Hollywood Park - Floor in game

TMTTR · #1 07-21-2006, 11:48 AM

I was in LA with a friend this past week and we stopped by for a night of poker at Hollywood Park. We went there primarily because we had heard that they had a juicy 25-50 Stud game and my friend wanted to check it out.... I am not a Stud players and was just going there so my friend could play -- figured there is always a HE or O8 game I could sit in...

Anyway, after playing for a number of hours at this game, at around 2:45 AM, the manager who has been running the floor in the "high stakes" area for the entire time we were there asks for some chips and sits down in the stud game. My buddy is confused and asks if he is allowed to play and the floor guy responds that he is off in a few minutes and he is allowed to play when he is off.

Anyway, he is dealt in a few hands and then plays a pot that ends up heads up with my friend. There is some aggressive betting between the two of them and the floor guy takes down a substantial pot (Qs up beating Js up, but its not really important to the story). He is then dealt in and folds one or two more hands and leaves the table. He returns five minutes laters and starts racking his chips. He is then seen speaking to his replacement on the floor and getting ready to leave for the night.

Comments? Is this standard at Hollywood Park? Are employees (particularly management) allowed to play in the games there? Even if they are, is it ethical/good policy to hit-and-run in a game that you manage?

RR · #2 07-21-2006, 12:16 PM

I know nothing about the particulars of Hollywood Park, but it is not uncommon for the floorman in smaller rooms to play while on shift to keep a game going.

TMTTR · #3 07-21-2006, 12:24 PM

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I know nothing about the particulars of Hollywood Park, but it is not uncommon for the floorman in smaller rooms to play while on shift to keep a game going.

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This game wasn't ending... I believe this was the only open seat, but the game was certainly not dying (at least before he got up followed quickly by my pissed-off friend).

ScottySo · #4 07-21-2006, 12:35 PM

I don't know much about this sort of thing but if I was running a casino I wouldn't let my floor play in the games like this. However, the time to say something or leave was when the employee sat down, not after your friend loses a pot. If your friend had won the pot he would probably have let it go easily.

TMTTR · #5 07-21-2006, 12:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know much about this sort of thing but if I was running a casino I wouldn't let my floor play in the games like this. However, the time to say something or leave was when the employee sat down, not after your friend loses a pot. If your friend had won the pot he would probably have let it go easily.

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I agree with you.... my friend even said the same thing while cashing out (which is also why he didn't make any further issue of it other than telling the floor he would not play there again)... but I also think that he would not have taken it so so hard if the floorman had stayed in the game after winning the hand. Players can get up and leave when they want, but when you also represent the room and have been watching the play for several hours before sitting in the game, it certainly seems to be bad customer relations to pick up a pot and leave.

AThermopyle · #6 07-21-2006, 01:34 PM

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(Qs up beating Js up, but its not really important to the story).

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Your buddy wins this pot, is there a Post?
Your buddy wins this pot, does it bother him that the Floor picks up and leaves?
Your buddy wins this pot, does he decide not to play there anymore?

I'm not a fan of dealers/floor playing in their own club, for this reason. Play that is acceptable by anyone else causes friction with some players.

TMTTR · #7 07-21-2006, 02:36 PM

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Your buddy wins this pot, is there a Post?

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Probably not.

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Your buddy wins this pot, does it bother him that the Floor picks up and leaves?

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Probably not... but floor probably doesn't pick up and leave so fast...

[ QUOTE ]
Your buddy wins this pot, does he decide not to play there anymore?

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Probably not.

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I'm not a fan of dealers/floor playing in their own club, for this reason. Play that is acceptable by anyone else causes friction with some players.

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Exactly and rightfully so... you can't go from catering to a customer one minute to playing against that customer the next.

Other than in small private poker rooms, I have not seen management play in a game for their own money, play aggressively, and then walk away from the game after winning.

relayerdave · #8 07-21-2006, 03:22 PM

I was at Hollywood Park playing NL and the Tournament Director (really nice guy) sat with us for maybe an hour.

geormiet · #9 07-21-2006, 03:28 PM

last year I was playing at hollywood park 40/80 holdem heads up vs. a huge donater. It was a fantastic opportunity for me, he was pretty friendly and happy and had a seemingly endless supply of money despite being stuck 10k overall for the trip (not all to me).

Anyway, we had been playing all night, and at about 8AM Monday morning an off duty dealer sat in. She played about 5 hands, won $1200, racked up and sat out. She just sat at the table while we continued to play. This pissed off the donater like nothing else, and he halted the game to call a floor person over and complain. Unfortunately there was nothing the floorperson could do, and eventually the guy got so pissed off that he got up and cashed out.

Anyway...employees should not be hit and running even if they are off duty. They shouldn't be doing anything bad for the health of the games, like berating other players either.

daveT · #10 07-21-2006, 04:44 PM

Totally agreed. In every casino I have played in, I have sat across from employees. Since a large portion of our gaming service wants to gamble for a living, they tend to sit down and play. Especially at a place like the HP, where the nearest casino is a fair distance. I never cared about employees sitting down. But I do not condone the actions of the floor or the casino employee.

Personally, I would like to believe that playing in games would be part of the training.

But then again. Any person has the right to play any game as he or she pleases, so they may as well let the employees hit and run too.