If that is true that ends my trips there permanently.

Rake is 6+1 confirmed from my anonymous inside source

I appreciate the response. I wasn't trying to get people excited. I was there the other week and a player was very adamant that there was an increase in rake. It's nice that there wasn't. Kinda surprised a dealer didn't chime in on the conversation and correct the person.

Is it correct to say they do collect a drop without the flop? Or at least that is what dealers are supposed to do?

I think they have always done that there.

I actually made the ride out there about 3 weeks ago. I got there and they had 5 tables running (about 7 pm I think) and I was #5 on the list. After about 45 minutes, I was #4 and I left without playing.

I go there from Leesburg and Rt 9 through Hillsboro was closed so I had to take Rt 7 all the way to 340, adding about 11 miles to the trip (went from 27 to 38 miles). MGM is only a few miles farther, so I'm probably going to stick with that until Charles Town goes back to 24/7 ops.

I don't know how long Rt 9 will be closed but that's a big factor for me.

If the pot is <$10 there is no drop. Or at least that's the way it was pre-COVID. If that has changed I'd like to know.

Confirmed pre-flop $1 drop on pots $10+

So to summarize, the drop has nothing to do with pre-flop or post-flop. It is solely dependent on the pot size. $1 comes out for every $10 in the pot, up to the max rake.

If someone makes it $10 and there are 5 callers and the next person goes all-in and everyone folds, the max rake will be taken from the pot (no flop) and the remainder will be awarded to the all-in player.

This.

Been this way since they opened in 2010.


--klez

You are correct

And just to add on to this...

If the pot is less than $10 all the way to the river, there is no rake.

True; but, I really don't want to play in this game.


--klez

Correct and also confirmed with my confidential, anonymous, discreet, and extremely reliable source - IF you're playing pots <$10 then bring a fork along so my friend can stab himself in the eye with it

Agree with both sentiments.

But, having said that, we've all seen these pots occur.

My strangest case along these lines was a hand at Bally's in Las Vegas. Nine-way limped pot in a 1/2 game. No betting on any street. The board was all clubs and not one person out of nine had a club. Nine-way chop. $2 had been removed for rake and jackpot, so two guys only got a dollar back.

What an exiting hand!

How did anyone survive the suspense?


--klez

So what's the deal with there only being 5 tables open? Dealer shortage? The 1/2 wait list is often greater than 10 people and they aren't running tournaments. I'd love to go back but not trying to wait for hours or not get to play

I'm 90% sure dealer shortage is the exact reason. They were all essentially laid off last year... and unemployment only goes so far. Many of them found other careers, and are sticking to them. Plus, MGM and MD Live reopened a while back. I suspect (not sure) some may have gone there.

I'm gonna try to get out there first thing tomorrow morning so I can get a seat at a 1/2 table. Not expecting a ton of action at 10 AM. Will report back.

As of Thursday smoking is permitted in the casino again.

Poker room remains non-smoking.

Also, the mask requirement has been dropped for everyone.


--klez

Got to the room around 9:55 AM. There were about 40 players just hanging out. The cage was closed, and the guy in the booth seemed to be very busy organizing chips. I was going to ask him about getting on a list, but another player picked a clipboard off of the booth and I asked him if it was a wait list. It was and he let me sign up first. I waited about 15 minutes before my name was called.

Within an hour, the wait list was off the screen. Saw some people sit at the bar for over an hour. On lady who sat later in the afternoon said she was on the list for 2 hours. Crowd was definitely older; I'd estimate the mean age of my table was 50.

I left around 5:45. Had to wait 30 minutes to cash out. Unless you really love this place, can't recommend playing there now; they're clearly very short-staffed.

Are they allowing smokers in the slots area adjacent to the poker room?

I agree with this. And this is from someone who has a strong affection for the place (mostly due to the people, both players and dealers).

I've been twice. First time, I didn't even play after sitting for while and seeing no movement on the list. The second time, I waited nearly two hours for a seat (arrived shortly after noon on a Friday). The game was about what I expected...tamer than MGM, but very enjoyable. it was great to see people who I haven't seen in a year.

Cashing out was tedious. I doubt we'll see the cage in the poker room staffed for a very long time.

Yes.

Not sure exactly where the line is. A dealer told me it's farther back than precovid, but the only sign I noticed was right at the rail.


--klez

From my "source"

Man this is disappointing. I don't understand why they won't at least make that adjacent slot section non-smoking, I mean come on people...!