Casino Matrix Vs Bay 101

Sam Liccardo held a press conference Wednesday calling on the South Bay Labor Council and San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce to return political contributions received from the city's two card clubs. The San Jose councilman and mayoral candidate was joined by former Mayor Tom McEnery and Councilmember David Pandori.

Prior to the pandemic, Bay 101 and Casino Matrix were expected to generate $18.9 million for the city in tax revenue. But forced closures have caused a $13.5 million hit to that tax base. Casino at Bay 101 Perhaps the biggest advantage to playing at Bay 101 vs. One of your other options in the area is found in the large amount of tables and dealers. Some of the local rooms are suffocated by the amount of tables that they are allowed to offer.

Casino M8trix and Bay 101 are prohibited from directly giving money to political candidates, but they can contribute to entities that support initiatives and candidates. In the current election cycle, both casinos gave $25,000 apiece to the South Bay Labor Council's Committee on Political Education (COPE). M8trix also gave $2,000 to the chamber's political action committee (PAC).

'These efforts violate the spirit of the law and need to stop now,” Liccardo said in a statement.

Last week, M8trix was accused of playing a $119 million shell game to avoid paying taxes to the city and contributing money to a local nonprofit's anti-gambling outreach efforts. The allegations appear to be a motivating factor for today's press conference.

“We’ve long known that card clubs try to influence elections and government decision-making,' Liccardo said. 'That’s why the city banned direct contributions from card clubs to candidates. Now we know that one of the biggest clubs is actively under investigation and that both Casino M8trix and Bay 101 have tried to get around the city’s ban by donating indirectly through political groups. These efforts violate the spirit of the law and need to stop now.”

Liccardo has been bullish since accusations against M8trix went public, but he may have jumped the gun in suggesting the casino should be shut down within 30 days if it doesn't pay restitution for money allegedly withheld. With the accusations still being just that—although they don't look good—not everyone is on board. Councilman Pete Constant called Liccardo's proposal 'wholly inappropriate' and a stunt for the mayor's race.

Digging into the details there's a few things worth noting here:

1. Liccardo is running for mayor and the SBLC's committee supports county Supervisor Dave Cortese's bid for the seat. This isn't a secret, but it obviously plays into Liccardo's decision to demand $50,000 be returned. The money given to the chamber is paltry by comparison. But...

2. The chamber could be on the hook for far more than just $2,000 if the demand to recall all casino campaign contributions goes back further than just a few months. A source with knowledge of M8trix's political activity told San Jose Inside that the card club has given $135,500 to the chamber since 2009. The attorney general's allegations against the casino cover the time period of 2009-2013.

Should those contributions be out of bounds as well?

While the chamber hasn't endorsed anyone, it supports ABC (anyone but Cortese) candidates. Assuming Cortese makes it through the primary, the chamber would absolutely endorse Liccardo if he advanced to the runoff. Liccardo's demand that the chamber PAC return $2,000 could rub some folks the wrong way, but calling on more than $135,000 to be returned would certainly rub them raw. (Clarification: Campaign disclosure forms show that $11,000 was given to the PAC from 2010 through 2013. According to a source, $124,500 went directly to the chamber during this same time period. One could argue this money still has political ramifications.)

More than likely, though, neither the chamber nor the SBLC will return the money, as they are under no obligation and such a precedent could be a slippery slope.

The following is a recent breakdown of the more recent political contributions made by San Jose card clubs, according to the Liccardo campaign:

• On March 7, 2014, Casino M8trix donated $1000 to the San José Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. Source: CA Form 460, Recipient Committee Campaign Statement, filed 3/20/14
• On April 4, 2014, Casino M8trix donated $25,000 to the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Committee on Political Education (COPE). Source: CA Form 496, Independent Expenditure Report, filed 4/10/14
• On April 11, 2014, Bay 101 donated $25,000 to the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Committee on Political Education (COPE). Source: CA Form 496, Independent Expenditure Report, filed 4/11/14
• On May 15, 2014, Casino M8trix donated $1000 to the San José Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. Source: CA Form 496, Independent Expenditure Report, filed 5/16/14

Bay 101 is a casino that is much older than many would expect. While it is in an entirely different location today, the casino was originally opened in 1929. In recent years there has been a lot of news and development at Bay 101. If you are a poker player, you likely recognize it best as the host of the Shooting Star WPT Event, but the casino has a large offering of table games as well, though they charge fees which make it difficult to win.

Bay 101 is also well known as the direct competitor of M8trix Casino which sits directly across the street. In recent years, the competition between the two has helped to increase the overall landscape of the card room scene in the Bay Area as a whole. Other local competition for Bay 101 most notably includes Lucky Chances, though it is around a 40 minute drive.

There are a number of big changes coming to Bay 101 in the near future. With its lease ending, Bay 101 was forced in 2015 to find a new location for its sprawling property. Though it is not yet live, plans have been released by the casino for their new building. If M8trix is any indication, the odds are that the new casino will have a very modern and high end focus, especially as the competition for customers in the area intensifies more and more each year.

Casino at Bay 101

Perhaps the biggest advantage to playing at Bay 101 vs. one of your other options in the area is found in the large amount of tables and dealers. Some of the local rooms are suffocated by the amount of tables that they are allowed to offer. These are due to gaming regulations, as the rooms undoubtedly would be adding more tables if they were allowed to. With that said, Bay 101 does have a very significant amount of both poker and gaming tables. This means that you will be able to more easily get a seat in the game of your choice, whether that is a house game or in the poker room.

Rules at Bay 101

Casino Matrix Vs Bay 101 Live

The rules at Bay 101 are California rules. These vary from what you will find at Indian casinos where slots, craps and roulette are allowed. Bay 101 is required to charge a fee per wager made for all of the table games that are offered, which include blackjack, baccarat, pai gow, and 4 card poker. This makes playing table games very disadvantageous for the player.

Atmosphere & Entertainment

The atmosphere at Bay 101 may be its biggest downside. There seems to be a generally flat and boring feel at Bay 101 which never seems to really go away. When you go to M8trix, for example, you will encounter an exciting, upbeat, and active environment. At Bay 101, however, there is no music playing and the clientele can frequently be found in a less than stellar mood. This may go hand in hand with the age of the room itself, as it has been around for many decades at this point.

Nevertheless, Bay 101 is much more of a card room and poker room than it is an actual entertainment destination. We would not recommend this casino as the place to bring your friends if you are hoping to have a good time. If you are a poker player, then yes, the casino is a good fit, but it can not exactly be described as exciting.

Poker at Bay 101

As many poker players know, the Shooting Star event on the World Poker Tour is one of the most popular, year in and year out, and it is hosted at Bay 101. The event takes place around early March, with a handful of preliminary events accompanying the main event. Likely due to the WPT events, Bay 101 has become the go to poker room for tournament players in the Bay Area. Every time you visit Bay 101, you will likely find a poker tournament running. Whether you are looking for a low limit, daily event, or a larger buy in tournament, Bay 101 is your best bet.

Cash Games

In terms of cash games, Bay 101 is around the middle of the road relative to the competition. For the most part, the biggest games running are 2/3/5 No Limit. The staple of Bay 101, however, is Limit Texas Holdem. This is a game that has been dying slowly since the poker boom of 2002-2004, but this room is one of the last remaining places where you can find consistent action at higher limits. 40/80 and larger games can frequently be found running and players can jump in with ease.

In terms of No Limit games, 2/3/5 runs with a $500 max buy in, but a 2/3/5 deep variant also exists with a $2,000 max buy in. Often times this deep game will end up running with a straddle, which turns it into a 2/3/5/10 game. Yes, that is a lot of blinds, and it is a bit much. It would be preferable for the game to run simply as 5/10, but California rooms instead tend to adopt the 3 blind format.

The floor and management of Bay 101 may be its biggest downfall. Some of the staff seems to be “tenured” and does not particularly care about running a fair and efficient room. There have been many instances where the floor has expressed an outright disinterest in making a situation right, or figuring out what the right ruling is. Unfortunately this is the case at many rooms around the world, and it would be unfair to say that Bay 101 is “the worst,” or anything near it, but they can certainly use some improvement.

Dining and Bars at Bay 101

Casino Matrix Vs Bay 101 Dalmatians

Food and drink is not an area where Bay 101 excels. The pricing on tableside food is a bit high, and the bar is very slow and struggles to operate smoothly. You should not go to the bar (located next to the high limit room) unless you have some time to spare. The bar also has a bit of a dated, musty, and well, bar feel to it. Needless to say, the smell of Coors Light stuck to the floor is not terribly enticing.

There is a cafe available in addition to the bar food, but again, it is very average. There is a lot of food available nearby, so if you are looking for something closer to the lines of fine dining, we would suggest taking a short ride, as there are many better options in San Jose.

Other Bay 101 Notes

Alcohol is never given away for free at Bay 101 per California casino rules. With that said, the pricing for drinks is relatively fair, and they do run specials from time to time, so we would encourage you to ask what discounts may be available.

There is currently not a hotel on site at Bay 101. There is some speculation that the new casino location will also include a hotel, but this is not yet confirmed. If you are looking to stay in the area, San Jose does have a number of hotels available.

Casino Matrix Vs Bay 101 Plus