My home casino
 

OK, to start off I know all of the legal implications of this and whatnot. Don't post if your gonna say how this is illegal.

I want to start my own cardroom type casino at my house. This would be full-on, real casino atmosphere for the players at the comfort of my home. I would provide NL Holdem ring games, as well as a variety of other poker games if demand proves necessary, and Blackjack tables. Also 2-3 nights a week I would be hosting tournaments. I want this to be profitable, so there will be rake and all that good stuff. I will give comps, typically drinks, free fast food, pizza, whatever, for my good customers. Also will sell this kind of stuff on site. I am not sure about getting professional dealers or not, still weighing the pros and cons of that. My questions for you readers: What should my rake structure be like, for say $50, $100, $200 NL ring games? Also, would any of you(San Diego area) be interested. The main problem going for me is Indian Casinos, because why would people come here when the casinos are around. Also, I am a minor. So this could easily just be an outlet for kids my age, but it would be good to get people who play higher limits. Also, there will be some dead money in there because of the fishiness level of some of the people who may be there(rich chaldean kids). So, would anyone in the San Diego area be interested? And if so, what limits would you play? Recomendations(sp?) that would make it feasible for you to want to come and play regularly. Thanks guys.

Re: My home casino
 

Sounds like a great idea....

You could save money by having your dad be a dealer and having mom serve drinks.

Re: My home casino
 

id love it if one of my friends did it, im sure id be there all the time...i think the idea of "comping" fast food is really funny though...the only problem is that if its any good, it will probably get popular quick, word will spread, and that will be the end of it...good luck with that though...at least youre ambitious!

Re: My home casino
 

i knew the whole mom and dad thing would be coming. oh well. serves me right. but really, any suggestions, or just aint gonna happen?

Re: My home casino
 

heh, yea i liked the fast food idea was pretty funny too. but whatever gets them coming back.
thanks though, will need a bit of luck.

Re: My home casino
 

And maybe his little sister and her friends could do lap dances.

Re: My home casino
 

If you really want to do this, you should probably visit (and play in) a few underground card rooms in your area first to see how they operate. I'm sure there are plenty, even in California. Some of them will have a problem with a minor showing up, but you just have to find the ones that don't.

It's not really going to be profitable at the $50 buy-in level, though. $1/$2 NL is probably about as low as you can get and still make money at everything you want to do, assuming a rake of 10% up to $4.

Custom chips are a must. One local underground room I know of got hit for well over $500 in "counterfeit" chips earlier this month.

Dealers are a must. At $1/$2 NL, they'll probably work for little more than the tax-free tips. They won't be "Vegas" quality, but they'll save you a lot of hassle.

Security is a must, and you want it to be both intimidating and legal. Should you ever get busted, a firearms charge won't help matters.

Also, it's probably not a good idea to hold the game at home. Your neighbors will quickly figure out that something's up when you've got a dozen or two cars parked outside your house every night. Rent some commercial/industrial space.

I'd probably steer clear of blackjack. I don't know about California but, in some places, there is a legal distinction between a house rake and playing the house.

Once you've got all that sorted out, free drinks and fast food to keep your players happy is a very minor thing.

Good luck.

Re: My home casino
 

Any tips on finding good commercial/industrial space to rent? How much do you think it would cost, what should I be looking for?

Re: My home casino
 

I predict this will become the greatest topic of all time.

Re: My home casino
 

Any suggestions on how to find the underground card rooms? For about 3 years I've asked around during travels and the only ones I hear about are in NY. The ones in NY are even friend of a friend situations, I've been trying to find someone who can take me to one and that never even works out.