When are you heading back?

2008?! Was that the last/only tournament ever held there? That was too long ago.

 

But why did they stop these tournaments after 2009? For such a huuuuuuuuuuge casino holding nearly 100,000 people that's quite disappointing.

Also I noticed the vast majority of people that commented on that Million Dollar thread don't post here anymore, too......... did they all fall off the face of the earth on the blackjack scene or what?!

 

Flamingo just called me, said the June tournament cancelled. Asked if I wanted to cancel room. Told her I would cancel room and air, that I needed tournament to make trip. She assured me I would be invited to next one.

 

BughouseMaster there is probably a reason you and a lot of other casino goers outside of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma have never heard of Winstar or Choctaw casino at Durant. The simplest is "They don't need you".

Let's look at Las Vegas (probably still the mecca for gamblers). Basically has 3 parts. The Strip, outlying casinos and the downtown area. Over the years Las Vegas and the surrounding communities (like Henderson) have grown into a fair size city. These are the local gamblers. The outlying casinos (stations, Boyd or whatever) are primarily supported by these locals.
The downtown area is going to be a mix of locals and tourists. The Strip is where the tourists flying (or driving) in from all over want to go. There are many casinos in a relative small area that are competing for your business. TV is proliferated with ads for various casinos. Signs everywhere. Trucks running up and down the street. National ads for Las Vegas in general.

Now let's look at Winstar and Choctaw Casino at Durant. These two Indian Nations basically own Oklahoma from the Texas border many miles west of I-35, North to South Oklahoma City and east to the Arkansas-Louisiana border. Their locals are North Texans and southern Oklahoma. They have millions of locals. Their competition is each other. They have some ads running on the DFW tv stations occasionally, but they definitely do not proliferate the TV channels. I do not know how far they advertise south of the DFW area. They just do not need tourists trying to fly in and play.

The two casinos have grown by leaps and bounds over the years. I have no clue how much they make per month, but it is going to be a huge number even compared to some of the larger strip casinos.

Choctaw Durant is already constructing a new 1000 room hotel, a new casino plaza with 3400 electronic games some restaurants that is supposed to be finished in spring of 2021. This is an addition. An this addition will be a lot bigger than most individual casinos. These places are making money and they just don't have to advertise.

 

And they don't particularly cotton to players from outside their trading area. Just ask Big Tex, Lefty, and Monkey.

 

You might as well ask why the Las Vegas Hilton stopped it's Million Dollar Tourney after three years.
The promotional value to the casino went by the boards after the first year, when the Hilton took the risk of guarantying the Million. Won't get into the numbers weeds, but the monthly needed participants was not achieved in the succeeding years. The side play from an average of two to three hundred a month, maybe, additional players wasn't enough to cover costs of less than minimal tourney participants. Plus many tourney players were able to take advantage of "advantage plays" to garner extra comps over and above what one got for entering the tourneys. The less than optimal monthly players, led to overlays, not a casino benefit.

In short when there is no promotional value to the casino, when the casino costs are more than the casino benefit, the casino no longer offers an event. When that happens, players "fall off the face of the earth," because there is nothing to comment on.

 

Sadly, some that posted in that thread from 2008 are no longer living.

Billy C

 

Yeah, quite WEAK! CET Properties open June 4, yet they are cancelling JUNE tournaments taking place after that date...................................................

 

My host at Hard Rock Biloxi told me that Tournaments/Concerts are the VERY LAST on the totem pole to come back................................................. Damn!

 

Well the casinos are opening up. For me (unless something really unusual happens) it will be many months before I venture into one.

It might be interesting if some of you braver souls would like to share some of your observations of going back into casinos. How are they trying to protect everyone? What kind of crowds? How are people actually acting in the casinos? Or what ever you would like to bring up.

 

I personally won't be going until Hard Rock decides to announce their next BJ tournament.

 

See Wynn has the first Buffett opening, with pay as you leave as their safety measure. Nothing else but hours and prices was mentioned. Talk about a giant petrie dish.

Some local non casino buffets are reopening with a cafeteria style service, masks as you enter, separated tables and masked staff.

Back to Vegas: No very inviting incentives. Some high end strip locals were offering $99 a night rooms mid week, but no mention of resort fees or corona fees. Some with free parking.
All the other general precautions make it uninviting to me. And pictures I've seen of reopened ones belies "safety."

 

I've gotten generous offers at HARRAH'S GULF COAST to go back........ $120 in table play and travel credit too but ain't no way im going back with no tournament in site as those who know me know that i LIVE for blackjack tournaments! ha ha ha........

Also got NO RESORT FEES hotel stay from now til the end of the year @ GN Vegas when previously i hadn't been getting any (good) offers there since i stopped giving GN much play!

 

OK, here's a start at heading back. I've posted 2 new blackjack tournaments, both at the Venetian (activities at Palazzo). These are invitational, but as often discussed, a phone call to VIP Services, Special Events or a table games host are worth a try. Re-buys are high at these events so I choose to advance through play only. At the $125,000 event I auto-qualify for the 2nd round, so that's a good start.

I'm less concerned about social distancing at the casino than I am by being in a sealed aluminum tube for a couple of hours to get there. And, as hopinglarry pointed out, if/when there is a spike of the virus in Las Vegas, there won't be a clue as to where it came from.

 

Still no word for any new CET tourneys eh?

 

Nope... not yet.

 

O.K. you had better be very careful