The CHUD Gamblers Thread

Living on the east coast, my casino of choice is usually The Borgata in Atlantic City. But then the good folks at The Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, WV decided to put up billboards in Richmond alerting me to the proximity of their relatively new establishment. After a quick mapquest check I learned that I am no more than two hours away which beats the heck out of the 6 hours I drive to AC. So this weekend I will be taking a trip to West Virginia to seek my fortune at the Blackjack table and Craps pit. Has anybody here stayed at Hollywood before?

For those who are interested...I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Hollywood Casino in WV. The Hotel is nice enough but it is not attached to the casino. You can either take a bus (which runs back and forth between the casino and hotel) or drive and park in the parking deck which is free. The casino's appearance is fine...clean and comfortable, but seems a little small when compared to the established AC and Vegas casinos. The biggest problems lie with the tables. The limits are high. $25 (and up) minimum for BlackJack and other table games once the clock strikes noon. I got there late morning Sunday to find one $15 minimum BJ table only to have the minimum increase 20 minutes later. Another problem was the lack of tables. It took me a good hour of wandering around the casino Sunday night to find an open $25 seat. The worst part about it was that they had empty tables, but they weren't in use. When I finally did sit down I ran through $400 in about two hours. The cocktail waitress came by our table once during that time.

Unfortunately Hollywood Casino is the only game in (Charles) Town. You are a captive audience and they know it. A little competition would likely lower table limits and force them to improve their customer service.

And I love the Ravens (-3) and Colts (-3) this week by the way. Although I would probably throw the Saints, Colts and Ravens into a teaser if I had to make one bet.

Quit while you're ahead.