chgobjpro: How about a "new Empress" report *NM*

[chgobjpro]

[scobee 1]

How about a chgobjpro report every so often?

The 'New Empress' is pretty awful. Nothing like the upgrade we received at the Hollywood. Still 18 tables of blackjack and poor penetration. The motif of the decor is quasi- Olive Garden without the endless salad and breadsticks. They have eliminated the off-site cage and consolidated pits to three. The high limit room usually has a couple of quarter tables, so that is a small blessing. They may or may not return to auto-shufflers but for now all games are hand shuffled. The predominant color scheme is Chicago Theatre marquee orange, and the new dealer uniforms are right out of the Joliet jail. What was once a classy couple of boats is now a look-alike for a small reservation casino. Obviously, on an aesthetic level, I was not impressed. The unique Egyptian theme has been ignored on the new barge, and it looks like any of a hundred other casinos when you walk through the front door. There are some new dealers, but not break-ins. Nobody seems to know what is going to happen next....but that is the Illinois gaming environment now that Blago has nixed expansion for the state. They do have an additional 20,000 square feet of ancilliary barge space if another 800 or so gaming positions are approved by the state legislature. At least one can play in the HL room without the bang and clatter of slots. I was hoping for more.

Bottom line? You can find a bathroom on the main floor and all the tables are new. The ceilings are higher and it may offer some special opportunities since it all came together in a rush. You may ask, "And how does this relate to blackjack?" It is all the same as before, with the dealers still confused as to which slot is the correct one to use in cut card placement. I assume the surveillance has newer technology and the same personnel. The old boats have been leased and may already be sent down the river. I think Argosy must have been thinking that Empress cannot compete with the others, and resigned itself to limited capital improvements for now. How I wish that Jack Binion still owned the place, since he is not afraid to invest in a superior gaming environment to attract customers.

Even the vines on the Roman columns look like they came from K-mart. Where is Martha Stewart when you need her?

scobee