WV Charles Town

Zero

Well-Known Member
I also went by Monday morning and left without placing a bet. Does anyone have any updates? Have they opened more tables? Is it less of a circus or will it take more than a few days or a non-holiday weekend to settle down there?

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aslan

Well-Known Member
Zero said:
I also went by Monday morning and left without placing a bet. Does anyone have any updates? Have they opened more tables? Is it less of a circus or will it take more than a few days or a non-holiday weekend to settle down there?

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I'm at CT now. The problem seems tobe with the state of WVA. They are holding up dealers' clearances because the investigations of their backgrounds is taking so long. There's no telling how long the state will drag it's feet.

When I got here at 1:30 pm there were only 2 tables at $25, but within a short time they had raised them to $50. I backcounted a couple of tables and was lucky to get a spot after two hours on a table that had just reached key count. In several rounds it turned positive and I was able to win $375, and could have won more if I had the guts to spread 10 times. As it was I had several bets at $50 and $75, and several bets at a max of $200. I know it's pathetic. Still, I'll take it any day for 15 minutes work.

The pen was one deck.
 
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VA Player

New Member
Horrible so far, couldn't get on a table. Waiting an hour+ to play Blackjack isn't my thing.

Also, I never saw the craps table.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
KimLee said:
Is there a high-limit room with quicker access?
There are four pit areas, but only one of them is open, and it is only partially open. The designated HL area is not open. But for all intents and purposes, the area that IS open is a HL area since the only games are $50 and $100.
 

kewljason

Well-Known Member
Are the people that are standing in line several deep to play these $50 and $100 games, locals or have they made the trip from Washington DC/Northern Virginia? Not to sound ignorant, but I wouldn't have thought a state that ranks dead last in average income, with an unemployment rate higher than the national average would produce that many high rollers. :confused:
 

21forme

Well-Known Member
Problem is everyone in WV is related to each other, so they are having problems avoiding conflicts of interest. :grin:
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
kewljason said:
Are the people that are standing in line several deep to play these $50 and $100 games, locals or have they made the trip from Washington DC/Northern Virginia? Not to sound ignorant, but I wouldn't have thought a state that ranks dead last in average income, with an unemployment rate higher than the national average would produce that many high rollers. :confused:
Who'da thought! I took the opportunity to converse with a number of people around the casino and discovered an amazingly high number of what I'd describe as rural accents--in fact, the vast majority. But to answer your question, I don't know. lol One fellow I talked with drove with his friends from Charlottesville, VA, about a two hour drive, but still in the realm of rural America. Since Rt 81 is not that far away you have a wide swath of territory to draw from--from NY to TENN. I'm guessing the number of slot players from a 50 mile radius is much higher than the number of blackjack and craps players--but that's just a guess. I have never seen so many full $50 and $100 tables anywhere. It has to peter out soon, because these people definitely are not winning.


PS--Some of the biggest gambling in this country occurred in the 30s and early 40s when people were reeling from the Great Depression. Many a poor person sees gambling as a shortcut to success. Also, where poverty exists, there is a high incidence of drugs and other illegal activity, and criminal activity puts big money into the hands of people who have nothing better to do with it than gamble it away.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
21forme said:
Problem is everyone in WV is related to each other, so they are having problems avoiding conflicts of interest. :grin:
That was a cheap shot, but let me tell you a story. :grin: I had a friend by the name of K. Fatkin. We drove up to W VA looking for his aunt and uncle, and throughout our journey, everywhere we stopped (and I mean everywhere) we found someone to whom he was related. It was hilarious. This was over a distance of a couple of hundred miles. We finally found his aunt and uncle living in Frostburg, MD midway between Mount Savage and Cumberland. :grin::whip:
 

FLASH1296

Well-Known Member
Also they're going to be charging 10% up to $7 for rake in poker. Here's a screen shot of their bj table.

W T F ?

Play poker at Delaware Park where the rake is capped at a standard $4
 

boneuphtoner

Well-Known Member
Are the people that are standing in line several deep to play these $50 and $100 games, locals or have they made the trip from Washington DC/Northern Virginia? Not to sound ignorant, but I wouldn't have thought a state that ranks dead last in average income, with an unemployment rate higher than the national average would produce that many high rollers.
Who'da thought! I took the opportunity to converse with a number of people around the casino and discovered an amazingly high number of what I'd describe as rural accents
I think this is another classic case of a casino that is being penny wise and pound foolish. If the bulk of the players of these games are locals, then this joint is seriously burning out the local ploppies....unless they are serious degenerates (quite possible BTW :laugh:), if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
boneuphtoner said:
I think this is another classic case of a casino that is being penny wise and pound foolish. If the bulk of the players of these games are locals, then this joint is seriously burning out the local ploppies....unless they are serious degenerates (quite possible BTW :laugh:), if I took a bad loss (at these stakes unless they are flat betting and playing perfect BS they are almost assured to in a few hours of play), I wouldn't go back for a good long time. Such shortsightedness is not a way to generate any kind of loyalty with the local ploppies.
Don't know if they're mainly local, but burn them out they will in short order.

Those waiting to play have thinned out already from opening day. Some standing behind the tables are just entertaining themselves by watching the $100 and $50 action. I asked one gentleman if he was waiting for a seat, and he quickly stood back and exclaimed, "Oh, no, not me! I'm a ten dollar player!"
 

Zero

Well-Known Member
Update from yesterday: mostly still the same.

Stopped by yesterday morning. 8 tables (2x25min, 4x50min, 2x100min) running, all full with 6+ waiting on the $25 tables and 4+ waiting on the $50 tables. I didn't notice any backline betting (does CT even allow that?). There were 2 baccarat tables open in the high limit area but none of the BJ tables (which are S17 vs H17 on the floor) were open. But considering 2 out of 8 tables on the floor were $100min and full , why would they open them? About 3:30 the 2 $25 tables were bumped up to $50, no grandfathering.

Guess I'll check back in a couple of weeks.

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aslan

Well-Known Member
Zero said:
Update from yesterday: mostly still the same.

Stopped by yesterday morning. 8 tables (2x25min, 4x50min, 2x100min) running, all full with 6+ waiting on the $25 tables and 4+ waiting on the $50 tables. I didn't notice any backline betting (does CT even allow that?). There were 2 baccarat tables open in the high limit area but none of the BJ tables (which are S17 vs H17 on the floor) were open. But considering 2 out of 8 tables on the floor were $100min and full , why would they open them? About 3:30 the 2 $25 tables were bumped up to $50, no grandfathering.

Guess I'll check back in a couple of weeks.

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It's unbelievable that the state is not even allowing a few more dealers to trickle in. I was tempted to visit this weekend, but I strongly suspected exactly what you have reported. Anyway, good news that the HL area will feature S17 tables. Thanks.
 

fredperson

Active Member
Charlestown

What's difficult to understand is the saturation of TV commercials for this casino on Washington DC channels. There are spots on all channels at all times, featuring table games.
People responding to these ads and driving to Charlestown may never return if disappointed by the lack of facilities to play.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
fredperson said:
What's difficult to understand is the saturation of TV commercials for this casino on Washington DC channels. There are spots on all channels at all times, featuring table games.
People responding to these ads and driving to xxxCharlesTownxxx may never return if disappointed by the lack of facilities to play.
Good point, FP. But I think the anger and disappointment will be short-lived. When a person in Fairfax, VA, has the choice between AC, 3 1/2 hours; xxxDelParkxxx, 2 hours; xxxHarringtonDelxxx, 2 hours; and xxxCharlesTownxxx, a little over 1 hour, I think the initial disappointment and angry feelings will soon dissipate provided the CT games live up to final expectations. The games seem decent enough and the tables are plentiful. What they don't have are competing area casinos and hotel comps (could be wrong about this), and as my wife points out, outlet shopping for the missus. (Of course, there's Hagerstown, MD, and its outlets some 38 miles away.) And for me, the allure of CT and the xxxDelxxx casinos is the fact that you can easily make it a day trip, not an over-nighter (or vice versa :laugh:).
 

Zero

Well-Known Member
hopson77 said:
Any updates on Charles Town?
Sorry, but unless someone says things have drastically improved there, I won't be planning another visit until early August. Perhaps by then they'll have their act together.

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WRX

Well-Known Member
Thunder said:
Also they're going to be charging 10% up to $7 for rake in poker.
OMFG. Shades of the dealer telling Chevy Chase, why don't I just take you out back, beat the crap out of you, you give me half your money, and we call it even?

That being said, there are low limit games in California card rooms where if one or two players call the blinds, the dealer then rakes ALL the money in the pot, and players still bet after the flop. That's right, they're playing to win nothing. Yet they still get plenty of players. If people have the itch to gamble, it doesn't matter how bad the game is.
 
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