New cardroom in Hinckley, Minnesota

[Cooling Heels]

A few comments from a recent stop at the new cardroom in Grand Casino
Hinckley:

- The poker room isn't in the casino, it's in the hotel. With no signs and a hidden location,
you won't find it without asking for directions. A nice benefit to this odd setup is that you
can drink beer in the poker room. Alcohol isn't allowed in the casino, for those who say:
what's the big deal? Not comped of course, this is Minnesota.

- The room is no smoking

- Rake is 10% to $4 plus a $1 jackpot tax. Jackpot was seeded with $5000 to get it started.

- Hold Em tables are 9 handed, not the more traditional 10.

- Six tables

- Omaha, Stud high, limit HE, and no limit HE.

- Omaha wasn't going, they will start a list with whatever limit you want. The stud high only game
never got going. The game was 3/6 with a $2 bring-in. Limit HE of 2/4, 3/6, and 4/8 were going,
and they basically spread whatever limit the customers want. The no limit game going was blinds of $2 and $5, with buy-ins of $100 min, $500 max. They will spread smaller buy-in games if a demand
exists, and they may have both games going.

- Instead of $1 poker chips they use $1 slot machine tokens, what a mess. The tokens don't
stack, and the racks don't accurately measure $100 so counting is painstakingly slow. The cards
however, are high quality, not like the cheap blackjack cards I've seen in other reservation casinos.

[Stellastarr]

wtf, slot machine tokens? Theres one reason im going to Canterbury and not Hinkley. They are about the same distance for me.

[chrisdhal]

NL? So the state law that prohibits Canterbury from spreading NL doesn't apply to them?

Is this the first NL cash game in MN?

[Andy B]

Do you know how often they get that NL game going? Like if I show up on Tuesday or Wednesday, will there be a game?

Not that I'm going to drive way the hell up there to play a game that I can play down here, but do they really have a $2 force in a $3/6 stud game? What the hell is that? Is there an ante? Is the first raise to $3, or to $5, or perhaps some other number?

So if I want to start an interest list for $30/60 stud or $20/40 hold'em, they'd do that for me? How 'bout $50/100 stud/8? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Cooling Heels]

The 2/5 NL game was going Friday night, and that game along
with a smaller blind game was going Thursday night.

The stud game never got going, and I couldn't get a straight answer on the structure, other than the bring-in is $2. The place is so new that the confusion hasn't cleared yet. Basically, the cardroom personnel are all recently trained blackjack dealer.

It does appear they will spread whatever people ask for,
so the games depend on who shows up. I asked but no peek baseball, however, and they wouldn't start a list. 2/4 and 3/6 limit HE will dominate, as that's what most customers want.

I forgot to ask if dealers keep their tokes. That policy seems to vary among reservation rooms.

One more thing, cell phones aren't allowed in the room, a common sense rule that isn't universal for some reason.

[Andy B]

I went to the Vikings game with a Canterbury employee yesterday (I'm a Giants fan. Woohoo!), and played in a home game last night. I got different stories, but apparently the state has shut down the no-limit game, since there's the $60 limit on poker bets.

Canterbury had a ton of newly-trained personnel when they first opened, but they seemed to do a much better job than, say, the folks in Turtle Lake. For that matter, Canterbury when it first opened was better-run than Foxwoods is, and they've been open for a while now. I'm so spoiled. I'm almost ashamed to be playing in home games. I need the money, though.

I'd make the trip for a good $10/20 no-peek baseball game. If you catch a Trey, you have to match the pot. And none of this all-in crap. You gotta dig. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
One more thing, cell phones aren't allowed in the room, a common sense rule that isn't universal for some reason.

[/ QUOTE ]
Do you know how many poker players bet sports and/or make book? If Canterbury banned cell phone use in the poker room, the $30/60 game would collapse.