"Dusk till Dawn" Poker Club In Nottingham Diary (by Rob Yong)

[booder]

looks like all the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together nicely..................sounds like you have picked a good team.
looking forward to the day your dream becomes reality.   nice work sir  

[The Nomad]

Hi Rob, 6 months ago I advised you to get a GB inspector on board and at the time  you said you didnt know one , strange how things turn out , you did afterall .As of now the gaming act aint your problem anymore. sorry I meant august 1st.

[Phil]

I am really getting quite excited about this! An amazing poker club thats 5 mins drive from my house!!!  Can't wait!

[robyong]

Hi Rob, 6 months ago I advised you to get a GB inspector on board and at the time  you said you didnt know one , strange how things turn out , you did afterall .As of now the gaming act aint your problem anymore. sorry I meant august 1st.

Of course I said that! he was still employed by the Gaming Board !..........

[matt674]

nothing important - i just wanted to be the 20000th reader of this thread!!

Keep up the good work Rob!!

[vinni]

wow rob congratts ,youve certainly gone over board .

what a set up in the card room (,nightfly @ yogi ) they dont come much better than this

keep it up .wish you well in the run up to the opening .

[Karabiner]

Today was the big day in court for DTD to get it's license.

Please tell us that everything has run smoothly Rob, I/we need to know.

[robyong]

Today was the big day in court for DTD to get it's license.

Please tell us that everything has run smoothly Rob, I/we need to know.

TK rang me today to ask how it went aswell. The final hearing is not for a few weeks time in Birmingham, I'm sorry if i gave the wrong impression that it was this week. However, as I have said, I now consider the licencing process to be done and dusted, although there are still some formalities to go through. Throughout this diary I have always been cautious about gaining fully licenced gaming premises for DTD, and sceptical of the processes, but now I am 100% confident, so that should tell you that its going to happen. No need to worry, I am very sure.

[turny]

nice one rob onwards and upwards from here on end 

[The_nun]

Sounds good Rob..x

[littlemissC]

rob whens the date for the party,im only a 10 minute drive so i might pop down.

[robyong]

I havn't played any poker since the Midlands Medley and I've got bad withdrawl symptoms, I hope to play the main event at Luton next week, time and dogs permitting. I'm also going to the Blondebash and maybe play the APAT as well. I spoke with TK in the week about the new Amateur Poker Association and Tour, I'm sure there is a good chance that DTD can support this in the future, when we actually have a club open!

I like the idea of lower buy-in events that have more credibility, this should help bring more new players into the game, really £50-£300 freezouts have become a bit of a farce nowadays since all the buy-in's have increased over the last 2 years, and many of the pros (and those with deeper pockets) just use them as an opportunity to "let off some steam". This can be frustrating for the serious ameteur getting their AA cracked by 24, so I hope this APAT works out really well. I remember a few months ago in the £100 re-buy at Sheffield, I called a guy all in pre-flop with 36 offsuit, and bust his AA, I'd already bust him 3 times previously with rag hands so he was in for £400. Simon Nowab felt so sorry for him (the guy couldn't afford another buy-in) that Chubbs gave him £100 to re-buy. In retrospect, this was disrespectful play by me, and this APAT circuit will give smaller bankroll players the chance to play a nice structure against similar bankrolls / players, although I'm not sure how the defintion of "amateur" can be 100% enforced.

Anyway, now that most of the "preparation work" for DTD has been done, its time to focus on the real practical issues such as:

1. What is the decor in the Club actually going to be like - how do we make it special?
2. What are our regular weekly/monthly tournaments going to be - types, structures, prize structure?
3. What are our major tournaments/festivals going to be - when, how many, DTD and third party?
4. What about dress code, should we have one, what difference does it make?
5. Membership Fee Scheme (we can't surivve without one with no casino gaming tables, the cost of regulation is £475,000 every year, plus the £300,000 set up)
6. Online Poker marketing - how do we get players onto our site?
7. How do we get 100 staff fully trained for our opening - where are we going to recruit them from/ when should they start?
8. What wages are we going to pay various DTD staff?
9. What are our opening days/hours going to be?
10. How do we manage our own Web SIte - what info should be on there?
11. What about staff uniforms?
12. How do we intergrate this business into my sf group head office?
13. What food and drink suppliers should we use?
14. The TV table - what is involved in actually making this work?
15. WHat is the criteria for the VIP bar?
16. What should the restaurant menu be?
17. Should we advertise the Club..........is word of mouth enough?
18. PR and Media - we have a list of media wanting to know about the club - who should we talk to?
19. Club rules and regulations - barring people, etiquette etc
20. What colour are our poker tables and chips going to be?

.......and loads more

I'm sure that other poker clubs were set up in a much more relaxed way, and the casino chains already have existing systems, procedures and codes of practice. However, I like to have every little detail covered, and I like things to be run in an orgainised manner, the opposite of my personal life. I like everbody to know exactly what their responsibilities and targets are, thats how I run my other businesses. I think this is beacuase I am always risking a lot capital up front and also tend to have higher running costs (I like to pay all employees more and have good facilites), so things are always a lot tighter, more riskier, hence the need for maximising efficiency throughout. Admittedly, DTD has spiralled out of all proportion cost wise, but in a sick way, that makes it more exiting. I guess it could be seen as a bit irresponsible by some people, not really giving much thought to the financial side before taking on these committments, but I can honestly say that I wouldn't have done DTD if I had had a crystal ball...........and could have forseen all the crap I have had to go through with licencing in addition to the crazy costs. But, its happening now, so no going back, just moving forward.

Cheers Rob
 

[Simon Galloway2]

Rob,
My first post on DTD, so good luck with it.  I can only begin to imagine how much financial/emotional involvement/investment you have already sunk into this project so no wonder that you feel "married" to it and want to get every last detail right.
I was going to write an uber-reply to all your points, but a) I have no poker venue direct experience and b) most replies had a similar vein so here it is FWIW:

My (loose) understanding of what you have pulled together means that you have people in place to think up answers to several of your points.  For example, depending on what role you have asked ST to perfrom, and assuming you have a cardroom manager in hand (or in mind) I'm sure sorting out a tourny schedule etc is within their remit.  Make them earn their money - delegate down to them and ask them to come back with the answer - it doesn't mean you have to lose sight of it or stop caring about it or lose the power of veto if it comes back and you don't like it?

Likewise with the restaurant; put it out to tender or better still offer the bar/restaurant out to an individual and ask them to run it as a profitable (or at least break-even) enterprise.  I think it would take a genius for one person to have all this sewn up - so use the expertise that you have employed and let them do what they are best at?

As to making it "special" - I'm sure the efforts and pains already endured will be a surefire route to making it special.  If you want to make it fantastic - my mind always thinks instantly to The Bellagio for a fantastic model to benchmark against in all regards.  If you come up with something on a par to that it will be perfect.  But to make it truly special, you will probably want to add a touch of individuality to it all - no suggestions there!!

With regard to how much to pay, I would recommend thinking about offering out modest shares (or % profit shares) to key staff - and perhaps all staff.  Whilst junior staff need to be paid enough each month to be able to afford to live, I am sure you could easily write something into their contracts which pins a measured reward to the performance of DTD.  That way if DTD goes belly up you owe nothing - but preferably you have all the team committed, working as a team and pulling as hard as they possibly can to meet the performance targets - which will of course be set at an achievable level, but also at a level that allows you to recover your variable costs and therefore allows you to continue to operate as a minimum.  Where I have seen this work in the business world, you wouldn't believe the difference, watching someone who has to work and then watching someone who wants to work.  Staff attrition won't be a problem that is for sure!

Good luck with it - I don't think I will be able to give you much regular patronage but will certainly drop in any chance I get...

[RioRodent]

Anyway, now that most of the "preparation work" for DTD has been done, its time to focus on the real practical issues such as:

1. What is the decor in the Club actually going to be like - how do we make it special?
2. What are our regular weekly/monthly tournaments going to be - types, structures, prize structure?
3. What are our major tournaments/festivals going to be - when, how many, DTD and third party?
4. What about dress code, should we have one, what difference does it make?
5. Membership Fee Scheme (we can't surivve without one with no casino gaming tables, the cost of regulation is £475,000 every year, plus the £300,000 set up)
6. Online Poker marketing - how do we get players onto our site?
7. How do we get 100 staff fully trained for our opening - where are we going to recruit them from/ when should they start?
8. What wages are we going to pay various DTD staff?
9. What are our opening days/hours going to be?
10. How do we manage our own Web SIte - what info should be on there?
11. What about staff uniforms?
12. How do we intergrate this business into my sf group head office?
13. What food and drink suppliers should we use?
14. The TV table - what is involved in actually making this work?
15. WHat is the criteria for the VIP bar?
16. What should the restaurant menu be?
17. Should we advertise the Club..........is word of mouth enough?
18. PR and Media - we have a list of media wanting to know about the club - who should we talk to?
19. Club rules and regulations - barring people, etiquette etc
20. What colour are our poker tables and chips going to be?

Rob,

It seems as though you are getting to point where the 'light at the end of the tunnel' will soon be switched on... excellent!

I have say this thread has been compulsive reading from the beginning.

With regard to you questions above...

1. Decor - If it's anything like the Venetian, it'll do for me.
.
4. Dress code - My opinion - Yes... no jeans / trainers etc. 
.
.
11. Uniforms - I suggest comissioining Colch Kev to design the Cocktai Waitress' uniforms.
.
.

Hope this helps!! 

Good luck,
Alan

[Milkybarkid]

Regarding point 4

Poker players like to dress casual. Thats one of the benefits of being a poker player. Asking us to wear trousers, shoes and a shirt seems too much like going to work!

Probably no shorts/tracksuits/sleeveless t-shirts and white trainers is what i would go for!

Just my opinion :-)

Ben