They are called sit n go's and yes, you can find them in casinos all over the country, with a 10% entry fee. Perhaps not in PA yet, but that will have to change eventually, if the PA casinos want to continue spreading poker in their establishments.

just came back from playing three days at the Meadows, real nice room, dealers and waitress staff were all good to me, but I have one suggestion you guys at the Meadows need to alter the games you spread.. bring back 1-2nl 50-200 buy-in and keep the 1-3nl at 50-300 buy-in...the 50-500 stuff wont work in that area, set your target range a little lower and cater to that type of clientel with smaller bankrolls and for the casual player...and of course keep the 2-4 limit for the older crowd wow the average age at that table must have been 65 lol!!

Stopped by Fri. night. Busier than the previous months. Hopefully this wasnt a fluke, and weeknights will improve, likewise Of course 1 - 2 never got off. Not even 1 table, amidst 6+ 1/3 tables with plenty short stacks. So, for now, no one knows the option exists. Of course, even if it did, no one would want to play at an odd table, when you have full action at 1/3.

I dont play tournaments, however I noticed the entry fee went up across the board. Gotcha again.

Caulifornia blinds have not gone away.

Some will say this is just complaining. The reality - management cannot do 1 thing right, as will be shown by the numbers. Truly sad, the room does have potential.

The Meadows poker room truly does have potential, and not is all lost. It's not that management cannot do 1 thing right, it's the fact that there is no manager for the poker room at the moment. This is about to change however, and sooner than later.

Why would you lie about what games were running? There was never a 2-5 game running, let alone 2. If you are going to be a rep for The Meadows then you shouldn't lie about what goes on.

I don't think he's lying. Room was fairly packed, and that big $5/10 game was definitely going.

I don't understand why people complain about how they are running cash games. The room is willing to put a list up for any game you want. If players don't fill the list than what more can the room do.

On the other hand, complaints about tourneys are completely warranted. They want to get tourney players into cash games so they raise the rake on tourneys? How does this make any sense at all? How about lowering the rake or giving the players a reason to move to cash games.

I am a die hard Omaha hi/lo player and I tried to get a 3/6 game running last night but couldn't get a single person on the list. I wish more people would play this game. :-( One thing that could get more money into the room is to attract players that like games other than HE and to convert players into other games. They tried running a HOSE tourney a time or two then gave up on it because the turnout was not large enough. Then this month they added a Omaha tourney which is great. Then I realized it was a $150 tourney. That is fine for me and some people who love to play this game but you ARE NOT going to get a casual or first time players into this tourney which means the field will be small and the casino will think it was a bust and we will not see another one again. Why not try running an o8 tourney or a omaha/o8 mix tourney every tuesday or every other tuesday with a low buy in and try to attract a new audience. There are a lot of HE players that are afraid of these games but get some people talking about them and people will give them a shot. Owell I am done with my rant I just hope new management gets it right.

I personally dealt those games, I dont like being called a liar anyone who has met me or traded posts on this forum know I tell it like it is, So after 2 whole posts Im sorry you feel the need to slam me and the room.

First things first. Before Meadows starts spreading Omaha variants, which many dealers do not grasp, they need to solve several problems with Holdem. Running <= four 1/3 NL tables Thursday nights, is unacceptable. The room simply looks empty. Other weeknights are probably similar or worse. The "green" is reached only Friday and Saturday nights. Going to 1/3NL resulted in a swing (casual old/new players) to 2-4 limit. Having 30-40% of action in low limit games is simply not healthy. Bottom line, 1/3NL is a problem in this market. Go to 1/2 default and make 1/3 list. See what happens. You have nothing to loose.

Killing off tournaments with higher rake is an identical mistake. Again you will have to go back to things that actually make sense, and worked at this casino. Shame they already lost some of their better dealers to Rivers, etc...

What will a new room manager do??????? Arnt all the decisions coming from higher up, i.e. parent company?

If you are referring to Friday night then no sir you did not deal 2/5 games because they tried to get a 2/5 going but couldnt get enough players to sit so they opened a 1/3 instead. Stop trying to save face and just admit you are wrong.

The 2-5 game was broken up by the tranny at the table ask anyone who was on it you cant lie about that there was another before I came in and yes that was sat. so if I got the days wrong so be it the 5-10 friday was stacked huge. 13 cash tables and 1-3 with auto straddle. I work nights so friday becomes saturday bottom line room was very busy.

All things in a casino are revenue driven. So here is the problem in a nutshell cash games make money, tournaments dont. The poker room is the red headed step child of the casino it takes up alot of space, space that could be used for slots or other things {slots gross over 160 million a month upstairs}. Poker is its own profit center and must turn a fair profit. In a low buy in tournament with 5.00 vig even if you have 100 players thats about 400 dollars after tax for state, you need 11 dealers and 1 floor at least to run that, lots of cost involved. The time to finish is about 5 hours for that many people, 1 cash table rakes about 100 to 120 dollars a hour so in 5 hrs 1 cash game would make about 500 to 525 dollars you only need 2 dealers for 1 cash table. You see the math here? midnight maddness breaks up 4 to 6 cash games tables that make 100 a hr, 5 tables times 100 times 5 hrs is 2500 vs 400. After people bust out of mid. mad. very very few get in cash games because 1. alot only play tour. 2. alot only have 60 or 70 dollars in there wallet. Some dont buy the dealer add on for this reason. If it was your business which would you prefer 400.00 profit or 2500.00 ? This is why room mgr is no longer there. If you ask the people who play our tournaments I think they would say they are well run and well attended, So I hope that explains the change , Time will tell if it was the right course of action.

I just want to say again, I dont get paid to post here Im a dealer who works for the Meadows this is done by me on my own time{ About 15 hours a weeK} to try to help you the customers of the room its been a very trying couple of weeks for all, It takes time to right a listing ship we who stayed and care are working thru the changes, the room will improve. So all of you who had kind words thank -you, those of you who are unhappy wait to see the changes and then judge for yourself. Thanks for your comments either way, I will continue to adrress them untill my services arent needed. Gary

Do you think this is a problem/situation unique to the Meadows or something? Don't you think it's possible that this is the case for every Casino and Poker Room in the world, but perhaps the others see the value in having something with lower direct value, such as tournaments (with a structure and rake the players can live with), in order to drive customers to the casino with the expectation that some will stay and play cash or go upstairs to the slots or table games when they bust from the tournament? Or I guess you could keep being so short-sighted, naive, and simple-minded while you watch the room run into the ground. And by you, I don't mean you specifically....I mean those making the decisions and driving away customers.

It's an interesting theory that the Midnight Madness is cannibalizing the cash games, but that's not so clear to me. As Gary said, many of those MM players are already down to their last few twenties, and at least some of them don't play cash games. Also, remember that when the MM was installed, the room was almost dead by the time midnight rolled around on a Fri/Sat night. That tourney really livened up the room, even the hours leading up to midnight. It appeared to me that the MM really helped the room at a time when it needed help.

The prior poker room manager made lots of mistakes, but that tourney seemed to be a good move. But he wasn't able to come to grips with the real problem - how to get the cash games healthy. That's the problem that needs some focus.

^^^ To be clear, those 4-6 cash tables that break when the midnight madness starts were tables that simply weren't there before madness was introduced. If you think back on the history, you'll probably agree.

It would be a mistake for management to start taking those players for granted, thinking of them as lost dollars from the cash games. Many of those players wouldn't even be in the room if not for the tourney; perhaps they'd be heading for home, taking their spouses with them.

I think the MM is helping the room. Now we need some help for the cash games. The cash games need to be attractive on their own merits.

Fromaggio as usual you comments are well thought out. Here is some food for thought,there is almost no way to know how many of those tour. players spouses go upstairs to gamble plus that does not help poker room profit numbers which has to be judged unto itself. If the cash game numbers were better I dont think tour. revenue would be so much under the microscope. Since we opened we have been the 2cd choice in the Pittsburgh area you only have to check the Pa gaming site to see this. Alot of this is location but some of it is for other reasons we are seen as the Blue haired oxygen casino by the hip and younger crowd. Do we stay with the Vegas parent company locals business plan or try to cater to a younger more action loving cash game format? These are the things a new manager will face. The staff is trying hard to serve you the customer. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Gary

One thing I'd like to see done is have a certain reg who is always causing trouble banned or at least have someone from above speak with him and give him an ultimatum (shape up or banhammer). He was in the middle of a huge argument on Saturday night that not only took away from people at his table, but other tables as well. I saw at least one person, if not more, rack up and leave while he was screaming at the floor and inciting a riot between two other players. IMO he should be told that his money is no longer welcome as he does nothing but chase others away. It seems like everytime I am there, I can count on two things 1. (name redacted, don't want to break any rules) will be working her tail off running chips and 2. he will be there causing trouble.


** In no way am I commenting on how the floor handled the situation in question, just how the reg kept igniting the fire.

I really dont understand why you dont promo the fact there is horseracing and bowling at your place. My friends and i would love to come down, get drunk, degen it up and have a good time capped off with some poker. Instead its just excuses why the pokerroom sucks. Strange.

Hey, I'm curious about the 1-2 and 1-3 situation. How has is it worked out? Are both games running? Has it made a difference in turnout?

Last Friday, almost a week after inception, not one 1 - 2 table. Wrote a post on it. Its not coming back, unless it is brought back. Logical follow up: When is the new room manager coming?

I for one never goto a Poker room based on what Cash games they have. I go based on the tournaments. If the Tournaments are not well run, I will play at a different casino.

Gettting rid of the Midnight madness is not a good idea. It had 70-80 players everytime I was there.

The bigger Hose and Omaha tournaments drew a small crowd because people don't understand the games. They don't want to dump a couple hundred on a tourny when they can just play holdem cash.

These buyins need to be UNDER $100 of you want a crowd. I have found throughout the years that $100 is the cutoff for most people. They will play anything for under that, but almost nothing above it.

Baduu, Im sure the Meadows is not giving up on tournaments and going to have plenty and the bulk will be under 100, buy in. However that is why vig increased 5 to compensate staff and casino . We have to get paid also many dont take add on and most dont tip or tip much so if you just play tournaments thats fine we want your business but a balance had to made between all three parties. Again I work for the Meadows so I try to be as honest about stuff as I can but I also walk a line. I discuss these posts with the management so comments do get heard. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Gary

Fromaggio, the 1-3 vrs 1-2 has been a non factor, We spread both the default is 1-3 1-2 is interest. When people come in to play they play what is running when told 1-3 they play, the regs are used to it, newer people just sit down. I work the podium on my breaks I have never had 1 person leave over it maybe some would prefer 1-2 because of percieved bankroll issues but they sit down or once in a while just play 2-4. We have people who start 1-2 interest but it never seems to get filled. The min and max buy ins are the same. We also have a super 1-3 for lack of better word where you can buy in to table avg. WE will deal anything customer wants. Thanks for the comment I hope this answers the question Gary

Hey Gary,

Has anybody discussed an e-mail list that would dispense a tourney schedule monthly (and on time)? I like to play tournaments, but I definately don't actively seek a schedule of events. I think this could be beneficial for players like me, however somebody would need to make sure it doesn't get abused like the casino as a whole does with the stinkin daily fliers they send. Also, have you seen the "step up" tourneys Rivers is doing? That looks like it could be fun.