Kansas Star Casino's poker room opened today. Only five tables and no tournaments as of yet but it is definitely nice for anyone wanting to find real cards in south central Kansas. Much better than driving to Oklahoma.

I haven't been yet but it is 24/7.

Was there opening night, but missed the opening by less than 30 minutes. Play started shortly after 5 pm 2/29. An interesting note is 7 of the dealers are First Council Casino poker room expatriates. 4 tables filled immediately, $1-3 NL and a $4-8 LH w/kill, and waiting lists were filling for $1-3 PLO and $2-5 NL. Ultimately the decision was made to open the 5th table with the NL game. Tables did not break until after 2 am, when I left at 3 am there were still two full 10-handed $1-3 NL tables running. The limit game ultimately turned into a $4-8 Hold'em/Omaha High game with a kill.

Rake, 10% to $4 with another buck at $100. $1 Jackpot drop at $20 in the pot, bad beat was seeded at $4,000. I think Aces full of Tens beaten by Quads or better is the qualifier, only the table gets the 25% share.

Expect more $2-5 NL and people better call ahead to get on the list, just show up within the hour. Weekends, better show up early to get a seat. The place is hopping!!

Anyone have any idea how easy the games are yet? About the same as Oklahoma and KC or much easier?

I've played a couple times now and a friend of mine a time or two more and I don't know if easy is what I'd describe it as. The friend of mine informed me that on opening night, I was there too but on the $4-8 Limit Hold'em w/kill game, the $2-5 NL game he was in was populated by a bunch of people he played $5-10 NL with previously at a poker club in Wichita...and it was a hard game to get a seat in. I sat in on that a little over a week later while awaiting my $1-3 NL seat and I don't think I was there long enough to say it was easy but it certainly was a deep stacked action table. Fellas were playing mandatory straddle. Don't expect that game to be nitty.

The $1-3 game will vary. There is quite a mix. Former online action guys who pushed the variance spectrum quite a bit, many guys who know each other from the poker clubs from around Wichita that are now drawn here, and people just there for a couple beers and some fun. Personally, a really solid low stakes NL player I think could do well here.

The $4-8 LH w/kill game is a good game. It does typically generate bigger pots than the $1-3 NL game. It isn't a bad game, plays fairly deep for a limit game, and you'll get people staying in with middle pair calling down in multi-way pots. Five players seeing a flop is about average. They haven't been spreading this game on weekends due to the very long lists to get a seat in the other games...I'm talking 30+ on the $1-3 waiting lists with 3-4 tables running. Call ahead!!

Hope I've helped.

can anyone provide some updates as to the traffic in this card room and the quality of play at the 1/3 NLHE games?

The quality is about what you would expect to find. I went a couple weeks ago on a tues or wed afternoon, I don't remember. There were two full tables of 1/3 going when I arrived at 2 pm or so, and at about 5:30 a couple more tables had started up. I left at 6:30 and there were still 3.5 tables and I assume more people.

The mix of players at my table was an old lady, 2 old guys, two guys with shades on (one good, one horrible), and a couple business types in town for something or other. There were a couple of other seats that would get filled, get felted and move on.

All player types played to their stereotype. One business guy was pretty good, and really abused some of the other players with his plays.

Like I said, typical casino play. A lot of limped multi-way. A lot of 4x-6x open PFR with multiple callers, then fit or fold post-flop. ABC and double-barrels (if you even need those) and you will do fine.

I'll have some fresh info on the Dodge City's Boot Hill Casino shortly. They recently expanded from 2 10-handed tables in their bar to a separate 5-table space.

I visited Boot Hill Casino a little over a week ago and their 5-table poker room is a terrific looking place. They are primarily an $2-5 NL place but are making a substantial effort to attract a more diverse crowd and make it attractive to smaller staked players, looking at Omaha and limit hold'em as part of that. They've recently started offering tournaments on Sundays and Mondays.

I also put in an appearance at the Kansas Star Casino last Saturday night and the unofficial skinny appears to be a target date of December 26 for the permanent casino, including a 10-table poker room, to open.

Looks like I might get transfered to Wichita. Can anyone offer any recent updates? I see some poker clubs on Google Maps. Are they legit? How is the Kansas Star, etc.?

A lot of nits during the week. Very few tournaments, I have seen some bad floor calls. Can't even wear a hoodie while in a hand.

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Do you mean you can't have the hood up?

Yeah

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OK, that's a weird rule... What are they running? Mostly 1/3NL? How many tables on average? They get any bigger games?

I assume from the lack of responses on the clubs that they are weak sauce?

They have 2/5 nl and Omaha too. I'm sure those games are better

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Motion to call this the anti Phil Laak rule.

^^^^^ nice. They say you can't have it up because the cameras need to be able to see your face. Although ball caps and sun glasses are ok.

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I played here 3 times when I worked in Wichita and the games weren't that great.

Any update on Kansas Star action? They ever get 2/5 or 5/10 NL going during the week? Going to be in Wichita next week. Any info appreciated

No active posters in Wichita I see. Just in case anyone is every traveling through I will post my experience on Kansas Star.

I was only there one night(Tuesday) so weekends might be better but there were only 2 1/3 tables running. $300 max buy in. I bought in for $300 and more than half the table looked like they bought in for $100. Lots of limping and playing fit or fold poker. Once an orbit I would pop it to $35 after 5 or 6 limpers and take it down without a flop. Cashed out +215 and got in the 7:00 tourney.

Tourney buy in was $85 with 10,000 chips and a bonus $10 dealer appreciation for 2,000 more chips. $70 went to the prize pool. There were 57 entries and it paid top 6. 20 minute blind levels with no antes. Busted 12th 99 vs AJ standard. Lots of limping in the tourney as well. Pretty soft field. If you are looking for good cash game action during the week I would skip this one. Someone did say they have a nice PLO game every Thursday. They recently got on Bravo. Casino does have craps($5) and Blackjack as well.

Does anybody know if they have a specific day they spread 2/5 NLHE, if any? Specifically what games there are on Thursdays or Fridays? Thanks

Sorry I didn't respond in time, bullet. This thread is pretty dead, so I only check it every once in a while.

2/5 pretty much only runs on Friday nights and occasionally on Saturday. Even Friday is hit or miss. The difference between 1/3 and 2/5 just isn't big enough to get people excited about it, I guess. I've been there with 10 tables of 1/3 and only 5 people on the 2/5 interest list.

Game is pretty soft, but in a fit/fold sort of way, not a crazy action sort of way. Pretty easy to book a small profit, pretty rare to book a big one.

5/5 PLO (mixed high and O8) was running on Saturday night. If you have the BR for it, I'm guessing that game is lol soft.

OK, so I went to one of the poker clubs in Wichita last night for my first time. From what I'd seen online, they only did low buy-in tournaments, but I heard yesterday that they also have cash games, so I thought I'd swing by. The one I went to was Nilla's. Bottom line, prob not worth bothering unless you have BR issues, or love donkaments.

The donkaments: Nightly $30 (+$10 optional add-on) at 7pm. They advertise 100% payback, but I presume that doesn't count the add-on. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the structure (didn't play) but they seemed decent for such a low buy-in. I don't remember starting stacks, but the add on was for 10K extra in chips. 30 min blinds, and the jumps aren't all double, but they did seem rather steep. Level 7 was 500-1000.

The cash game: When I stopped in at about 1:30pm on Saturday, there was one game (7-handed) of 1/2NL going. Rake is 10% to $5 and $1 drop for promotions. Most people bought in for $100 or $200. When I came back at 9pm, the table was crippled by the tournament. It was 4-handed, and most people were playing $50-$100 stacks. It filled up quickly though (10-handed), and by 10pm there was a wait list. About half of the people were still playing very short, though. Play was laughably bad, with a $50 stack limp/calling a raise to $16 with hands like 97s, weak aces, etc. The general bad 1/2 stuff, but made even more laughable by how short the stacks were. They re-bought often, but even when they doubled up, they tended to leak it back before it could get deep. By 11pm, the tournament ended and another cash table started. By this time, almost half of the table was 100bb deep, and a couple of us were at 200+.

I'm told that Monday nights is generally 1/2 PLO, and that 2/5NL runs sporadically. I may need to learn PLO, as I assume the level of play is laughably bad.

The atmosphere: Rather blue-collar, laxly run. If you've ever played in one of the old card rooms in California, or in an underground club, this will seem familiar. If not, think halfway between a home game and a regular casino. Floor decisions are very highly influenced by the players. Min buy-ins are not enforced (though the short-buying players are told that they "could be" if the table objected). Folding out of turn and/or showing cards is common. Not super shady, but lax.

The bar is nice. The drinks are cheap, and they give you free water or soda that actually comes in regular glasses, instead of those tiny styrofoam cups that the Star give, so you don't have to go thirsty to avoid tipping the waitress every five minutes. The food is standard bar-food, but well done and quite cheap. The waitress apparently doubles as a massage girl for $1/minute, though she's not a licensed therapist or anything.

Overall: I think the Star is worth the short drive, and def will not be becoming a reg, but it's not "stay away" either. The 1/2 game was not great, but I may well be back for 2/5 and or PLO. The donkaments are prob good for a laugh and not a horrible deal, but definitely not big money-makers.

Garick or anyone else in the area, interested in getting a 2/5 game going at Kansas Star? Will be in town Wednesday and Thursday night next week if so. Would play 5/10 as well if any interest.

Sorry I missed you again. Hope you made Thursday night. The promotion they are running brings out the masses. My best two sessions since moving here (one of which was my best session ever in terms of BBs) have both been Thurs nights.

5/10 just doesn't run here. All the players who would play that big are playing the 5/5 Omaha mix, which is now running at least three nights a week.