Questions on opening a poker room

[RickyG]

So, Mexico is poised to legalize gambling for the first time in 60+ years. I live in a Border City in Mexico with 2 million people on the mexico side, plus another Million or so in texas and new mexico across the border. The closest poker room is 3 hours drive to ruidoso or 5 hours to Albuquerque. (I am in the Cd. Juarez/El Paso, TX area)

This seems like a good spot to open a poker room, so I've been tossing around the idea of doing it myself.

These are the things that I have already thought about, but was wondering if there was anything else I was missing, failing to consider.

Locale
Furniture (poker tables)
Equipment (Cards and Chips)
Security (Guards, Surveillance system)
Employees (Security, Dealers, Managers, waitresses)
Appropriate Licenses.
Advertising

and of course, the money to do all of the above.

Other things I can think of is perhaps a bus of some sort that would pick people up on the States side and drop them off at the poker room so that they feel safer comming to Mexico.

Granted this is all in stage one of planning, I just want to start forming a cost benefit analysis and all that fun stuff.

What am I missing, any other thoughts or comments?

Rico

[Klepton]

tworooks?

[tubalkain]

It's probably illegal to run buses out of the US for illegal gambling purposes.

[The Armchair]

[ QUOTE ]
It's probably illegal to run buses out of the US for illegal gambling purposes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would it be? There's no US law against gambling -- it's all state law.

[The Armchair]

A few concerns:
1) A lot of your clients will be entering the US with a lot of cash, probably more than the minimum amount to invoke declaration laws.
2) Your room would be multi-lingual, which could lead to all sorts of collusion problems
3) You'd have to convert from dollars to pesos, and back?
4) You'd be a magnet for money launderers.

[Post-Oak]

A few more concerns:

1. all of the men with guns in Cd Juarez. I think the most dangerous group is called "la policia".

Isn't this city notorious for being run by drug smuggling gangs? Haven't there been vicious gang wars with dozens of people being killed? Don't 97% of murders in Mexico go unsolved? Aren't the regional law enforcement, politicians and beaurocracy in bed with the drug smugglers?

You better have the right connections and pay off the right people. And you will need security guards who actually carry guns. Maybe off duty police would be a good idea. Of course, they would probably rob you too.

[tubalkain]

[ QUOTE ]
A few more concerns:

1. all of the men with guns in Cd Juarez. I think the most dangerous group is called "la policia".

Isn't this city notorious for being run by drug smuggling gangs? Haven't there been vicious gang wars with dozens of people being killed? Don't 97% of murders in Mexico go unsolved? Aren't the regional law enforcement, politicians and beaurocracy in bed with the drug smugglers?

You better have the right connections and pay off the right people. And you will need security guards who actually carry guns. Maybe off duty police would be a good idea. Of course, they would probably rob you too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seconded. The idea of using Mexico to avoid state anti-gambling laws is completely friggin' retarded. You'd actually do better running an illegal room on the US side of the border.

[Jersey Nick]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A few more concerns:

1. all of the men with guns in Cd Juarez. I think the most dangerous group is called "la policia".

Isn't this city notorious for being run by drug smuggling gangs? Haven't there been vicious gang wars with dozens of people being killed? Don't 97% of murders in Mexico go unsolved? Aren't the regional law enforcement, politicians and beaurocracy in bed with the drug smugglers?

You better have the right connections and pay off the right people. And you will need security guards who actually carry guns. Maybe off duty police would be a good idea. Of course, they would probably rob you too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seconded. The idea of using Mexico to avoid state anti-gambling laws is completely friggin' retarded. You'd actually do better running an illegal room on the US side of the border.

[/ QUOTE ]

Motion carried.

I started to post this earlier.

Washington Post 1/21/05
Mexico Battles Influx of Violent Gangs

"Police have no solid count of youth gang members in Mexico, but they agree the numbers are rising. Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, the nation's top organized crime prosecutor, said recently that drug cartels based in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez on the U.S. border were hiring gang members as assassins."

A city of 2 million is big, and not everyone is a criminal, but this sure smells like some Wild, Wild West sh!t.

[RickyG]

thanks Armchair, and others who have responded so far. I think the most enlightening part is the perception of mexico and the fact that people might not feel safe comming over, because they will be shot by gang members, or robbed by the police. *sigh*

[Yarney]

Bus is a bad idea just from passport problem standpoint alone. What happens when someone on your bus has a problem getting through customs (legitimate or otherwise)? Does the bus wait or leave the person stranded?

-Yarney