$6 time on a 1/2NL earns $60 on a full table every 30 minutes.

$6 rake on 12-15 hands per down earns $72-$90 every 30 minutes.

They appear to not be "going out of their way to do whatever they think will take in the most money the quickest, without caring about the player base" .

I know that a $6 rake in a 10/20 game will take off about twice as much as time will.

I do not play NL very often, but my impression is that they get far fewer hands per down in than in the 10/20 games I usually play, with all the thinking/hollywooding. People in this thread (or the old one) have been saying the dealers and play are going even more slowly than typical, so I assume the house is making more in time than they would in rake, doesn't make sense why they would do it otherwise.

Regardless of the amount they take in, 1/2 players are used to rake and generally want it. 10/20 players are used to time and generally want it. Why would they do the opposite?

I have seen some speculation that they are starting with time charge to make it easier for dealers, but it seems to me that raking the pot would be easier in a NL game than in a limit one - the pot often crosses the threshhold for full rake all in one round, instead of gradually like in a limit game.

1/2NL with a trained dealer and an autoshuffler runs 25-30 hands per hour.

Not all 1/2NL players are used to rake and Limit players to time. That just happens to be the most common here on the East Coast. Straddles aren't common here, either, but with DP and now CTown allowing them, folks will have their experiences broadened.

I suggest everyone let them catch their breath and get the room up and running, then if you have issues/questions, talk to them about it. From everything I've seen and heard, those making decisions for the poker room are acutely aware of the potential customer base they have in the area and are interested in feedback.

Just got here only about 20 in line compared to 100 at this time yesterday

What games are running right now? I want to check it out.

Hi guys, brand new to this forum, veteran of others (Cardplayer, LVA, etc). I wanted to thank all those who posted here about this card room. I'm going to check it out on Thursday and stay at the Inn there (I live in Haymarket, maybe 1 1/2 hrs away), I'll chip in afterwards with whatever wisdom I gain.

the $12/hr rake would be nice at times and crap at others. it would make more sense just to have a standard rake, at least for NL games. it is the norm

The thing everyone is forgetting about the time paid rake is, it makes it a much more action game. With this way, you cannot sit around and nit it up the way you can in rake games, and only pay $3 an orbit. You have to be more active, and play more pots. As the dealers get more comfy and speed up, it'll be alright.

New to the forum also, appreciate the information. Any reports on the first non-holiday action and # of open tables available tonight? I am thinking about heading there tomorrow evening and will report back if I do.

With 1/2 NL being time raked, I predict there will be many instances of players not on the hand yelling "hurry up" to the player who tanks for 15 seconds.

Hi Everyone-

I went to Hollywood Casino today and I thought I'd share my experience:

TRAVEL TIME:

- I live in Leesburg near the end of the Greenway where it meets rt 7. On the way there I went rt. 7 yo rt. 9. It was 27 mi (door to door). It took me 40 minutes (I could probably do the trip in 30-35 with no traffic).

- On the way back, I took 340 south to Rt. 7. It was 42 mi (door to door). It took me 50 minutes (I could probably do it in 45 with no traffic)

ATMOSPHERE:

(Poker room was closed, and it is stuffy up there, but looks pretty nice and has potential - I mentioned this to the staff and they said they'd share it in their next meeting)

- I arrived at 12:10pm and all the tables were full with 3 to 4 deep wait. Poker still not open until 8pm.

- There is a lot of setup/construction (Steak House, More Tables, Moving Slots, etc.), but the place looks good, and has the potential to be be the "little brother" of a Foxwoods type place. Similar quality, but smaller. Certainly better than the look of the small Indian Casinos in the midwest (Not counting "Turtle Creek" in MI. - that place is great!)

-The waitresses look a little cuter than the last time I was there (Oct. 2009).

-Drink comps are soda, coffee, draft beer, water, tea, rum & coke, and a few other cocktails. Many you need to pay for though (High Limit BlackJack room you get any drink you want free).

-Some people were smoking but it wasn't enough to really bother you.

GAMING:

(I play poker, but I also play Blackjack. As the poker room was closed when I was there, my report mainly focuses on what I observed on the Blackjack Tables)

-Put simply, they just aren't ready yet. It's going to take a couple weeks.

-The table limits are really high. They had one $25 BJ, a couple $50, and lots of $100. This was at 1pm on a Tuesday! I waited 2 hours but could not get on a BJ table - It's complete chaos right now.

-Out of the BJ tables that are open right now, they all hit soft 17 and use automatic shuffle machine (only one table had hand shuffle - which is the only one I'd want to play).

-There is a whole new table area that should open in a few days. They were setting up lighting today. It looks like about 10-12 more blackjack tables (none of which appear to have automatic shuffle machines - which would be great - keep your fingers crossed).

- The High Limit BJ area looks pretty good. Dealer stands on all 17's and I did not see shuffle machines.

- There was one craps table open today. $25 min. About 20 players and 30 more behind them the whole time I was there.


SUMMARY:

I blew a $150 on slots dinking around while I tried to get on a BJ table with no luck. I left for home at 5:30pm. I may be back to play poker one of the next few nights but would prefer to wait until it's 24/7.

It's clear that C'Town is still setting up. I believe this place has lots of potential, provided the unkown things work out for the best.

-DB

I got a warning for discussing BJ on this thread so I started a new one here:

BLACKJACK at Hollywood Casino @ Charles Town, WV

Just a noob question here, what exactly do they mean by 6+1 rake? can someone please clarify? Does it mean that the table as a whole pays 6 bucks every half hour (6 bucks split by all the players in the table? or does it mean that every player sitting down at the time has to pay 6 bucks every half hour (thus say a table has 10 players, they get to collect 60 bucks every half hour (6*10))?
Thanks and sorry for the dumb question ahead of time.

6 each, every half-hour.

I hope they don't keep the time rake permanent. At Borgata, you only pay if you win (other than blinds). That seems much better for the player. Then you can sit at the table as long as you want and wait for a good hand. With the time rake, you lose your blinds plus 6 bucks every half hour regardless of whether or not you win (or even play).

As someone mentioned before, that changes the game from slow play to aggressive play.

If this happens, and the players actually do hurry up, this will be a positive development.

I'm wondering how many tables they are going to reserve for tournament play. I'm assuming they need to keep at least 9-10 for a decent tournament. Has anyone heard anything about this?

When I was there today, they only said tournaments should start in a few weeks.

I'm just wondering how big they'll be and what the buy ins would be. I know they won't be able to handle Borgata size tournaments (at least to start), but hopefully they'll be able to handle 90-100 players with $100-200 buy in & fee (hopefully no more than $30-40).

I asked today about the rumors of building a new poker room. No staff that I talked to new anything about it. If they want to have WPT or WSOP events here I'd think they'd have to build a bigger room. The guy I talked to upstairs today in the poker room said they had no plans to build a bigger room and that this was all of it.

Well one of the security guy I spoke with defiantly told me they were planning on building a permanent poker room that was going to be big enough to hold a major tournament series however he didn't know when because they want to see what the initial demand for poker will be

I stoped in today around 5 pm and played blackjack for an hour had to wait about 30 mins befor I could get a seat all tables were $100 min broke even. The dealers are horrendous one guy I was watching couldn't even count I actually felt sorry for the house!

Upon cashing out I noticed that the cage doesn't look very secure no glass up there also not sure if security is packing heat up there if I was running the joint I think I'd be concerned with securing the cage. Just saying I wouldn't like anything bad to happen that's all we need is to get it closed down cause some robbery goes down or something

Yeah, I'm wondering if they are going to put bars up on the "cages" (doesn't really feel very secure as it is now).

(BTW I started a C Town BJ thread - see last page)

And having looser, more aggressive games is bad in what way exactly? I personally want the games looser and more aggressive.

IMO, u play aggressive in tournaments and slow play cash games.

I mean ya thats a fair approach, but just because the game is loose and aggressive doesn't mean its a bad thing, I myself look at that as a positive, but naturally it all depends on your style and comfort level.

So How was it last night Tues july 6th? How many tables? what was spread?

Anyone go last night? I'm going tonight @ around 6-6:15.

was there last night, same as the night before, 10 tables

4 - 1/2 NL
2 - 2/5 NL
2 - 3/6 L
1 - 5/10 NL
1 - 10/20 L


I will probably get back out there tonight; bair....last night at 6, there were only about 15-20 in line