I enjoy poker. But I'm not, by any stretch, a "great" player, nor am I naturally wealthy. Thus, when I play in anything other than a home-game, I limit myself. Either I'll enter into a multi-table tournament with a decent payout, or I limit myself to something like 2/4 Limit, or maybe 3/6. But, beyond that is simply outside my reach, both from a skill level along as well as from a bankroll level.
Thus, I was kind of sad that I didn't get to do anything at Hollywood Casino in Aurora. I had been out in the 'burbs visiting some friends, and on the way back I realized I passed (literally) right by the casino. It was convenient enough that if I didn't change out of the lane I was driving in, I'd've have continued back to Chicago. So I went in, got myself a players club card, pulled some cash from the ATM, and set off for the Poker room, looking to play.
I had two options... a single-table tournament with a $90 buy-in (oof), or, get this... 5/10 was the minimum spread.
I simply couldn't afford to bring enough cash to the table to play 5/10, and a single-table tournament simply doesn't have a whole lot of appeal at that level of buyin. It's too easy for a couple friends to stack the game, and the newcomer would never know. (In a multi-table, it's a lot harder to do that because people are constantly, randomly, thrown from table to table).
I couldn't even find a blackjack table that would have met my normal cash requirements... hell, even the Bellagio, that home for rich people, has $5.00 blackjack from time to time... the minimum I saw was $20 on blackjack which, again, was over my head.
So, in the end, I left my cash in my pocket and came back to the hotel, never having gambled a single dollar. I'm not sure if it's a testament to self-control (and, obviously, the fact that I am not a gambling addict *grin*), or if it's simply an indication of how poorly the casino services the customers.
Then again, since they've got lots of people all the time, I have to assume it's the former.
I ran into the same thing at the two riverboats in my nearby hometown, Joliet. On a *weekday* the lowest table min. for Blackjack was $25! Vegas it's not.
It is not a requirement that a casino provide such low-profit loss-leaders that anyone will play. This is especially the case in casinos with little or no competition. I went to a casino in Illinois myself just recently, and walked on out, having not put down a red cent on anything, even parking.
I saw their wall of "huge winners", that is, those 20-30 people who beat the incredible odds and actually win jackpots, were getting numbers like $17,000 and $24,000; I knew this place wasn't shoving out the bucks. Bye!