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

[Redbull]

Best of luck for tomorrow! There's a lot of people with their fingers crossed for you. Good to meet you briefly at the Broadway after reading this tread for so long!

 

[charmaine]

  Rob ......... would be a great birthday pressie for you 

[ericstoner]

Fingers crossed

[Jayb]

 

Thats all I have to say on the matter.

[robyong]

This project has always been about taking a huge risk for limited commerical gain, poker clubs and an online business that gives so much away are not good ways to invest your money, so its been about the challenge, can it be done, can you start with a blank sheet of paper and create something from this? YES.

If the club gets blown over by a hurricane tonight, I feel we have acheived something now that we have the Gambling Commission approval. I am not worried about the local council hearing, and never have been, Nottingham want this club, they gave us casino planning (above ) and gave us a 24hr liqour licence, they have always been behind the club.

The Consent from the Gambling Commission was always the big big risk in this project, they just dont deal with small fry like us, they deal with PLC's, organisations with credibility, but I think they like us, and want us to be part of their plans for the future, it feel nice after all of the problems we have had.

What next? Well, I have always said that I wanted a private club with great facilities, not a public casino, where "bums on seats" or "feet through the door" is the goal. I want to go in there and see a small, friendly, community of people who support DTD and I feel they actually give a XXXX.

The task is to create a framework where we don't get the "jockeys" in the club, I have not done it for them. In one of my earlier posts, I said I would be happy having to use DTD for me and my mates playing a STT rather than have a place full of people who think "they have a right to be there". This project is about "lifestyle" and "fun", not a Plc casino environment.

Okay, lets try and actually put some meat around the bones. What would I like to see in the club?

- 75-100 people per "regular" night (same as a small casino card room)
- 1 Major DTD Festival  (500+ main event field)
- 1 Monthly £500+ event (250 + field)
- 2 other major European events (500+ fields)

That's it, day to day, i just want a nice friendly place, not for the masses, I don't want to take on the casinos, nor do I want the problems in their card rooms coming into DTD. I don't want the stress of running a big place on a day to day basis............lets have the best "club" NOT "casino"

I'll make the policies of the club encourage this sort of environment, not a "big impersonal commerical venture"...........keep the moaners and groaners out, and every now and again we stage a big event.

Cheers Rob

[hotdog]

  i hope it come together soon and opens up rob.the sooner the better for everyone.

will dtd be in force in dortmund

[Jim-D]

Followed the progress of this wonderful venture from the very beginning and am so very pleased for you Rob that it is finally nearing completion and all your stress and hard work can eventually be seen to bare fruit.

I will be making very regular trips up from Devon with 2 of my friends to soak up the atmosphere of what will be a truely superb arena for the game we all love.

Jim.

[boldie]

That's it, day to day, i just want a nice friendly place, not for the masses, I don't want to take on the casinos, nor do I want the problems in their card rooms coming into DTD. I don't want the stress of running a big place on a day to day basis............lets have the best "club" NOT "casino"

I'll make the policies of the club encourage this sort of environment, not a "big impersonal commerical venture"...........keep the moaners and groaners out, and every now and again we stage a big event.

Cheers Rob

And this is exactly why we are all rooting for you and looking forward to it opening Rob.

[Jon MW]

Shortly after joining blonde I had to read 40-odd pages of this thread to catch up - and I really do mean that I had to read them, because it was so well written (most posts anyway) and had such a good plot that I absolutely needed to know where the story was going.

It's such a good thing to know that it's nearly approaching the end of part 1 - the opening of the club - and let's hope part 2, whatever that might bring, is equally as enthralling.

Needless to say I'm in line with all the other supporters DtD has and I'm equally sure that it will be a thrilling success, so maybe after the opening all it will need will be to end it with, "...and they all lived happily ever after."

[The_Kid]

Sounds excellent Rob I wish you all the best.

[robyong]

Well, I've just got back from a stag weekend with my oldest school friends, as a surprise we went to Vegas instead of the "planned" weekend in Tenerife.

What a cool time we all had, we would have never imagined 35 years ago that we would all be in Vegas together. Here's a photo from Light night club in the Bellagio http://vegas.napkinnights.com/pics/view_image.php?id=298504. We had a great time, from the rides at the Stratosphere to getting busted at the blackjack and poker tables.

Nick was able to get some good ideas for the finishes for the club, and see how some of the poker rooms in Vegas were operating, I expected everyone to be talking about the recent US online laws on online poker, but I never heard it mentioned once.

I also had a bit of time to think about the future, having just turned 35 years old a couple of weeks ago (and my Dad just recovering from a major heart attack he had in December), it does make you think bit. I distinctly remember 5 years ago retiring from the business mayem and saying that I was going to leave that to the people that enjoyed it, and do things that I wanted and needed to do..........5 years later I find myself right back in the XXXX, putting in 20 hour days, answering 100's of calls and emails! I remember the days when mobile phones and email did not exist.........the world seemed work okay without this technology, didn't it?

Well, I think I've done my bit for the DTD project now, that was MY job (the money, the idea, the set up), its time to delegate responsibilities and take a much lower profile in the running of the operation. Sure, I can't wait for the club to open as a poker player myself, especially if the Gambling Commission let me play there, but apart from the court hearing in April, pretty much everything has been set up, and people know what their responsibilties are, this has been made very clear. If I get my investment back........its a bonus, if not, c'est la vie, its only money.

We have a fantastic building, an online card room, a web site, the Gaming Consent, key employees have been recruited, their is a lot of potential here, but its up the the management now to take the business forward. Sure, I will have an influence, but I want to be very much in the background, and give the management some breathing space to develop their roles and let DTD evolve. All day to day responsibilities have been delegated and decisions will be made by the management.

So, I'm gonna do a full disapearing act (like I did 5 years ago). My mobile phone is being cut-off this week, my email accounts are getting de-activated,............and I'm gonna spend more time on my Charity, my familly, and working closely with my Group Finance Director on all of my various businesses (that I've neglected to set up DTD). If anyone has a question/issue with DTD I have a full management structure in place now. Here's a reminder below of who does what...........

Nick Whiten - Operations Director
 
Kate Langshaw - Web Site
Pete Langley - Business Systems
Paul Zimbler - Marketing

Simon Trumper - Live Poker (Dusk Tilll Dawn Club)
Darren Whiten - General Manager (Dusk Till Dawn Club)
Rob Gol & Danel Bell - Card Room Managers
Mike Wiseman - Compliance Manager


Paul Jackson - Online Poker (dtdpoker)
Simon Nowab - Key Accounts (dtdpoker)


In term of playing poker, I plan to play 4 events, the $25k WPT Bellagio, Monte Carlo EPT, the WSOP and the Bellagio 5 Diamonds in 2007, but that will probably be my only poker treats as I'm banned from the UK casinos.

See you all at the opening night! Rob

[Jon MW]

 

[KingPoker]

I cant imagine how great it must feel to come through the other side of what has been a very trying time for you and for pretty much everything to fal into place! Britain wll have the largest cardrrom in europe very soon and i hope to frequent it on the opening night and many times times after.

WD Rob Sir now get some R+R!!!!!!!

[boldie]

exactly!

Well done Rob. Enjoy your time off.

[Tractor]

 
Im sure every Blonde member on here wishes you the best of luck with DTD and look forward to the opening night.

Fingers crossed you can actually play at the club when it opens.