Niagara Falls

I understand that Cadillac Tim fought his way through seven feet of snow and took second place at the Niagara Falls tournament this week. Congrats !

 

Nice! I was there, as always, and managed a semi-final appearance.

The big snow was Buffalo, a few miles to the south, but Jonny is not exaggerating when he says that they got 7 feet. On the day of the Niagara tournament, the snow band swung up to the north over Niagara Falls and caused some havoc with the roads, but no significant accumulation. I had to exit the highway about 30 miles before normal because of black ice.

I'm glad that Cadillac Tim made it there (and back) safely --- and congrats on the second place finish!

BTW, this thread should probably be under Blackjack Events (Canada)

 

Thanks for moving this Jonny, but I figured that Ken would just move the whole thing. Still waiting for you and the rest of the MI gang to come to Niagara Falls. Now that Tim has done it, we know that it's possible!

 

Yes, Johnny 21 I was really close to first. I led every hand until the last player to act pulled a 7 on his hard 14 for 21! I believe his odds of beating the dealer 8 with his hard 14 were around 18%, but I feel very fortunate

 

When Krissy and I left Niagara Falls Friday, they had less than one foot of snow and Buffalo had close to 10 feet!!
We'll be back in December for our wedding!! The win was obviously very timely.... I'll be back in January for the next tournament, hats off to Fallsview for a great tournament!

 

Thanks Gronbog! I'll forward to seeing you in January!! Thanks for all of the great posts, they always amp up the sight experience....

 

Great job, Tim!!!

Billy C

 

Thanks Billy C and Monkey System! Yes, looking forward to heading back to Niagara Falls for the wedding the last weekend of December! Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends!!

 

BIGtime congrats to our Cadillac Tim for an outstanding performance!!! Sux about the other guy getting crazy-lucky with his last card but you still represented superbly. Great job!

Speaking just for myself, the Niagara BJT's have been on my radar for a long time but I won't make two trips - one to get a "player's card" and one for the tournament. Even signed up for the card online but was refused entry because I didn't have an actual card in hand. Win some, lose some.

 

Thanks LeftNut and I feel your pain.... I finally made the trip in the summer of 2013 to get my players card and I've now played in my 5th tournament (6 trips including getting my card) at Fallsview. The fact that you have to make a trip to get a card is a negative, the other negative is very few re-buys. Positives are the beautiful casino, great hosts, only three rounds including the final, and the chance to win $25,000!!! My first three times I didn't make it out of the prelims and even though I was in the first 5 players to sign-up 2 out of 3 times, I have yet to get a re-buy chance. After my third tournament, I resigned myself to the thought process that there basically isn't a re-buy opportunity. There is a wild-card opportunity for the semis (I stay for them, but I don't seem to have the luck of the draw, unlike my good friend Double Down Denny). I made the semis on my 4th try and was in contention until the 2nd to last hand when a lady split 4 times, doubled on 2 of them with the max $500 bet = $3,000 pickup that clinched it for her to win the table. I finally broke through my 5th try, so I'm glad I decided to make that trip for the card in the summer of 2013.... In general this format is very reminiscent of the Four Winds tournament with the low $500 max bet being the big difference. Four Winds max bet is $5,000 and then $10,000 on the final table. There is rarely such thing as a comfortable lead at Four Winds. I kind of like that tournaments have their own little twist on rules.

 

I forgot to mention that Fallsview cranks up the max to $2,500 on the Final table (other rounds are $500), they want the pedal to the metal for this round....

That won't work Monkey because this tournament is usually filled at least a month before each tournament, I asked a similar question several years ago. Actually, I first started looking at the tournament 6-7 years ago when they had the huge Masters of Blackjack opportunity. But, I obviously waited several years to make the jaunt. I don't understand why some casinos operate this way, I'm guessing they are catering to their local players which is understandable but frustrating for those of us looking for nice tourneys around the country. I remember a big OK tourney several years ago that operated the same way. I think that one got killed off for good after the recession.

 

I would have to disagree, somewhat. The tournament may be fully booked each time, officially, but the rebuys that they offer are, in fact, just empty seats which arise due to no-shows. There are at least a few each time, so I would think that if Monkeysystem were to show up for the tournament, even on the day of, he would stand a reasonable chance of getting in.

I always register at 12 noon sharp so that I get into the first session (3pm). I have had reasonable success in obtaining rebuys for the final session (5pm) when needed. I often wonder about whether it might be a good strategic move to purposely bust out of my round when I get into a big hole, knowing that there is a rebuy available, but not for long! By betting max, I would most likely either bust out and get the rebuy, or catch a few hands and get back into contention in the round I'm already playing.

 

At the least, this approach would offer more incentive for those of us wanting to be in future events there by having at least some chance of "playing in" on the first card obtaining trip to this venue.
We could form a car pool (of sorts) made up of people coming from the west (an example being myself, jonny21, Monkeysystem, Leftnut and maybe others). Of that group, I'd be the farthest west and could pick up the others on the way.
What about that idea guys? (should tell you that they call me Dale Earnhardt in these parts!)

Billy C

 

Before hitting the road, it might be worth signing up for a card online and then trying to register by phone one more time. That would at least guarantee you a seat in the tournament, if successful. In any case, can we say that the mid-west crew road trip is on? Don't forget to call SHOTGUN to get the front seat, right before Billy says "Game on!". Then you'll need to devise a system for deciding who gets to try and register first, once you get there. May I suggest a private satellite tournament among yourselves to determine the ranking?

Even if you don't manage a seat in the tournament the first time, Niagara Falls is a very nice place to visit with lots to see and do outside the casinos, even in the winter. You will still have a good time.

There two casinos on the Canadian side (The Fallsview and Casino Niagara) and one on the American side (Seneca Niagara). The Fallsview is the nicest and has some shoe games at $25, but the conditions aren't the best (8 decks, close to 2 decks cut off, S17, DOA, DAS, NRSA). Casino Niagara may have some $10 and $15 shoe games with the same rules, but is a bit run down compared to the Fallsview. Seneca is all CSMs during the daytime, but does open some shoe games in the evening with the same rules and conditions, however, it smells very smokey, even when empty.

The rooms at Fallsview and the attached Hilton are very pricey, but there are a variety of hotels nearby of varying price ranges and quality. On the American side, the hotel at Seneca seems nice and is much more affordable, although I've never stayed there.

We've got Tim, Billy and Monkey -- who else is up for a road trip?

 

I am in for sure !

 

Let me see if I have this right..........

You knuckleheads are contemplating a cross-country Road Trip.... through Canada..... in January?????

Actually, it sounds like a blast. I'd love to, don't know if I can get the time off, it's our busiest time of the entire year. Will see what I can do, however.