"Soft" Opening in Wheeling, WV

[Tcchap]

Anyone out there attend the charity event tonight for the soft opening of Wheeling Island's poker room? I went down tonight but the tourney was over. Poker room looks really nice. Tables are spaced apart nicely and it is very bright. Word is that the room will be open on Friday. Can't wait.

[Hipsdontlie69]

Do they accept food stamps there?

[sirfoldalot]

Just got back from there. They had a setup where you pay $20 for $100 in play money. The $20 was for local charities. They had tables for 2-4 and stud. The night was a chance for us players to get a sneak peek at the room and for the dealers and staff to get their feet wet.

Room was very nice. Good lighting, decor, and spacing between tables. I liked the autoshufflers and something I never saw at a table before. When seated at a table you give the dealer your players card. They swipe it which logs you in for play time. It also displays your first name and seat number on an lcd screen embedded in the table in front of the dealer. When a seat opens the dealer simply presses a button next to that players name and the room manager is notified. Also, you can request the dealer to call for drink service. She will press service button and table number appears on poker queue screen around the room to alert the waitress. Very interesting. I made sure to have a dealer test this feature. ;-)

The main thing I would like to see in the room is more televisions. There were not enough of them as I like to watch various games on weekends/evenings while playing.

Only half the room was filled which might be due to the lack of notice of the event. TV cameras were all over the place so hopefully tomorrows event draws more people. They gave away a 42in LCD tv so that is worth going at the least.

Dealers were very friendly and nervous which is to be expected. A few mistakes were made but once again that is to be expected and a lot of the mistakes were due to nerves.

The location of the room is nice as well since they built a small sports bar just outside the room. Food at the place was good and well priced (Entrees were under $8). They served everyone attending the charity event for free.

The poker manager is named Peter and I did speak him. I asked him about a bad beat jackpot. He stated that they may not have it available day one but there most likely will be one. He stated he wasn't sure what the qualifier will be but he is thinking Aces full of jacks. A dealer told me that the BBJ would only be run on select tables so you can choose to avoid paying that extra $1 once a pot reaches $20 for the BBJ.

Peter also was asking around about omaha interest and whether there was interest in high or high/low. He did tell me they will spread 2-4, 3-6, 1-2NL and others as needed. I guess as players request higher limits they will deal them.

The soft opening is running again tomorrow from 4:00pm - 8:00pm and is open to the public. I would suggest checking it out.

Sorry for the long post. I hope this answers most of your questions.

[sirfoldalot]

By the way TC, how did I miss you there? I was at the bar forever. The is sirfoldalot of wheelingpokerclub.com.

[Tcchap]

Nice post sirfoldalot. Any word on when they are opening? I did notice a lack of TV's. The drink feature sounds pretty cool. If they open Friday, I will be there at some point Friday night. This is pretty exciting.

[sirfoldalot]

They used this night as a test for the state commissioners (not sure if you notices all of the suits). From all of the whispers it sounds like the commissioners were pleased and Friday at 10:00am may be the grand opening.

[Tcchap]

That is what somebody told me. I will be there Friday night for sure. I don't know what time, but I will be there.

[sirfoldalot]

Already warned the family. I will see you there. A dealer that plays with us will post on the WPC website when it is official. Keep checking there.

[Tcchap]

I walked through at about 9:25 and saw S.G. She was playing a machine and told me about the tourney. I was going to have a beer at the bar and then just decided to go home.

[Legislurker]

Any other rooms in WV close?