BCAPL's move?

[CocoboloCowboy]

$2 craps is getting hard to find. Is that $2 table at the Rio? Hope so. Very curious what the rooms may be renting for. I always enjoyed the Riv, except for the food. Katys used to be okay, but they went downhill the last few years.

Cheap Table Games are still downtown in Sin City, you can drive like a silver bullet from the RIO to Downtown avoiding the Strip Traffic in a few minute, or take CAB if you left your personal wheels at home.

The last time I was at the RIO that place was packed at night so they do not need $2.00 Table Games to attract customers IMHO.

The Strip is just a short walk from the RIO that will not kill anyone, so on the Strip you can ride the BUS Downtown for a very air FARE.

 

[TimKrazyMon]

Mark, I think this is a great idea. The Riv bashing is going a little too far. Sure the rooms were pricey, but the service was always decent in my experience. Willie, i do feel ya about the Peppermill, best eats in Vegas for the $$. My only complaint is the Rio is off the strip, but having been in the Rio before, I don't think they could've found a place much better.

The Age of Riviera is at a close, welcome to the Age of Rio.

 

[ironman]

Sorry but the Riveria is a DUMP like Circus Circus, and if you had a Players Card from most of the BETTER CASINOS you could get a BED BUG FREE ROOM for less money than the Riveria, or the Circus.

Last time we at the Riveria we went to where the BCAPL thing was armed with a bottle of H2O from outside the Riveria. The Door NAZI's said NO OUT SIDE DRINKS, so we guzzled the Water, and went in only to find Water on TAP with Cups for FREE.

That was our last trip to Sin City about 3 or 4 years ago. Not planning on going back to Sin City.

WOW what a crappy send off you offer. you imply the place is a dump which it is not.
From all your past posts, I would think that free water would have kept you happy for endless days and nights??

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

$2 craps is getting hard to find. Is that $2 table at the Rio? Hope so. Very curious what the rooms may be renting for. I always enjoyed the Riv, except for the food. Katys used to be okay, but they went downhill the last few years.

No, definitely not at the Rio, across the street at the Gold Coast. Essentially the GC will serve the same purpose as CC did in relation to the Riv - cheap hotel rooms and low stakes table games directly across the street from the venue. That is unless the GC has gotten a major facelift and gone upscale in the last few years as I haven't been in there in a while. I doubt it has seeing as it is a Boyd Gaming property and they are typically lower tier casinos catering more to locals and budget minded folks. It may have gotten a little more expensive as a result of the Rio's success and expansions and the Palm opening up in that area, but it still should provide a low cost alternative.

 

[FastManners]

Nice move

Great move. I hear that the Rio is a pretty good hotel.
I will be sad to leave The Riv, CC and most importantly The Peppermill behind. They have all done a great job in making us feel welcome over the years, however it seems likes an exciting move to to The Rio that could persuade some of those who have abandoned this pool extravaganza to return.

Nice work.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

WOW what a crappy send off you offer. you imply the place is a dump which it is not.
From all your past posts, I would think that free water would have kept you happy for endless days and nights??

Think you missed the point, and that was we had (2) Sealed Bottles of H20, and were told by the Door Nizi sorry no outside drinks.

We walk how far in the heat to get to the Riveria. After we drank our bottle Water, we go inside, and see Containers of Water & Cups. MAKES ZERO SENSE to me?

But the bottom line is when I travel I do not stay in DUMPS, IMHO both the Circus Circus & Rivera Property are DUMPS. The rooms are run down, the linen are poor quality, and the properties are in a bad state of repair. But maybe they CATER to a class of guests a couple of steps above HOMELESS. Is that their target market?

Last trip to Sin City we stay at Paris Paris, and the room was under $50.00 a night because of PLAYERS POINTS. So why stay in a Dump, when a nice clean, well kept property is only a few buck more than a DUMP. Maybe it is the conivence of not have to walk a few hundred yards.

IMHO the BCAPL should have found a new home for their EVENT years ago, only because what CASINO with a nice big room would not have want to host an event that brought how many thousand potential gambles threw their doors during the course the the BCAPL EVENT.

 

[Island Drive]

Change is good, can't please everyone, but if anyone can put this situation in to the right perspective is Mark Gr. and company. Good job....with this economy, I hope the numbers you were able to achieve with the Casino will keep you there for another 1/4 century.

 

[asiasdad]

The Rio has a great breakfast buffet for the non nits,
gives the Peppermill the 7.

 

[lfigueroa]

But the bottom line is when I travel I do not stay in DUMPS, IMHO both the Circus Circus & Rivera Property are DUMPS. The rooms are run down, the linen are poor quality, and the properties are in a bad state of repair. But maybe they CATER to a class of guests a couple of steps above HOMELESS. Is that their target market?

Last trip to Sin City we stay at Paris Paris, and the room was under $50.00 a night because of PLAYERS POINTS. So why stay in a Dump, when a nice clean, well kept property is only a few buck more than a DUMP. Maybe it is the conivence of not have to walk a few hundred yards.

I like to stay at nice places too when I travel and have stayed at many of the major properties in Vegas like MGM, Mandalay Bay, Venetian, Planet Hollywood, Caesars, Rio, Paris, Mirage, and Golden Nugget. I stayed at the Riv two years ago for the 10Ball Open and thought the room was very nice, probably just as nice as The Paris, so I think you're out of line as far as that goes. Has the property seen better days? No doubt. Is it OK for a pool tournament? Sure. It's not exactly like we're all members of The Royal Family or something.

Lou Figueroa

 

[gutshot]

Lou, You must have stayed in the high roller suite to be comaring the Riv to one of those other properties. Of the 14 times I have been to Vegas for either pool tournaments or a getaway, 9 of those were stays at the Riv. Not one of those times did I have a enjoyable experience. Most of the times the rooms were not clean and I had to change rooms multple times to get even a decent one that was even close to a Motel 6 quality. The room service sucked, key cards swiper rarely worked, safe was locked and they couldn't get it open. I could go on for days about the room quality.
Add the staff being downright rude and always in a pissy mood and I'll never give that casino another penny of mine.

I am totally with Coco on this. I can stay at a much nicer casino for half of what the Riveira charges pool players. Maybe they treaded the BCA like gold to get their business, as they should, but use the money they are making to upgrade their casino in a positive way.

That being said, I applaud the BCA for making a move. They run the best national tournament on the planet hands down and may finally get a venue that will be just as good as the tournament they run. It is a much needed change and a long time coming.

Kelly

I like to stay at nice places too when I travel and have stayed at many of the major properties in Vegas like MGM, Mandalay Bay, Venetian, Planet Hollywood, Caesars, Rio, Paris, Mirage, and Golden Nugget. I stayed at the Riv two years ago for the 10Ball Open and thought the room was very nice, probably just as nice as The Paris, so I think you're out of line as far as that goes. Has the property seen better days? No doubt. Is it OK for a pool tournament? Sure. It's not exactly like we're all members of The Royal Family or something.

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

Lou, You must have stayed in the high roller suite to be comaring the Riv to one of those other properties. Of the 14 times I have been to Vegas for either pool tournaments or a getaway, 9 of those were stays at the Riv. Not one of those times did I have a enjoyable experience. Most of the times the rooms were not clean and I had to change rooms multple times to get even a decent one that was even close to a Motel 6 quality. The room service sucked, key cards swiper rarely worked, safe was locked and they couldn't get it open. I could go on for days about the room quality.
Add the staff being downright rude and always in a pissy mood and I'll never give that casino another penny of mine.

I am totally with Coco on this. I can stay at a much nicer casino for half of what the Riveira charges pool players. Maybe they treaded the BCA like gold to get their business, as they should, but use the money they are making to upgrade their casino in a positive way.

That being said, I applaud the BCA for making a move. They run the best national tournament on the planet hands down and may finally get a venue that will be just as good as the tournament they run. It is a much needed change and a long time coming.

Kelly

No, I wasn't comparing my room at The Riv to all them joints, just my room at The Paris, which I found to be very small, overpriced, and had old worn out linens and bed spread. But your comment brings up a good point: at any of these large properties there are always different buildings and towers, and at any given time, they are probably under different stages of renovation or at least sprucing up. And, we all look for different thing in a hotel and have different experiences with the staff. My one experience with The Riv was a polite smooth check in and an updated, clean, comfortable, quiet room for a week. It wasn't a high roller suite, just a decent hotel room.

Lou Figueroa

 

[504boi]

They are not really dumps CC. They are just a couple of the older hotels on the strip. The Riv has put a lot of effort into providing a great venue for the VNEA, BCAPL etc for many years. Its kind of disrespectful to call the Riv a dump after all they provided.

I stayed at the Circus the first time I went to Vegas. I didn't go there to sleep. The Air con worked, the bed was very comfy, the water was hot and the towels were clean. What more do you want when you are in the room for 5 to 6 hrs a day tops? I guess it doesn't take much to make me a happy camper after years of eating and showering in truck stops and sleeping in the sleeper of my truck.

I didn't bring home any scabies or bed bugs. But I did bring home some nice pictures and great memories of my first pool trip.

Couldn't agree more. Your in Vegas, sleep is overrated LOL.

 

[504boi]

While I think overall the move will be GREAT (definitely a step up, but I didn't mind the Riviera); no one has mentioned the absolute worst thing that there is no hope of fixing - WE CAN'T WALK TO THE PEPPERMILL FROM THE RIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the Peppermill

Dayyummm. I didn't think about that. I'm having visions of the mountain size nachos.

 

[IbeAnEngineer]

The thing about the move that I really like is the change in the date. I also play VNEA and having two tournaments within a months time frame plays havoc on my work and family schedule. Over the past couple of years I have held off playing in the singles events in both tournaments because of time constraints.
Now, I can play in both tournaments and not have to juggle my schedule as much. With BCA moving to the Rio and VNEA playing at Ballys there will be a nice change of scenery also.

 

[Mickey Qualls]

....... My one experience with The Riv was a polite smooth check in and an updated, clean, comfortable, quiet room for a week. It wasn't a high roller suite, just a decent hotel room.

Lou Figueroa

I never had any issues with the Riviera, and I've been multiple times.

The last few times, a teammate and I stayed in the same room, so it esentially cost us each $40 (when the BCA rate was $80). At that price, it was definetly worth staying at the Riv.
I think Circus Circus can still be had for around $45, but you still have to hike through the properties to get to the Riviera ballrooms. The Sahara (when it was open) was around the same, and Algiers (used to be next door to the Riv) was about $50 a night.
It's usually worth staying at the venu where the tournament is (in this case the Riviera). If you can split the cost of the room with someone, then that's even better.
Sure, there are places you can rent a room for $22 a night. But it depends on where they are in relation to the venu. What's your time worth ?

For me, the extra cost on the room at the venu outweighs the distance of another hotel, especially when you factor in having to ride back and forth on the Deuce every 90 minutes, or rent a car and drive in Vegas traffic (AND pay for parking), or have to catch a cab to get to my next match.

Just my $.02.......

 

[IbeAnEngineer]

Dayyummm. I didn't think about that. I'm having visions of the mountain size nachos.

Reading this reminds me of the time one of the girls in our group (who had never been there before) ordered an ice-cream sunday. They brought out enough for 6.

 

[onepocketron]

Reading this reminds me of the time one of the girls in our group (who had never been there before) ordered an ice-cream sunday. They brought out enough for 6.

Yea, I've eaten that before. Think the name of the place was Katyz or something like that. They didn't have it this year. I used to go there just for the sunday. bummer.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

I never had any issues with the Riviera, and I've been multiple times.

The last few times, a teammate and I stayed in the same room, so it esentially cost us each $40 (when the BCA rate was $80). At that price, it was definetly worth staying at the Riv.
I think Circus Circus can still be had for around $45, but you still have to hike through the properties to get to the Riviera ballrooms. The Sahara (when it was open) was around the same, and Algiers (used to be next door to the Riv) was about $50 a night.
It's usually worth staying at the venu where the tournament is (in this case the Riviera). If you can split the cost of the room with someone, then that's even better.
Sure, there are places you can rent a room for $22 a night. But it depends on where they are in relation to the venu. What's your time worth ?

For me, the extra cost on the room at the venu outweighs the distance of another hotel, especially when you factor in having to ride back and forth on the Deuce every 90 minutes, or rent a car and drive in Vegas traffic (AND pay for parking), or have to catch a cab to get to my next match.

Just my $.02.......

I agree it is way more convenient to stay at the host hotel. And with this change to the Rio there should be no more complaints about the place being dumpy or about crappy rooms. That being said though, it is reasonable that the host hotel will get a premium for its rooms over that which similar hotels in their class are getting that don't have their own event filling their properties at the same time. Also, the Rio is a nicer hotel than the Riv. We've yet to see what the room rates are going to be and I would be pleasantly surprised if they compare with what the Riv has been charging. I predict there will be threads about the outrageous rates the Rio is asking no matter what they are - so it is with pool players.

I am also sensitive to the fact that many pool players do this trip on a budget and we are not talking about a 2-night weekend stay in most cases but 7+ day stay (2 weeks if playing in singles and teams). So a cheap hotel room makes the difference of even being able to afford the trip. BTW, this includes many pros who could be seen making the walk back and forth from their rooms at Circus Circus to the Riv for their tournament. Fortunately the Gold Coast provides this and it's right across the street from the Rio. I'm sure they will get significant overflow business and I imagine the proximity of cheap hotel rooms was a consideration for CSI.

 

[Papa Red]

Fairwell Super Seniors

I agree the change is way over due, but for us seniors on social security 2012 will be the last for most of us. I started playing BCA in 1986 and went to my first BCA Nationals in Denver, CO. 1989 and still going. I commend Mark and the CSI staff on what they have done for pool. I for one go and stay from start to finish of the Nationals and play in every event I can and watch a lot of good pool playing. The room rate will more than likely be at the top end of the under $100 a night which is out of range for most of us seniors (eagerly awaiting the price). The last two years me and my wife have stayed at the Circus Circus because even with players card at the Rivera we stayed at CC for the twelve day for under $600. My wife looked on the Rio site and they do not give senior rates where the CC gives about 20%. Just waiting to see the final word.

 

[Celtic]

Last trip to Sin City we stay at Paris Paris, and the room was under $50.00 a night because of PLAYERS POINTS. So why stay in a Dump, when a nice clean, well kept property is only a few buck more than a DUMP. Maybe it is the conivence of not have to walk a few hundred yards.

Meh, last time I was in Vegas was 2 1/2 years ago and I went into Paris and was less then impressed with the place. It has an amazing location, it has reasonalbly cool architechture and a theme, but the place was quite dirty with empty glasses sitting on ledges on walls, trash on the floor, and very few people in the place...

If I am staying in that area of the Strip and trying to do it a little cheaper then Bellagio I will normally look at the Flamingo.

The Riviera is not so much a dump as just tremendously outdated. Vegas has totally passed by the Riv with it's small casino, multiple small touwers, and extremely tiny and boring pool. The Riv unlike more Vegas casinos has no theme at all. If they actually used the casino's name and built the place around a tropical paradice theme they might have had a chance, but that is new Vegas, not old, and old is simply getting killed.

For a true dump the last time I was in Vegas The Luxor shocked the crap out of me, that place is absolutely gross. Most of the retail is vacant, there were skids sleeping on benches, the place was an absolute mess and dirty as hell, half of the attractions were closed, it was bloody depressing, the place is being totally run down into the ground. They need new management in there and a very strong push to rejuvinate that casino with a major facelift/reno because right now it is simply brutal.