The good news is my local poker room opens back up next week. The bad... every pot you drag comes with a complimentary ass-pounding. I mean the game is unbeatable at this point, right? $5 for the house, $1 for the bad-beat, and we'll say $1 for the dealer. 3.5 BB/hand, more-or-less.
More Rake is Better per my Local Casino. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter chkmte
- Start date
Boooo
RocAFella1
Royal Flush
Are they introducing any new jackpots or promotions?
Lucks7Shadow
Two Pair
Sucks
I'm sure they're not. As far as I know, the bad-beat kitty covers their promotions.
Well I just duked it out (on Twitter) with the poker manager. He was reasonable but wrong in my opinion. I feel like the poker room should be a feature of the casino, not a revenue stream - and be managed as such.
tabletalker7
Full House
While in theory you are right, I want you to step back and ask yourself "what in a casino is NOT a revenue stream?" Even the purpose of the free booze is to make you gamble more, which makes it a revenue stream. The biggest issue with poker in a casino is you can lose all your money there and never hit the gaming floor. It HAS TO BE a revenue stream, or it is hurting the casino.
And for the record, I don't agree with the rake increase either. If poker wasn't a revenue stream, it would not have survived pre-COVID. This rake increase is pure greed, trying to profit off of people desperate to just have SOMETHING to go do for the first time in months. The saddest thing is even with this UNCALLED FOR rake increase, their tables will still be full. They will get exactly what they wanted.
I agree that the property must make money, and that is why it exists. However, I disagree that the poker room or any department within the property should operate as an island. All departments should work together for the better good.
Imagine if you lower the rake, or at least keep it at a minimum, your demand never falters. More times than not, you'll have a waiting list. Those players on the waiting list are almost certainly going to go play a machine or table game while they wait. It is also almost certain that those players are going to lose money doing so. At the end of the day, the property is going to bring in more money. But if you run off all the poker players, that can't happen.
To my point, Las Vegas used to sell $2.99 ribeye dinners - or whatever. The restaurant wasn't a revenue stream, it was a feature. People came in for the cheap eats, and then they went and played. But people have forgotten this model.
I've many years of working in casinos and believe me, most of the folks making decisions are ignorant. They just do what they've always done so they don't cause a stir.
Every poker room in the area has closed up, except for this one. If they continue to do what the others did, why would their fate be any different?
honkydevil
Straight
My local casino, before they closed the poker room down anyways, did $5+$2. The worst part was that no matter the size of the pot, the $2 for the BB jackpot would drop as soon as the flop was dealt.
The better good? It's a casino, not a community center. I'm not going to disagree the rake sucks, but come on. A casino isn't a charity, they are maximizing profits. A $1 rake per pot, or a $7 rake per pot isn't going to make a lick of difference to the occasional player, and the casino knows that. I went on a cruise, the rake was insane, 5% to 10% or something crazy like that. I did a U-turn immediately, but guess what - their tables were full dame near the whole time.
The better good being whatever makes the most money for the property. Does that not make sense?
It does, but I don't think your scenario makes more money for the property.
tabletalker7
Full House
In the casinos near me, poker is an island onto itself. One business entity (Seneca Resorts and Casinos) owns and operates the casinos, while another does poker (Seneca Gaming and Entertainment), and the latter rents the space in the casino for the poker room from the former. They are separate from each other.
tabletalker7
Full House
Again, flawed thinking. 2 main reasons.
1. Guess what? They will still have the same waiting lists. People will still play. Nothing will change there.
2. Poker players DON'T GO OUT ON THE CASINO FLOOR! Poker players know the casino floor is tilted to the house, so they play poker to avoid playing against the house. Tourists will play on the casino floor, but tourists will play on the casino floor WITH OR WITHOUT A POKER ROOM.
Legend5555
Full House
You are complaining about 5+1 when most of us have to deal with 5+2 in mosy places these days. It's beatable, even at 1/2. But it's lineup dependant any you have to play VERY tight. And you aren't going to beat it for much unless that line up is sweet. The more pots you play and win, the more rake you pay.
tabletalker7
Full House
People did not forget this business model, they remembered that this business model DID NOT WORK! People would go for the cheap eats, then enjoy the shows everywhere. No gambling involved! And the shows became cheaper to run, seeing as how you had less government red tape (the health department) less initial employee expense (the cook still works for the casino and needs vetted by the government, while the shows are run by a separate business entity that has nothing to do with gambling and doesn't need to license it's employees) and appealed to the whole family with helped filled the hotel rooms and turned the hotel rooms into it's own revenue stream. It isn't the 1960's anymore buddy. Life changes. Casinos had to adapt or die.
tabletalker7
Full House
If you think the rake rates are the main reason so many poker rooms failed, I hate to tell you this but you are dead wrong. So many poker rooms, and so many casinos in general failed for no other reason than there were just too many of them, all offering the exact same services. Every state and local government thought gambling would solve their budget shortfalls and allowed some loopholes to let gambling happen, and so many casinos opened up in a relatively short time frame. The market became oversaturated in a hurry!
WedgeRock
Royal Flush
The single biggest factor in rasing the rake, IMO, is the wait list.... As evidenced by the fact that they downshift 5 handed... However, the old saying about shearing a sheep comes to mind...
Also, I support a 10% poker rake on cruise ships... Hell, make it 20%. It increases the chances that I see my family while on the cruise.
Also, I support a 10% poker rake on cruise ships... Hell, make it 20%. It increases the chances that I see my family while on the cruise.
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
I assume it is still the same percentage of the pot, so the game remains beatable as long as your opponents are splashy. Many Vegas rooms, including top rooms like the Venetian and Wynn, have charged $5 for years. It's $1 more when you are pulling a $50 pot. Even then, pre-COVID, these top-tier poker rooms make little profit per square foot of floor space.
Be happy they are trying to boost income/cut losses but increasing the rake. They have other options available, such as electronic tables to cut down on dealer expenses or replacing the room with slot machines. Sometimes more rake is better.
Be happy they are trying to boost income/cut losses but increasing the rake. They have other options available, such as electronic tables to cut down on dealer expenses or replacing the room with slot machines. Sometimes more rake is better.
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