker room at Fallsview was not intended to be there. Hence, you see changes in things almost weekly. Tables, limits, rule changes, etc. Growing pains? Precisely! have other casinos done a better job at this? For sure. Have others done worse? Absolutely!!
6. Suits over to Seneca --- This one actually made me laugh out loud. Any given day, at any given time, at any given limit, at Seneca, I almost guarantee that you will find 1, 2 or sometimes even 3 Fallsview/Niagara staff sitting and playing poker. And I am sure the reverse is true at our tables. It is amazing to hear some of these same complaints you have made, SocietyRed, being made about the Seneca poker room by their own staff. I play at Seneca. I don't like that you can slip the Brush some money and move up on the list there. Others love that and hate that they cannot do it at Fallsview. To each his own on some things.
I know I have not answered all of your grievances and I am pretty sure I haven't changed your mind. But, I wanted to respond to your post (you took the time to write it, right?) and let you know I am going to print and share this with those that I can at work. Who knows, maybe you will kick-start some change that brings you back our way.
BTW, I can't play at Niagara or Fallsview (obviously) so I play at Seneca. It is purely for convenience though. I do not drink when I play so the free booze issue is moot. And I think, after playing there and working here, I would rather put the (what I consider) minor annoyance behind me at Fallsview and sit with all of those fish that have all of that money to give away in that great big, noisy, badly run aquarium that is Fallsview Poker Room! ;-)
Sorry moose, I did not think you post of was very informative. I wanted to get specifics from you, like SocietyRed gave. The line about the Green Party? Well, maybe I am just tired of uninformed people that do not seem to realize that there laws that the casino has to abide by. Laws that may be different in other countries. Like giving away booze free. Which no casino in Ontario does (even though they would all like to, especially in the High Roller Rooms) because it is against the law. So Seneca gives away free booze? That is a good reason to suggest a poker player go there? I do not know about you, but I go to play poker to win money, to make good decisions (which I don't always do) and to go home ahead of the game. Not to get smashed!
Pardon me? There is no free booze at Canadian casinos. That is a fact. How does that make me uniformed? I have been gambling at casino's on both sides of the border for over 15 years. Your attitude only serves to reinforce the fact that customer service in Niagara is a very low priority.
rant off
Moose.... Obviously we have played together many times, I know you have played other Casino's, Vegas and elsewhere but so have I perhaps even a year or two more than you.... lol.. . All Casinos have issues with poker rooms primarily because A) they do not provide much revenue per sq ft compared to other table games or slots and
Lets all try to give 13CARDs positive suggestions, he is obviously trying and if everybody just slams him and his organization he goes away and we all lose.... Jeff........
I go to Casino's to have fun. It is entertainment. If it is not fun, I don't go there.
I think how you are treated by the dealers, waitstaff and floor personnel is a huge part of it.