Capitol Casino Review
Just a mile or two north of the capitol building itself, on the north edge of town.
Games
Limit hold 'em: 3/6, 4/8, 9/18. 12/24 on Friday and Saturday nights only. All games play with a half kill (on 3/6, it's a 1/3 kill and goes to 4/8 when the kill is triggered). Strangely, when the kill is triggered, the killer does not post a kill blind preflop and can choose to fold after the deal, without cost. The killer also acts in turn.
A very nice card club that seems to stay fairly busy, and seems to have active games at all three standard limits they offer, at all times. They seem to maintain a must move list for 4/8 and 9/18 games only.
The cards are large index (June 2006) and somewhat harder to peek at by just lifting a corner. Very easy to see the board from any seat for those with vision problems.
The rake is $3+$1 jackpot for 6-9 players, $2+$1 for 4-5 players, and $2+$0 for 2-3 players. The rake is taken from the blinds before the flop. No flop, no drop.
Blinds on the 3/6 are 3/1 (small blind posts $1; big blind posts $3). On the 4/8, blinds are 4/2. On the 9/18, blinds are 9/3. All blinds are live.
Posting: New players need not post, may wait for the button to pass.
Shuffling: Shufflemaster machines are standard on all tables.
Wait Time: Wait times vary greatly. The 1st & 15th of the month are especially busy. It's not uncommon to wait 3 hours or more for a 9/18 game. 4/8 can be nearly as bad, but the 3/6 list is usually the shortest. Depending on the night, a seat may be open or you may wait an hour. Average wait time is 20 minutes. You can call ahead and reserve a place on the list for 9/18 and 12/24 games, but not for the lower limits.
The brush board is computerized (and against a wall, not obvious to see it at first), but is not projected on a wall or screen; it's just a normal 17" computer screen.
[edit] Tournaments
* Sunday, 11:00 am: NLHE $50+$10, signup starting at 9am.
Jackpots and Promotions
* Big Bad Beat Jackpot: Quad 8's or better beaten: Progressive (+$5,000/day, $100,000 max)
* Small Bad Beat Jackpot: AAAJJ or better beaten by quads or better, $7700 (Feb 06).
* Royal Flush Bonus: progressive by suit. All suits were around $300 each in Feb 06.
* High hand in each "shift" (every 8-hour period is another shift) wins $200. Aces full qualifies.
* Aces Cracked Bonus: lose with pocket aces and win $35, so long as the Big Jackpot is maxed out at $100k.
Atmosphere
Extremely nice looking interior. A connected cafe features tables where you can watch TV and order a meal while waiting for a table. A literal side rail with chairs and tables on the outside let you also sit alongside the action and watch or wait for your turn. Downright fancy in decor, upscale bathrooms, etc. Very very nice. If they offered any games other than Limit hold 'em, they would be a 3-chip casino for sure.
They have a separate room (connected only via a hallway) where Asian games are played (Pai Gow, double-hand poker, and "Coming Soon! 21st Century Blackjack" stated the sign on the BJ table), which is also very nice. A tasteful sign declares that to be the "Dragon Room".
Smoking: No smoking at the tables or in the main room, but they actually have a separate indoor closed smoking lounge, so you don't have to go outside to smoke. This is a rarity in California, where smoking indoors in most businesses is banned.
Neighborhood: A businessy area that looked relatively clean. 16th street turns into a highway about two blocks north of here, so the city and businesses are petering out and the area is beginning to turn into a freeway entrance. Not unsafe, but a bit odd in terms of navigating.
Parking: A few spaces behind the building, but about 50 spaces in a largish lot on the North side. Additional parking at Big Al's furniture, right before the building (the exterior shot of Capitol Casino on the page was taken standing next to Big Al's Furniture)
Tables and Chairs: Standard 9-player tables with a foot rail. Worn but nice felt and padding. Chairs are interesting stiff-backed metal-frame chairs that look standard, except they have easy-rolling wheels on them, making it very easy to get in and out of them.
Service and Comps
A full menu (with both American classics as well as a lot of Asian and Mexican dishes) and bar service available. The food was very good, but not cheap. You can eat at the table; they wheel out one of two sizes of tray table to you and you can munch away as you play. Coffee and Iced Tea is free (minus a toke for the server); sodas and bottle water are a dollar.
Servers themselves, and porters are generally responsive but can at times be hard to locate. The floor will call service for you when you ask.
Artist/Author: PokerWiki April 8, 2007 | |
