Have you ever been to Sugarhouse? There are always a lot of people there and security cars.

As to the neighborhood, that whole area is becoming gentrified.

It is just as safe, if not safer, than A.C or Chester.

Your statistics are bunk.

We're off the rails a little. It's a city and therefore, somewhat safer than some and slightly more dangerous than others. Lots of poker rooms are in the city. Some of those cities have higher murder rates. Let the criminologists work on that. Some players don't want to play in the city... fine, they can play somewhere else. Seriously, Sugarhouse knows how important safety is to their success.

More important questions: When is Sugarhouse opening? What's the manager have to say about games? How is the construction of the new room progressing? What is a temporary room? Raye?????

Opening around early September. Games will be spread depending on what the players want. New room 18 months from now. Temporary room is 24 tables they're throwing in a tent or something lol.

This is what I remember from some of his posts but correct me if I'm wrong.

Probably not, but I have been living here for 30 years, in Old City, so I do know my way around. On weekend nights in the summer, lots of people around. I wold just cab or Uber it home for $10-$15.

Hi Everyone! I am sorry it has been a while since I've posted! We have gearing up on the staffing aspect of the room, getting internal controls to the state, etc. I agree we should have either a 1/2 or 1/3 not both. The limits, mins and maxs will be up to you. I submitted for every conceivable limit/game type. If going forward, we need to submit for different maxs, etc then that's what we'll do. It's really a rather easy process. For the actual poker room itself. Eventually, the poker room will be part of the expansion process that we have currently started. Until the expansion is complete, we will run the poker room (24 tables) adjacent to the casino. It will be a temporary structure. We will be in the introductory poker room for about 1 to 1 1/2 years. If you want to google what it will sorta of look like go to Sprung Structures. These are structures that can be permanent however SugarHouse will only be using this one until the expansion is complete.

The temporary structure will have 24 tables, a poker cage, safety deposit boxes, food and beverage area and an outside fenced in area to smoke. The one thing we will not have in the poker room will be restrooms. There is no running water in this facility. SugarHouse felt it was important to open this room now instead of waiting until the expansion is completed. So we're looking at mid-Sept. or October for opening. As we get closer and we know more I'll keep posting. I look forward to meeting everyone sooner than later! Have a great weekend. If your looking for some of what we have planned for marketing check out “Poker Night in America” starting Sunday June 29. It will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. New episodes will air at 10 p.m. EST through December. The show features well-known pros and complete amateurs—focusing on a “reality style” live poker experience combined with table action and interviews. The first episode will feature Turning Stone Resort in central New York, but keep an eye out for the episode that features our sister property, Rivers Casino, in Pittsburgh. It will serve as a great sneak peek into how poker will unfold at SugarHouse.

How far of a walk will it be to the restrooms?

Since their is no plumbing will there be any heating or cooling?

Thanks for the update, Raye. I'm a little confused though when you say that there will be a food & beverage area but no running water. I take this to mean that sandwiches (prepared in a main building kitchen) and bottled/canned drinks, but nothing that would require sanitation at the site? Hope I'm right on this.....

Lee

The bigger issue is not 1/2 or 1/3. The issue is what will the min and max be. 1/2 with a 200 to 500 buyin range is essentially the same game as a 2/5 with the same buyin. Why not have a 200 max 500 max and 1000 max plus whatever higher limits there is a demand for.

If it's 1/2 it should definitely be a 300 max. But I agree about three different max buyins.

I would recommend 100 to 300 1/2 NL and 200 to 1000 2/5 NL.

The reason 2 5 should be 1000 max is that 5 10 or higher is realistically unlikely to run in SugarHouse and if you wanna attract Center City businessmen crowd, you will want 2 5 to be 1000 max.

Also, you should offer free drinks to differentiate yourself from Parx.

why wouldn't 5/10 run at Sugarhouse. Parx always has a 10/10 game running and their location isn't even close to the city. 2/5 should definitely be 500 max.

There just has to be. Winters are so cold & summers so hot.

Can we at least get a port-a-john for quick pisses?

1/3 100-500 and 2/5 300-1000

I like the free drinks idea. Always makes the games more friendly and loose.

1/2: 60 min-300 max
1/3: 100 min-500 max
2/5: 200 min-1000 max

I also think having another 2/5 table with over 1000 max buyin would be cool. Only run it on weekends or whenever the demand is higher imo.

im still advocating for a 500 max or at least have 2 diff tables of 2/5.

I concur. The reason 2/5 runs multiple tables 24/7 at Borgata is the 500 max buy in. 1/2 players are much more likely to make the jump to 2/5 if it's only a 66% difference in the buy in. When YOU Make It a 333% jump it is too much of a leap and they stay at 1/2 forever.

This place more than others should be catering to the casual player and almost ignoring the regulars. That's what I'd do anyway. Sugarhouse should(once the real room's in place) have more casual/soft/amateur/wealthy players than Harrah's or Parx due to it's close proximity to the city.

I just don't see an upside to caring if regulars want super-high max buy-ins. They'll play there because that's where the soft play is, no need to entice them any further than that. Well....maybe with free drinks.

Most decisions should be based on getting casual players form the Convention Center, University City and the burbs into the room to have a good time and play loose. I'm picturing half-drunk dabgs dropping $400 in 45 minutes and walking away, that's who you want.

It's not a coincidence that the rooms with the most 1/2 and 2/5 tables in any city also have the most 5/10 and higher action as well. Poker rooms are an ecosystem.

If SH sets a reasonable 5/10nl structure (at least 2k max buyin) and perhaps throws some early promotional incentives into the mix, I don't see any reason they can't steal the 10/10nl game away from Parx. Much of the player pool in that game comes in from Jersey or Philly, driving right by SH on their way to Bensalem.

If you get those guys to SH, which consists of a rotating player pool of about 40 players, you also drag along all their pilot fish and friends playing lower. You have started building a poker reg community, which is one key to sustainable nightly games at all levels.

This is a huge opportunity to build a first class room with big advantages over both Parx and Borgata. It is theirs to screw up.

Have you been to Sugarhouse? "First class" is not really how they operate. NTTAWWT

It's gonna be 1/2 and 2/5 chaos, but I think there will be a good bit of traffic and volume every night of the week. Not every room needs to be the Borgata or Parx.

pretty clear they can go 2 ways:

1/2 (100-300) and 2/5 (200-500) which opens up opportunity for 5/10
or
1/3 (100-500) and 2/5 (200-1000)

Something like that. I'd be fine with either, I just don't want them to run too many games near the same stake (i.e. 1/2, 1/3, and 2/5 like Harrah's does). All this does is cannibalize the games at each stake.

Also, the $10 food comp for 4 hours or more of play at Harrah's went a long way. When they took that away it pissed a lot of people off. Being that SugarHouse doesn't really have a comp reward system for hotels and such, this could be another way to steal players away from Harrah's that are between the two properties.

I know when you play at the pit in SugarHouse they have no problem loading your card up with $25-$100 in comps for food. They've done it for me several times. Therefore, maybe this is an option Raye can look into for the poker room. Even $5 is better than nothing.

I think we can dispense with the idea of a poker room not spreading the one game that makes up 70% of poker demand.

You guys are insane for even thinking of bringing 5-10NL buyin's to Sugarhood. I think the 1/2 games will be good, but I'll never bring more than $500 w/ me.

There have been MANY incidents of people being followed home, robbed, and assaulted. One particular table games player from my neighborhood was tased after leaving her car to go inside her home, after she drove 15 miles away the place. People are being followed across the bridge back into Jersey. You have other people spotting marks and radio/signaling outside car trails.

Keep in mind, this place is a 5 minute drive from a top 10 highest crime/ violence filled neighborhood in the country. North Philly/Kensington/Badlands. Where people don't value life and you'll get stuck up by a 12 year old a bike, then shot after you give up your ****. I've seen it many times. It's worse than Iraq out here. Lived in Philly for 25 of my 30 years, and there are bad people in that place looking for a score every single day.

I just hope that even one person from Delaware, Jersey or the Philly suburbs who thinks SugarHood is as safe as Parx reads this and takes extra precaution.