Nothing is off topic for this thread. The Regional threads are low content, and the intent of this thread was to give a place for New England folks to chit chat about whatever. The focus may have shifted onto MA/NH poker rooms, but that's not the reason this thread exists.

That said, there are certain topics that are sensitive and emotionally charged (tipping, politics, etc) and will get shut down pretty quickly, and this is one of them. There are better places on the site to have fleshed out discussions of these topics. I'm not sure why jpsychlady chose this thread.

Proof?

Lisa Withrow, wife of Chasers developer Michael Withrow. In addition to her duties as Secretary of the Board of Selectman, Lisa serves on the Planning Board and the Economic Development Action Committee.

http://www.townofsalemnh.org/board-o...d-of-selectmen

Now everyone knows why they were quiet leading up to the opening. Snakes.

Puck couldn't say this. For him (who I don't even know), it is only right that I do.

Clearly promos drive business in the local rooms. Chasers currently has 16 tables going.

Do you think that’s sustainable? Or do you think the casuals who go there mostly for the promos are going to ultimately get bored and frustrated when the vast majority of them don’t win a promo and dump a lot of money while doing so?


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Does she have authority to approve licenses and permits, or withhold a certificate of occupancy? I would guess not, but I don’t know. (I don’t know any of the people involved) If she is not the one who actually has decision-making authority to issue or withhold approvals, there is probably no issue. I don’t see any evidence that anyone acted unethically, only innuendo.

(OTOH if she is the one with decision-making authority she shouldn’t be allowed to participate in a matter involving a spouse or a spouses competitor).

As long as the HHJ has a decent reward it will go on indefinetly. See Monday Madness @FW as an example.

I posted the link. She is on multiple committees who DO authorize permits and licenses for the town of Salem, NH . There is no gray area here, never has been. I'm telling you the reason Chasers never acted as if there was another competitor in the marketplace (they knew that there wouldn't be for 6 months).

I tried the link. According to the towns website, the town has an Inspectional Services Department. My guess is the head of that department is the person that has the authority to issue or withhold an Occupancy Certificate in the town...not the person you are referencing.

Most states have an ethics commission or an office in the Attorney General where people can make complaints about unethical conduct by public officials. If it is really a situation where there is "no gray area", and a public official has acted unethically then it can all be determined through that process, especially if it is as clear as you suggest. A complaint like that is the way to address something like this (if it is valid), not by posting vague derogatory remarks on the net.

What I see is a very small player pool in a 20-30 mile area. There are new rooms, but filled with the same players. I use to have the opinion that competition was a good thing, but we’ve seem to reach the point that the only differentiator is distance to room and promos. There are now 5 rooms within 20 miles of each other. The 3 easiest to get to in that area are the busiest. BBC, Manchester and Chasers. Getting to River and Cheers is really only a 2 mile difference, but it seems to matter. (Certainly not the only reasons, but it seems to come into play.)

I think the promos matter to attract a crowd. As I’ve stated before I’d rather play no promo rake, but it’s hard to ignore where games are gathering.

To answer your question: Just like playing Keno or table games I do not think the majority of the local player pool analyzes their loss rate via rake. They look at the potential prize rather than their history. You could probably find more players that think they “are due” than players that say they aren’t going back to chase those promos.

It sounds like the new build "Borgata North" aka Cheers btw, see no similarities, when you cheap out in chairs other things. I was so disappointed after the build up. Hopefully they make the necessary changes to even be relevant. coupons won't do it....

They got beat to the market as simple as that. Had Cheers opened 1st, I'm sure It would be thriving, but it isn't. Now this blame the permitting delays on someone as if they were being nefarious is wrong. as the other guy pointed out, file a complaint if that were true. from a casual observer, it screams ,sour grapes.

Seeing 4 Daily tournaments is and was never sustainable for Rockingham or Cheers. Hampton Falls seems to get the best #'s for tournament.

What did the marketing research reveal prior to the Cheers build?

Who cares if it was a full remodel or just a face lift, means nothing to the casual poker player.

Were there tangible numbers or just hopes and wishes? Clearly there are investors unless all the money was fronted by 1 person and even then it does not look good.

No room anywhere in NH is always full...the sweet spot seems to be 10-15 tables max even on HHJ days.

HHJ are everywhere down the east coast, so it isn't NE only.

People will always go where they are the most comfortable unless the action is nutz(hence how we all used to go to the dump Rockingham).

Action
Seating
Potential Rewards


Hopefully if the State approves $4-->$10 these rooms survive.

Ultimately in less than 2 yrs, most will be hammered by the Wynn. All rooms have viability post Wynn just not at the big #'s.

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Thought it would be good to bump this post since the shanigans rumor mill is circling back. I’m not sure Puck posting is the best place for this story to be told, but I’d be curious to hear it.

I'm not sure if he'd even be allowed to tell the story on here, I'd have to check with Bobo as room reps have restrictions to their posting. Plus he hasn't logged on in 2 weeks.

Pretty harsh allegations there Rhody. Care to show some actual proof of foul play? If you had a brain in your head you would know that Grand China was already established with an occupancy permit and Chasers set up shop inside. Funny how I get banned for “trolling” and this clown can just slander people.

Puck never did post derogatory remarks and I would have no reason to file a complaint as I have no skin in the game. I don't know Puck and was never a fan of his after reading some of his comments (rake is good for the game).

Chasers permit has nothing to do with the extended Cheers delay. We know who you are so any responses from the Chasers side certainly should be taken with a grain of salt. But since you asked

From the website:

Jeff Emanuelson and Lisa Withrow are Facebook friends and Jeff commented on/liked her post back on October 27th on the opening of Chasers.

I know those on Team Chasers here will continue defending them and criticizing me (for bringing facts to light I suppose) but it is important to know that I have zero skin in the game as to Puck succeeding or Chasers and the Town of Salem doing business like it is the 70's again.

I will add that I do not know ALL the facts and am not here to harm anyone. There is plenty more that I know and have little interest in sharing as it could have other implications to these people and that is not my motivation. I am human and when pressed I will point out certain things like the friendship between a business owner and a public decision maker. I felt it was important for some information to be out there for the public to access.

I did not even recall Puck making that quote above. Would really like to hear his side to the story other than vague "ugly" practices.

I really can't understand how 2p2 forum operates. The word of an approved poker rep gets deleted but pure conjecture stays.

Room reps that pay for advertising can post pretty much whatever they want. Room reps that don't pay have restrictions on what they can post. And don't assume the conjecture is going to stay, this a delicate situation and I'm discussing with Bobo and the other mods about this.

Could there have been backroom politics at play? Maybe. But Puck has done himself zero favors ITT (and this coming from someone who didn't even see his deleted posts) and those who've gone there suggest the actual room he opened did not come close to the hype he built up for it.

This seems to suggest Chasers needed occupancy permit.

This seems to suggest the delays weren't driven by Salem government. Actually it does say they have had issues for over a year locally, so perhaps there is a local aspect of the story in addition to DOT.

Would be interesting story to hear. Probably wouldn't change much at this point, but still interesting.

I think what Rhody Guy was implying is that although Chip might have been required to jump through the same regulatory hoops as Puck, either the process was made to go more quickly for Chip, more slowly for Puck, or both, due to the "connections" Chip had.

I for one was looking forward to Cheers opening all summer. I haven't been there yet because I go where the games are, but that being said, I definitely want to go there. Both to check it out for myself and also to show a little support.

I was keeping an eye on it this weekend via Poker Atlas and there was only 1 cash game going, a 1/2nl.

If I can get enough peeps for a game at Cheers I'd definitely show up and spread a little love (and cash).

I was there Friday night and they had a few cash tables going, plus a few last night.

Depending on the day, I may be interested in playing.


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I was at Chasers on Saturday though I usually play on Friday nights. Maybe we can get something going at Cheers and if not, move the party to Chasers.