Coming in 2013 - Maryland B&M Poker

[blah45]

o well of course right as a finish college and drove to del park many times this year a possible real casino opens near my school. But honestly Im all for gambling/playing in a actual poker room but how many real casinos does this country need in reality. I think gambling is no longer something you do on vacation but a sad existence for some

im waiting for the flames on this comment

[repulse]

Originally Posted by zerosum79

Is it odd that Arundel Mills already has electronic forms of all table games (Roulette, black jack, etc) even poker (etable)?

Wait, does Arundel Mills have electronic poker? I can't really tell from their website whether or not their electronic "Ultimate Texas Holdem" table is an electronically-dealt bona fide poker game a la PokerPro or some sort of house game. What a beautiful world we live in that this information could be ambiguous.

If so, why has nobody been talking about it? I thought that actual poker of any kind, electronic or otherwise, would not hit Maryland until table games were approved.

[_*PSTONE*_]

Originally Posted by daveko6911

Won't matter. Republicans control very little in Maryland. Here is what will happen from someone who lives in Maryland:

1) They will tell Cordish to pipe down about National Harbor Casino
2) The Republicans will complain about it
3) The Democrats will approve a 6th Casino in MD (at National Harbor in PG county) and table games to all 6 of them (for referendum in November).
4) It will be a horrible percentage for National Harbor Casino
5) Bidders will complain about take for Maryland/payouts
6) Percentages will be lowered
7) Other 5 will complain about lowered percentage

It took them years to finally get Arundel Mills built after all of the objections, fighting etc. We still don't have anything built at Rocky Gap or in Baltimore (These 2 are the biggest disasters of the 5, you literally couldn't get anyone to bid on Rocky Gap after 3 tries LOL). Arundel Mills makes 3 slots barns (Perryville, Ocean Downs are not very big). Almost every state around us has table games, and we can't even get slots barns built at Rocky Gap or in Baltimore.

The worst thing out of all of this that was done was to make any changes only allowed by referendum. So if the special session falls through, nothing can happen again until 2014 (which would push table games/national harbor to 2015-2016). Welcome to Maryland. Enjoy your stay.

I've been absent from the forum for a while so I'll provide a brief update. And respond to a few comments that have been made.

Cordish is one of the most prudent and savvy business men in the entire region, trust me...he wants table games and he understands the National Harbor and Baltimore location is not something he can stop, he is simply negotiating the best deal he can when it comes to tax breaks and amount of revenue from table games he has to give to the state. At least one of the original bills introduced this year allowed the casinos to exclude table game revenue from the part of their profits that they had to give the over whelming majority to the state.

The Republicans in the State are posturing on this issue...they have no real power on this issue. The big players are PG county reps, Baltimore city reps, the Governor, The Speaker and the Senate President. AA county reps are not really huge players (where AA mills is located), Cordish is more powerful than those guys.

Information on what is what is happening behind the scenes with the special committee is very guarded. In this case..no news is not good news. If we hear something that means a deal has been struck. People I know that are in Annapolis feel positive about a deal happening but are hesitant to say for sure it will happen.

Should a deal be made the special session will happen July 9. they will come back to pass the gaming bill....there won't be must discussion because it will all be worked out beforehand. They will also be considering pit bull legislation.

The votes are there for this on the referendum. If it gets to referendum it will pass. Cordish is really pissed just because the legislature has hesitated about this. half his facility is on stand by just waiting for this stuff to play out.

[jayluf]

FYI - Maryland Live! has Heads-Up (NL) electronic tables and PokerTrek-type full ring electronic tables. Stakes vary.

[repulse]

Originally Posted by jayluf

FYI - Maryland Live! has Heads-Up (NL) electronic tables and PokerTrek-type full ring electronic tables. Stakes vary.

Interesting, thanks for the info! I started a thread in B&M for the venue. I'm curious to see if a place like this can take off.

[Pauky]

Originally Posted by jayluf

FYI - Maryland Live! has Heads-Up (NL) electronic tables and PokerTrek-type full ring electronic tables. Stakes vary.

I'm here right now. I see no electronic poker. They have electronic paigow poker, craps, roulette, but no poker. I asked around and no one knows anything. Is there anything you would like me to check on while I'm here?

[repulse]

Originally Posted by Pauky

I'm here right now. I see no electronic poker. They have electronic paigow poker, craps, roulette, but no poker. I asked around and no one knows anything. Is there anything you would like me to check on while I'm here?

So bizarre. I called the casino and the person I spoke with knew no details about what types of machines were among their offerings, and was only able to name a few poker-themed slot machines or house games, so no help, really.

I also had contacted the Baltimore Sun over this piece a few days ago, where they stated that Maryland Live! would include "electronic games, including poker", thinking that the author had made a mistake or been misled and that it was actually video poker, but the editor was sure that actual poker was among the games.

If there are electronic poker tables, it certainly seems like the case that their organization as a whole is not keenly aware of or attuned to them. Perhaps they are somewhere off the beaten path and the staff makes no distinction between them and the video poker machines. I mean, if anyone there was actually in charge of and aware of poker, that person probably would have made the information on the website less ambiguous and, you know, made sure the poker community knew about the place before opening it.

Do let me know if you happen to find them on your own. Thanks for letting us know. What a weird mystery.

[repulse]

The thread I made got (rightfully) closed due to the uncertainty, so please do post here if you visit Maryland Live! and find any evidence either way as to whether or not they actually currently have electronic poker tables.

[titansox]

A few things to those who may want to go to Maryland Live.

I got there last night (this morning I suppose) at about 2am. I still waited in line for about 20 minutes but it wasn't too bad. HOWEVER when I got to the front of the line they denied me entrance because I had a vertical drivers license. I'm 21 and my drivers license (Virginia) was issued before I turned 21. So even though I was 21 and 7 months old, they would not let me in. I've been to Vegas and I've been to the Rivers up in Pittsburgh and I haven't had any problems so I was very surprised by this. Lucky for me, I'm also a pilot and I had my government issued pilot's license so they let me in. I'm not sure if the guy did me a favor or if all horizontal government issued IDs are OK. So anyone who is just over 21, make sure you have a horizontal license before you make the trek out there.

Once inside the place was nice. Although all but one of the food places were closed and the one that was still open was seafood (just after 2am on Saturday). Live is like 90% slots. As you probably know, all the "table games" are electronic. There were only a handful of dedicated "table games" and they were all full constantly. Around the bar they had a ton of roulette screens. So you could grab a drink and gamble a bit. Even at 2am on a Saturday night the mins were only 5$ on the electronic tables. In the high rollers room the mins were only 25$. I only saw maybe 10 seats for black jack. They had a ton of video poker but I don't believe I saw any other poker of any kind.

Also, something new to me, but final call was at 3:30 and the place closed at 4am. I assumed it was open 24-7. It wasn't.

[zerosum79]

It's strange. The website implies that they have texas holdem as an e-table game in the casino. However if you click on any of the games for more information, the description is about their online casino. The description for poker is to play against other people. However, the graphic they have is for "Ultimate Texas Holdem" which is a pit game.

It looks like they either plan for etable poker or at one point had plans and have not implemented them. It might simply be for ultimate texas holdem. However, I think that is a good sign that management might be persuaded to buy pokertek tables. They just need to know that the interest is there.

zero

[zerosum79]

I emailed the customer service to ask what the status is and if there are plans to implement e-tables in the future (assuming they do not exist now).

I still don't know how they are getting away with e-tables at all but it seems to be a good sign for table games and poker in MD in general.

Regards,
Greg

[repulse]

I also had emailed customer service a few days ago. Just got a very short reply from someone of the title "Director of Player Development". I can't help but laugh about the fact that the response is so brief and not technically complete that there's still a chance he just skimmed my email and gave a stock response, but, yeah, this is decisive enough... I feel safe concluding that there's nothing there for now. Thanks to all who reported here with info.

Originally Posted by My Email

Hello,

I have heard conflicting reports from visitors to your new casino as to whether or not there are electronic poker tables among your offerings.
To be clear -- I do NOT mean "Three Card Poker", "Pai Gow Poker", "Video Poker", or any of the myriad variants of such games played against the house. I am referring to poker, the strategic game played between multiple players.

One report says that among your 3,000 machines are some heads-up poker tables (where two players compete against each other) and some full-ring (6-10 players) electronically-dealt poker games of various stakes.

Another player says he was unable to find such tables, and that floor staff was unaware of their existence. The casino's website is regrettably ambiguous as to whether or not electronic poker tables exist, or merely various house games using the word "poker" in their names.

Could you confirm or deny that Maryland Live! currently has multiplayer poker machines?

Thanks,
Mike

Originally Posted by the response

Mike , we have video poker.

[Pauky]

Originally Posted by zerosum79

I emailed the customer service to ask what the status is and if there are plans to implement e-tables in the future (assuming they do not exist now).

I still don't know how they are getting away with e-tables at all but it seems to be a good sign for table games and poker in MD in general.

Regards,
Greg

I talked with one employee and she said they are already planning for regular table games in anticipation that legislation will pass.

[Pauky]

I just heard on WTOP in DC that the study MD was doing said the state can support a 6th casino---specifically at National Harbor. This could be the East Coast Poker Mecca--if they play their cards right.

[yg13]

Here's the latest update from the legislative side; yesterday the workgroup to expand gambling in Maryland met and were briefed on the study conducted by Price Waterhousecoopers on the sustainability of a sixth casino site in PG county, and whether/how MD should allocate taxes with casino operators.

To no surprise, they said that Maryland CAN support a sixth casino. While the sixth site would take away revenues from Anne Arundel (MD Live) and Baltimore City (Harrah's, eventually), the table games and changes in the structure of taxes would cause a net revenue increase for both MD Live and Harrah's. There will be a final work group meeting next Wednesday 06/20, and at that point we will know whether there will be a special session for July 9. Look for that to happen barring a highly unforeseen change in political winds.

If it is approved in the special session (it will be approved as long as the session is called), then it will be on the ballot in November. I am guessing that right after the election the casino operators will begin hiring and training dealers in preparation for table games launching in early 2013 (this is all my best guess, the legislation will spell out how soon table games can be actually operated).

Also, for anyone wondering, MD Live does not currently have electronic poker that would interest most 2+2ers. The extent of their poker offerings are electronic pai gow and 3 card poker against a dealer. No table stakes/ring games or heads up. Their staff is unfortunately fairly clueless. In fact, I was recently told that once table games are approved, they will have a poker room completely off site from the main casino. I have since been informed that that employee was wrong, but it goes to show that this early in their operation, the right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing.