simontrumper (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} simontrumper) wrote,@ 2007-10-17 22:48:00 |
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The details of our hearing and first £500 event .
http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.p
The link above will give you details of our opening weekends £500 event . Seats are limited .
Sorry for not writing sooner but it has been manic since the hearing.
On Monday 24th September we attended Nottingham Magistrates Court , our goal was to be granted a casino license to enable us to open the first legal card room in the UK. There were 3 objectors , Gala casinos, London Clubs International and Stanleys. Just before the opening statements LCI withdrew their objections which obviously was a positive start.
In a hearing like this the applicants job is to prove demand , the objectors job is to undermine your evidence.
Rob and i had attended a hearing a few weeks before and it is normal to have up to 8 witnesses , the applicant in the one we saw had 2 market research companies , an architect , surveyor , company director .
We had just 3 !
Our first witness was Mike Wiseman , he is our compliance officer . He is an ex policeman and last 15 years were with the Gambling Commision . He explained that we would be fully compliant and that in all his years with the GC the letter of support from them was a first.
I went up next and talked about the growth of poker worldwide using statistics from WSOP , WPT , AUSSIE MILLIONS and EPT then referred to European and UK growth eg in 1999 there were 28 festivals , 4 in UK whereas last year there were 110 festivals in Europe , 48 in the UK . I then talked about the unique selling points of DTD and how a club of this size would benefit not only Nottingham but the rest of the UK.
It was clear neither barrister understood poker at all and they tended to back off from confrontation .
Rob was last and talked about the business side of things . As expected the barristers tried to wind him up , talking about the value of a casino license and that he would be tempted to sell and also questioning his lack of experience in gaming . Rob turned their questions on them and started questioning back . not normal court protocol but revealed his passion for Dusk Till Dawn and exasperation at the delays and costs involved.
By 3.30 we were done for the day , the chairmans last comment to Rob was " have you considered extending the building to increase to 70 tables ? " We took this as a good sign .
Tuesday and Stanleys and Gala put their witnesses on the stand , both senior management who basically said their casinos could more than cater for current demand and Dusk Till Dawn would fail commercially leaving Rob no option to turn it into a casino or sell to a rival , we could feel the case levelling out !
The commitee decided they wanted to view Dusk till Dawn and LCI card room as they had seen the other two . Much had been said of the unorthodox route Rob had taken in building the club before securing the license but maybe the club itself would sell the concept .
On arrival we had the 3 commitee members , Gala and Stanley barristers , our barrister Andrew Woods , the 2 managers of Stanleys and Gala and the clerk of the court . Andrew said to only talk if asked a question . As soon as the first question was asked i took the opportunity to cover all the points missed Monday . The reaction was favourable so Andrew indicated to me to show the magistrates round , by the end the balance seemed to be in our favour hardly surprising as the club looks fantastic.
This improved when we visited LCI who clearly dont cater for Poker on a regular basis or level of Dusk Till Dawn, we have 45 tables in a purpose built venue, they have 11 in an entertainment room.
Wednesday came and after closing speeches we had a 3 hour wait.
Finally the commitee returned and the chair said.....
" This is the last application that will be heard by this commitee under the 1968 Gaming Act, had this been an application for a 2005 casino license it would have been denied, however as it is for a 1968 license with a restriction for poker only this committee approves the license " ( by law it beomes a full 2005 casino license within 24 hours )
You could feel the sense of achievement from all the DTD crew , after 2 years Rob had achieved his dream.
We all went back to Robs pub and it took a while to sink in, everyone was totally drained .
Since that day we have set our opening date as 29th November and it has been non stop , i will update more when i can.
All the best
ACES
http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.p
The link above will give you details of our opening weekends £500 event . Seats are limited .
Sorry for not writing sooner but it has been manic since the hearing.
On Monday 24th September we attended Nottingham Magistrates Court , our goal was to be granted a casino license to enable us to open the first legal card room in the UK. There were 3 objectors , Gala casinos, London Clubs International and Stanleys. Just before the opening statements LCI withdrew their objections which obviously was a positive start.
In a hearing like this the applicants job is to prove demand , the objectors job is to undermine your evidence.
Rob and i had attended a hearing a few weeks before and it is normal to have up to 8 witnesses , the applicant in the one we saw had 2 market research companies , an architect , surveyor , company director .
We had just 3 !
Our first witness was Mike Wiseman , he is our compliance officer . He is an ex policeman and last 15 years were with the Gambling Commision . He explained that we would be fully compliant and that in all his years with the GC the letter of support from them was a first.
I went up next and talked about the growth of poker worldwide using statistics from WSOP , WPT , AUSSIE MILLIONS and EPT then referred to European and UK growth eg in 1999 there were 28 festivals , 4 in UK whereas last year there were 110 festivals in Europe , 48 in the UK . I then talked about the unique selling points of DTD and how a club of this size would benefit not only Nottingham but the rest of the UK.
It was clear neither barrister understood poker at all and they tended to back off from confrontation .
Rob was last and talked about the business side of things . As expected the barristers tried to wind him up , talking about the value of a casino license and that he would be tempted to sell and also questioning his lack of experience in gaming . Rob turned their questions on them and started questioning back . not normal court protocol but revealed his passion for Dusk Till Dawn and exasperation at the delays and costs involved.
By 3.30 we were done for the day , the chairmans last comment to Rob was " have you considered extending the building to increase to 70 tables ? " We took this as a good sign .
Tuesday and Stanleys and Gala put their witnesses on the stand , both senior management who basically said their casinos could more than cater for current demand and Dusk Till Dawn would fail commercially leaving Rob no option to turn it into a casino or sell to a rival , we could feel the case levelling out !
The commitee decided they wanted to view Dusk till Dawn and LCI card room as they had seen the other two . Much had been said of the unorthodox route Rob had taken in building the club before securing the license but maybe the club itself would sell the concept .
On arrival we had the 3 commitee members , Gala and Stanley barristers , our barrister Andrew Woods , the 2 managers of Stanleys and Gala and the clerk of the court . Andrew said to only talk if asked a question . As soon as the first question was asked i took the opportunity to cover all the points missed Monday . The reaction was favourable so Andrew indicated to me to show the magistrates round , by the end the balance seemed to be in our favour hardly surprising as the club looks fantastic.
This improved when we visited LCI who clearly dont cater for Poker on a regular basis or level of Dusk Till Dawn, we have 45 tables in a purpose built venue, they have 11 in an entertainment room.
Wednesday came and after closing speeches we had a 3 hour wait.
Finally the commitee returned and the chair said.....
" This is the last application that will be heard by this commitee under the 1968 Gaming Act, had this been an application for a 2005 casino license it would have been denied, however as it is for a 1968 license with a restriction for poker only this committee approves the license " ( by law it beomes a full 2005 casino license within 24 hours )
You could feel the sense of achievement from all the DTD crew , after 2 years Rob had achieved his dream.
We all went back to Robs pub and it took a while to sink in, everyone was totally drained .
Since that day we have set our opening date as 29th November and it has been non stop , i will update more when i can.
All the best
ACES
