ALL local poker rooms permanently closed from Covid, anyone else? (1 Viewer)

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The poker rooms within a couple hours of the Western NY area (Niagara, Salamanca, Presque Isle) All closed during covid and have decided to stay permanently closed. This seems crazy to me given the huge rise in poker popularity again post-pandemic. They have reopened all their table games, so it's not a risk issue.

Am I just in a bizare geographical location where every casino decided to ditch poker, or is this common where you all are at as well?
 
Encore Boston Harbor shut down poker for about two years and at first had no plans of opening again, but I believe the gaming commission stepped in since poker operations were part of the deal when they were approved for their gaming license. Upon bringing it back, the operating hours were an absolute joke, Mon. - Thurs. 10am-6pm, and the rake increased to 10% up to $10. The playable hours have gotten better, but it seems they tolerate poker as an offering and would prefer to have more slots (which took over a fair amount of what used to be a larger poker room.)
 
The closest poker rooms to me in Delaware (Harrington and Bally's Dover {formerly Dover Downs} have no re-opened and per my inquiries, have no plans to do so for the foreseeable future. From what I hear, and this is strictly scuttlebutt from those supposedly in the know, is that it's a combination of lack of available dealers and lack of profitability for the casinos. Kind of a bummer... Not sure about Delaware Park, but if I'm going to drive all the way up there, I'd rather just keep going northeast and spend a relaxing weekend at Borgata.
 
Slots and table games make more $$$ per employee/square foot than poker.

This will always be the determining factor for most casinos.
Sure, perhaps, but then all casinos should have closed their poker rooms across the country. Poker brings people into casinos that otherwise might not have gone at all. Brings in money for shows, restaurants, drinks, and table games from an entirely new population. It gives wives and girlfriends an excuse to go play slots when their husband/boyfriend wants to go to play poker (or vice versa on a statistically less common basis). It can give a casino some clout and marketing opportunities (for tournament series, etc).

There's more to a calculation than just specific money from the rake vs money from the slots per square foot. Working in Corporate America, I wouldn't be shocked if these types of multi-factor cost-benefit analyses haven't even been done, and instead the $/Sqft is the only calculation done at all...
 
Most of the poker rooms in Atlantic City are closed now as well
Really? I have never been there but was looking at going during the Cigar Event in May. Which ones are open vs closed, if you dont mind my asking?
 
Really? I have never been there but was looking at going during the Cigar Event in May. Which ones are open vs closed, if you dont mind my asking?
Taj got rid of the poker room when they became hard rock.
Borgata is still open
I don’t think Harrahs or Tropicana ever opened back up

To be fair, I go to Philly now so I may be wrong, but not like it was 10 years ago
 
The poker rooms within a couple hours of the Western NY area (Niagara, Salamanca, Presque Isle) All closed during covid and have decided to stay permanently closed.
The bizarre business arrangement going on between two different native corporations is why poker is dead in WNY. Seneca Casino and Resorts (casino people) owns the casinos while Seneca Gaming and Entertainment (bingo people) have the state poker license. The casino people made the bingo people pay RIDICULOUS amounts of rent to rent the space in the casino for poker (like $200,000 + a month). That killed poker here.

Presque Isle wanted to reopen summer 2022 but Pennsylvania COVID laws made them stay closed til 2023. Only time will tell if they can get dealers for poker again.
Screenshot_2023-02-17-16-44-14-698.jpg
 
Let's be honest here.

The casino industry has been down for years now. Comps, the gambling experience, odds, they are all designed to recoup the casino losses.

I'm not that surprised that a ton of poker rooms have closed and never reopened. Their bottom line has been hurting for years, and they have found a way to save.

Look across the nation on all the various casino groups restructuring.

I can guarantee number crunchers behind the scenes calculating money saved by closing a poker room vs. benefits of keeping it open on the oft chance it brings in a slot player or a spa user while a significant other plays cards.
 
Taj got rid of the poker room when they became hard rock.
Borgata is still open
I don’t think Harrahs or Tropicana ever opened back up

To be fair, I go to Philly now so I may be wrong, but not like it was 10 years ago

There are three poker rooms open in AC right now as far as I know:
Borgata
Harrah's
Tropicana

Know people who have played in Borgata and I have played in Harrah's post covid.
 
Sure, perhaps, but then all casinos should have closed their poker rooms across the country. Poker brings people into casinos that otherwise might not have gone at all. Brings in money for shows, restaurants, drinks, and table games from an entirely new population. It gives wives and girlfriends an excuse to go play slots when their husband/boyfriend wants to go to play poker (or vice versa on a statistically less common basis). It can give a casino some clout and marketing opportunities (for tournament series, etc).

There's more to a calculation than just specific money from the rake vs money from the slots per square foot. Working in Corporate America, I wouldn't be shocked if these types of multi-factor cost-benefit analyses haven't even been done, and instead the $/Sqft is the only calculation done at all...
Agreed, which is why I said "most" and not "all."
 
Most of the local poker tables were shut down before covid. The closest one to me closed at covide and never reopened. I think there are still a couple in Tulsa, but poker has become very hard to find in my neck of the woods
 
Vegas poker rooms have shut down too. They’re closing all over the country. It’s not the most profitable move for the casino to open or maintain one - the ones that have them try to use them as a market differentiator. COVID have several properties the cover they needed to close em and put slots there instead.

The poker boom is over. Thanks Obama (and you GTO hoodie wearing math solver weenies that sucked the fun out of holdem).
 
Taj got rid of the poker room when they became hard rock.
Borgata is still open
I don’t think Harrahs or Tropicana ever opened back up

To be fair, I go to Philly now so I may be wrong, but not like it was 10 years ago
What do you recommend in Philly? I've not been there related to poker either. Making a trip to AC just for Borgata as the only option is definitely less enticing than it would have been with multiple options.
 
There was a robust low stakes tournament scene in southern New Hampshire that kind of evaporated. I think part of the problem especially for tournaments is dealer availability. People found other jobs?
 
I am probably wrong here, but I honestly believe poker didn't die. I think a few rooms opened up in an area, they saw some big business, and then 30 more rooms opened and it saturated the market. That saturated market makes people think poker died.
 
......saturated market makes people think poker died.
nah, it's not that.

Vegas poker rooms have shut down too. They’re closing all over the country.
true story

It’s not the most profitable move for the casino to open or maintain one -......
Slots are a lot more profitable than poker or table games

The poker boom is over.
Also true

Thanks Obama
I'm not an Obama fan or anything, but I must have missed something. Not sure what he did to hurt poker

(and you GTO hoodie wearing math solver weenies that sucked the fun out of holdem).
Yes, this is part of it. Also, NL in general is really bad for poker & unfortunately that is all they promote. Think about it, what other forms of poker do you ever see in movies or on TV other than NL?

NL is just terrible for the poker economy
 
This just means that more rooms should spread PLO, Big O, and more mixed games. The degens will flock if you spread a few tables of 1/2 Big O and more PLO tables.

The Rounders sequel, if they make one, should be an old Mike McDermott navigating the mean streets of PLO with a cameo from @Anthony Martino
 
I'm not an Obama fan or anything, but I must have missed something. Not sure what he did to hurt poker
I think he meant it as just a callback to the old joke from when he was President.

Though to be fair, it was the Obama DOJ that shut down the big online sites on Black Friday in 2011, and this essentially ended the poker boom that started in 2003 and lead to a downswing in poker across the US.

Thanks Obama.
 
......Though to be fair, it was the Obama DOJ that shut down the big online sites on Black Friday in 2011, and this essentially ended the poker boom that started in 2003 and lead to a downswing in poker across the US......

I guess I hadn't thought about that.

The whole Black Friday thing has clearly had a MAJOR effect on new players entering into playing poker in the US and consequently a massive downswing in popularity of poker rooms.

To my way of thinking, a full re-instatement of above board online poker in the US is the one and only thing that will bring back some of the glory days to poker rooms across America.

Personally, I am shocked that it hasn't been reinstated long ago. Now with all the expansion of online gambling and sports betting etc it is crazy that poker of all things is banned
 

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