Luton "G" Casino, opinions please!

[M3boy]

I hope you suceed Tony, I really do.

But I have my doubts as to weather you will or not.

Good luck with it.

I have also been a supporter of Luton for a long time, and like you, it is a lucky venue for me.

The banter I have had there is superb.

But the time has come for me to "not attend" on days when I normally would.

It is not like this has been a recent problem, it has been ongoing since the new casino opened - and to be honest, it has just got worse. By problems I mean getting people through the doors and back playing again.

I have spoken to Alistair and Carmel about certain ways to improve the situation (imo), its not like I have not tried.

PS I to have no problem with the chairs, nor do I mind going and getting my own drinks.

[tikay]

As i say Tikay  I love Luton

I feel though i have been caught up too much in the polictics of the place to be able to concentrate fully on my game and at the end of the day that is my primary reason for visiting.  I have had many meetings with both staff and management and i am aware of lots of upcoming changes. I will continue to attend Luton but I wont be there as often as in the past where else can i get a dealers choice game like the one that we sit in most evenings

p.s. i dont have a prob with the chairs

neither does tikay, his arse is never in a tourny seat long enough to work out if its comfy or not

You Kev are soooooooooo dead.

Oh, & by way of sticking it up you, any idea who won the Comp there last night? From a HUUUUGGGGEEEE field.

[77dave]

I have just read back through all the posts and i only found one person who past comment about the chairs

The room will start to get busier in the upcoming weeks but that is down to the fact that the league has now finished

[77dave]

As i say Tikay  I love Luton

I feel though i have been caught up too much in the polictics of the place to be able to concentrate fully on my game and at the end of the day that is my primary reason for visiting.  I have had many meetings with both staff and management and i am aware of lots of upcoming changes. I will continue to attend Luton but I wont be there as often as in the past where else can i get a dealers choice game like the one that we sit in most evenings

p.s. i dont have a prob with the chairs

neither does tikay, his arse is never in a tourny seat long enough to work out if its comfy or not

You Kev are soooooooooo dead.

Oh, & by way of sticking it up you, any idea who won the Comp there last night? From a HUUUUGGGGEEEE field.

I heard you came 2nd     AGAIN

[tikay]

I have just read back through all the posts and i only found one person who past comment about the chairs

The room will start to get busier in the upcoming weeks but that is down to the fact that the league has now finished

Forget the chairs Jim, that's no reason not to wanna play somewhere - and I should not have included the furniture comment, but I do hear it - especially about the tables - a lot. Yes, they need a "lip" & a padded rail, but what the hell, it's hardly the end of the world. I was in Manchester G over the weekend, & they have amended the design fauilt with the tables, but I can't see them changing the Luton Tables, so it's put up or shut up.

[tikay]

As i say Tikay  I love Luton

I feel though i have been caught up too much in the polictics of the place to be able to concentrate fully on my game and at the end of the day that is my primary reason for visiting.  I have had many meetings with both staff and management and i am aware of lots of upcoming changes. I will continue to attend Luton but I wont be there as often as in the past where else can i get a dealers choice game like the one that we sit in most evenings

p.s. i dont have a prob with the chairs

neither does tikay, his arse is never in a tourny seat long enough to work out if its comfy or not

You Kev are soooooooooo dead.

Oh, & by way of sticking it up you, any idea who won the Comp there last night? From a HUUUUGGGGEEEE field.

I heard you came 2nd     AGAIN

No, I WON IT. (Technically). OK, I chopped it. And OK, the other guy got a bit more money than me. (Technically). Don't tell cyclops though, purlease.

Right, off to The Western, with Red, looking for my 3rd straight Tourney Cash.

[Ironside]

As i say Tikay  I love Luton

I feel though i have been caught up too much in the polictics of the place to be able to concentrate fully on my game and at the end of the day that is my primary reason for visiting.  I have had many meetings with both staff and management and i am aware of lots of upcoming changes. I will continue to attend Luton but I wont be there as often as in the past where else can i get a dealers choice game like the one that we sit in most evenings

p.s. i dont have a prob with the chairs

neither does tikay, his arse is never in a tourny seat long enough to work out if its comfy or not

You Kev are soooooooooo dead.

Oh, & by way of sticking it up you, any idea who won the Comp there last night? From a HUUUUGGGGEEEE field.

I heard you came 2nd     AGAIN

how many entered 2?

[Dingdell]

As i say Tikay  I love Luton

I feel though i have been caught up too much in the polictics of the place to be able to concentrate fully on my game and at the end of the day that is my primary reason for visiting.  I have had many meetings with both staff and management and i am aware of lots of upcoming changes. I will continue to attend Luton but I wont be there as often as in the past where else can i get a dealers choice game like the one that we sit in most evenings

p.s. i dont have a prob with the chairs

neither does tikay, his arse is never in a tourny seat long enough to work out if its comfy or not

You Kev are soooooooooo dead.

Oh, & by way of sticking it up you, any idea who won the Comp there last night? From a HUUUUGGGGEEEE field.

I heard you came 2nd     AGAIN

how many entered 2?

Yep - if proof were needed that numbers are defintiely falling at Luton....

[celtic]

and the standard obviously

[Simon Galloway]

Wouldn't it be ironic if in Jims blog in a few months there start to be a few moans about the food at the Rio or such like? I hope not but I wonder if card rooms are the same all over?
 

In The Bellagio you can order room service in the cardroom.  With a $15 credit courtesy of the nearest friendly pit boss.  I try not to eat meals at the table just as a personal standard, but sometimes on the graveyard session, breakfast starts to beckon and if the table is playing short, I don't want it to break up.  A mobile table arrives about 20 minutes later, full place settings, absolutely everything you asked for just perfect, piping hot,  - and loads of other stuff thrown in for good measure.

Not quite comparing like with like, but after seeing how spot on the Yanks get it, it makes it painfully obvious how appalling it is over here.  I'm not picking on Luton G in particular, but as it is the subject of discussion, many of the criticisms mentioned are valid.

I spend £15k a year in the place on table charges and regs.

Jim, I have no idea how/if/when the management look after you - I suspect there are no freebies flying around.  Haider (sic?) was in the cash game the other night and even he was getting charged for drinks, despite a)presumably he shows them plenty of table game drop and b) there were plenty of other cash game players happy to buy him another    For myself, I get infinitely better looked after in other casinos for my table play, so I should make a resolution to only give casino game action accordingly.  I'm not sure how much of it is the casino just being plain tight.

I ate at the restaurant on thursday for the first and last time. It was shit, and i let them know.

Me too.  I sat down at 7:30 in an empty restaurant.  I feared the worst, so only ordered 1 course, when 2, possibly 3 would have been ideal   I eventually had to break up the wait staff chat to get served, despite being sat at a table 2 feet away with my menu wide open.  I'm sat there with a full tilt poker shirt on, so no prizes for guessing that I might be there for the poker, eating on my own, and working to an 8:30 deadline.  Eventually the food came out at 8:29, on the final call for the tournament.  Steak with spuds/veg that comes as standard, not a special order.  As it was served, the other customer walked out, saying "forget it' or words to that effect - and went to play poker.  I bolted mine down in 5 minutes flat and despite asking for the bill in advance to speed things up, it took ages to come, of course.  I didn't mind paying in so much as the steak was fine, but an enjoyable experience it wasn't.  For a few quid cost to the house, it wouldn't have killed them to scrub the bill - it would have been enough of a gesture for me to give them another chance.

I am not really in the loop on all the changes that are hinted at.  But perhaps as a start they could try putting a secret shopper in and see how thirsty they get!  Yes I can go to the bar myself, but that isn't really anyone's idea of a good model for a poker room is it?

Im going to make a suggestion to management that they should start charging 50p for tea coffee and soft drinks.

The revenue generated from this would result in lots more valets being on duty to service us more regular.

Happy if there was a direct improvement in service to pay for it.  However, as soon as everyone got used to paying for it, someone upstairs would decide to "cut back" and the valets would go back to working short - but still charging.

I normally have something more positive to say, but this time I can't think of it!

[TightEnd]

The restaurant is a crying shame.

I wonder a lot when I see it empty and then people complain about standards/service why they don't outsource the whole operation on a profit share to a local restauranteur (with a theme eg Italian) and start running it as a real destination to go to


As to the chairs/tables..I have no problem with them

As to valets, its not their fault that they are over-stretched etc. I repeat they do a decent job, as do the dealers

My point remains that the essential faults arise from a non customer facing corporate and maangement culture. Luton is not alone in this, Grosvenor as a group is not alone in this, all the major casino groups display it to varying degrees

[bobby1]

I have just read my posts from last night.  Although i stand by what i said i do wish i hadnt posted them.

. Luton does have a lot of problems but the frustrating thing for me is that its core elements have the potential to make it the best room in the country. 

For me that is the crux of the matter. I have vented my frustration at this venue a few times in the past and not had too many agree with me but it isnt that I have any kind of axe to grind it is that this venue really has everything to make it one of the best poker rooms in the country yet just plods along with its mediocre mindset.

I agree with almost all the critisisms levelled here and would add that their ridiculous payout structures are the biggest reason I wouldnt play tourneys there on a regular basis.

What I have always enjoyed about Luton is the players are some of the friendliest I have ever played with and the banter 2nd to none, but in the grand scheme of things that isnt gonna be enough to keep people coming and putting up with the feeling that deep down they dont really want to improve owt.

[TightEnd]

to be fair, the payout structures were altered/flattened in the summer. I and Jim were consulted as part of that process

[77dave]

to be fair, the payout structures were altered/flattened in the summer. I and Jim were consulted as part of that process

Consulted yes  in agreement no

im happy with the breakdown of how many spots get paid but as for the % breakdown i think is terrible and have been asking for this to be changed for weeks

[tikay]

This is all good ammo, & I see it as a personal challenge to help lobby for some improvement.

I bet we can remove some of these little niggles.

Personally, I can live with them, as they are minor irritants in the grand scheme of things. I do happen to be very tolerant, or as Hinge & Bracket put it last week (mid-moan of course), "tikay puts up with anything". Which ain't strictly true, but when it comes to minnie-moanie niggles, well, yes, I'm pretty tolerant. (Except, oddly, of moaning minnies). Which I take as a good thing, & others see as weakness. Hey-ho!

OK, the work starts Wednesday. I shall report back.