New Gaming Laws

Well the new gaming laws took effect in the three gambling towns in Colorado. According to the Two Plus Two forums there was quite a bit of hoopla at 12:01 AM July 2nd as poker rooms made the changeover. I made it over to the Lodge Saturday July 4th to see for myself.

I was pleasantly surprised that the place was not a zoo. Of 20 tables, they had about 4 or 5 open and the rest spreading a variety of Holdem games. I need to swing by the Golden Gates on my next trip to check out Omaha.

The most popular games were 1-2 spread limit and 2-5 spread limit. The fixed limit games started at 4-8, then 10-20, 15-30, and 30-60. At each limit there were kill games included as well. 30-60 with a half kill is some pretty solid action. I started out in the 4-8 game (which had a short list) and getting a little bored, I moved over to the 1-2 spread limit game (which had a longer list) which was even more boring. I miss the action that 5-5 provided. Most of those players were now in the 10-20 and 15-30 games, which are out of my league. I also miss seeing all of the old faces.

I would estimate that 80% of the players were non-regulars. Several discussed playing on the internet a lot or just coming to check it out. I also was surprised by the rake. At the 4-8 game they took 10% up to $5 at $50, whereas they used to take the last dollar on pots that were higher. I understand the larger games were raked a little differently. Also you could not wait for the button to pass and all new players would have to pay the big blind.

While I was mostly card dead, I was also just not hitting flops or making money on my solid cards as all of the players at my level were rocks like myself. After a longer than normal session, I headed down to the dice pit.

I saw two craps tables at the Lodge and one Roulette table. Roulette was pretty crowded, but there was room at one of the craps tables at 1:00 AM when I finally made my way down. The minimum bet was $10 (it was $5 when I first walked around) and they sign announced 5X odds, although the host would allow odds up to the $100 maximum bet. The crew was a mixed bag with varying experience. Some would get really confused by the payouts and were closely watched. Others had the hang of it. The bigger players at my table were betting “the don’t,” but I stuck with my usual pass line bets. It worked out pretty well as I recouped my poker losses and walked away a winner for the day.

All in all, I am very impressed and for my gaming requirements, the casinos meet all of my needs. My outstanding list of casino destinations includes Omaha, Tulsa, Evansville, Atlantic City and Europe. I would like to check them out, but would not make a special trip. Similarly Vegas and Tunica no longer have the charm they once had as I have been there and done that. I have also been fortunate enough to play in Davenport, Deadwood, Sandia, New Orleans, and Los Angeles