Sorry for the delay in posting this, long work days are at fault. Usually when I do one of these posts, I will try hard to balance the Cheers and the Jeers but can't do it this time. Unfortunately, the negatives simply outweighed the positives. Having said that, I want to make it crystal clear that I firmly believe the mistakes made at this BJT are realized all too well by Meskwaki's BJT management team and they are firmly determined to restore these events to their former glory. And awayyyyyy we go............... CHEERS - To the entire BJT team for again running a professional tournament. Sara, Bob, Kenny, and the others on the management side as well as all of the dealers who did a great job of dealing a game similar to what they deal every day, yet those dealers made few mistakes related to the difference in table vs. BJT dealing. A few dealing mistakes were made but all that I saw were quickly rectified correctly. Thumb's up! JEERS - to those in Meskwaki's management who had position over the BJT team in the casino's hierarchy and did a fine job of screwing it up. Raising the entry fee in the face of obnoxious gasoline prices while also taking away many of the benefits that we BJT entrants are accustomed to was one of the most boneheaded stunts I've seen in my relatively short BJT career. On top of raising the entry fee and ceasing any casino participation in boosting the prize fund, they took away the meal discount coupons (which we didn't know about until arrival), drastically lowered the earned comp rate for those who gave side action, and did a fine job of making us all feel generally unappreciated. From an event that almost always filled up @ 220+ entries with a waiting list to an event that drew under 180 entries. I heard from three different well-placed sources that the two geniuses responsible for this debacle were fired just a few days before the BJT started, principally due to the obviously depressed rate of incoming entries. CHEERS - to the BJT team who expended a great deal of effort in exercising damage control by being available for player's comments even though most of those comments ranged from disappointment to an outright furious butt-chewing. They actually sought out players whom they knew were going to blow up at them. Promises were made to do things a lot better the next time. We will see. JEERS - for the final table set-up which made it nearly impossible for the large roomful of spectators to see what was going on. Even though I was sitting at that table so I wasn't affected, I've been there watching at past BJT's and know how hard it is to see. A suggestion - take a note from the LV Hilton's arrangement. They have a large flat mirror suspended from the ceiling at a 45 degree angle so the spectators can see the table. If that's not feasible, we noted many ceiling mounted camera bubbles and one of those could be trained on the table with a closed circuit feed to the many TV's in that room. It also wouldn't hurt to use the microphone when announcing chip counts at the appropriate times late in the final round. CHEERS - to the well-trained BJT dealers. They'd obviously been practicing! But there's a JEER within this Cheer due to the few dealers who would count player's bets out loud - a massive no-no in any BJT, especially one of this magnitude. CHEERS - to the BJT team for implementing a good system of evening out the player counts at the tournament tables. There were a few off-balance tables but they did a great job of avoiding the debacle from the last tournament. Excellent! Now, on to the things mostly unrelated to the BJT itself......... JEERS - for yet another hotel mess. Yes, they did it again. Most of us didn't end up with the room style we requested. Apparently the hotel merely gives a block of rooms to the tournament management, even if those particular rooms make it impossible to accommodate the player's requests. I'm not familiar with hotel management but it seems to me that the tail is wagging the dog. At least we didn't end up with a handicapper room featuring a belly-button high showerhead this time. CHEERS - for the good buffet-style meals that were provided for the players right in the tournament room. Dinner on Friday & breakfast on Saturday/Sunday. This helped offset some of the disappointment due to the expected meal coupons that were surprisingly absent from the player's welcoming packages. JEERS - to the pathetic WiFi in the rooms. They gave us a cable to hook directly into their Internet in the room but the procedure to use that was so onerous that even Deb couldn't figure it out. WiFi signal was nonexistent. C'mon, people, this isn't new technology any more. FIX IT. CHEERS - to the buffet again! When we first started going to the Meskwaki BJT's that buffet was stocked with road kill. Last October, it was downright excellent. This time, it was even better! The crab legs on Saturday night were nearly the most awesome I'd even enjoyed, only exceeded by those on Bellagio's buffet many years ago. YUM. Great job! JEERS - for the ridiculously tightened comps. I know of one player who spent a great deal of time on BJ tables @ $25-$50 per hand yet was refused a simple meal comp. Saw another player who was admittedly only playing $5 to $10 per hand but was told she had 37 cents of comp available. Both of these players traveled quite a bit to be there, too. Apparently the pit and floor have no power to override this nonsense, either. Between the nasty surprise of the missing meal coupons for players and this new comp policy, many were not happy at all. Quite a few actually left the property to take their chances having dinner at other local restaurants, costing Meskwaki a lot of player table time. Bad, bad, bad. JEERS - for only having one cocktail waitress on the entire casino floor on Sunday night. We typically stay over that evening to play BJ and drink WAY too much beer. Granted, that place isn't as big as MGM in Vegas but..... only one waitress? The drinks are so overpriced that I would have thought they'd be anxious to sell as much as possible. One can't even go buy a round at the bar because customers cannot take anyone's drink but their own away from the bar. We felt like we were almost begging to spend our money on beverages. Geez. And finally........ AN OPEN NOTE TO MESKWAKI BJT MANAGEMENT: Even though you weren't personally responsible for them, the recent changes have hurt your BJT severely. You've got to make a ton of changes back towards the way things were, and make those changes public knowledge. Already many repeat BJT players have stated that they won't be back, another mess like this and you might as well stick a fork in your BJT's because they'll be done. We know you truly want these events to fly, but you've only got one chance to overhaul this thing. One. Please don't blow it, we want your BJT's to work as badly as you do.
review lefty; first, congrats once again on the final table. was just waiting for the cheers and jeers before shouting out . really a great job writing what many of us complained and liked about the tournament. we concur with just about everything you stated. one thing that i heard from a "local" was that the casino did not even mail out flyers (in his words to save postage) to the community. yep, you want to save that bulk rate postage. good god, the casino certainly does not make any money on the 100s of customers spinning the wheels on the slot machines that they could pay for flyers. nail on the head about comp points at the live table. just freakin ridiculous. so much that we stopped playing. yep, that 10 dollar phantom food comp cost them. unless things change ( i have always been a staunch supporter of this tourney), there will be no way of coming back. this now being a player supported tournament (and sara stating that the casino was not going to add anything was a slight slap in the face after they increased the buy-in), and not filling up makes it a horrible ev for those of us who have to travel a long distance. yes the tournament team was great. approachable, caring of keeping this as one of the best open tournaments in the land. they have a lot of work to do over the next few months to retun to its past glory. our experience was a little different than yours (buffet related) that we did not even try the buffet (we thought it was awful last time) and choose to go into town to give our bussiness, since we asked for a comp and were refused.
Hmmm Appears that this casino is conflicted about the importance, plus ev of even holding tourneys One must wonder if they will continue, especially with so fewer players and such unhappiness as exhibited here. On to the Sault and Ignace. CP
Thanks, marichal! Final tables at big events are always a blast, and it's good to know that someone appreciates all the effort that goes into these Cheers-n-Jeers. We will have to agree to disagree on the matter of Meskwaki releasing the info that they ceased adding overlay money to their BJT's. I believe they did the right thing by telling us. The reason they stopped the $$$ was the drop in side action from the tournament players recently (which we know was mostly caused by their own trashing of the video poker inventory). No side action = no added money. I can't consider it an insult that they released the real reason for that change. Remember, I got screwed by the low entry count worse than anyone else here. Had the field been full either with this set-up or the previous one, I'd have gotten over 50% more cash for fourth place. CP, the problem was the now-gone management folks who decided to kill the golden goose. The BJT staff couldn't stop it, knew the players were going to be unhappy, and weren't surprised when the entry count suffered. Now the question is whether everyone there can work together to bring these events back to their former level of attractiveness to the players. I think they can, but as noted in the C & J, they're going to have one shot to get it right.
lousy comps I really enjoy the Meskwaki touney. I didn't sweat the loss of meal comps or the increase in the entry fee, but did resent the skin-flint way in which players were rated at the live tables. I played a bunch; I mean many hours on the BJ tables with bets ranging from $25 to $100 or more. I asked the floor about comping my room (Sunday) and was shocked to find that I had accumulated only $13! Had I given any other casino that kind of action, I would have been richly rewarded in comparison. Come next time, I may very well attend again, but don't expect a lot of side action from me. Congrats Lefty - nice job!
Confused I didn"t like the treatment at Tama either!!!! I "m thinking of going to both Sault and Ignace but the prize pool don"t look as good as Meskwaki, $250 buy in 1st $12,000 (guaranteed) 2nd $7,500 3RD $4,500 and so on. When Meskwaki Paid $20,000 (guaranteed) and so on? -
One More Shot Lefty, Thanks for taking time to do this. I really do think it helps everyone who runs these things get better. I have been at every Mesqwaki BJ tourney since they started in 2008. It kept getting a little better each time. This last time I fully agree there was some slippage. I was okay with a little higher entry fee but think they could've kept the food comps plus threw in a couple drink coupons etc to smooth it out. I don't want to dwindle on it though...I think the "changes" in their managment that needed to take place happened so it's time to move on. If it were me I would send a personal letter to each of the tourney registrants (They should have addresses on file) and explain in detail the exact things they are bringing back for the fall tourney and ask for another chance. I think we can all remember cases where things didn't go right in our lives but when we ask for forgivness and try and make it right...things quickly get back on track.
Iggy and the Soo have some pretty good things in the BJT players' package that Meskwaki does not - such as a $50 rebate if you log enough hours at a BJ table or enough points on slots/VP. Plus a few other goodies. They cannot pay out like Meskwaki because they give back quite a bit out of the entry fees. Glad you liked it, and thanks! Your idea is a stroke of genius. I hope the Meskwaki BJT management is still following this thread, they not only promised to but they were also part of the folks asking for a Cheers-n-Jeers after this one. Sure hope they see and strongly consider your suggestion.
another view lets face it, the main reason a casino has an open tournament is to bring in players for side play. some might say it is to "reward" their players, but the last time i looked, casinos were not in the chairty business. as uncle abe stated, live play comps were horrible. most of us understand that we must give play to casinos that offer tournaments, but in meskwaki's case, it is not a prudent action, with horrible vp, commission pai gow and so-so blackjack rules. i really do not know how this situation can be solved. the casino has their rating system in place and cannot change it for a few players that come in for a weekend. so, the vicious cycle will be put in place. outside players will come in and give little or no side play, infuriating the casino. just finished up a bj tournament at the nugget in laughlin. it was refreshing to hear the td say that they do not expect to make money off of the actual tournament, and realize that the entire casino (slots, table games, etc.) makes up the loss (if any) in guaranteeing a prize pool. in the nugget's case, there was not a full field of players (most of all the snow birds had gone home). they handled it with class, drawing many w/c to the quarter, semis and one to the final round. they paid the advertised prize pool without a whimper, while announcing their next tournament in a couple of months. props to gary and the great crew of the nugget.
Next Tournament Did they put out any information on the fall tournament such as dates and buy-in$'s???
They mentioned the next date at the last BJT but I didn't write it down, so can't remember. Duh............. No further information has been released about buy-ins or date, and the site doesn't have it listed yet.
That's the info I had but I was told that last fall, so I was hoping they had confirmed it during this last tournament.
Thanks for supplying the date, SweetWilliam. Yes, they did change the BJT dates twice that I can remember. Once was due to an inadvertent scheduling of the tournament on Easter weekend, and the other was booking another large event in the same room after announcing "our" date. They've probably got the only room that large for miles around and I think it was an event honoring Veterans - something for which we certainly should not be upset. At the last BJT, they promised to have the entry reservations available earlier than they have in the past. Let's hope so!
Left, Had an idea tonight. Would love to meet you and other BJT'ers that go to Mesquaki tourney's regularly. Do you think we could meet after the Friday night welcome reception is over at the Fall Tourney? You up for that? C
Our gang of BJT-ers are usually up for something like that - for instance, there's one at the LV Hilton this week: http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showpost.php?p=45232&postcount=11 We can figure out details further as the date gets closer.
