The Vegas Eating Problem

In a recent trip to Las Vegas I was again overwhelmed by the outrageous rude behavior of the locals. My chief complaint this time is the "white buttons."


I asked Donna Harris if she thought giving people an hour and fifteen minutes away from the table was reasonable, and she seemed to think it was fine. Personally, I think it's ridiculous, but apparently I'm a minority of one.


On two occasions two people got up together from a stud game to go eat. They were gone the full hour and fifteen minutes. One of them never came back and called in to have themselves picked up. The other came back, played one hand, told a story about how they hadn't even been served yet (like anybody cares), and left again for an undetermined amount of time. Undetermined because two of us quit in disgust.


Oh, but you can play over, you say? Playing over is stupid. It's just an excuse to let people stay away from the table. Some floor person usually has to approve and they often have to count the persons chips you are playing over. By the time you get settled in the person comes back, and if your stuck it's the pits--what a headache.


My solution is simple: you get 20 minutes away from the table if there is a list, and if you can't get back in time too bad. Eat at home, the snack bar or before or after you play. Poker is not a game of eating, it's a game of people played with cards. The problem is if there are no people then everybody else gets pissed off.


As far as I'm concerned this is the most abused rule in Vegas. It's even worse at the big tournaments. I'd say 50% of the people never come back, or they come back and pick up. This would mean that you'd have to hire at least one extra person just to pick people up at a big tournament. But I guarantee you the games would stay full and the players actually in their seats playing wouldn't get so upset. Now, when people want to go eat they would cash out and put their names on the bottom of the list. Half the people that are on the list aren't in the room anyway.


End this archaic practice.

agreed if there is a list u should get 0 minutes to eat. no list 2o min. you will lose no customers the urge to gamble outwieghs the luxury of leaving your chips at the table for an hour.

This is so true in Vegas. It is especially rude when a player is gone for so long just to return and pick up their chips. Players at the Mirage are good at this.


RL

you cant eat at the tables in vegas so people that play long hours have no choice. its a lousy deal but there is no real solution. but what really happens is that its mostly the better players that go for long times and thats good for you. also the game gets a little shorter and you get more hands out which is more money per hour for you.

when the bad players leave you can at least judge it and go to eat then as well. and if you didnt allow them a long time they would quit and not come back.

I like short handed stud games better than full games. You should see this as a good thing. And since the holdem games in Vegas are ten handed, rather than the nine handed California games, when a player or two is missing, the game is back to where it should be.

I like the rule they have at Foxwoods. You pick up your chips and tell the board you are going to dinner. You have 2 hours to eat and when you return you are put 2nd on the list. Seems fair to me.

Ray Zee and other regulars will obviously defend this defend this behavior. They make their living gaming the games.


While Ray points out some benifits to players (basically that it is the pro's who do this) he misses a crutial point.


People are choosing to play at a game that is full. As "advertized" there are supposed to be 10 hands - and this is what players have a right to expect. And, there is a list of people waiting to play.


In any case, Foxwoods rule would easily take care of the issue, but at the expense of the pros gaming the game.


I bet Ray would not support this. Ray??

the so called live ones go to dinner and come back an hour or so later. if they had to come back on the board they wouldnt return. if you want them picked up just so you can play in a full game so be it. but if you want to make money, you need to fix rules that arent always in line but work for the best of it. its sometimes a matter if you want a full table or a lively game.

Would you be will to see foxwoods rules hold in vagas?


Your last post now claims that live ones won't play as much if they had to pick up and then wait 5 minutes for a new game??? The live ones are the gamblers right? they would not wait 5 minutes to get back into a game? Come on...


Lets call a duck a duck..


The most innocent reason is that the pro's want their spot, and want to have time to take thier break/dinner/whatever and still have their spot.

Two things make this so it won't go away. First the house likes slightly short games. After all they would use 8 handed games if they could get away with it, but since Vegas games can be so tight at times they need to go 10 handed (at least that is what two cardroom manangers theorized). Second is Vegas makes little money off poker, but lots of money off of food these days. The restaurants are big profit centers and doing something that keeps someone at something they make little money at (poker) instead of high profit margin (restaurant) just isn't going to fly with the casinos. If all they were doing is going to the snack bar or cheap cafe that would be one thing, but Bellagio and Mirage make too much money off of all their restaurants to create a policy that could cost them business. After all if you are playing there and have it easy to go eat then you are most likely to eat there. If they weren't so accomodating you might eat somewhere else like home or at a competitors casino.

Your missing another reason why Vegas casinos allow so much time. I have been in many games where someone will disappear for an hour and then come back and tell me they were playing slot machines or craps.

This isn't a problem in Blackjack or Craps, is it?