Crown Casino (Melbourne, Australia)
I recently spent a week playing tournaments at Crown Melbourne and played some cash games, when I was trying to find inf
Scrolling through my text messages from Crown, I can see that in late November 2023, the message changed from 4 mins to 5 mins to collect your ticket from the registration desk. That makes the wait 25% longer when you’re down the list. They would be better off flashing an extra 1 or 2 people per seat.
And I notice that @crownpoker deleted their Twitter account recently. They hadn’t used it much post-covid.
Poker room update, Saturday 2:20pm
2/3 NLH - 3 tables - 42 on list
2/5 NLH - 6 tables - 32 on list
2/5 PLO - 2 tables - 9 on list
10/20 FLO - 1 table - 10 on list
Looking like another under-staffed day.
What is it like now, is it still bad?
Thinking of going tonight to play 5/10 or PLO but this sounds like a nightmare
Queues are crazy today too and every table is open. Its not even a public holiday
86 on the 2/5 list with 6 tables running
8 on the 2/5 PLO list with 2 tables
3 on the 5/10 list with 2 tables
No 2/3 or other games
I’m giving the place a miss for a week. Staffing levels might be better from mid January.
Have heard they will re-do the carpet in sections without the room being closed entirely.
Also heating more rumours of AM in 2026 although they will need more floor space. Does part of the basement re-open for a month? Can they put tables somewhere else? I would love it if they (permanently) got rid of the slot machines next to the poker area. I have often wanted to smash and destroy the noisy machines.
Against better judgement, thought I’d welcome the new year with a poker session. Thursday 3pm, 2/3 and 2/5 lists both over 50 deep. It’s getting to the point where if you don’t come at 10am you might as well not bother at all.
Will staffing levels improve in a week or two? Time will tell.
Bumped o to a guy whose name just flashed for 2/3 NLH., he had been waiting 3.5 hours. I’m not quite that patient to get on 2/3 or 2/5, especially after having worked today. Makes for a very long day if you have to factor in a 3-4 hour wait.
I went and the 2/5 PLO and 5/10 has been okay over the summer - but know that’s not in the wheelhouse of most people
Also has a dealer tell me the tables cost something like $180 an hour to run, and that poker is barely profitable for them
Also has a dealer tell me the tables cost something like $180 an hour to run, and that poker is barely profitable for them
I've heard the $180 figure before (or some variation on it). I'd like to see a breakdown of the costs, especially as we know that the dealers are paid in the $35-40 range, and Crown pays minimal rent.
Prior to the increase in the cap from $15 to $25, I added up the rake on four different occasions over the course of an hour. Average gross revenue per 2/5 table then was $283. Now with the extra $10 from hands where the pot exceeds $250, the average hourly gross is probably closer to $350.
Even if the $180 cost figure is correct, which it is reasonable to doubt, $170 net profit per table, per hour ain't bad.
What are the changes to those games?
Management wants more rake and thus more hands per hour, and most time is wasted pre-flop making change. As with any memo to dealers, some ignore it, while some take it to heart. Some dealers have already been going out of their way to insist players put out exact change rather than the dealer wasting time having to make change. The rumour is that within a couple months:
Before: 2-3 NLH $200 flat buy-in
After: 2-5 NLH $200-$500 buy-in
Before: 2-5 NLH $300-$1000 buy-in
After: 5-5 NLH $300-$1000 buy-in
Not 100% sure if the min buy-in for the new 5-5 will stay as is or increase to $500. They should leave it as is so that when players can’t get on 2-5, they are more inclined to play 5-5 rather than not play at all.
Fair enough, I’m not mad at that. Sometimes making change drives me crazy
New weekly tournament schedule:
Mon 6:15, $200, 20 min levels
20k SB, re-entries until 9:10pm
Wed 6:15, $300, 20 min levels
25k SB, re-entries until 8:30pm
Fri 6:15, $400, 20 min levels
30k SB, freezeout, late reg to 7:15pm
Nothing official yet on cash games changes.
Non Holdem or PLO tournaments (2020-)
2020-01-05 HORSE
2020-01-13 8-Game
2020-01-20 PLO8
2020-01-28 8-Game
2020-02-11 HORSE
2020-02-18 PLO8
2020-02-25 8-Game
2020-03-10 HORSE
2020-03-17 PLO8
…
2025-04-30 HORSE ([U]2025 Vic Poker Champs[/U])
Wish I knew about plo8 back in 2020, games must’ve been sooooo good back then
I’ll probably fire in HORSE and the PLO high roller, there are some big buyins with the 10 K and 5K.
The 2/5 here is just straight unbeatable, right? I played a session recently and the players are stronger than at Star Sydney, higher rake too... and that isn't a great game either.
The 2/5 here is just straight unbeatable, right? I played a session recently and the players are stronger than at Star Sydney, higher rake too... and that isn't a great game either.
Well if you played a whole session then you know everything there is to know about that stake at the casino
Definitely harder than any other cities 2/5 in Oceania
I’m at Crown, the noise is too loud. I get annoyed by the stupid slot machines, but tonight they’ve pumped up the music at the bar. I want a poker room with some separation from other areas rather than open plan.
Melbourne would be prime for a second casino that would do things better than Crown, maybe an actual sports bar that is open most days and where you can’t sit down for a meal, much like the original sports bar here 20+ years ago.
So has anyone played the $200/$400 Limit HOO?
That is, Holden, Omaha, Omaha 8/b.
Not something you see every day.
Oh man I didn’t know that was running, I will have to come in to try play it today. Love O/8
When did you see it running? Maybe it was a one off with F1 in town
Was running Friday and Saturday evening, I think it’s a few Americans over for F1. Playing on Table 30 over in the far corner.
5k min buy-in and which wouldn’t get you far. No red or green chips in that game.
How awesome* is the Sports Bar at Crown? It’s too small and crowded, there’s a support pillar in the middle of the room and the bottom of the screen is obstructed by the drinks counter so you can’t see the score or the clock.
And the less said about the 9-panel screens the better.
*by awesome, I mean ****ing ****
