***Official Grand Opening Thread***

[that_pope]

Since we are only a few days away, I thought I would start this thread, since I am pumped for the new poker room and casino.

The old casino will be closing at 2am on April 15th, and the new casino and poker room will be opening at 6am on April 15th.  For those of us with gambling problems, you can drive south to the other location for those 4 hours if the need arises.

I was hoping to get there at 6am, but I have some people coming over to do some tree work, so I don't think I will get there until 9am or so.  I have work at 2pm that day, so I should have my thoughts on the room by 3pm on April 15th.  I will also be playing a longer session on the 16th.

I hope everyone is as excited as me, and please post your observations and thoughts on the new room and casino here as well!

[CAAZs #1 Card Slinger]

  :cheesy:The wait is over...The world's greatest poker room is NOW open!!  12 long years (most of which in a tent!) and I am ready!  The room is awesome.  I counted 18 TV's, 5 of which are about the size of old ones in the tent (very big).  New tables, new chairs, new chips, dedicated poker bathroom, dedicated poker kitchen, dedicated poker cashiers (separate dealer and customer), new player banks, and state-of-the-art air system (floor vents).  There are also several restaurants directly across from the poker room, it looks like several different types of food, some with to go counters, we will see.  If you park on the second floor of the parking garage (not sure it will be open by 15th), you will only have to walk about 25 yards to get into the poker room.  Also, make sure you pick up a players club card, as players will get something for their playing time.  I'm not sure what the reimbursement will be yet, but players will need to swipe their card to get paid for every four hours of play. 
     Also, Kent is known for on the spot promotions, so I imagine there will be some sort of additional give aways on opening day and this weekend!  There will also be the already posted tournaments and some new promotions:

Tues. and Thurs.            Posted Jackpots doubled on graveyard, 3am - 8 am

Mon. thru Fri.                 Aces cracked receive $100 on gravedyard, 3am - 9 am

Sat. and Sun.                 "Monte Carlo" on graveyard, $300 to $500 for 4/kind, straight/royal flush, 3am - 9am
                         
Mon. thru Fri.                 Splash pots with kickers, 4 tables drawn for $100 (winning hand)  7,8,9,am & 2,4,6,8pm
                                                                                                    $20  (losing hands)

Mon. thru Fri. (19-23only)Splash posts with "super" kickers, 4 tables drawn for $100 (winning hand)  6 &10am, 12,3,5,9pm
                                                                                                                  $50  (losing hands)

Remember all promotions are for jackpot (non-time) games only......
Also daily, weekly, and special tournaments........"Let's get ready to rumble...."     & have fun!

[CAAZs #1 Card Slinger]

ALSO....for those of you that have heard otherwise, I have it on good authority that the new room WILL open on the 15th at 6am as planned.....See you soon!!

[KS1971]

I'm so excited!  I will probably be there opening morning as soon as I get my kid out the door for school! 

[that_pope]

azcentral article on the opening: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2010/04/15/20100415biz-casino0415.html

[that_pope]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, here it goes. If it sounds like sour grapes, I did drop 3 racks in about 3 hours of 8/16, so keep that in mind...

The room is nice, the tables are bigger, and everything (except the menu sleeves) appear to be new. The menu is actually more pricey, I ordered a hot dog, normally $2.50, and it was $3.25. I have no other price points to match, but that one was raised.

Unfortunately, they sat the 8/16 game (probably the highest raking game for them) in the worst table in the house, table 19, directly in front of the main board. There were 20 people hanging around there, and it just felt very hectic and I was not a fan at all of having that table there. Hopefully when they are running smooth, we can move that game to one of the 4 games next to the window, I think I would prefer that location as it is out of the way of all the people waiting for games, but also close enough to the board that they can still manage the must move.

They are still dropping $4 + $2 for jackpot games. I know Howard will love to hear that. Also, they weren't doing many promotions due to the hectic nature of getting their first tourney going and what not. Right when I got in, they were splashing potting every table (9am), but not after that.

The board is still a work in progress, and the buttons on the table for seat, chips, food, etc weren't quite working. We had an open seat for like 15 minutes, and the board is basically staring at our dealer. Some guy sat down to talk to a friend, and the dealer said if he wanted to play he could because she was annoyed of trying to get a player, when we did have a list.

Very nice to have the bathrooms in the room.

Also, there are some nice places to go and relax if you need a break from the table. I wish not to let everyone in on them, but I know I will be using them.

The chips are new, which means they are falling all over the place since they don't have the dirt and grime on them to help them stick together.

Also the felt is nice and makes folding your cards very easy to get to the dealer.

The TVs seem to be a bit too small and not enough of them, that was a major complaint from many people.

Also, the cashier only has 4 windows for players. I know there is a different one for dealers, but if the chip runners are also using the main cashier, seems a bit small.

The lighting seems to be about the same as the old one, so again Howard won't be happy.

And the room just doesn't seem to have character. If you aren't at one of the 4 tables up against the glass, it really doesn't feel like anything special. I think it feels a lot like Caesars tournament room in Vegas, and not like an upperclass place like Wynn or Aria.

Hoping to hear everyone elses feedback.

[KS1971]

Funny that you commented that it felt like Caesars, I felt the same thing.  The ladies restroom only has 4 stalls which seems a little small to me.  For a room that will accommodate 500 players, they should have put at least 6 in there in my opinion. 

I asked the cashier where I could buy into a tournament and she pointed me to the podium with the deer in the headlights look.  I could tell she didn't know the answer so she was placating me.  I asked someone else and they pointed me to the SAME CASHIER BOOTH that I was just sent away from!  Duh!  How could she not know that tournament registration was going on in her very work area? 

I have perfect eyesight as long as I am wearing my contacts and I had a little trouble seeing the cards in the middle of the table because I thought it was a little too dark.  The room had the temperature set perfectly but the dealers were all complaining it was too hot so I guess I will have to pack my sweatshirt next time because I'm sure they will be blasting the room with arctic air after today. 

The parking garage is open.  I parked on the 2nd floor and it was a quick walk to the poker room.  I hope to go back tomorrow night. 

[KS1971]

I posted some pictures on my twitter account.  You can see them at www.twitter.com/alaskagal1

[CCremain]

I'm trying to forget that I saw a big video craps machine in the casino.

Thanks to CAZ staff for keeping the new poker room running fairly smoothly in spite of problems with the new system and a whole mess of people showing up.  The new room is great.  Much better than the old and at least equal to or a little better than the "old old" room at McKellips (still miss the show girls marching through the poker room).

[Argus]

Overall,  the new Room is nice, it has a lot of potential to be really really great.  I think expecting it to be perfect from the start would be anticipating to much. Our own dedicated bathroom is awesome, and No Smoking anywhere in the room, are GREAT changes.

There are and will be issues that wouldn't appear until put in to practice and others that maybe should have been identified prior to opening.( automatic water faucets in bathrooms)

Constructive criticism will be more helpful that just bashing, and your approach to management will be better received if your tone is perceived as such( constructive).
There are a lot of things to address, and they are probably trying to triage things so as to get important things done first.

Simple things may not be as simple as you think though they could help:
Example:
Move the smaller TVs DOWN to a level similar to where they were in the old room, part of my issue is craning my neck to look UP at them, that said..all the wiring would need to be dropped in the wall, not HARD but time consuming.  Use the wall space where the TV's are now for the giant 10x10 banners they had advertising the tournaments and promotions like they had in the old room. it would add a little "feel" and character of the old room( which i think players miss).

Obviously the lighting is an issue, but they ARE working on it.

I think they should bring the information "ticker" that was above the board at the old place over to the new room and put it up above the board.

[Nidociv]

The lighting has improved noticeably.  It seems they are working on the room a section at a time and redirecting spot lights.
Much easier to see, in many areas I don't feel like I have to squint as much, but could get better.  When they have completed the room the overall lighting will improve with more ambient light in general.
There seems to be a lot of wasted wall space and agree they should lower the TVs and better utilize the upper parts of the walls in the room.

[clarkstar]

I finally went to the new poker room, and, I gotta say, it was underwhelming. sure there's slightly more room, but it doesn't look any bigger at all, and it was very hot until i was able to get a drink, which was after about a 40 min wait to be seated at 1/2 when the list was only 6 deep. if I had left a loser for the night i would not be going back for a lonnnnnngggggg time. either way, i cant imagine being in that room in the summertime, there is no air flow.

pros: service was good, slightly roomier, bathroom close by
cons: hot as hell, not as inviting looking as the tent setup, parking sucked- had to trek a long ways- is the parking garage open? if it is, how do you get to it?

[clarkstar]

ok, i went back last night, and the heat was still ungodly, even the dealers were complaining about it. the only thing that helped me was to chew on ice or drink cold water. hope they get this fixed. update on it being roomier, a big plus, as i realized servers could get by with entrees and tables no problem. the bathroom in the poker room is also a plus, but when i went to use it last night, someone had destroyed the regular stall. needs an attendant like the regular bathrooms. another thing was that we were playing 6 handed at 11pm, it does not seem to be attracting a larger crowd

[jstarda9]

Went on Friday night. I thought the casino was going to be amazing. IMO Wild Horse Pass is more inviting.

The poker room is nice but the wait and the heat were terrible. I did manager to make $539 playing 1/2 which was nice.

[trussdude]

parking sucked- had to trek a long ways- is the parking garage open? if it is, how do you get to it?

The parking is the best thing about the new place!!

Covered parking 50 steps away from the poker room.