I assume it's talking about the cardroom.

Yeah it seems unclear to me. I think earlier in the article they talk about a late summer opening, which in my mind isn't October.

Even when you eliminate what's between the commas ... which is supposed to be a stand alone sentence 'by grammar rule' ... it is not clear. The word is that they have put up a construction wall and are moving alone. The parking garage was 'always' supposed to be complete October-ish.

There were a couple of Gun Lake employees at FKeepers a while ago and they both indicated that the rumored Labor Day Weekend was being discussed at work.

Not so sure on the boat giveaway for opening weekend .. will have to wait for the advertising to come out on that. GL

King's West opens Monday at 300 PM ... Supposedly will try to have tournaments. Per a charity they will be there on Memorial Day the following week. (I will not be there that day!)

American Legion west on Wilson SW, near Johnson Park/I-196 exit.

MSPT FKeepers ME starts tomorrow (Thursday) at Noon. $1100 gets you a shot at over $200K for first, probably $230K. Friday and Saturday start at Noon as well. Check their website for Sattys and you can always hope for a 1-table SNG as well. GL

GL Answer 10+10

Best of luck to everyone playing in the MSPT this weekend.. Let's keep the trophy on Michigan soil

Yes, but have you stacked Answer yet?

I get there today. I don't know his schedule but I definitely got him nervous

I'll be there. Anyone selling a seat for Friday DM me

I got you dutch

I'm at someone's table with a US flag hat but he just left scared

Hi hand as he leaves

The word is the tournament is going 16 lvls. Answer20 did you hear this too?

A short-term poker goal I have is to introduce myself to answer by either stacking him or showing him a huge bluff.

So scared I went to a bigger game .. Hopefully that Dealer got the $50 I 'negotiated' with the table. Nobody asked me to cover the $45 I said I would.

Yes, they are going two more levels on Day 1s to cut down on the 'long' Day 2 that FK has been having. Will have to see how that works out ... Not sure what percent they pay in MSPT, but it was right down to about 12% at the end last night. And that is cutting it close to the bubble for most tournaments. Wouldn't really be fair if there were some big stack maniacs at the end of a Day 1 session that dropped the field 'too much'. They may have to look at a pay structure like the WPT500 at Aria where some players get paid even though they bust Day 1 based on the field size that day and the rest of the prize pool goes to 'everyone' on Day 2.

It may be a short term goal, but you will be at the end of a long line of others who have already completed your task. Try something new, like finding out how he likes his coffee. GL

Challenge accepted.

I was at your 2-5 table last night at around 10:30 and you had maybe 300 in front of you. I came back around midnight and you either tripled up or added

Sold my ticket for $1050 this morning and don't know if I want to play day3.. not a fan of the 16lvls which is designed to KO more people so more cash tables are open Sunday

Regarding the Gun Lake poker room:

"New dealers will initially learn blackjack, completing a free-training, prior to promotion to the poker room. On average, new full-time dealers can expect to make up to $43,000 annually, with free health insurance, free shift meals, among many other benefits."

I admit that I know next to nothing about blackjack. That said, I'm a bit confused, about both the numbers and whether any of it applies to poker.

1. Those numbers (over 40K for rookie dealers) sound really high to me.
2. Now that those numbers have been published, will rookie poker dealers make that much? If not, poker dealers are not going to be happy campers.

Speculating on how much a Dealer makes has it's own thread, but there are some words to look at in that phrase to be wary of ...

New ... implies that there might be a wage scale and 'new' folks start at the bottome of that range.
Full Time ... implies that Dealers actually get that many hours (33+) per week. This could be a trap since in today's world the more part time employees a company has the better for their bottom line ... may have to scratch, claw and hope that you get offered that many hours/shifts.
Up to ... implies that this is a max, not average, for these Dealers. $43K is a little over $20/hour at 40 hours a weeks. I'm not doubting the math ... I'm doubting the actual chances that a Dealer will work this many hours.

I've heard that charity Dealers make $18-23/hour depending on who you talk to. It's not really too hard to figure out that it's not a full time job for 'any' of them.

So ...
1) I agree that those number 'look' high and yet 'sound' enticing ..
2) It will take some effort to keep the room going after the initial rush. I think that the Dealers will be 'fine' early on, but it's during Winter and beyond that it may be tough to find hours to keep the best Dealers working. By cross-training it appears that the casino may be making an effort to fill some hours so that employees have an opportunity to work full time.

Remember Firekeepers has all these tournaments well established and Gun Lake will not be able to duplicate that right away. They certainly wont have MSPT or similar to spawn a ton of 'non standard' hours for the Dealers. GL

Stopped into Gun Lake last night on my way home from Keepers. Couldn't find anything posted anywhere. Talked to one Pit Boss at the Ultimate table and he didn't really seem to confident about Labor Day weekend. The cashier also was tying the opening date to the parking garage .. which is October. I peaked through the door and it's really all tore up in there, but it comes down to how much labor they throw at it and how soon they can get equipment and staff set up. Pit Boss said they still haven't hired Dealers or Floors as of yet. GL

King's West opens today at 300 PM .. See you there!!

Lots of good success in the MSPT over the weekend ... almost too many to make note of here. Check out the MPSTPoker.com website for the full listing of who cashed. Those of immediate note ...

Mike King's first cash I think ... a little over a min-cash
Chris Blik made another run at a Final Table but came up short around 30th

'Asian' Justin Lee did make the FT and finished 6th. Not sure how he got knocked out. I was listening to the stream on my way home and he had just won a pot to take the chip lead when I went into a Meijer and by the time I got back to my car he was out!!

Billie Webb cashed .. Ruby as well ... Tony Pena was a top ten stack going into Day 2 but could only crack the top 75.

Lots of local names that I don't recognize as well. We need to get these guys at the cash tables!! GL

Great point about the cross training. Haven't thought of that.

I agree that only a few dealers will probably be full time. If you look across the country at job openings for poker dealers, the vast majority of them are for part-time positions. If I were a dealer, I'd work a 2nd job that pays the rent, at the least.

I also agree that Gun Lake will not have the same success Firekeepers has right away, for a multiple of reasons. As I've stated before, if Gun Lake does half what Firekeepers does now in cash games, that's good. I'm not familiar with the charity room scene in West Michigan, but I can't believe Gun Lake will have more than 2-3 tables going Monday-Thursday. The casino itself is dead those days unless there's a giveaway or 50% off the cafe or buffet. They don't deal much blackjack those days either, for those part time poker dealers. Especially when winter hits. I hope I'm wrong. I'd expect Soaring Eagle numbers. I can also say that in the past, Gun Lake has taken their time with construction projects. The new High Limit slots room took a good 4 months or so. It was empty space for at least half that time.

Look...even if Gun Lake has only 1 or 2 poker tables going, it's a win. I'll so take it. It will still be better than driving to Firekeepers for me, even if the game isn't as good. I hope there are as many players in the Kent-Ottawa-Barry-Allegan metro area as you guys say there are.

King's West (or Jacks as it may be know as to the State) had a cash table going right at 300 with a nice food spread available. I didn't stay too long and there were 2-4 people waiting after 330.

They are having a daily $100 drawing. One entry for every hour you play this week. They will also continue the food this week as well.

They hope to have a 'build your stack' tournament each day of the week once that gets going. I wasn't around long enough to see if they had a 600 tournament or not.

Looks like (Westgate) Lori is going to Floor this room. Not sure if she will see any hours in the other room. She has been out of the game and may 'question' some of the player's thoughts on rulings until she gets back up to speed. We specifically discussed pre-exposed cards both on the Deal and Flop, Turn, River. I would assume that they will get things posted as they have in the other room. GL

PS .. The call-in number is 616-265-4049 for this room.

I have the exact address for King's West/Jacks ... It's the Fonger American Legion Post. Poker is in the basement.

2327 Wilson Ave, SW, Grandville, MI ... This is just west of the 28th Street/Wilson exit on I-196 in Grandville. Turn to go back under the freeway and it's on the left side of the road just around the first curve. Make sure you put your turn signal on as traffic is excellerating very quickly so you don't get rear-ended!!

For those coming from Muskegon, you can access it via Remembrance road to Wilson and then South. This would be the same way most of you take to Lincoln .. just keep going on Wilson for about 4-5 more miles.

Phone ... 616-265-4049 .. GL