It got all the way down to the minimum Aces/Tens using one card only. I thought I saw the tweet around 10pm or so.

Looked pretty impressive, Bravo showed 20-24 tables running pretty much all day - so it looks like that was a huge success.

Thank you.

The Jackpot hit at 9pm, 1 hour after lowering to only needing one card for the hand. We maxed out at 27 tables for the day. On behalf of myself and the poker staff, we would like to thank all our guests who came out to play!!!

What was the total amount of entries for the March Mania tournament? Did it hit the guarantee?

498, yes.

Thanks for answering Billy, appreciate the assist!!! The total prize pool was $104,580.

Frankie, is the next tournament that's posted on turning stone's website correct? Just the one main event like the March Mania tournament series?

Hello wrapdraw. Yes, the website is correct.

Ok thanks Frankie

Hi all, new to the area was just hoping that I could glean some information off of those who have been inside the VIP lounges such as the Onyx Lounge. What is the environment there like? What is the dress code for workers and for attendees? Any information you can give me would be very helpful as their website omits basically all information of the Onyx lounge!

Hi John, Please feel free to call the poker room and ask for me, Frankie, and I will be more than happy to give you all the info you need about the lounges. 315-361-TOPO (8676)

I don’t see the point of complaining about 600bbs to start. You can always late reg if you find early stages boring. I mean i can see how you would maybe wanna start with less bbs and have more levels but I feel the structures tstone throw out are solid for the mtt buy in.

Why are people bitching about lack of 500 buy ins. It’s upstate ny. The demand to play those mtts really isn’t there. Go to Atlantic City, part, etc if you wanna play those price point mtts. I’m just happy turning stone has a solid guarantee mtt that draws monthly with a solid structure.

I think you guys have to realize what upstate ny is. Not to be negative but it’s not some place dominating economically. Businesses have to offer what is valued by their main clientele.

Options if you got rid of the 600bb level:
1) Just leave it out, day 1 is shorter, more time to do other things
2) Increase level lengths for levels 5-7 by 10 mins each to make them 40 minutes
3) Play one more level day 1, which will result in more people busting, which will result in more rebuys, which will result in a bigger field size. Also fewer people returning for day 2 that don't cash.
Seneca had their biggest ever prizepool all of 1 week ago, and will likely beat that amount again in September.

Thank you JK, its good to see there are those out there who get it. We base our business on what are guests are looking/asking for. That doesn't mean we won't do larger buy ins again in the future, its just that at this point in time, there is not a huge demand or request for higher price point tournaments other than from a few of our friends here on 2+2 .

Just look at some other properties in THIS area that started out holding lower price point events. Once they held a higher price point tournament than their norm, attendance dropped off dramatically from their lower price point events. We saw the same thing here at Turning Stone.

Forum Posters (especially like those who have not played here in over 2 years) can bring up other venues and events for comparison all they want but it is not an apples to apples comparison. It's a different time, a different market and a different environment from a competitive standpoint. Check the proximity of major cities to mentioned venues compared to Central NY.... Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, Cleveland and a population of about 6 million folks in the Toronto area alone all have less travel time to other mentioned venues. Yes, it is 2018, and there are now 6 poker rooms and 6 tournament venues in this area compared to 2 poker rooms/tournament venues just 14 months ago. Guests have learned very quickly the less time they have to travel to play the more convenient for them. They have also realized that there are now more frequent and sometimes overlapping Tournament choices available and proximity plays a major role in determining those choices as well.

All that said, I'll take a moment to reinforce and clarify this point one more/last time. There are no underlying conspiracies, no trying to make the poker room cash only and no devaluing our tournament guests or play(we hold more tournament events on a yearly basis than anyone in the area). At this point in time, the majority of our guests ask for and prefer the events that we hold. As time passes, we will address and revisit any new demands and/or preferences that the majority of our guests prefer to see here at our property and in our poker room. That will always be our #1 priority!

JK, thanks again for bringing this up and for your reinforcing words of explanation and opinion, stop by and say hello next time in!!!.....Frankie!

I enjoy that in a 3 sentence span you say we should look at other venues in the area and then say we shouldn't use them as a comparison because it's not an apples to apples comparison.

That being said, what is the example from another venue you are referring to for this point?

Sorry to cut short your enjoyment. The venue YOU were referring to is almost 3 hours from here and has a greater area to draw from, including Canada, as I noted in my response, sorry you misunderstood.

I do not consider that particular venue as being in this area. The venues I consider in this area are the venues located in Albany and in Tyre that we have a greater shared market with. Still though, please feel free to call me to discuss further! you have my number...Have a great day sir!

Billybizzle, you make solid points about more bust outs. I can't fault you on that point.

Frankie, any chance you guys would ever change antes. I see the borgata is having the BB post an ante instead of collecting antes from every player. I've read this trend is starting to catch on. Any way turning stone implements this down the road? Seems like a smart move as it makes life of a dealer easier and more hands per hour.

I was there yesterday to play the 2nd flight. I'm also a big fan of the new seats in the poker room. Very nice improvement to the room.

You still didn't answer my question:

Hello Billy...I explained it all to you in private message. I will not name a competitor or their business practices on a public forum (I do not conduct business that way) The figures are very easy to research, just like you researched Turning Stones figures... and the facts are facts. Same Guarantee amount, 2 different price points (double the amount) the lower price point outdrew the higher price point by 4 times the amount of buy-ins. The property that ran the event is not relevant or even the issue. The fact that this is the trend is relevant. I stated we saw the same trends over the years here at Turning Stone and adjusted to provide guests with the price point they preferred. I'm sure this will be brought up again during our next Guaranteed event in June, for now we can agree to disagree on present tournament philosophy because the conversation is getting way to repetitive and a tad boring to others Im sure.

With respect to all, we run a number of $50K and higher guarantees every year($250 buy in) and we appreciate those of you that attend. For those that prefer a larger buy-in, we will look to find a way to provide this price point again in the future when appropriate but not at the risk of pricing out the majority of our Tournament players who enjoy our present format. This format has worked well for our guests and for us in that we can provide a premium tournament experience for our guests to enjoy and want to play again. Thanks again to all!....Frankie

Hi JK, yes we are looking into that possibility concerning the Antes. We will have some discussions with our guests and amongst the staff and decide from there. I will put you down as a yes!!! BTW...really good to hear you like the new chairs, they are a big improvement over the old 4 leggers.

Frankie, I see bravo was updated with the upcoming changes to the antes and the big blind. When do you think that will go into effect? I personally think that will be a very welcome change. Also, I second the new chairs very nice.

Its a bit of a process, we just wanted to let our guests know it was coming. Final approvals and trials to follow but hopefully by mid May early June. Thanks for the the like on the chairs!!!

Frankie will there be any $570 tournemts this year or is the plan for all main events to be $250?

Hi Boss...We normally have 2 events every year that are $100K and over or have a $570 or over buy-in. That should continue into this year as well. I don't want to get specific on a public thread as to when they will be held, but those familiar with our schedule should be able to determine those particular months. Thank you!

Hey Frankie, i'm excited about the change to having the BB pay the antes - will allow for a lot more hands to be played once players get used to it, and hopefully take the strain off the dealers backs having to reach for chips from every position!