seemoreroyals wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 9:51 am
Very un Lucky Larry like handpay. I was expecting a much bigger handpay from you. Sorry to hear you have been in a slump and that the handpay barely made it over the minimum threshold. Esp because of the La state income tax. Nevertheless it was a nice hit and defied the odds and a definite step in the right direction to getting back to your winning ways.
Best wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season to you and your family. Like you, my wife and I have shut it down until after the 1st of the year. We made one final trip last week to Horseshoe. I did hit one $.25 royal. It was on one hand of the triple play game I was playing. I felt fortunate because It was also the only time I had drawn 4 to a royal and I played for 5 or 6 hours total while we were there. I swear the casinos are tightening up the machines.
PS - BTW how are things at GNLC where you play? Was it crowded? Did they allow smoking? Any issues of patrons wearing their masks like chin straps instead of the way they are intended?
Thanks Tedlark and Otabill,
GNLC is crowded on weekends (according to our daughter) but we don't go over except Sunday/Monday so we can get two week's worth of Free Play and two weeks of food credits on one trip. This also generally gets us a better room/corner suite. We spend Sunday Free Play and have my ($80) food credit and Sweet C's ($40) food credits and then repeat on Monday-the start of the new week.
We know how bad everyone is hurting (still thousands of Lake Charles without homes/jobs). Salt Grass Steakhouse (SGS) our favorite/most options is down to their key servers and a few from the other restaurants. With the limited capacity/patron limitations they are having a tough time. We've worked out a deal with the managers to donate one of our food credits and extra comps if necessary to purchase appetizers for the staff at the end of the night shift when we're there. The SGS servers and managers are like extended family since we eat there every trip. We watched servers who have worked since it opened now become manager trainees. They are all working so hard especially since the hurricanes. GNLC became a first responder central housing site. As a result they had limited rooms for guests. You'd think having all those responders would be a blessing and it was financially I'm sure. But, the war stories we'd hear from the servers in the restaurants and casino floor were really bad. Crews come in at night and often have to wait for an hour or so to get seated. Many drink while waiting to eat, then hang around at the tables telling stories, and reducing the table turnovers by significant percentages since they didn't want to go to their rooms. Many also refuse to wear masks. Also, in the old "boys will be boys when away from home" and their girlfriends/wives/families created a huge number of issues with the waitress staff. I know everyone thanks them for their response but with the numbers and conditions lots of problems arose. Casino waitresses we've know for years said the casino had to beef up an already stretched security to take care of the inappropriate behavior, fights, and drunks. The drinking was really a problem and the City of Lake Charles implemented a nightly curfew and the casinos were able to then stop serving drinks at 9 or 10 pm depending on the night of the week. That seemed to help.
Mask wearing is required along with temperature checks and a majority of people wear masks but 15-20% are non-wearers or partial wearers. On occasion a security person will say something. The table areas are really bad as groups hang around drinking with masks off or down. The machine areas have every other machine down/off so social spacing is better than at the tables, bars and high limit. In the VP area, we are blessed to have limited people but with just a small number of machines and every other one down our normal 6 All Stars was down to 4 and only 1 of 2 hundred play is open. Smoking is allowed but masks have helped reduce those who smoke.
GNLC is also trying to manage the restaurant situation. Without enough daily patrons present many are on limited hours of operations. Some remain closed permanently and they are using the time to renovate. The outdoor beach's Bill's Burgers is being rebuild to be a bar only. On summer weekends dozens of boats pull up to the beach and party all day. Bill's food preparation is being moved inside to take over the Mexican Cadilac Bar and Grill. This will allow Bill's to expand to indoor dining, use the old Cadilac Patio for outdoor and Bill's Beach Bar to order food from the inside grill. Also Landry's is taking over the Italian Grotto restaurant's area. All this makes sense sense in the scope of the financial hit they've taken.
We received new from our host that he was leaving before Thanksgiving and we've since learned 3 hosts were let go by the casino due to lack of patrons. We understand it will be months before the new reassignments are complete.
Looking at the La. Casino Reports:
http://lgcb.dps.louisiana.gov/revenue_r ... rboat.html
GNLC is down 6.7% or $250K/day; L'auberge down about 20% same month and Horseshoe down about 6.7% over same month 2019.
With the huge uptake in Covid-19 we are forgoing our long-time traditional casino New Year's Eve trip. We can't afford to take the risk! Especially after canceling our huge family Christmas Dinner. Sweet C is doing her best to be a champ (but its hard for her to give up 55+ years with the kids on Christmas and our traditional family dinner.) We just can't take the risk. Every kiddo and grandkid/great grandkid has been asked which of Sweet C's food delight they want to get so we'll still be doing tons of cooking. Lots of desserts and multiple batches of "Nana's Chicken and Homemade Dumplings" are on the menu already. Lots of KP duty for me. If you're not old enough to know the term "KP Duty" google it. We may do Christmas in June. This year was a big birthday year- 2 grandson's turning 30 and Sweet C's brother and I entering a new decade. All the events, parties and cruises have been cancelled.
Everyone stay safe, wear a mask, know that our sacrifice for now will save thousands of our fellow Americans and perhaps our own family members. And, as a person with 5 family members in the medical area - pray for and thank our medical workers. I hear the strain in their voices, see the tears often as they lose patients, and know their true sacrifice and dedication. Bless them and our troops.
Best Wishes to All and To All Royal Flushes in the New Year when we can safely go back to normal.
LL and Sweet C