WV Charles Town

[Zero]

Well, for better or worse, here's the latest:

Stopped by today just before noon. I was happy to see 3 of the high limit tables open with a grand total of 8 players between them. I continued on to the other pit area and was excited to see 10 tables open, and there were obviously open seats available at some of them! I get closer. Wait a second, somethings not right. One table is completely empty and the dealer is standing there shuffled up with her hands folded behind her back. WTF? I get closer still and my heart sinks a bit. Out of the 10 tables, 9 are $50min, with 1 table at $25min. And 2 of the $50 tables have zero players. Of course the $25 table is full with 2 players queued up.

So it looks like Charles Town has been able to get a few more dealers cleared through the red tape, but they haven't yet finished skinning the sheep instead of shearing them. They'd rather pay dealers to twiddle their thumbs than lower the table minimums. With my $25 BU I prefer $10 tables but will play $25 tables when I have to, but I wasn't about to stand in line waiting for a seat only to have them raise the minimum ~3:30 like they typically do just before the after work crowd arrives. Guess I'll keep checking back once a month or so. I'm sure at some point they'll have to offer $15 or even $10 games. If anyone happens to notice this, please post an update to let us know.

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[BlackjackEbberly]

Is this place open 24-7?

Hollywood Casino in Charles Town has been open 24/7 since April 16.

Man I am so addicted to blackjack it isn't even funny. I want to MOVE to Charles Town from northern Virginia.

 

[aslan]

Hollywood Casino in Charles Town has been open 24/7 since April 16.

Man I am so addicted to blackjack it isn't even funny. I want to MOVE to Charles Town from northern Virginia.

Do you have a brother named Max?

 

[BlackjackEbberly]

Do you have a brother named Max?

No, I don't.

 

[BlackjackEbberly]

As of July 30-31, I noticed that Hollywood Casino installed new tables in front of the Epic Buffet. On Friday at approximately 330pm there were two blackjack tables sporting $15 minimums. Their seats were filled in seconds.

There is an area of table games arranged in a horseshoe-shape farther west, toward the West Garage end of the casino. They opened more baccarat and blackjack tables on Saturday. The place was packed on Friday night like you wouldn't believe.

It'll get better once they get all the dealers licensed, then they'll open all the tables and some of the minimums will drop to $5 and $10.

 

[bj bob]

As of July 30-31, I noticed that Hollywood Casino installed new tables in front of the Epic Buffet. On Friday at approximately 330pm there were two blackjack tables sporting $15 minimums. Their seats were filled in seconds.

There is an area of table games arranged in a horseshoe-shape farther west, toward the West Garage end of the casino. They opened more baccarat and blackjack tables on Saturday. The place was packed on Friday night like you wouldn't believe.

It'll get better once they get all the dealers licensed, then they'll open all the tables and some of the minimums will drop to $5 and $10.

When I was there the weekend before last the pit near the Epic wasn't quite finished. Nice to see it's ready now. While you were scanning the pits did you notice that the $25 min were all 8D, H-17? Only 6D were $50 min.

 

[aslan]

No, I don't.

Max Eberle is a pro pool player from the Northern Virginia area. I thought maybe Ebberly was a deliberate misspelling of that name (pronounces the same). Maybe, I'll see you in Charlestown sometime. Sure is taking them a month of Sundays getting things in full gear there.

 

[Dave2112]

When I was there the weekend before last the pit near the Epic wasn't quite finished. Nice to see it's ready now. While you were scanning the pits did you notice that the $25 min were all 8D, H-17? Only 6D were $50 min.

I didn't think they had 6D anywhere except the HL room, and even there I saw 8D the last time I went through. Are you sure they had 6D on the main floor?

 

[bj bob]

I didn't think they had 6D anywhere except the HL room, and even there I saw 8D the last time I went through. Are you sure they had 6D on the main floor?

Couldn't swear on that. I was on my tip-toes stretching my neck over 3 rows of idiots just to get a glance of the discard tray. Besides, you're asking a pitch player who gets dizzy staring at anything over 104 cards.

 

[BlackjackEbberly]

I didn't think they had 6D anywhere except the HL room, and even there I saw 8D the last time I went through. Are you sure they had 6D on the main floor?

It's 8D on the main floor at Hollywood Casino. Never did find 6D.

 

[hopson77]

Any updates on Hollywood/Charles Town?

 

[Dave2112]

Any updates on Hollywood/Charles Town?

I think I saw a 2D table in the HL pit (only 2 decks spread out waiting for players). Everything in the HL pit seems to be $100 min. Penetration on the main floor was decent at about 1.5D. Pen in HL room (also 8D when I was there) was noticeably worse with at least 2D. Some but not all of the main floor tables have Lucky Laidies with pay table "A".

The crappy 8D H17 tables on the main floor are much more accessible now but still $25 min on weekends. During the week you might find 15 or even 10. I did see a $10 craps table on the weekend.

Over at a poker forum I read that the wait times are much lower in the poker room during weekdays and after 11pm on weekends. Apparently there is really good money to be made from 2-4am with fish steaming to make up losses. This is a side effect of having a poker room that closes. Poker room is open 1pm-4am daily.

 

[fredperson]

Charlestown

Here's a new rumor....

Three different casinos companies have recently purchased land in Jefferson County (thats where Charlestown is).

Will Charlestown WV be the next Atlantic City ?

At least it might put pressure on the Hollywood store to get their act together.

 

[aslan]

Here's a new rumor....

Three different casinos companies have recently purchased land in Jefferson County (thats where Charlestown is).

Will Charlestown WV be the next Atlantic City ?

At least it might put pressure on the Hollywood store to get their act together.

Wouldn't that be great! Rte. 81 would bring in people from NY to TN and beyond. It's a heck of a lot better than the I-95 corridor. I hope your speculation comes true! W VA can use the revenues--but if the games are no better than AC:whip:, may no one come! :devil:

 

[Dave2112]

Has anyone seen a 6'5 blond guy in his 30's acting really obnoxious? I've sen him in the HL pit with a large stack of pumpkins as well as at the $25 tables with like $200. I see him there almost every time I go. He never bothered me but It did seem like he was trying to distract other players. One time he was in the HL pit at a table by himself demanding for a reshuffle very loudly, making a huge scene. "I'm walking away! If I leave the table you have to spread the cards out right? and slamming his palm on the table.

 

[aslan]

I just returned from CTWVA. Still the same old story--Only a quarter of their BJ tables are even open, and when they do open a new table it is usually Pai Gow, three-card poker, or some other carney game. There are more $25 tables now, a few $50 tables and the higher limits are now in the HL area, presumably $100, but I didn't bother to go look. It's still 8-deck at the $25 tables, H17 NS DAS NRA DD2 but beatable. I made over $1,000 and left. My buddy, who has a primitive ten count game, also made $1,000. So it was well worth the hour trip and gas.

I keep hoping they will be opening lower limit tables soon, but it seems like the state of WVA is really dragging it's feet qualifying new dealers.

The poker game, which only runs 1pm to 4am, is no longer using a list. Just show up and get seated. But it's all holdem, no stud, unless you start a separate list.

 

[BlackjackEbberly]

At the glacial rate W VA is qualifying new dealers, they won't have all the tables open, including the 6 tables over in Pit 7 in the new Hollywood II room, until sometime next year, although it's rumored that they open many more tables during holidays like the upcoming Labor Day Weekend.

 

[Zero]

I keep hoping they will be opening lower limit tables soon, but it seems like the state of WVA is really dragging it's feet qualifying new dealers.

Are you sure this is still the issue? I was there on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago and what seemed like every blackjack table in the place was open. Every table in the large horseshoe shaped pit was open as well as all the tables in the no-smoking pit by the Epic. They even had the tables in the small pit by the east garage entrance open, and I'd never seen those open before. So they obviously have the dealers. Of course there were no tables below $25 min. I came back later in the night after a break to see if the table mins would go lower as the crowd started dying down but nope. They were closing pits faster than the crowd was dwindling. By 2:30am I had been booted from 2 tables in 2 different pits, one of which was completely full when they closed it. So at 2:30 in the morning, my choices were queue up for a seat at the remaining completely full $25 tables or call it a night. It seems to me they just don't want to run lower minimum tables yet.

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[aslan]

Are you sure this is still the issue? I was there on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago and what seemed like every blackjack table in the place was open. Every table in the large horseshoe shaped pit was open as well as all the tables in the no-smoking pit by the Epic. They even had the tables in the small pit by the east garage entrance open, and I'd never seen those open before. So they obviously have the dealers. Of course there were no tables below $25 min. I came back later in the night after a break to see if the table mins would go lower as the crowd started dying down but nope. They were closing pits faster than the crowd was dwindling. By 2:30am I had been booted from 2 tables in 2 different pits, one of which was completely full when they closed it. So at 2:30 in the morning, my choices were queue up for a seat at the remaining completely full $25 tables or call it a night. It seems to me they just don't want to run lower minimum tables yet.

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Did you realize there are 5 separate pits--a six table blackjack pit at the west garage when you first come in, then a huge horseshoe pit BEFORE you get to the High Limit pit in which I have only seen non-blackjack games open, then the high limit pit, then another horseshoe pit close to the cashier, and finally the small pit by the buffet? When I was there, only the high limit pit and the horseshoe pit near the cashier were open, and maybe a couple of non-blackjack games in the giant horseshoe between the west garage and the high limit pit. I have been there 5 times and never seen the blackjack tables in three of the pits open, although I heard about the one near the buffet being open. Of course that may be owing to the fact that I was only there in midweek, but I did stay until 9:30 pm last Wednesday, so its not just a daytime phenomenon.

 

[Thunder]

You're almost better off staying at home than going there. You're only going to have an advantage in that game for what? Less than 25% of the time you're playing? And at $25 min a table, you're going to need to have a huge bankroll to overcome the house edge if you're doing play all. Personally I rather spend the time at this time of the year at AC.