WV Charles Town
- Thread starter Thunder
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I'm at CT now. The problem seems tobe with the state of WVA. They are holding up dealers' clearances because the investigations of their backgrounds is taking so long. There's no telling how long the state will drag it's feet.
When I got here at 1:30 pm there were only 2 tables at $25, but within a short time they had raised them to $50. I backcounted a couple of tables and was lucky to get a spot after two hours on a table that had just reached key count. In several rounds it turned positive and I was able to win $375, and could have won more if I had the guts to spread 10 times. As it was I had several bets at $50 and $75, and several bets at a max of $200. I know it's pathetic. Still, I'll take it any day for 15 minutes work.
The pen was one deck.
When I got here at 1:30 pm there were only 2 tables at $25, but within a short time they had raised them to $50. I backcounted a couple of tables and was lucky to get a spot after two hours on a table that had just reached key count. In several rounds it turned positive and I was able to win $375, and could have won more if I had the guts to spread 10 times. As it was I had several bets at $50 and $75, and several bets at a max of $200. I know it's pathetic. Still, I'll take it any day for 15 minutes work.
The pen was one deck.
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Are the people that are standing in line several deep to play these $50 and $100 games, locals or have they made the trip from Washington DC/Northern Virginia? Not to sound ignorant, but I wouldn't have thought a state that ranks dead last in average income, with an unemployment rate higher than the national average would produce that many high rollers. 
kewljason said:
Are the people that are standing in line several deep to play these $50 and $100 games, locals or have they made the trip from Washington DC/Northern Virginia? Not to sound ignorant, but I wouldn't have thought a state that ranks dead last in average income, with an unemployment rate higher than the national average would produce that many high rollers.
PS--Some of the biggest gambling in this country occurred in the 30s and early 40s when people were reeling from the Great Depression. Many a poor person sees gambling as a shortcut to success. Also, where poverty exists, there is a high incidence of drugs and other illegal activity, and criminal activity puts big money into the hands of people who have nothing better to do with it than gamble it away.
That was a cheap shot, but let me tell you a story. :grin: I had a friend by the name of K. Fatkin. We drove up to W VA looking for his aunt and uncle, and throughout our journey, everywhere we stopped (and I mean everywhere) we found someone to whom he was related. It was hilarious. This was over a distance of a couple of hundred miles. We finally found his aunt and uncle living in Frostburg, MD midway between Mount Savage and Cumberland. :grin::whip:
I think this is another classic case of a casino that is being penny wise and pound foolish. If the bulk of the players of these games are locals, then this joint is seriously burning out the local ploppies....unless they are serious degenerates (quite possible BTW :laugh, if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
, if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
boneuphtoner said:
I think this is another classic case of a casino that is being penny wise and pound foolish. If the bulk of the players of these games are locals, then this joint is seriously burning out the local ploppies....unless they are serious degenerates (quite possible BTW :laugh, if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
, if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
Those waiting to play have thinned out already from opening day. Some standing behind the tables are just entertaining themselves by watching the $100 and $50 action. I asked one gentleman if he was waiting for a seat, and he quickly stood back and exclaimed, "Oh, no, not me! I'm a ten dollar player!"
Update from yesterday: mostly still the same.
Stopped by yesterday morning. 8 tables (2x25min, 4x50min, 2x100min) running, all full with 6+ waiting on the $25 tables and 4+ waiting on the $50 tables. I didn't notice any backline betting (does CT even allow that?). There were 2 baccarat tables open in the high limit area but none of the BJ tables (which are S17 vs H17 on the floor) were open. But considering 2 out of 8 tables on the floor were $100min and full , why would they open them? About 3:30 the 2 $25 tables were bumped up to $50, no grandfathering.
Guess I'll check back in a couple of weeks.
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Stopped by yesterday morning. 8 tables (2x25min, 4x50min, 2x100min) running, all full with 6+ waiting on the $25 tables and 4+ waiting on the $50 tables. I didn't notice any backline betting (does CT even allow that?). There were 2 baccarat tables open in the high limit area but none of the BJ tables (which are S17 vs H17 on the floor) were open. But considering 2 out of 8 tables on the floor were $100min and full , why would they open them? About 3:30 the 2 $25 tables were bumped up to $50, no grandfathering.
Guess I'll check back in a couple of weeks.
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Charlestown
What's difficult to understand is the saturation of TV commercials for this casino on Washington DC channels. There are spots on all channels at all times, featuring table games.
People responding to these ads and driving to Charlestown may never return if disappointed by the lack of facilities to play.
What's difficult to understand is the saturation of TV commercials for this casino on Washington DC channels. There are spots on all channels at all times, featuring table games.
People responding to these ads and driving to Charlestown may never return if disappointed by the lack of facilities to play.
Good point, FP. But I think the anger and disappointment will be short-lived. When a person in Fairfax, VA, has the choice between AC, 3 1/2 hours; xxxDelParkxxx, 2 hours; xxxHarringtonDelxxx, 2 hours; and xxxCharlesTownxxx, a little over 1 hour, I think the initial disappointment and angry feelings will soon dissipate provided the CT games live up to final expectations. The games seem decent enough and the tables are plentiful. What they don't have are competing area casinos and hotel comps (could be wrong about this), and as my wife points out, outlet shopping for the missus. (Of course, there's Hagerstown, MD, and its outlets some 38 miles away.) And for me, the allure of CT and the xxxDelxxx casinos is the fact that you can easily make it a day trip, not an over-nighter (or vice versa :laugh.
.OMFG. Shades of the dealer telling Chevy Chase, why don't I just take you out back, beat the crap out of you, you give me half your money, and we call it even?
That being said, there are low limit games in California card rooms where if one or two players call the blinds, the dealer then rakes ALL the money in the pot, and players still bet after the flop. That's right, they're playing to win nothing. Yet they still get plenty of players. If people have the itch to gamble, it doesn't matter how bad the game is.
That being said, there are low limit games in California card rooms where if one or two players call the blinds, the dealer then rakes ALL the money in the pot, and players still bet after the flop. That's right, they're playing to win nothing. Yet they still get plenty of players. If people have the itch to gamble, it doesn't matter how bad the game is.