Played on Friday for 7hrs at 1/2: My table was suprisingly good. Had to keep my chip stack protected for 5 hrs, until 3 players left the table - at which point three fish sat down. In the last two hours turned two hundred into 6 relativily easily. All in all, I see a lot of potential - just looking forward to the full room being open, and the lines dying down. (not that I waited more than an hour... if someone is named DW1 you shouldnt have left, I def. took your seat)

Trip Report from 7/11

Arrive at the poker room around 1240 to stand in line, was about the 30-35 person in line.

Sign up begun at 1:50ish

Start seating people at 2:50, Finishing seating everyone around 3:20

I played the 1/2 NL, there was 2 good talents, 5 average and 3 who was willing to give there money away (sloppy play as in calling down with mid pair and winning a pot of $100-150)

When i left, i know there was 140 people on the 1/2 Nl at 8

Well, considering the pace the WV lottery is granting licenses, not to mention the size of the room (in combination w/cash games running), I'd be surprised if it's any sooner.

In fact, the guy I talked to said no tourneys until they knock out the wall an expand the room (I hope he's wrong or that they expand soon).

-DB

Called out there - looks like the poker room is not opening until 8:00 p.m. Mon-Thurs. I spoke to Randy briefly - they are in the process of installing cameras today to get a couple more tables open soon.

Frankly, I love his attitude - just a few bumps along the road, but nothing they can't overcome. Slowly but surely, things are getting better.

Anybody who lives in WV - call & complain about these chumps with the Lottery. Your state legislators want to hear from you - they will light a fire under them and move things along if they hear from unhappy constituents.

Honestly this is what makes me very optimistic about this room too. Randy understands the situation he is in, does his best with what he has and works to make the situation better everyday. The biggest thing holding this room back is WVa Gaming not the casino or any of the employees. Randy and his crew want 27 tables (and more) and they want 24/7 games. They are there to run a poker room and make money while providing a positive experience for the players. Randy and I spoke briefly on Sunday and he is riding out the storm as best he can looking ahead to August and the fall when he has a fully functional room.

Is the current poker room going to be the permanant room or are they carving out an area on the casino floor

Walking around looking for the cashier on Sunday, there is a huge area still under construction on the main casino floor...I can't imagine this is for a poker room though

I was told by C'Town that that area is for the new steak house.

I talked to a poker staff member a few nights ago who said the current room is the permanent room but they are going to expand it by knocking out a wall somewhere to allow for 100 tables or so. He had no timeframe of when the expansion would take place.

-DB

If it's 8-4 during the week, this week, what's the hours going to be this Fri-Sun? Does anyone know offhand?

Thx,
shju2

Not 100% sure for this week but last week they started taking names at 2 pm with players being seated around 3pm and most tables up and running by 3:30. Games ended at 4 a.m.


If you are planning on going on the weekend, you might want to consider getting there early. A good friend of mine went down and was in line to get his name on the last shortly after 1 pm and he said he was #50 or so. Nothing worse than driving all the way there only to not get a seat.

Cheers

Yes, the earlier person who said that the back section of the main table room is a steak house is correct.

Also, they are adding a "Non-Smoking" Table Game Section next to the Epic Buffet. I am going to assume that they will pull some of the tables from the newest pit area that they just opened and move them over to the new "Non-Smoking" Table Game area when it is complete.

This will be good because you will have more tables in one area without having to walk back and forth to the newer pit area they just opened last Friday Night.

12 tables open now guys.... its a step forward in the process

people are joining 2p2 just to post in this thread. HCT should get a kickback.

table breakdown?

Anyone care to share their experience from last night?

-Arrival Time
-Wait Time
-When were cards in the air
-Breakdown of games running
-...

Last night was like every other night. Get there 1.5 hours early if you want first seating. Cards in the air between 8-8:45 depending on what game you play and when it's called. If you get there at 7:30 or later expect to wait 2-5 hours. Game breakdown same as every other day but I believe they added one 1-2 ans one 3-6.


They really need to seat everyone at the tables and then bring the cart and chips to the table instead of having everyone stand in that line

I e-mailed the Lottery Commission and got this reply the very next day:


While I understand your frustration, I’m a bit perplexed as to why the Lottery is not seen as flexible. Perhaps there is misinformation floating around.



While it is the Lottery’s obligation under the law to serve as regulators, insuring that every action is in compliance with the statute, the fact is that the agency has moved with efficiency in approving both licenses and operations.



The Charles Town applications were delayed getting to us, but once received were handled with due diligence.



Thus far 652 applications for employment have been processed. Of those, 603 have been licensed and 49 are pending (requiring additional response from the applicant). There are 92 applications remaining to be processed, which should all be completed by the end of this week.



The procedure for an applicant:



· After individuals pass the necessary course work and receive certification, they decide at which racetrack they wish to work.

· Visiting the HR department of that facility, they fill out an application and go through the racetrack’s employment process, which includes a background check.

· Having passed the track’s background check, their applications are forwarded to the Lottery, where they undergo both financial and criminal background checks.



If everything goes smoothly, it only takes two weeks for an application to be processed by the Lottery. However, if there is a problem with the finger prints we receive for an applicant, requiring the criminal background check to be completed by name rather than print, it could take six to 10 weeks.



On Thursday, July 1 the Charles Town track was licensed to operate table games in addition to the slots. While they only had 34 tables operating on Saturday, 112 tables will ultimately be approved by the Lottery. But most clearly, the track must comply with proper security mandates, as well as camera coverage – which has been documented by the lottery since 2001 – as well as move forward with staffing to meet their table goal, as well as the crux of the track’s advertising campaign. Again, the timeliness of those issues should be addressed by the track, not the Lottery.





Nancy Bulla
Public Relations Manager
Drawing Manager
West Virginia Lottery
Phone: 304.558.0555

Looks like the REAL holdup is installation of cameras.

WHAT IS YOUR TIME FOR TODAY (TUESDAY) 8-4?

thats interesting Rick. Whats funny is I heard a floor on Friday say that they had submitted all of the paperwork on time and that he didnt know what the hold up was on their [lottery's] end.

the way he said it definitely implied that they had submitted papers to get dealers in by July 1st.


goes to show theres always two sides to a story.

This has been a mixed blessing at best.

LOL @ government agency saying anything but that they do their job 100% perfectly with 100% perfect precision. LOL

Next email the Driver's license dept and let them tell you how wonderful and quickly they do their job too. It must be all your fault if you had a problem.

12 Tables on Monday - All Texas Hold 'em
6 - 1/2 NL
2 - 2/5 NL
1 - 5/10 NL
2 - 3/6 FL
1 - 10/20 FL

Quick TR from Yesterday Monday July 12:

Got off of work at 11 pm last night and decided that since it was monday that maybe the poker room would be a little less crowded and that I would be able to jump right onto the tables.

Arrived shortly after 11:30 and made my way up to the poker room. Walked up to the podium and signed up for 1/2,2/5,and 3/6 with each having at least a 30 person wait and the 1/2 over 60.

No big deal, went back downstairs and had a few beers at the bar and walked around checking things out.

Finally got called for the 3/6 table shortly after 1. Played a few hands there, was called for the 2/5 and within 3-4 mins was called for the 1/2 that I had been waiting for.

On the play: the 3/6 table was a typical FL table with 7+ seeing the flop every hand. Unless you catch a monster hand, there was no point in even playing. No bid deal though, thats FL for ya.

I then moved over to the 2/5 table but really didnt get a chance to notice much b/c I was only there for a few hands. I did notice a gentlemen on the end of the table that looked to have around 2k in chips in front of him.

The 1/2 table was a typical mixture of 1-2 solid players, 4 or so ok..and a few not so ok players. There was a lot of limp calling and players would not fold ANYTHING pre it seemed like even with 7-8xbb pre raise. I saw more than one player call off 150$+ on the flop with nothing more than two overs. I ended up -6$ for the session at 4 am after being completely card dead.

Dealers were excellent. Did not see any mistakes whatsoever and they kept the game moving nicely.

The tables and chairs are also rather nice making playing for several hours very comfortable.

All in all, it was a good first trip to CT and I will be returning soon.

Millconsole542

Hello, my name is Mike, I'm a journalist working for the Shepherdstown Chronicle in Jefferson County, W.Va. and I was wondering if I could speak to some of you who have visited the new CT table games operation. I am working on a story about the opening of table games and the service rendered. Mr. Phineas, I am especially interested in hearing your views, as you appear to have a rather nuanced view of the situation.

This message board doesn't appear to have a private messaging function, however. Anyone who wants to take me up can email me at MJTheis [at] gmail [dot] com and we'll set things up from there.

Thank you.