What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

1. Move from 10-handed tables to 9-handed. More hands per hour, and more action per hand. Short handed games play faster and looser. 9-handed isn't much shorter or faster, but since when do suits not want small benefits?

2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.

3. Jackpot, NL seperate pool. Some Vegas joints offer this. All but the B should.

4. Free food. Or, $3/hr comp rate. Be GENEROUS to your customers. Make them feel like kings while they're losing to you. Every penny you save them, you get anyway. They're almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income, so a dollar you save them on food is one more dollar they have to play with.



Okay, ALL these suggestions, ex. the food, are hugely anti-nit. But no smart poker boss worries about the nits in his ear (and if you've even been a poker boss, you know they really are in your ear with their stupid NIT suggestions and whines). Ignore the nits. Nits follow action. So, get the action. And action WANTS action. They WANT big blinds relative to the buy-ins. They WANT jackpots. They WANT more hands per hour. They WANT to be able to play looser, and play with people who are playing looser. And the difference in looseness between a 5/10 NL with $500 buy-ins, and a 2/5 NL with $1000 buy-ins is HUGE. There's a reason Oceanside has the toughest games in SoCal, and the Commerce the softest. Be like the Commerce.

Most importantly, stop trying to be like the B. I can't understand why there are so many pale versions of the B. The B is different, but it seems like all the Vegas poker bosses look at the city's most successful room and think: let's do what they do. [censored] what they do. Give them an endrun. Throw them a curve ball.

Cliff's notes: someone in Vegas should run an LA-style room.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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someone in Atlantic City should run an LA-style room.

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Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

Midstakes NL games with very low caps would never last in Vegas IMO.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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Midstakes NL games with very low caps would never last in Vegas IMO.

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Disagree. An under-performing room with foot traffic and enough players to start games (but not enough to go to capacity) would do well with something even more extreme than the LA fixed/spread buy games.

For example, I'd try 5-5 blind with a $100 fixed buy. Put it near the rail. Call it "TV style all-in poker" or something similar. Must be felted to rebuy. Make it super easy (i.e., not embarrassing and very convenient) to get another hundred in chips. Put the promotion money into things that attract the casual gambler, not the local nits.

I think the games would look like the $20 buy (with $1/$1 blinds) or the $40 buy (with $1/$2) blinds behind the bar at Hawaiian Gardens. It's party city and the most packed part of any casino in LA.

~ Rick

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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For example, I'd try 5-5 blind with a $100 fixed buy. Put it near the rail. Call it "TV style all-in poker" or something similar. Must be felted to rebuy. Make it super easy (i.e., not embarrassing and very convenient) to get another hundred in chips. Put the promotion money into things that attract the casual gambler, not the local nits

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this sounds like a great game that I would rarely play, unless i wanted to gamble. I like low variance play. But this game may be good to get the high action players in.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

IIRC, the Wynn does have 9-handed tables.

I seriously doubt that a $3 comp rate would be +EV for the casino. Raising the comp by $2 in a room with 180 players on 20 tables costs $360/hr. Hourly rake is probably something like $3 avg. rake x 30 hands/hr x 20 tables = $1800. So, that's 1/5 of your poker income down the drain as additional comps.

It's not even good enough to draw another 36 players to open four new tables and generate $360/hr more in rake. Not only do you have to comp those players, you have to provide dealers and floor staff, and serve them drinks. You'd probably have to boost traffic by more than 50% to make this drastic rake increase worthwhile, and I think that'd be a tall order.

I also think it's untrue that Vegas customers are "almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income."

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

1. Move from 10-handed tables to 9-handed. More hands per hour, and more action per hand. Short handed games play faster and looser. 9-handed isn't much shorter or faster, but since when do suits not want small benefits?

2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.

3. Jackpot, NL seperate pool. Some Vegas joints offer this. All but the B should.

4. Free food. Or, $3/hr comp rate. Be GENEROUS to your customers. Make them feel like kings while they're losing to you. Every penny you save them, you get anyway. They're almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income, so a dollar you save them on food is one more dollar they have to play with.<<<<<<<<<<

I agree with #1 and who can argue with #4.

#2/#3 I totally disagree with. At Commerce the blinds are 2-3 for the $100 and 3-5 for the $200. With this structure you really dont get to play much poker and must play a conservative strategy until you build up a few buy-ins. I can understand why this may seem nitty but I can tell you from experience that no one is a long term winner by playing loosely in these games. To be honest, after about 5 years of watching these games I rarely see a player who wins consistently. I have even doubted there was much of an edge in these games. If you play loose in these games you will simply be called down every time and need to show a winner. I much prefer the games in LV where you can buy in for 100 BB's to start. This format rewards patience more and allows you to out-wait the bad players. I know you like to think you can outplay the bad players but unless they play bad-tight (rare) as opposed to bad-loose (95% of bad players are too loose) the only way you can outplay them is to exercise patience and wait for them to smack right into ya. So I say NO! to high blind to buy in ratio games. To be honest I totally resent the LA casinos because they do everything they can to maximize their profits by raking sick amounts and minimizing the skill factor of the game with these stupid structures. If the games were better structured I would spend 60 hours a week there for sure.

I am also strongly against jackpots. The rake is already high enough. Sure, you get your money back in the long run but most likely you will die before you get your share of the jackpot drop back.

gl

yoga

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

better for the casinos to have 10 handed tables
1) less space needed
2) less staff needed

it's not like an online room where you get free tables and dealers.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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IIRC, the Wynn does have 9-handed tables.

I seriously doubt that a $3 comp rate would be +EV for the casino. Raising the comp by $2 in a room with 180 players on 20 tables costs $360/hr. Hourly rake is probably something like $3 avg. rake x 30 hands/hr x 20 tables = $1800. So, that's 1/5 of your poker income down the drain as additional comps.

It's not even good enough to draw another 36 players to open four new tables and generate $360/hr more in rake. Not only do you have to comp those players, you have to provide dealers and floor staff, and serve them drinks. You'd probably have to boost traffic by more than 50% to make this drastic rake increase worthwhile, and I think that'd be a tall order.

I also think it's untrue that Vegas customers are "almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income."


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it doesn't cost them quite as much because it doesn't cost them 3 dollars when you spend 3 dollars (unless its 3 dollars you would have spent anyway). if you use 15 dollars on a buffet you wouldn't have gone too anyway, that 15 dollars cost them 4-5 dollars.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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IIRC, the Wynn does have 9-handed tables.

I seriously doubt that a $3 comp rate would be +EV for the casino. Raising the comp by $2 in a room with 180 players on 20 tables costs $360/hr. Hourly rake is probably something like $3 avg. rake x 30 hands/hr x 20 tables = $1800. So, that's 1/5 of your poker income down the drain as additional comps.

It's not even good enough to draw another 36 players to open four new tables and generate $360/hr more in rake. Not only do you have to comp those players, you have to provide dealers and floor staff, and serve them drinks. You'd probably have to boost traffic by more than 50% to make this drastic rake increase worthwhile, and I think that'd be a tall order.

I also think it's untrue that Vegas customers are "almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income."


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it doesn't cost them quite as much because it doesn't cost them 3 dollars when you spend 3 dollars (unless its 3 dollars you would have spent anyway). if you use 15 dollars on a buffet you wouldn't have gone too anyway, that 15 dollars cost them 4-5 dollars.

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I also think that some percentage of that money comes back to them (certainly not even close to 100%). IE. Some people bring $300 to the casino to spend. They leave when they run out. If they spend $20 at the buffet thats $20 less then they gamble with, if they use comps they gamble with that. Also some people save up comps to use on hotel rooms so more comps mean those people are in the casino more often.

That being said I don't see it being that profitable to casinos to up the comps. As much as I'd love for it to happen.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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Midstakes NL games with very low caps would never last in Vegas IMO.

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Disagree. An under-performing room with foot traffic and enough players to start games (but not enough to go to capacity) would do well with something even more extreme than the LA fixed/spread buy games.

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You mean sort of like the Luxor had? That was pretty much a flop as I understand it.

Most of the players in Vegas are tourists. Most of the players in LA are not. I think most tourists don't want to pay for a jackpot they have almost no chance to win. I certainly don't.

Food comps? Meh. Most tourists don't even know there are comps, so it certainly doesn't affect their choice of casinos to play in. Comps cost the casino money, so if they raise their comps, they have to pay for it somehow. If one casino raises comps and it's successful in increaisng it's market share, everyone will follow. End result - no advantage for that casino, yet they have to pay for those comps somehow - likely through a raised rake.

As a Vegas tourist, I just want them to keep it simple. Give me a decent place to play, no comps needed other than maybe a poker rate, no jackpot, no gimmicks.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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it doesn't cost them quite as much because it doesn't cost them 3 dollars when you spend 3 dollars (unless its 3 dollars you would have spent anyway). if you use 15 dollars on a buffet you wouldn't have gone too anyway, that 15 dollars cost them 4-5 dollars.

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I am aware of some $15 buffets that cost the poker room over $20 when you use a comp there. The buffet is used to attract people so the casino takes an actual lost on it, but when it is comped they charge the comping department what it cost them per person to put out the buffet. This isn't a typical nasty buffet, but when casinos do a sea food buffet they often take a small loss on it to bring people in the door.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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IIRC, the Wynn does have 9-handed tables.


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The Mirage and Caesars Palace are also nine-handed.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

I think a 2-5 $100 max would be hilarious/entertaining/fun for us tourists.
I dont care about comps playing poker there...free drinks are comps enough.
I think these short buy in tables should disallow mp3 players/cell phones at any time/and absolutely no bottles of water at the table...(hoodies and sunglasses should be welcomed and encouraged)

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

10 handed tables aren't always 10 handed. People like to get up and go for walks all the time in live play.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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1. Move from 10-handed tables to 9-handed. More hands per hour, and more action per hand. Short handed games play faster and looser. 9-handed isn't much shorter or faster, but since when do suits not want small benefits?


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won't really make a difference.

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2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.


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You might have trouble getting a short-stacked 5/10 game going. Most 5/10 regulars in Vegas are set on the deep stacks at Wynn/B

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3. Jackpot, NL seperate pool. Some Vegas joints offer this. All but the B should.

4. Free food. Or, $3/hr comp rate. Be GENEROUS to your customers. Make them feel like kings while they're losing to you. Every penny you save them, you get anyway. They're almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income, so a dollar you save them on food is one more dollar they have to play with.


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Do customers really follow those things that carefully? Some Vegas regulars might go for 4. but you would have a tough time pitching it to the casino management.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

I like the 3 dollar an hour idea, but I think that it should only apply as a credit to a persons hotel room bill.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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I like the 3 dollar an hour idea, but I think that it should only apply as a credit to a persons hotel room bill.

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Actually thats kind of an interesting idea. Give an extra comp dollar or two that can only be applied to hotel rooms.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

I remember seein' an ad in Card Player recently for a $40 min/max buy in NL game at the Stratosphere. I assume it was 1/2NL?

Haven't even ever played there tho. Don't knonw if it caught on or even still exists.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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I agree with #1 and who can argue with #4.
#2/#3 I totally disagree with.

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You sir, are the nit that OP mentioned in his post. We've been instructed to ignore you.

long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

Excellent post, btw. Obviously you put some thought into it.

I'm going to comment one by one, marking the start of my comments with **

1. Move from 10-handed tables to 9-handed. More hands per hour, and more action per hand. Short handed games play faster and looser. 9-handed isn't much shorter or faster, but since when do suits not want small benefits?

** I agree for the most part. I think 9 handed does give overall better action, although it's not a big difference. In rooms that are rarely full, this is a good idea because it gives players the sensation of being in a full game more often, and makes the house a bit more money. In rooms that are often very busy or full this is not necessary (but probably wouldn't hurt).

2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.

** agree. Vegas used to have several rooms like this, but now it's mostly deep stack, with max buy-ins of 100 big blinds or more (often no max). More action is an effect of shorter stacks, but not the main reason I like the idea. Deep stack games tend to allow a few skilled players clean out the tourists much faster. This will inevitably cause the games to dry up sooner because most of the loose money will be gone. Some rooms in more isolated areas are already seeing this happen. Ironically, it's mostly the local nits, not the tourists, who push rooms to allow bigger buy-ins.

3. Jackpot, NL seperate pool. Some Vegas joints offer this. All but the B should.

** I don't disagree with the theory, but I've never heard anyone actually complain outside of a few isolated posts on this forum. I don't know of any vegas joints that do this, do tell - which places separate limit and no limit jackpots? In reality I think this concept would be far too advanced for the simpletons who make many of the important decisions about poker in las vegas.

4. Free food. Or, $3/hr comp rate. Be GENEROUS to your customers. Make them feel like kings while they're losing to you. Every penny you save them, you get anyway. They're almost all playing to the extent of their disposable income, so a dollar you save them on food is one more dollar they have to play with.

** I agree they should comp more than the standard $1/hour. The "standard" comp for a pit player is 20% of the house's ev on your action. From spreadsheets I've done, the house's average ev on a poker player is about 7.50/hour. This would make a comp rate of $1.50 an hour more reasonable, and $2.00 an hour pretty good. In reality, the house often comps bigger games more, ignoring the fact that these players make up the smallest portion of their business. In some cases the house may even be charging these players lower time charges. The house makes profit on food, thus food comps are not really a dollar-for-dollar expense. This may surprise some, but I don't think $3/hour is a reasonable comp rate, I think it's too high.

Okay, ALL these suggestions, ex. the food, are hugely anti-nit. But no smart poker boss worries about the nits in his ear (and if you've even been a poker boss, you know they really are in your ear with their stupid NIT suggestions and whines). Ignore the nits. Nits follow action. So, get the action. And action WANTS action. They WANT big blinds relative to the buy-ins. They WANT jackpots. They WANT more hands per hour. They WANT to be able to play looser, and play with people who are playing looser. And the difference in looseness between a 5/10 NL with $500 buy-ins, and a 2/5 NL with $1000 buy-ins is HUGE. There's a reason Oceanside has the toughest games in SoCal, and the Commerce the softest. Be like the Commerce.

** I agree, especially about the nits. I'm about as anti-nit as you can get.

** I also agree about the buy-in vs action ideas you outline here. I have not spent that much time at commerce, but it was quite clear that the games were on average far better. Just watch the tight, actionless, many walkers games of 5-10 no limit at the rio during wsop if you want to see no-action of course there are lots of exceptions, I'm talking overall effect.

Most importantly, stop trying to be like the B. I can't understand why there are so many pale versions of the B. The B is different, but it seems like all the Vegas poker bosses look at the city's most successful room and think: let's do what they do. [censored] what they do. Give them an endrun. Throw them a curve ball.

** basically agree. The bellagio does many things right, and is overall well run. But many people, including me, don't like bellagio. The main reason quoted is the poor treatment of low limit players. Another common reason is floors who don't explain what they are doing when they make decisions. Preferential treatment of locals who know which wheels to grease is also mentioned. And finally, it's just plain crowded, often with long waits.

** the bellagio sees most of the high limit business in vegas, which is why they do many things the way they do. This is fine. The rest of vegas will see mostly low limit games, and should therefore do many things different from bellagio.

** I must add that bellagio runs excellent tournaments, and all las vegas dealers, floors, and bosses should go and learn a thing or two from the bellagio in this area. This does not mean everyone should do tournaments exactly the same as bellagio. For instance, a $60 daily tournament that usually sees 50 players, 48 of them tourists, should not use antes. Each room should find what works best in their own niche.

Cliff's notes: someone in Vegas should run an LA-style room.

** overall I agree wholeheartedly. The time I've spent in los angeles casinos backed up the notion california casinos are run better than all others. The years I was in san diego backed this idea further. Maybe someone does it better, but I haven't seen it yet.

Al

Re: long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

I disagree that 100BB is "deep stack" poker. That is simply about the minimum that lets you play poker all the way to the river. Typical NL1/2 game the preflop raise is to $12, maybe 3 see the flop, $36 in the pot, everybody has $188 left. You like the flop and put an almost-pot-size bet of $30 in, get one caller, $96 in the pot, $158 left. Turn looks safe, you wager 2/3 of the pot and put in $60, get called, $98 left, $216 in the pot. $98 goes in on the river.

Anything less than $200 and you might as well just push the turn. 100BB is "normal" poker. 50BB is short-stack poker. 200BB is "deep stack". (By my own definitions, anyway--dunno what any official wisdom claims.)

Re: long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

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I disagree that 100BB is "deep stack" poker. That is simply about the minimum that lets you play poker all the way to the river. Typical NL1/2 game the preflop raise is to $12, maybe 3 see the flop, $36 in the pot, everybody has $188 left. You like the flop and put an almost-pot-size bet of $30 in, get one caller, $96 in the pot, $158 left. Turn looks safe, you wager 2/3 of the pot and put in $60, get called, $98 left, $216 in the pot. $98 goes in on the river.

Anything less than $200 and you might as well just push the turn. 100BB is "normal" poker. 50BB is short-stack poker. 200BB is "deep stack". (By my own definitions, anyway--dunno what any official wisdom claims.)

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Sounds about right. Back before they started making max buy-ins the traditional min was 40x the BB. This would be rounded to a reasonable number. When we were spreading 1-2 NL we made the min $50 rather than $80, I know a of a couple of times that 1-2 NL was spread with a $100 min.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.


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You might have trouble getting a short-stacked 5/10 game going. Most 5/10 regulars in Vegas are set on the deep stacks at Wynn/B


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The B has a 1K cap on the 5/10 game. A lot of the local players hate this about it and prefer the Wynn/Venetian/Caesars uncapped action.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

Why all the talk about what the local players want. The locals are attempting to make moneys off the tourists, correct. The casinos should focus on what the tourists want.

Poker is still a scary game for a ton of people because it is expensive to play a hand. A 3/6 limit hand will cost at least 20 dollars, compared to a BJ game with a $5 minimum. Now you force a $100 minimum on a game that person has no idea how to play, and he can loose it all in one hand.

It is also be obvious to the tourist that there are people waiting to take him or her out. I once took a friend (a WHALE) to a casino, and he complained that he couldn't enjoy himself because he felt like everyone was drooling over him. If I took him to a no-limit game with a capped buy-in, he may have felt different.

The California Casinos do well because most of the players feel like no one can possibly win the game.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

For games below the lowest stakes, local players are vital to keeping the games going.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

Yeah, don't underestimate too much the importance of the locals for keeping the room healthy. Last night at Venetian there were 5 of us (at least) that were locals in the stupid little NL1/2 game. I gave up and vamoosed for greener pastures.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

^^ That's my point. It is important to guarantee fish in your game to keep it going. Although Locals are no doubt a vital part of the poker economy, especially in the slow season, the real donators for the game are the tourist. They ultimately keep the games alive.

For example, Commerce has a hotel on top of it. I don't know if it is always sold out, but be rest assured that the bigger games (20/40 and up) are supplied by these people.

In Vegas, the average person spends 3k over a weekend, and the supply side for higher limit games is smaller. The busiest tables, quantity wise, are the small $2 bj tables, $1 slots, etc, not the high limit tables. You want to attract these small rollers to the table to play poker, and doing promos specifically for the local crowd (bbj's, etc.) isn't going to bring the tourists in. You have to change the dynamics of the games you are spreading. The largest wind-fall for No Limit in California was the concept of capped games. Keeping them small is what works best for the casinos because the losing player is not going to loose so much so fast, and the feeling is that they can win it back is much stronger, which is essentially why the casinos always get action. A tourist looses $200 in the first orbit, he is much less likely to dig back into his pocket for more money than he would if he lost $50. The casino wins by supplying more fish for the locals, keeping the locals happy, and taking more rake by keeping the games longer.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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Why all the talk about what the local players want. The locals are attempting to make moneys off the tourists, correct. The casinos should focus on what the tourists want.

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Agree completely as long as you do enough for the regulars to get games started (e.g., game starting comps).


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The California Casinos do well because most of the players feel like no one can possibly win the game.

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True for small limits but in the middle sized NL games many people do well. Part of the reason we have so many games is that the structures make it easier for the casual player to occasionally book a win. Without an occasional win they can't lie to themselves about how "they are pretty close to breaking even".

They also do well because competition is restricted.

~ Rick

Re: long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

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1. Move from 10-handed tables to 9-handed. More hands per hour, and more action per hand. Short handed games play faster and looser. 9-handed isn't much shorter or faster, but since when do suits not want small benefits?

** I agree for the most part. I think 9 handed does give overall better action, although it's not a big difference. In rooms that are rarely full, this is a good idea because it gives players the sensation of being in a full game more often, and makes the house a bit more money. In rooms that are often very busy or full this is not necessary (but probably wouldn't hurt).

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In small rooms (especially ones that are already hurting for business this may make sense theoretically but not practically. I just started working in a room has 9 handed tables. but as soon as a 10th player shows up, the floor makes it 10 handed. Why? because right now noone wants to risk losing a customer. everyone is afraid that if you don't get them seated they will go down the street to play.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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Why all the talk about what the local players want. The locals are attempting to make moneys off the tourists, correct.

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This is only some of the market. there are many locals who play poker primarily against other locals. Many people play poker not to try to make money (they would like to win) but as a social outlet. They are coming to play poker to have fun, to have something to do, to have people to talk to,

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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someone in Atlantic City should run an LA-style room.

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I was gonna post that exact statement.

Borgata is huge like an LA room (85 tables), but they wouldn't shake things up like that. They've been pretty successful thus far, and won't make any changes. But, by 2012 there will be three new (Revel, Pinnacle, MGM) luxury casino/resorts in AC. If they have each have big (40 tables +) poker rooms, Borgata may be forced to make some changes. We'll see....

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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someone in Atlantic City should run an LA-style room.

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I was gonna post that exact statement.

Borgata is huge like an LA room (85 tables), but they wouldn't shake things up like that. They've been pretty successful thus far, and won't make any changes. But, by 2012 there will be three new (Revel, Pinnacle, MGM) luxury casino/resorts in AC. If they have each have big (40 tables +) poker rooms, Borgata may be forced to make some changes. We'll see....

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The Borgata has done little if anything to promote AC poker, the Taj was a better representative when they were the leading room. With so many struggling rooms no one wants to take a chance. You want to fill your room: good totally free food (ala Commerce/Wynn), small cap NL games, and pester the NJCC until they allow stradles, buying the button and chip runners doing fills/players checks. WTF we can't even play triple draw..it's freakin' illegal in a poker room!!!

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

I don't really think bad beat jackpots are good for the room since they are so rarely hit. I have spent a decent amount of time in poker rooms with alot of tables and I don't think I have ever seen one hit. I think these may work to bring in the regular locals but a tourist sees a super high number like that and knows he pretty much has a 0% chance of winning.

What does work I think is having high hand jackpots. Make them small, a few hundred or so, and have a board that resets every 5 hours. Maybe pay the top three hands. I have seen quite a few tourists who were about to leave stay another 4 hours or so to see if their quads hold up for a couple hundred dollar prize.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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I like the 3 dollar an hour idea, but I think that it should only apply as a credit to a persons hotel room bill.

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Actually thats kind of an interesting idea. Give an extra comp dollar or two that can only be applied to hotel rooms.

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This is a terrible idea. It only works for the casino if the credit is applied to a future stay, not your current one. You are going to pay your room bill anyhow (and on a credit card, so it really doesn't impact your gambling losses), so any credits hit the hotel directly on the bottom line. Giving food comps means sometimes the person uses it (breakage) and the cost of the food is generally cheaper than the face value of the comp.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

The smartest Vegas poker boss will do absolutely nothing and thus hold on to his/her job until retirement. Every poker boss has corporate bosses, who have bosses etc. The smartest poker boss does as he/she's told.

The corporations that own casinos would like nothing better than to see this poker boom go away. They make very little profit from the poker rooms. A few years ago poker rooms were closing along the Strip, then televised tournaments brought it back.

10-handed is fine. Due to the many distractions of Vegas players tend to get up from the table a lot. 10-handed is effectively 8-9 handed. Personally, I prefer more money at the table.

Recently, a few bosses of smaller poker rooms have been fired to be replaced by lead poker shift bosses. It turns out the poker rooms run just fine. And it shows just how much the management really appreciates poker.

Re: long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

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From spreadsheets I've done, the house's average ev on a poker player is about 7.50/hour.

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That is not much.

Re: long reply (oddly, not very ranty at all)
 

I think it's funny that the common thrusts of so many posts in this thread are:

1) I know better how to maximize the profitability of casino poker rooms than do people who actually manage casinos for a living.
2) Coincidentally, it just so happens that they would be doing their jobs a lot better if they gave more free stuff to poker players like me.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

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2. Switch from deep-stack to mid-stack or small-stack NL. IOW, switch to LA-style NL. 5/10 with $500 buy-ins. Much more action, much more fun. I don't think anyone in Vegas spreads games like this.


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You might have trouble getting a short-stacked 5/10 game going. Most 5/10 regulars in Vegas are set on the deep stacks at Wynn/B


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The B has a 1K cap on the 5/10 game. A lot of the local players hate this about it and prefer the Wynn/Venetian/Caesars uncapped action.

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That's why I like Bellagio's 5/10 game. Everyone sits down with a grand and it doesn't play ultra deep which will happen at the Wynn 5/10 game. I love the Wynn 5/10 game too, it just depends on how I feel.

Re: What the smartest Vegas poker boss will do.
 

Obviously the OP lacks a little business common sense here. Most poker bosses don't need to provide ANYTHING to the players. Why!? People will still play! This is why Bellagio is cheap with handouts and what not, people will still pack that place because it is Bellagio.

Let's take a look at the Venetian. They opened this massive room in 2006 and nobody showed up to play. So what'd they do!? Well they got smart and started freebies! A badbeat jackpot fully funded by the casino itself! Then they started comping 3.50 an hour to 1-2 and 4.50 an hour for 2-5 and higher. Such a sick deal. Obviously word spread that the room was nice and the comps were great and once the room got packed they took away the generous freebies.

Remember all those free drinks get charged back to the poker room as well. The poker room for the most part is simply there to get you into the casino in hopes that you blow your profit in the pits or stores.