Well, my co-worker wanted to check it out too, and we decided around 8pm that we'd give it a go. We read on page 37 or 38 that people were only waiting around an hour or so on Sunday. Seeing as it was a Wednesday night, we figured we'd wait about the same.

Unfortunately we hit traffic on the Beltway. By the time I picked him up, 495 was down to 1 lane for construction. On top of that the Dullus toll road on ramp was closed. We ended up going up 270 to avoid even more traffic and then over via 340. Not a big deal, but when you decide at 8-8:15ish that you want to play cards, run to the ATM, get gas, and I picked him up it was close to 9.

Again, didn't expect the amount of people on a Wednesday night, mid week with no long weekend vacation holiday. We figured it'd be 20ish deep on 1/2 probably 10-15 on 2/5, we'd wait an hour, and then play for 2-3 before it closed down for the night.

Like I said, CT isn't for me. I won't pay 25/50/100 to play Craps/Blackjack in WV. It's not that I can't easily play 25 or 50 a hand, it's that I'm just not going to in WV. I was very disappointed and turned off by the place.

Perhaps it's too much to ask for a poker room with table games in the 10/15/25 min bet range.

Again, I understand that the place is 'green'. I expect slow dealers, bad dealers and things to not be operating at 100%. I'm not complaining about the wait so much as I'm complaining about the overall experience.

Deleware seemed to be much more organized, that's all I'm saying, and I think it needs to be said because a lot of the information in the previous 38+ pages was very misleading.

What information specifically is misleading?

Hey man, AC isn't the only place with hookers. We've got em here in WV too. Though they're more of buck-toothed, white trash variety. But you should mix it up every now and then anyway.

I got to play 1-2 on Saturday. Got seated around 10 at a table with a super LAG with a stack who liked to straddle to 35 every other orbit. All the players at my table seemed solid. I haven't played in a couple years ever since I had kids, but I live 5 minutes away and had the itch. I was probably the worst player at my table. I left down 100 or so but had a blast. Room was nice and the atmosphere was good I thought.

guidance please ~ any chance to get on a 1/2 or 2/5 table tonight if you can't get there til 8pm/opening? what about tomorrow afternoon for opening at 3pm- what time do you have to arrive in line? thx ~ this is a great site except for the whiners and ppl wanting to talk about water bottles

If you get there at 8, you will probably get on a table tonight; but I wouldn't expect to get a seat for at least 2 hours, and probably closer to 3.

If I was going tomorrow, my goal would be to get there by 2pm.


--klez

Honestly, I really don't get it. At DP and Dover and even Chester, Pa, there's no line during the week, 10 to 15 dollar craps and roulette with no waiting. All running 24 hours. You guys really are saving 1 1/2 hours drive time for that kind of wait. With Chester opening, i wouldn't even expect much of a wait Friday or Saturday night.

A buddy of mine was seated at 8 and said when they were done it was open seating for 1/2.

Are you saying you think with Chester opening that you don't expect much of a wait Fri/Sat night at Charles Town?

It really depends on where you live. I live less than an hour from C-Town, but over 2.5 (according to Google) from anywhere you mentioned. So maybe in the time I spend driving and waiting at C-Town, I could drive to anywhere you mentioned and get in a game. (Maybe: people aren't calling in to get put on the waiting list at DP because there's open seating.)

But, I still would have the 2.5+ hour drive home, plus pay for the extra gas, plus tolls; and I'm not any fonder of driving that long as I am of waiting for that long. They both suck.

Knowing I'm going to have at least a 90 minute wait to get a seat when I go to C-Town certainly has an impact on how much I play: I've played 4 times since they opened; and would have gone at least twice as often if it weren't for the wait.

But there are no great options at the moment.


--klez

Honestly, we get it. You prefer DP/Dover/etc. Some of us like CTown. If we are willing to deal with some temporary problems to play some poker, why do you care?

What are all these non-gambling activities in AC? "Massage" parlors? Drive Thru Divorce? Dinner at Wawa?

I have been to AC many times, and frankly my impression was the place is a crime-infested dump with a lot of casinos dotting the strip of sand. If there's something I am missing there, I'd love to know.

thanks - i'll try tomorrow (Friday) - say hi if you see a corgi bobblehead and wish me a happy birthday while not taking all my money!

One thing I wish they'd correct is the consistency of the ruling. I've seen the exact same thing ruled different ways. Each time, the floor would explain as if he knows exactly what he's talking about. Well, that worked the first time but the second time, they are obviously contradicting themselves regardless how good it sounds...

I have seen a couple of times prior that the floor has explained that time rake is taken if you have played any hands. I understand this ruling. However, I saw a player recently who was just brought to the table by the floor, said he'll wait 4 hands before the blinds (in another words, he has not posted yet nor got dealt a single hand). The dealer changes and they ask him for time rake. He argued but paid - even thou for the next 3-4 hands he wasn't even dealt in.

If he wanted to be a butt about it, he could've just gotten up and said he's not even sitting at the table - which is how you should be treating the player. It is inconsistencies during these rulings that causes players headache and confusion.

There's also different rulings regarding players who are 'absent' at the table. I see so many players now pick up their chips so that they no longer get timed raked while they are out eating... (most don't even come back) and thus hog the seat so no one else can get on AND the casino can't get $ for that seat until 2 dealer changes later... absurd... it is encouraging every player to pick up and leave and say they'll be back

Does anyone else find it strange that the wait times being reported don't seem to be decreasing? I would have thought that fishier players would lose their buy-in or two very quickly and wouldn't be replaced at the same rate they left. With rumors that the first week of September is going to be the first time CT goes 24/7, I might end up getting to Delaware Park first.

You're missing a good bit of stuff, actually. To find out what, all you have to do is read this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...thread-427749/

This makes no sense to me. If a player picks up their chips and walks away the seat open , they can't lock it up and take money off the table. If their stack is on the table it gets timed rake if they are at the table or not.

What I have seen is a player busts out says they'll be back , seat gets locked and the player is given two full absent buttons with no money on the table before that seat is unlocked, all the while the house not making money.

I would expect this latter happening to end eventually, I highly doubt they wants empty seats that are not paying time and holding up the wait lists.

Just curious - If the busted out player leaves, and they only miss one blind (thus their seat is still saved), but time is called when they're gone, do they have to pay time for whatever time they missed when they come back?

-DB

I remember reading that the only food delivered to the table was hotdogs - are you allowed to eat other food at the table? Are there any reasonable options in the casino to get food to bring at the table that could be eaten there (without making too big a mess)?

Are there self-serve drink stations available, and if so, are they on the same level and not too far from the poker room? I seem to recall someone mentioning drink stations but can't find it in a search of this thread and don't remember anyone saying where they were.

Not sure how it will work at Hollywood, but typically if a player goes broke and is going to get more money when time is being collected, they will hold off on dropping the time for say, 10-15 minutes to allow him to do so. If he doesn't return in a reasonable amount of time, the time will be dropped and the seat will be open. This can be avoided if he leaves enough to pay the time charge (say $6 in chips) while he goes to get more money. In that case, he would have the full half hour to get more cash, and prob a courtesy 10 or 15 mins of the next half (again with them holding off on dropping time for a reasonable amount of time). You always owe time if you are locking up a seat.

Jeff

Hey Guys, friendly Charles Town area journalist here: Thanks for your help with my story, here it is:

Reviews In On Table Games - Table games are up and running at the Charles Town Races new Hollywood Casino, but some customers are complaining that there aren't enough dealers to go around.

My understanding is that I'm pretty close to this place, but I keep reading about abhorrent wait times and such. Do they even have limit games right now (I don't play that fancy no limit jazz)? And the casino isn't open 24/7 yet?

Nice article, appreciate the heavy focus on poker. As a follow up, I do wish you could corner the PR reps from both the WV Lottery and the casino at one time (conf call or physically together) & get them to articulate the exact reasons for the delays in the licensing, expansion from 16 to 27 tables, and going to 24x7 poker operations. Lot of rumors & finger pointing between the two organizations, I'm sure the full story has yet to be told. Here's a catalyst/motivator for the state to get things in gear related to poker:

11 empty poker tables + no 24/7 operations for the other 16 tables = a TON of lost WV tax revenue. At $120/hour per full table of rake, with whatever % goes to the state in taxes (I have heard 30% but do not know), that racks up very quickly into the hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost tax revenue. If I were a tax payer in WV, I'd be pissed that is being left on the table (literally).

If I arrive at the Hollywood Casino tomorrow night at 8 how long do you think I'd have to wait to get on a 1/2 NL table?

On a couple of days the lines have been shorter. Last Mon. the crowd was reported as lighter; and last night someone reported open seating for 1/2 at 8 pm.

I think the long wait times are being manufactured by the limited hours. There's a built in wait at the beginning of about 2 hours from the time one gets in line until the time the first hand is dealt. Once most people have waited through that, they're not leaving anytime soon unless they bust. This is keeping the list long—and slow moving—for those that don't make the first seating.

There also aren't people straggling in at different times all day to play for a few hours, then leave, creating a steady stream of opening seats.


--klez

If I wanted to be part of the first seating this Sunday, which time should I get to the poker room?

Yeah, hotdogs it is.

There is a food court with the usual food court fare. I haven't seen anyone eating in the poker room, though. I don't know if this is because of policy or because no one wants to eat at the table.

There is a self-serve drink station. It's not near the poker room. Sorry I can't be more specific: I found it; I could find it again; but there's no way I could tell you how to get there.


--klez