Trip Log: 4/2-4/3. Revel, ShowBoat, Golden Nugget, Borgata, Bally's
April 15th, 2012 at 1:47:47 PM
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As with all my trip reports, click on most photos for a larger version.
Also, typical of my trip reports, this is a L-O-N-G post - it's almost 6,000 words and 35K!
Getting there
I was at Revel on soft opening day.
I wanted to be there at 7:00am when the doors officially opened, Monday 4/2. As it happens, the poker gods conspired to prevent that from happening.
My wife made reservations for Saturday and Sunday night at ShowBoat, and Monday night at Borgata's WaterClub. My original plan was to join her for the duration of her trip. Except my poker league was having one of their mid-season tournaments on Saturday afternoon. I qualified for the tournament. The prize was a $100 buy-in at a casino poker tourney of my choice.
So I let her go alone, and played in the league tourney. Sigh. I came in second.
I would have left afterwards or the next morning, except...
For the last three months, the venue with the Sunday night game was having a special. Everyone who wins any game at that venue qualifies for a special tourney where the winner gets a 2 for 1 airline voucher to Las Vegas, 2 nights hotel, and $500 in betting and food vouchers.
I finally won a game to qualify, on the last game of the 3 month period: 3/25. The tourney to give away the prize would be the following week, the day before Revel opens. Sigh. I had to stay home Sunday to play.
Here's the kicker. This venue is located next to a Garden State Parkway entrance. And not just any entrance. It's the entrance that I typically drive 30 minutes to get to. Nice, right? I usually ride about 30 miles south to take a bus from the Cheesequake rest stop on the Parkway. To catch the last bus of the day, I'd practically have to bust out of the tourney in the first 10 minutes.
Not only did that not happen, but I played all the way to... sigh... third place.
So I play the second game too, go home, call it a night, and get up in time to pack and get to Cheesequake about 15 minutes before the first AC bus is to arrive.
I've mentioned this bus in other posts. It's a great deal. $35 and you get $20 or $25 in slot play - which DOES work for video poker. They give you a schedule and you can return any time in the next 4 days. VERY convenient. Academy Bus
Except when I got there, there was a line to get tickets. The bus starts in New York City. This Cheesequake rest stop is the only stop the bus makes. I know from experience that they guarantee at least 10 empty seats for people to get on at Cheesequake. There are at least 15 people waiting, plus a few more people already with tickets. I'm figuring that these people are all heading to AC to see Revel. If so, then there probably were people waiting to get on in NYC. There's no way that there are more than 10 open seats. It's 8:30, I'm not gonna get on the 8:45, and the next bus is at 9:55.
I hop back in my car and drive. I get to AC at 10:05.
I should have driven last night. Sigh....
I finally get to Revel
Not knowing what to expect, I park next door to Revel at ShowBoat. Also, since my wife said she will meet me at "the entrance," I figure she means the entrance closest to the ShowBoat, on the boardwalk. Of course, I don't even know if there is more than one entrance or not, but this seems like the logical thing to do.
First problem is, the corner of their lot closest to the ShowBoat on the boardwalk has an entrance - up a flight of stairs. This is green line I added to the satellite photo below. For what it's worth, I didn't see an escalator or elevator. Then again, I didn't look.
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The stairs get narrow at the top. This is followed by a short, narrow walkway - purple on the photo. This is a chokepoint. Too many people in too small a space. Additionally, at that point, Revel expects people to walk around the driveway, on the sidewalk - the blue line. If they would remove the short retaining wall and get rid of the choke point, i.e. allow people to walk on the orange line and continue on to the blue line, most people would do it. As it is, most people just walk directly across the driveway, along the red line. Although it's a dead-end turn-around, this is the valet and taxi drop-off point. Sooner or later, if something isn't done, a pedestrian is gonna get killed.
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That was the biggest, but not the only, "I can't believe they did that" that I had that day.
Note: When I leave a few hours later, they are trying to direct people around onto the sidewalk, but some people still walk directly across the driveway.
I met my wife right inside the door. Because she had already been in Revel for a couple hours, I really didn't explore that level. We took the escalator up one level. I didn't see the elevator, but I didn't really look for it either.
We are on the casino level. Additional escalators go up to the hotel lobby level and other areas of the resort. Surprise, surprise, we stayed on the casino level. First order of business, get a player's card. As reported in other threads, there was a small army of people taking info and issuing cards on the spot. The device they used had a laser to scan the data encoded on the back of a driver's license. They also asked for email, phone and a pin number. Then they took a card from their pocket, swiped it, and you were good to go. Although the card doesn't have your name printed on it, it took only a minute or so to obtain. I later discovered that there were additional people all over the casino doing the same thing.
On a side note, I had suggested to my wife that she try to go to Revel the day before it opened, just to see if they were doing cards in advance, to avoid the long lines on opening day. She didn't bother. As it turns out, that wasn't necessary. We each had waited only about a minute or two to obtain our cards.
We wander around a little, then decide to go to the poker room. We stumble around a little, looking for it or a sign, when we see an employee and ask. He offers to take us there, rather than let us get even more lost. He tells us that the maps aren't ready yet, just about all he's done all morning is direct people to various locations. He takes us up a flight of stairs, across a balcony/walkway that overlooks the casino, up another flight, finally to the poker room, which also overlooks the casino. On that point, it's kinda nice, except the view is thru a beaded curtain.
I look around for a minute and decide to play $1/$2. I see there is a list of 9 names, so I ask if they are planning on opening a new table soon. I'm told that they are having problems with the list system, as well as the P.A. The people on the list had been seated long ago. I wait less than a minute and am directed to a seat.
After playing for about an hour, there is a partial power failure. The poker room lights and music go out. The little lights illuminating the table remain on, and, as far as I can tell, much of the corridor lighting and remainder of the casino as well. Whatever. Several players made comments about it being a 'soft opening' for just this reason.
The lights came back on after about 20 seconds. It might be related, but the list problems went away and the P.A. started working then as well.
There was no cellular service in the poker room, but there was service in the mens room. Someone commented that they think it's because Revel is new, too many people are sending pictures and stuff that it's clogging the network. I was getting WiFi at the poker table, and, bonus! It's Free WiFi!
After a couple hours (and getting beat up pretty good), I get up and tell my wife's friend who was also there, that I'm gonna explore for about 20 minutes. That place is so big and confusing, that I was gone over an hour before I found my way back.
While walking, I received a phone call in the middle of the casino floor, so at least I know it's not like they were deliberately blocking the signal.
It was when I was out exploring that I realized just how dark the lighting is in the poker room, and in the casino in general. Everything else is very well lit. It helps reinforce in my mind that they are really focusing on the resort and less on the casino.
When I returned to the poker room, I sat at a table next to a glass wall. Apparently, the people at that table have been having fun watching people crash into the wall.
In this drawing, pink area is the casino floor below. The big red X is the party pit. The red dots is the beaded curtain. The gree line is a handrail. The blue dots is a short glass wall. The blue line is floor to ceiling glass. The orange area is in inaccessable floor beyond the glass.
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Because there is a floor as well as a beaded curtain, it is very easy to not see the glass, and assume you can walk on the floor beyond it.
Several people had done just that. X marks the spot.
A friend who was there days later reported that there is now a warning sign taped the glass wall:
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By the way: Here's the only photo I've taken of the casino. I only took 1 casino photo - further evidence that Revel is a resort.
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Note: There are spots in all 4 ends to insert stripper poles.
Restroom problems
While I never stumbled upon the mens room that had one stall and one urinal that others have reported, I was stuck by a problem when I used the mens room at the poker room. The cage area is in the back, not well lit. There is a dark hallway next to the cage. Within that hallway is a very bright doorway with tile work that makes it obvious it's the rest room. However, once inside that doorway, there are two choices but no signs.
Inertia caused me to proceed.... into the ladies room. Fortunately, I realized it, and made a retreat to the mens room. When I got back to the table, I reported this problem, and several of the players admitted that they made the same mistake.
On my second trip, I took special care to look for the signs. I found them, but it was a struggle. Can you see them in these photos? I retouched them to make them easier to see!
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Even in this photo where I adjusted the contrast, it's obvious the sign can be easily overlooked.
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For the record, now knowing what the signs look like, I was able to spot them easily at other rest rooms. Of course, at most other rest rooms, the signs are far easier to see because the lighting is better.
Revel is a RESORT
While wandering around, I was struck by the grandeur of the décor, as well as a detail that always impresses me about Mohegan Sun: Aside from where floor meets wall, there are hardly any right angles. Most of the walls are curved, and they meet at odd angles. Of course, there were a few strange dead-ends as well. I.E. There are at least two places where one curved wall comes close to another curved wall, leaving a space that is too narrow to walk thru.
The place has a resort feel. There is lounge chair and couch seating all over the place. There are, it seems, hundreds of bars. Lots of surprises around the next bend, including a pool table and air hockey in one area, a very high-end looking fooze-ball table with gold-tone and ebony 'men', silver-tone scoring markers, etc. After seeing that, I looked for, and did NOT find, a beer-pong table. For what it's worth, I would have been shocked if they had one in such a high-class place.
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Outdoors, there are several pools, including one that connects to an indoor pool. Although I didn't see it, I heard that there was one person swimming outside. We had a mild winter, but it's not THAT mild. Then again, he probably didn't stay outside for long.
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There are patios on several levels, with nice tile work. The 'streams' in this photo from their website is dry tile.
In many areas, the edge closest to the ocean has wood planks that mimic the herringbone pattern of the boardwalk. Mind you this is while following the curved contours of the glass safety wall.
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People have remarked that the wall is too short. There are places where it's a LONG way down. I'm sure somewhere, there's a betting line on when the first suicide will take place over that wall.
It was when stumbling upon this outdoor fire pit, even though not turned on, that I realized that this place is way different than the other casinos in town. It was while sitting on this bench that I summed it up: "In a - ahem - resort town full of casinos, Revel is the only true resort."
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Here's the same fire pit in an email I got. Where do they find these people that are having so much fun being in a publicity photo?
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On the other hand, what is the guy on the right holding?
Continuing to explore, I stumbled upon the hotel's front desk. It's on the fourth floor. It suddenly occurred to me: You could stay at this resort, and, if you want, you could completely avoid the casino. I.E. There's no need walk thru it, or to even see it.
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The front desk was rather busy at 4:30pm on a Monday. I suppose these were all the snooty people who wanted to say that they slept here on the first night it was open. But what struck me as a major mistake was this: not only were there individual lines for each clerk, but there were permanent railings directing traffic making it impossible to change to a single line system in the future.
This is also where I first saw any hint of a map or direction signs.
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No smoking
The general consensus I got is that everybody, including the smokers I spoke to, liked the no smoking policy.
Of course, there was one time while I was playing poker that one person left for over an hour. When he returned, he said he had just stepped out for a quick smoke! On the flip side, by the time he found his way back, there was no lingering smoke smell on him, and I said so. He seemed to be thankful for that little side benefit.
It's hard to get confirmation, but there are rumors that at least three employees have already been fired because they were caught smoking on the property.
At one point I noticed a guy indoors smoking and made the "No smoking" comment. He said "I've been hearing that all day. Next time, I get the one that has a blue flame." Yep. He was 'smoking' an electronic cigarette. LOL.
On the other hand, next to the front desk, is an entirely enclosed, but outdoor, bar/lounge area. The bar wasn't open, but it was obvious that this was designed to be a smoking lounge. Small bar, a central rail to stand with your drinks, plus a fire pit and a small stage area. No seating today, but when it opens, you know there will be lounge chairs and couches.
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Protester
There was a lone protester on the boardwalk. I assume people read his signs, but I watched for several minutes and nobody walked up to ask what it was about.
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Bottom Line
I think Revel will be a real shot in the arm for this town. It will generate a lot of buzz and a lot of business. They should do well this summer. However it remains to be seen how much the other casinos benefit from the spill-over, or what will happen come the fall or next summer.
ShowBoat
We were both parked there. We decided to stop at their buffet for dinner. Big mistake.
There are 4 cashiers. Two for regular customers, one for Platinum, one for Diamond. All 4 cashiers are working. There is no line for Platinum or Diamond, and a short line for regular. We get on the platinum line. And we waited. The Diamond cashier is finished with her customer and is about to take us when another Diamond shows up. Fine. I do get the 'game'. So we wait. When the Platinum cashier is finally done and ready for us, she directs us to the Diamond cashier. We complain, but are told that the people in the line were waiting. We complain some more, but it goes unheard. So we wait for the Diamond cashier to finish with her customer. It takes forever. She finishes about a half second before the Platinum casher finishes with hers. We're pissed. For whatever reason, the Diamond cashier has trouble processing our coupon and points. By the time we're done, more people had been services by the Platinum cashier. And they were seated before we were done paying. Sigh.
The buffet has gone downhill. One entire food service section (out of about 8) was closed. And I thought the food quality wasn't what it used to be.
But, considering it was free after the coupon and points, we can't complain... much.
Next stop is the concierge. My wife realized that she had left her iPhone charger in her room when she checked out. She had called hours earlier and was told that they had it, and would leave it at the concierge. That wasn't the case. It took about 20 minutes for security to find it and bring it to us. During this time my wife complained bitterly that she called to make arrangements, just so she could avoid this delay. The clerk tried to be apologetic, and was succeeding, until a manager stepped up to put in his two cents. His contribution to the conversation was, "This could have been avoided if..." I stand, eagerly waiting for his pearl of wisdom. "...you didn't leave it in your room." Really? No shit Sherlock!
I was just about to give this genius a word when security shows up with the charger.
The wife gives the security guard a $1 tip. I thought that was kinda cheap. Apparently, the security guard did too, because he looked at the concierge, and motioned to the dollar, as if to say "A buck?"
Of course, I didn't tell my wife that I thought it was cheap, but I later DID tell her that the guard thought so. Her response was, "What the f--- did he expect? I could get a new one on eBay for about $5. If I knew there would be that stupid delay, I would have said screw it and bought a new one!"
Borgata - Water Club
We were in separate cars. Her friend had gotten her car out of valet while we were at the concierge. I still had to get my car. As a result, my wife gets to the Water club way before me and is done checking in before I even get there. She was anxious to get to the pool (it was closing soon), so she leaves my name at the hotel desk.
I finally get to the Water Club and as soon as I walk in, I don't see it, but I sure smell it. I feel like I walked into a cloud of smoke. I suddenly realize that Revel might be on to something.
I get to the front desk. There's no line. I tell the clerk that my wife just checked in, and - I practically get cut off by the clerk handing me a room key. She just wants to glance at my ID. As I'm walking away, she tells me that the main pool is closed for renovations, but I can use the pool in the spa on the 23rd floor. Apparently, my wife had already had this conversation. I'm VERY impressed with the speed of getting the key and that she thought to tell me about the pool.
Very handy info, indeed, since by the time I got to the room to change, the wife had already left, and I didn't have to waste time figuring out where to go after changing.
The 23rd floor spa is behind the smoked glass in this publicity shot.
The pool was nothing special, except that, on the 23rd floor, it had a nice view. So nice, that I had to go back up prior to checking out to take these pictures.
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I didn't look at the other spa amenities, although in the pool picture you can see an exercise room above the hot tub.
I went into the main pool area before checking out, just to take a look.
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The room at the Water Club was nothing special. However, the phone was so complicated, I was glad I didn't need to use it.
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The shower was especially nice. It had a hug shower head in the ceiling, plus an adjustable / removable hand-held head on the side. Best of all, you could turn them both on at the same time.
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There were these switches on the bathroom wall. The two dimmers didn't do anything, although the button switches worked as expected.
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All I did while at the Borgata was use the pool, play poker and craps. And sleep. We never ate while there. We did that in prior trips.
My wife had to get to work early on Tuesday, so she left shortly afte waking up. I stayed in town for the day.
There is interesting printing on the corner of the craps tables that you won't see elsewhere:
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On the way out, I see this billboard for jobs at Borgata. Obviously, this is a direct response to the Revel's policy. The billboard reads: Good gig. Proven. Winner. www.borgatajobs.com
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Golden Nugget
Since I had learned online that Golden Nugget has poker tourneys every day at 10am, 4pm, 10pm and 4am, I left the Water Club at about 9:30. I also hadn't eaten since I remember from visiting the GN poker room in December, that they put out a bunch of bagels and muffins for the poker players.
There seemed to be more construction going on than there had been when I was there in December. The poker room used to be tucked away behind a wall. The room is still in the same spot, but the wall is gone.
Things in the poker room changed, primarily due to a lack of players. When I got there, there were neither bagels, nor a poker game at all. The one 'open' table had the chip rack open, and a plastic rack of tourney chips, so they were ready for both, even though neither happened. So I asked someone at the check-in desk about the tourney. His first response was meant as a joke. "Well, you can give me $80, I'll turn around and give you $65, and we can call you the winner." I smiled and replied, "Or?"
We then had a lengthy conversation about poker at the GN, and what was in the plans. Some of the info seemed confidential, so I told him that I'm a writer for an internet gambling website (Yeah, I meant WoV), and asked if it's OK to publish this info. He said no problem. I then asked if I could mention that I got it from him, and specify his title, he again said no problem. I then asked if I could use his name. He hesitated. I didn't let him hang, but immediately cut him off and said it's OK. No name. No title either.
So, I'm not saying who gave me the following info. Nor will I specify his job title. Nor will I specify whether he wore a suit or a uniform. But we WAS an actual staff member.
They are currently running poker tourneys on the weekend with guaranteed prizes. So far, there have been only two times when the prize pool needed to be augmented to meet the guarantee, and those times, it wasn't short by much, so they are happy with that turnout. They hope to start guarantees midweek as well. That will probably begin after the grand opening.
At that time, they are hoping to change the times of the midweek tourneys. 10am is too early to expect poker players to wake up.
Did you know that they still haven't had their grand opening? It made sense since there was still plenty of construction going on. The grand opening is scheduled for sometime 4/27, although he doubts it will happen by then. Hopefully. It will be before Revel's official grand opening on Memorial Day weekend.
He also tells me that GN's master plan is to have one locaton is many casino towns. Towards that end, they are acquiring Isle of Capri, and a location in Colorado.
Some of the things they are planning for the Grans Opening are gold nugget give-aways. I.E. Win a poker tourney or get a Royal or win a slot jackpot, and you'll get an ounce of gold bullion as a bonus. Maybe more if it's a bigger jackpot. Occasional gold nuggets to random players as well.
After talking for a while, another player shows up looking for the tourney. I immediately say, "OK, we're heads up." Got a good laugh.
If they have players, they always put out a spread of bagels or Danish.
Eventually, I go to the craps table.
I have a good time with the dealers who remarked that they don't often get people who toke the 6/8 place bets, but they confirmed that they love it because it's rounded up. See my craps 6/8 toke thread about this.
After a while, I leave, down a bit and head to the cage. Because of the construction, they had a bunch of slot machines, turned off and lined up like traffic cones, creating a narrow winding path to the cage. It was almost like a hedge maze, except there were no options or dead ends. Still, quite a PITA. Hope the construction ends soon.
I then head to a rewards kiosk only to discover that my players card doesn't have a PIN number. I should have known that. In December, the line was too long so I had a card made in the craps pit. So I head to the reward center to get my PIN added. While there, I get a $5 free bet. I walk back to the craps table and try to play it on the field. Nope. It can only be played on the line. Sigh. OK, It's a come out roll... I put it down.
The roll is a 4. Crap. I don't want to stand around waiting for it to resolve, potentially watching my other numbers come up, so I tell the dealer to make it a toke if it wins, and walk away. As I'm walking I hear a roll of 6, then 8, before I get far enough that I can't hear it anymore. Sigh.
I'm REALLY hungry, so I go to the buffet. I get in at 11:25. I'm the last person before they bump up the prices. I get my first plate of food and see another person buying. At the same time, they start taking away the breakfast items. They are very slow to set up for lunch. I go to the guy who got in after me and ask what he paid. Yep, he paid the lunch price, and was pissed that he's been sitting around with very little available during the change.
I'm in no rush, and I already had a plate of breakfast food, so I hung around waiting for the lunch food.
There were far fewer selections than at the ShowBoat buffet, but it was also less than half the price. And I felt that the quality was better than what I had yesterday at ShowBoat.
By the way. Free WiFi at Golden Nugget.
Bally's
I go to Bally's for the 1:00 poker tourney. Nothing major happened, but I simply wasn't getting any cards. After about 90 minutes, I was out.
Bally's has a "Second Chance" tourney. Anyone knocked out puts their entry ticket in the drum. Once the tourney is down to final table, 7 names are drawn from the drum. These 7 people play a short stack turbo game. By that I mean there were 8 minute blinds which started at 100/200, and the starting stacks were only 1,000! With such a structure, you either folded or went all-in. I was the third one out - still in the first blind level! But the really weird thing is this: The blinds jumped from 100/200 to 300/600! I'm not sure what the next level would have been. The game ended before they got to the third blind level!
I then went back to the $1/$1 game where, after about an hour, I witnessed a hand where a woman had put all of her chips in, except her last $1, and refused to put that dollar in at the river. It turns out she had the winning hand. I talked about that in this post in the worst plays witnessed thread.
When I left, I realized how much I hate the parking garage at Bally's. It was then that I remembered that I love the garage at ShowBoat and that Golden Nugget has a similar design. Both had four sections to each level. Two sections remained flat, while two moved up to the next level. There is a corkscrew in one corner to get you to the bottom quickly.
Bally's garage was a maze where each turn going in OR out left you wondering if you're going the right way.
I get out of Dodge at about 5:00, down about $300. Not bad...
Also, typical of my trip reports, this is a L-O-N-G post - it's almost 6,000 words and 35K!
Getting there
I was at Revel on soft opening day.
I wanted to be there at 7:00am when the doors officially opened, Monday 4/2. As it happens, the poker gods conspired to prevent that from happening.
My wife made reservations for Saturday and Sunday night at ShowBoat, and Monday night at Borgata's WaterClub. My original plan was to join her for the duration of her trip. Except my poker league was having one of their mid-season tournaments on Saturday afternoon. I qualified for the tournament. The prize was a $100 buy-in at a casino poker tourney of my choice.
So I let her go alone, and played in the league tourney. Sigh. I came in second.
I would have left afterwards or the next morning, except...
For the last three months, the venue with the Sunday night game was having a special. Everyone who wins any game at that venue qualifies for a special tourney where the winner gets a 2 for 1 airline voucher to Las Vegas, 2 nights hotel, and $500 in betting and food vouchers.
I finally won a game to qualify, on the last game of the 3 month period: 3/25. The tourney to give away the prize would be the following week, the day before Revel opens. Sigh. I had to stay home Sunday to play.
Here's the kicker. This venue is located next to a Garden State Parkway entrance. And not just any entrance. It's the entrance that I typically drive 30 minutes to get to. Nice, right? I usually ride about 30 miles south to take a bus from the Cheesequake rest stop on the Parkway. To catch the last bus of the day, I'd practically have to bust out of the tourney in the first 10 minutes.
Not only did that not happen, but I played all the way to... sigh... third place.
So I play the second game too, go home, call it a night, and get up in time to pack and get to Cheesequake about 15 minutes before the first AC bus is to arrive.
I've mentioned this bus in other posts. It's a great deal. $35 and you get $20 or $25 in slot play - which DOES work for video poker. They give you a schedule and you can return any time in the next 4 days. VERY convenient. Academy Bus
Except when I got there, there was a line to get tickets. The bus starts in New York City. This Cheesequake rest stop is the only stop the bus makes. I know from experience that they guarantee at least 10 empty seats for people to get on at Cheesequake. There are at least 15 people waiting, plus a few more people already with tickets. I'm figuring that these people are all heading to AC to see Revel. If so, then there probably were people waiting to get on in NYC. There's no way that there are more than 10 open seats. It's 8:30, I'm not gonna get on the 8:45, and the next bus is at 9:55.
I hop back in my car and drive. I get to AC at 10:05.
I should have driven last night. Sigh....
I finally get to Revel
Not knowing what to expect, I park next door to Revel at ShowBoat. Also, since my wife said she will meet me at "the entrance," I figure she means the entrance closest to the ShowBoat, on the boardwalk. Of course, I don't even know if there is more than one entrance or not, but this seems like the logical thing to do.
First problem is, the corner of their lot closest to the ShowBoat on the boardwalk has an entrance - up a flight of stairs. This is green line I added to the satellite photo below. For what it's worth, I didn't see an escalator or elevator. Then again, I didn't look.
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The stairs get narrow at the top. This is followed by a short, narrow walkway - purple on the photo. This is a chokepoint. Too many people in too small a space. Additionally, at that point, Revel expects people to walk around the driveway, on the sidewalk - the blue line. If they would remove the short retaining wall and get rid of the choke point, i.e. allow people to walk on the orange line and continue on to the blue line, most people would do it. As it is, most people just walk directly across the driveway, along the red line. Although it's a dead-end turn-around, this is the valet and taxi drop-off point. Sooner or later, if something isn't done, a pedestrian is gonna get killed.
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That was the biggest, but not the only, "I can't believe they did that" that I had that day.
Note: When I leave a few hours later, they are trying to direct people around onto the sidewalk, but some people still walk directly across the driveway.
I met my wife right inside the door. Because she had already been in Revel for a couple hours, I really didn't explore that level. We took the escalator up one level. I didn't see the elevator, but I didn't really look for it either.
We are on the casino level. Additional escalators go up to the hotel lobby level and other areas of the resort. Surprise, surprise, we stayed on the casino level. First order of business, get a player's card. As reported in other threads, there was a small army of people taking info and issuing cards on the spot. The device they used had a laser to scan the data encoded on the back of a driver's license. They also asked for email, phone and a pin number. Then they took a card from their pocket, swiped it, and you were good to go. Although the card doesn't have your name printed on it, it took only a minute or so to obtain. I later discovered that there were additional people all over the casino doing the same thing.
On a side note, I had suggested to my wife that she try to go to Revel the day before it opened, just to see if they were doing cards in advance, to avoid the long lines on opening day. She didn't bother. As it turns out, that wasn't necessary. We each had waited only about a minute or two to obtain our cards.
We wander around a little, then decide to go to the poker room. We stumble around a little, looking for it or a sign, when we see an employee and ask. He offers to take us there, rather than let us get even more lost. He tells us that the maps aren't ready yet, just about all he's done all morning is direct people to various locations. He takes us up a flight of stairs, across a balcony/walkway that overlooks the casino, up another flight, finally to the poker room, which also overlooks the casino. On that point, it's kinda nice, except the view is thru a beaded curtain.
I look around for a minute and decide to play $1/$2. I see there is a list of 9 names, so I ask if they are planning on opening a new table soon. I'm told that they are having problems with the list system, as well as the P.A. The people on the list had been seated long ago. I wait less than a minute and am directed to a seat.
After playing for about an hour, there is a partial power failure. The poker room lights and music go out. The little lights illuminating the table remain on, and, as far as I can tell, much of the corridor lighting and remainder of the casino as well. Whatever. Several players made comments about it being a 'soft opening' for just this reason.
The lights came back on after about 20 seconds. It might be related, but the list problems went away and the P.A. started working then as well.
There was no cellular service in the poker room, but there was service in the mens room. Someone commented that they think it's because Revel is new, too many people are sending pictures and stuff that it's clogging the network. I was getting WiFi at the poker table, and, bonus! It's Free WiFi!
After a couple hours (and getting beat up pretty good), I get up and tell my wife's friend who was also there, that I'm gonna explore for about 20 minutes. That place is so big and confusing, that I was gone over an hour before I found my way back.
While walking, I received a phone call in the middle of the casino floor, so at least I know it's not like they were deliberately blocking the signal.
It was when I was out exploring that I realized just how dark the lighting is in the poker room, and in the casino in general. Everything else is very well lit. It helps reinforce in my mind that they are really focusing on the resort and less on the casino.
When I returned to the poker room, I sat at a table next to a glass wall. Apparently, the people at that table have been having fun watching people crash into the wall.
In this drawing, pink area is the casino floor below. The big red X is the party pit. The red dots is the beaded curtain. The gree line is a handrail. The blue dots is a short glass wall. The blue line is floor to ceiling glass. The orange area is in inaccessable floor beyond the glass.
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Because there is a floor as well as a beaded curtain, it is very easy to not see the glass, and assume you can walk on the floor beyond it.
Several people had done just that. X marks the spot.
A friend who was there days later reported that there is now a warning sign taped the glass wall:
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By the way: Here's the only photo I've taken of the casino. I only took 1 casino photo - further evidence that Revel is a resort.
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Note: There are spots in all 4 ends to insert stripper poles.
Restroom problems
While I never stumbled upon the mens room that had one stall and one urinal that others have reported, I was stuck by a problem when I used the mens room at the poker room. The cage area is in the back, not well lit. There is a dark hallway next to the cage. Within that hallway is a very bright doorway with tile work that makes it obvious it's the rest room. However, once inside that doorway, there are two choices but no signs.
Inertia caused me to proceed.... into the ladies room. Fortunately, I realized it, and made a retreat to the mens room. When I got back to the table, I reported this problem, and several of the players admitted that they made the same mistake.
On my second trip, I took special care to look for the signs. I found them, but it was a struggle. Can you see them in these photos? I retouched them to make them easier to see!
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Even in this photo where I adjusted the contrast, it's obvious the sign can be easily overlooked.
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For the record, now knowing what the signs look like, I was able to spot them easily at other rest rooms. Of course, at most other rest rooms, the signs are far easier to see because the lighting is better.
Revel is a RESORT
While wandering around, I was struck by the grandeur of the décor, as well as a detail that always impresses me about Mohegan Sun: Aside from where floor meets wall, there are hardly any right angles. Most of the walls are curved, and they meet at odd angles. Of course, there were a few strange dead-ends as well. I.E. There are at least two places where one curved wall comes close to another curved wall, leaving a space that is too narrow to walk thru.
The place has a resort feel. There is lounge chair and couch seating all over the place. There are, it seems, hundreds of bars. Lots of surprises around the next bend, including a pool table and air hockey in one area, a very high-end looking fooze-ball table with gold-tone and ebony 'men', silver-tone scoring markers, etc. After seeing that, I looked for, and did NOT find, a beer-pong table. For what it's worth, I would have been shocked if they had one in such a high-class place.
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Outdoors, there are several pools, including one that connects to an indoor pool. Although I didn't see it, I heard that there was one person swimming outside. We had a mild winter, but it's not THAT mild. Then again, he probably didn't stay outside for long.
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There are patios on several levels, with nice tile work. The 'streams' in this photo from their website is dry tile.
In many areas, the edge closest to the ocean has wood planks that mimic the herringbone pattern of the boardwalk. Mind you this is while following the curved contours of the glass safety wall.
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People have remarked that the wall is too short. There are places where it's a LONG way down. I'm sure somewhere, there's a betting line on when the first suicide will take place over that wall.
It was when stumbling upon this outdoor fire pit, even though not turned on, that I realized that this place is way different than the other casinos in town. It was while sitting on this bench that I summed it up: "In a - ahem - resort town full of casinos, Revel is the only true resort."
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Here's the same fire pit in an email I got. Where do they find these people that are having so much fun being in a publicity photo?
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On the other hand, what is the guy on the right holding?
Continuing to explore, I stumbled upon the hotel's front desk. It's on the fourth floor. It suddenly occurred to me: You could stay at this resort, and, if you want, you could completely avoid the casino. I.E. There's no need walk thru it, or to even see it.
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The front desk was rather busy at 4:30pm on a Monday. I suppose these were all the snooty people who wanted to say that they slept here on the first night it was open. But what struck me as a major mistake was this: not only were there individual lines for each clerk, but there were permanent railings directing traffic making it impossible to change to a single line system in the future.
This is also where I first saw any hint of a map or direction signs.
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No smoking
The general consensus I got is that everybody, including the smokers I spoke to, liked the no smoking policy.
Of course, there was one time while I was playing poker that one person left for over an hour. When he returned, he said he had just stepped out for a quick smoke! On the flip side, by the time he found his way back, there was no lingering smoke smell on him, and I said so. He seemed to be thankful for that little side benefit.
It's hard to get confirmation, but there are rumors that at least three employees have already been fired because they were caught smoking on the property.
At one point I noticed a guy indoors smoking and made the "No smoking" comment. He said "I've been hearing that all day. Next time, I get the one that has a blue flame." Yep. He was 'smoking' an electronic cigarette. LOL.
On the other hand, next to the front desk, is an entirely enclosed, but outdoor, bar/lounge area. The bar wasn't open, but it was obvious that this was designed to be a smoking lounge. Small bar, a central rail to stand with your drinks, plus a fire pit and a small stage area. No seating today, but when it opens, you know there will be lounge chairs and couches.
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Protester
There was a lone protester on the boardwalk. I assume people read his signs, but I watched for several minutes and nobody walked up to ask what it was about.
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Bottom Line
I think Revel will be a real shot in the arm for this town. It will generate a lot of buzz and a lot of business. They should do well this summer. However it remains to be seen how much the other casinos benefit from the spill-over, or what will happen come the fall or next summer.
ShowBoat
We were both parked there. We decided to stop at their buffet for dinner. Big mistake.
There are 4 cashiers. Two for regular customers, one for Platinum, one for Diamond. All 4 cashiers are working. There is no line for Platinum or Diamond, and a short line for regular. We get on the platinum line. And we waited. The Diamond cashier is finished with her customer and is about to take us when another Diamond shows up. Fine. I do get the 'game'. So we wait. When the Platinum cashier is finally done and ready for us, she directs us to the Diamond cashier. We complain, but are told that the people in the line were waiting. We complain some more, but it goes unheard. So we wait for the Diamond cashier to finish with her customer. It takes forever. She finishes about a half second before the Platinum casher finishes with hers. We're pissed. For whatever reason, the Diamond cashier has trouble processing our coupon and points. By the time we're done, more people had been services by the Platinum cashier. And they were seated before we were done paying. Sigh.
The buffet has gone downhill. One entire food service section (out of about 8) was closed. And I thought the food quality wasn't what it used to be.
But, considering it was free after the coupon and points, we can't complain... much.
Next stop is the concierge. My wife realized that she had left her iPhone charger in her room when she checked out. She had called hours earlier and was told that they had it, and would leave it at the concierge. That wasn't the case. It took about 20 minutes for security to find it and bring it to us. During this time my wife complained bitterly that she called to make arrangements, just so she could avoid this delay. The clerk tried to be apologetic, and was succeeding, until a manager stepped up to put in his two cents. His contribution to the conversation was, "This could have been avoided if..." I stand, eagerly waiting for his pearl of wisdom. "...you didn't leave it in your room." Really? No shit Sherlock!
I was just about to give this genius a word when security shows up with the charger.
The wife gives the security guard a $1 tip. I thought that was kinda cheap. Apparently, the security guard did too, because he looked at the concierge, and motioned to the dollar, as if to say "A buck?"
Of course, I didn't tell my wife that I thought it was cheap, but I later DID tell her that the guard thought so. Her response was, "What the f--- did he expect? I could get a new one on eBay for about $5. If I knew there would be that stupid delay, I would have said screw it and bought a new one!"
Borgata - Water Club
We were in separate cars. Her friend had gotten her car out of valet while we were at the concierge. I still had to get my car. As a result, my wife gets to the Water club way before me and is done checking in before I even get there. She was anxious to get to the pool (it was closing soon), so she leaves my name at the hotel desk.
I finally get to the Water Club and as soon as I walk in, I don't see it, but I sure smell it. I feel like I walked into a cloud of smoke. I suddenly realize that Revel might be on to something.
I get to the front desk. There's no line. I tell the clerk that my wife just checked in, and - I practically get cut off by the clerk handing me a room key. She just wants to glance at my ID. As I'm walking away, she tells me that the main pool is closed for renovations, but I can use the pool in the spa on the 23rd floor. Apparently, my wife had already had this conversation. I'm VERY impressed with the speed of getting the key and that she thought to tell me about the pool.
Very handy info, indeed, since by the time I got to the room to change, the wife had already left, and I didn't have to waste time figuring out where to go after changing.
The 23rd floor spa is behind the smoked glass in this publicity shot.
The pool was nothing special, except that, on the 23rd floor, it had a nice view. So nice, that I had to go back up prior to checking out to take these pictures.
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I didn't look at the other spa amenities, although in the pool picture you can see an exercise room above the hot tub.
I went into the main pool area before checking out, just to take a look.
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The room at the Water Club was nothing special. However, the phone was so complicated, I was glad I didn't need to use it.
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The shower was especially nice. It had a hug shower head in the ceiling, plus an adjustable / removable hand-held head on the side. Best of all, you could turn them both on at the same time.
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There were these switches on the bathroom wall. The two dimmers didn't do anything, although the button switches worked as expected.
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All I did while at the Borgata was use the pool, play poker and craps. And sleep. We never ate while there. We did that in prior trips.
My wife had to get to work early on Tuesday, so she left shortly afte waking up. I stayed in town for the day.
There is interesting printing on the corner of the craps tables that you won't see elsewhere:
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On the way out, I see this billboard for jobs at Borgata. Obviously, this is a direct response to the Revel's policy. The billboard reads: Good gig. Proven. Winner. www.borgatajobs.com
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Golden Nugget
Since I had learned online that Golden Nugget has poker tourneys every day at 10am, 4pm, 10pm and 4am, I left the Water Club at about 9:30. I also hadn't eaten since I remember from visiting the GN poker room in December, that they put out a bunch of bagels and muffins for the poker players.
There seemed to be more construction going on than there had been when I was there in December. The poker room used to be tucked away behind a wall. The room is still in the same spot, but the wall is gone.
Things in the poker room changed, primarily due to a lack of players. When I got there, there were neither bagels, nor a poker game at all. The one 'open' table had the chip rack open, and a plastic rack of tourney chips, so they were ready for both, even though neither happened. So I asked someone at the check-in desk about the tourney. His first response was meant as a joke. "Well, you can give me $80, I'll turn around and give you $65, and we can call you the winner." I smiled and replied, "Or?"
We then had a lengthy conversation about poker at the GN, and what was in the plans. Some of the info seemed confidential, so I told him that I'm a writer for an internet gambling website (Yeah, I meant WoV), and asked if it's OK to publish this info. He said no problem. I then asked if I could mention that I got it from him, and specify his title, he again said no problem. I then asked if I could use his name. He hesitated. I didn't let him hang, but immediately cut him off and said it's OK. No name. No title either.
So, I'm not saying who gave me the following info. Nor will I specify his job title. Nor will I specify whether he wore a suit or a uniform. But we WAS an actual staff member.
They are currently running poker tourneys on the weekend with guaranteed prizes. So far, there have been only two times when the prize pool needed to be augmented to meet the guarantee, and those times, it wasn't short by much, so they are happy with that turnout. They hope to start guarantees midweek as well. That will probably begin after the grand opening.
At that time, they are hoping to change the times of the midweek tourneys. 10am is too early to expect poker players to wake up.
Did you know that they still haven't had their grand opening? It made sense since there was still plenty of construction going on. The grand opening is scheduled for sometime 4/27, although he doubts it will happen by then. Hopefully. It will be before Revel's official grand opening on Memorial Day weekend.
He also tells me that GN's master plan is to have one locaton is many casino towns. Towards that end, they are acquiring Isle of Capri, and a location in Colorado.
Some of the things they are planning for the Grans Opening are gold nugget give-aways. I.E. Win a poker tourney or get a Royal or win a slot jackpot, and you'll get an ounce of gold bullion as a bonus. Maybe more if it's a bigger jackpot. Occasional gold nuggets to random players as well.
After talking for a while, another player shows up looking for the tourney. I immediately say, "OK, we're heads up." Got a good laugh.
If they have players, they always put out a spread of bagels or Danish.
Eventually, I go to the craps table.
I have a good time with the dealers who remarked that they don't often get people who toke the 6/8 place bets, but they confirmed that they love it because it's rounded up. See my craps 6/8 toke thread about this.
After a while, I leave, down a bit and head to the cage. Because of the construction, they had a bunch of slot machines, turned off and lined up like traffic cones, creating a narrow winding path to the cage. It was almost like a hedge maze, except there were no options or dead ends. Still, quite a PITA. Hope the construction ends soon.
I then head to a rewards kiosk only to discover that my players card doesn't have a PIN number. I should have known that. In December, the line was too long so I had a card made in the craps pit. So I head to the reward center to get my PIN added. While there, I get a $5 free bet. I walk back to the craps table and try to play it on the field. Nope. It can only be played on the line. Sigh. OK, It's a come out roll... I put it down.
The roll is a 4. Crap. I don't want to stand around waiting for it to resolve, potentially watching my other numbers come up, so I tell the dealer to make it a toke if it wins, and walk away. As I'm walking I hear a roll of 6, then 8, before I get far enough that I can't hear it anymore. Sigh.
I'm REALLY hungry, so I go to the buffet. I get in at 11:25. I'm the last person before they bump up the prices. I get my first plate of food and see another person buying. At the same time, they start taking away the breakfast items. They are very slow to set up for lunch. I go to the guy who got in after me and ask what he paid. Yep, he paid the lunch price, and was pissed that he's been sitting around with very little available during the change.
I'm in no rush, and I already had a plate of breakfast food, so I hung around waiting for the lunch food.
There were far fewer selections than at the ShowBoat buffet, but it was also less than half the price. And I felt that the quality was better than what I had yesterday at ShowBoat.
By the way. Free WiFi at Golden Nugget.
Bally's
I go to Bally's for the 1:00 poker tourney. Nothing major happened, but I simply wasn't getting any cards. After about 90 minutes, I was out.
Bally's has a "Second Chance" tourney. Anyone knocked out puts their entry ticket in the drum. Once the tourney is down to final table, 7 names are drawn from the drum. These 7 people play a short stack turbo game. By that I mean there were 8 minute blinds which started at 100/200, and the starting stacks were only 1,000! With such a structure, you either folded or went all-in. I was the third one out - still in the first blind level! But the really weird thing is this: The blinds jumped from 100/200 to 300/600! I'm not sure what the next level would have been. The game ended before they got to the third blind level!
I then went back to the $1/$1 game where, after about an hour, I witnessed a hand where a woman had put all of her chips in, except her last $1, and refused to put that dollar in at the river. It turns out she had the winning hand. I talked about that in this post in the worst plays witnessed thread.
When I left, I realized how much I hate the parking garage at Bally's. It was then that I remembered that I love the garage at ShowBoat and that Golden Nugget has a similar design. Both had four sections to each level. Two sections remained flat, while two moved up to the next level. There is a corkscrew in one corner to get you to the bottom quickly.
Bally's garage was a maze where each turn going in OR out left you wondering if you're going the right way.
I get out of Dodge at about 5:00, down about $300. Not bad...
I invented a few casino games. Info:
http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ —————————————————————————————————————
Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
April 15th, 2012 at 2:08:54 PM
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Did you see any girl gang banger fights like the other poster saw? Of
course the people you ask like the non smoking, they don't smoke.
Thats like asking people at an AA meeting if they like the fact they
don't serve alcohol there. The other poster was there on a Wed night
and said it was a ghost town. Thats because its non smoking. I give
it two (or less) months before its a smoking casino. The bottom libe is rearing
its ugly head and they just opened.
course the people you ask like the non smoking, they don't smoke.
Thats like asking people at an AA meeting if they like the fact they
don't serve alcohol there. The other poster was there on a Wed night
and said it was a ghost town. Thats because its non smoking. I give
it two (or less) months before its a smoking casino. The bottom libe is rearing
its ugly head and they just opened.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
April 15th, 2012 at 3:24:43 PM
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I didn't see any girl fights, sorry to say.
Even the one guy at my poker table who was gone for over an hour just to smoke, liked that it's a non-smoking facility.
Even the one guy at my poker table who was gone for over an hour just to smoke, liked that it's a non-smoking facility.
I invented a few casino games. Info:
http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ —————————————————————————————————————
Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
April 15th, 2012 at 3:33:40 PM
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Quote: DJTeddyBearEven the one guy at my poker table who was gone for over an hour just to smoke, liked that it's a non-smoking facility.
He's in the definite minority. Most smokers hate with
a passion that they can't smoke anywhere they want.
They'll avoid the Revel in droves, once the newness
wears off. The only way smokeless bars made it in
my area was when the law made them all smokeless.
The ones that tried before that either went under or
gave in. Smokers spend a lot of money in bars and
casinos, there's no denying it.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
April 15th, 2012 at 4:19:45 PM
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Quote: EvenBobSmokers spend a lot of money in bars and
casinos, there's no denying it.
Yeah, almost as much as non-smokers. There's no denying it...
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
April 15th, 2012 at 4:39:05 PM
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Quote: rdw4potusYeah, almost as much as non-smokers. There's no denying it...
Thats really true. However, there are far fewer smokers
than nonsmokers, so the smokers business is very important
to bottom line. What does the Revel have that will draw a
smoker away from the smoking casinos in AC? Absolutely
nothing. The fact they were empty on a Wed night this close
to their opening speaks volumes. Believe me, the suits were
walking around wringing their hands and wailing silently, and
the dealers were seeing no tips.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
April 15th, 2012 at 5:56:47 PM
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Quote: EvenBobThats really true. However, there are far fewer smokers
than nonsmokers, so the smokers business is very important
to bottom line. What does the Revel have that will draw a
smoker away from the smoking casinos in AC? Absolutely
nothing. The fact they were empty on a Wed night this close
to their opening speaks volumes. Believe me, the suits were
walking around wringing their hands and wailing silently, and
the dealers were seeing no tips.
I'm pretty sure that the reason that Revel was empty on a wednesday night in April was mostly because all of AC is empty midweek during the offseason.
Also, the whole non-smoking play is to draw in the non-smokers who don't like playing near the smell of smoke. Revel is betting that they'll draw in more sensitive non-smokers than they'll lose smokers. It's not like other casinos are fighting over proving that they're more smoke friendly...
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
April 15th, 2012 at 7:42:55 PM
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Quote: rdw4potusI'm pretty sure that the reason that Revel was empty on a wednesday night in April was mostly because all of AC is empty midweek during the offseason.
Also, the whole non-smoking play is to draw in the non-smokers who don't like playing near the smell of smoke. Revel is betting that they'll draw in more sensitive non-smokers than they'll lose smokers. It's not like other casinos are fighting over proving that they're more smoke friendly...
Dead on.
My next trip to AC will be to visit the Revel, and the non-smoking aspect will be huge for my wife, especially. We are the children of smokers, but hate the habit. She intensely dislikes the casino experience for this one basic reason - the smoking.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:59:48 PM
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Quote: rdw4potusRevel is betting that they'll draw in more sensitive non-smokers than they'll lose smokers. .
Thats the reasoning the non smoking bars used, and
it never works. People don't go or stay away because
its smoking or non smoking, they go to places they like.
And being so close to the opening, Revel shouldn't have
been that dead. People just don't care, seen one casino,
seem em all. Its the same slots and the same game
tables every other casino has, in a new building. Be still
my heart..
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
