Poker in the Dominican Republic?

real843 · #1 11-16-2004, 03:26 PM

Does anyone know if there is any poker available there?

PoorLawyer · #2 11-16-2004, 03:48 PM

yes. I was in Puerto Plata a couple years ago beore I played seriously and there was one poker table going that was half full....the guys playing there were trying to goad us into playing. I had the feeling that if I had played and won they would have never found my body.

real843 · #3 11-16-2004, 05:31 PM

According to cardplayer.com there are 2 casinos in Puerto Plata, Which one where you at and what limits were played? Are you saying I should be worried about my safety when going there?

Thanks for the reply

PoorLawyer · #4 11-17-2004, 11:43 AM

I didn't play, but i think it was a no limit game...not sure of the buy in. It looked like 4 locals just passing chips back and forth waiting for a drunk tourist. I couldn't tell you which casino because I was a drunk tourist, but I know that in the playa dorado resort area there are definitely more than 2 casinos. They are all pretty small though. The one with the poker table was also the only one with a craps table, and they would only open half the table because otherwise they would have to more taxes somehow.

I stayed at the playa dorado hotel ( i think thats what it was called) and they had a coupon deal where they would match your first 20 bucks in chips or something like that....I put it all on one number of the roulette wheel and hit and then played for an hour and kept hitting and paid all my expenses for the trip....was fun too because it is in dominican pesos so you have a mile-high stack of chips! I think the dealers were pocketing chips too when they pushed them over, but since a 25 peso chips was worth about a dollar (at the time) i didnt really care.

real843 · #5 11-17-2004, 08:36 PM

LOL. Sounds like an....errr....interesting casino.

Thanks for your help.

Vermicious Knid · #6 11-17-2004, 11:13 PM

My dad went down there to play golf with a group of guys. They were told that they could go to the casino (about 30 minutes away), but would need a military escort. They decided to hit the hotel bar instead.

PoorLawyer · #7 11-18-2004, 12:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
My dad went down there to play golf with a group of guys. They were told that they could go to the casino (about 30 minutes away), but would need a military escort. They decided to hit the hotel bar instead.

[/ QUOTE ]
There were some armed guards around, but Nassau is like that too...just part of being in the islands I guess.
The place I stayed at was a complex of about 10 hotels with a golf course, at least 3 small casinos, and a couple clubs and bars in addition to the regular resort drinking. It was all inclusive which was nice and we did short trips to the surrounding towns at night to drink with the locals and went off the resort on the beach during the day and ate fresh caught lobsters and fish in little shacks right on the beach...the point I guess is, don't let a little heavy artillery scare you away from a great inexpensive trip.

nicky g · #8 11-18-2004, 12:39 PM

The Dominican Republic is by far and away the poorest and scariest place I've ever been. Then again i've not been to many poor or particularly scary places. But unbelievably poor in parts.

At our resort, there were hired goons carrying two-by-fours patrolling either end of the beach to make sure the locals didn't get in. It is not a place I would go back to.

PoorLawyer · #9 11-18-2004, 01:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The Dominican Republic is by far and away the poorest and scariest place I've ever been. Then again i've not been to many poor or particularly scary places. But unbelievably poor in parts.

At our resort, there were hired goons carrying two-by-fours patrolling either end of the beach to make sure the locals didn't get in. It is not a place I would go back to.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well you should have went off the beach because that is where all the good food and cheap beers were. The local stuff is a lot more exciting than the resort. We went to a bar owned by this canadian ex-pat who took us around to sosua and cabarete one night and we had a great time at the bars there and ended up going back by ourselves later in the week. We also went into Puerto Plata one day and wandered around and besides a few kids following us around trying to give flowers to girls who were with us for money there were no problems.
Countries like that are overprotective of their tourist industry which is why they have guards, more to give tourists a sense that they are protected than to stop a hoard of locals from coming onto the resorts. Furthermore, penalties are severe for locals who get out of line. One of my friends got in a fight with a local at a beach bar one night and the local guy got handcuffed and dragged out of there in about 30 seconds. the bartender said he would probably be in jail for a month!
I felt safer there than I do in D.C. where they have humvees with rocket launchers parked on the side of the roads all over the place.

PoorLawyer · #10 11-18-2004, 05:04 PM

I forgot to add that after my friend got in the fight we went back to our hotel and went to the casino. It is very important to note that as long as you have chips in front of you, it is ok if you are bleeding on the felt.