My OperaCharles Town
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 2:44:29 PM
This has absolutely nothing to do with the neighborhood, or even DC. You are warned.
There are probably several readers of this blog who have been to Charles Town. The editor has. It used to be just slots and horse racing. He's not into slots, since it's a guaranteed loss. While a pro might make money at horse racing, he's not that and doesn't care to work that hard.
Now it's "Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races", with the Casino part adding "table games", such as craps, blackjack, and (trumpets here) poker.
The editor knows a good number of folks from the Frederick area who have been there. Most of these people are poker players, and mostly don't do the other stuff. He did hear one comment from someone who plays craps that the croupier was not quite ready for prime time.
The biggest disappointment was the poker room. It sounds as if it's also not really ready for prime time. First, there are not enough dealers certified by whatever WV calles its gaming commission, so the wait times are way too long. Second, for people who've played at AC or Las Vegas, the dealers aren't yet that good. Also, the "rake" is handled differently. Whereas in the serious places the rake is taken as a percent of the pot, Charles Town has a $6 charge on dealer change (every half hour) per player. That's a little expensive, but it is simpler for inexperienced dealers.
The editor will head up to Charles Town when the Frederick people thinks it's close to AC in quality. BTW, the WaPo had an article in the Sunday style section on Greenbriar and Charles Town from a poker players point of view. Interesting, but he didn't do Wheeling, which a number of serious players like. But AC is about as close a drive.
There are probably several readers of this blog who have been to Charles Town. The editor has. It used to be just slots and horse racing. He's not into slots, since it's a guaranteed loss. While a pro might make money at horse racing, he's not that and doesn't care to work that hard.
Now it's "Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races", with the Casino part adding "table games", such as craps, blackjack, and (trumpets here) poker.
The editor knows a good number of folks from the Frederick area who have been there. Most of these people are poker players, and mostly don't do the other stuff. He did hear one comment from someone who plays craps that the croupier was not quite ready for prime time.
The biggest disappointment was the poker room. It sounds as if it's also not really ready for prime time. First, there are not enough dealers certified by whatever WV calles its gaming commission, so the wait times are way too long. Second, for people who've played at AC or Las Vegas, the dealers aren't yet that good. Also, the "rake" is handled differently. Whereas in the serious places the rake is taken as a percent of the pot, Charles Town has a $6 charge on dealer change (every half hour) per player. That's a little expensive, but it is simpler for inexperienced dealers.
The editor will head up to Charles Town when the Frederick people thinks it's close to AC in quality. BTW, the WaPo had an article in the Sunday style section on Greenbriar and Charles Town from a poker players point of view. Interesting, but he didn't do Wheeling, which a number of serious players like. But AC is about as close a drive.
