Let’s Bring DJ Back!
Let’s Bring DJ Back!
The Issue
To all those who love the spirit of fair games at Commerce Casino, we have a story to share. Over 20 years ago, an outstanding, good-spirited person named DJ began his journey in the world of poker, here, at Commerce. His journey saw him move from being an excellent dealer, to become a knowledgeable tournament dealer trainer, eventually ascending to the position of Tournament Director – a position that he earned through his hard work, dedication, and sheer honesty.
DJ's unique blend of organization and care for the players is unparalleled. It's been highlighted in the way he coordinates games, by how effectively he responds to feedback, and most importantly, in the ways in which he ensures that player's needs are prioritized. These qualities are a testament to his passion for the sport, and the dedication towards those who share this passion.
In 2022 DJ was paid an hourly rate, he was getting overtime and double time for his hard work. That year he ended up making a decent salary. He was very pleased with this salary and it was worth the long days staying up to date with planning everything. In 2023, they lowered his salary significantly, for the same amount of work. He took the pay cut to see if there were any bonuses, there weren’t. Now in 2024, there was a big management change. If you like the WSOP Circuit in Commerce, you can thank DJ for that, because he’s the sole person who made that happen. Commerce Casino rewarded him by cutting his pay even lower.. DJ was not going to kill himself, being away from his family on these big series for that salary. DJ deserves what he was paid for in 2023 because he’s worth it.
The new staff does not know the tournament players and what they want. Commerce paid a massive amount of money for the WSOP CIRCUIT and could have easily paid DJ his desired salary, but instead they hired 3 more people to do his job.
The new administration is not organized and have no ideas about rules and procedures. They had an advertisement on Bravo Poker Live for the longest time and there wasn’t even the name of the casino on the advertisement. The Commerce Holdem Series is a disaster this year. First they weren’t going to have it, so naturally Hawaiian Gardens jumped at the opportunity and decided to hold their series. On a side note, if DJ is not hired at Commerce Casino, he will most likely go to Hawaiian Gardens or another competitor casino. That would be a disaster for Commerce Casino Tournaments. Anyways, after the Gardens announced their tournament schedule, Commerce decided after all to have their series! Now there’s going to be two tournament series at the same time. The current administration does not have the ability to create a schedule or their structures.
September 5, 2024 Commerce Holdem Series results:
11 am Mix game HEROS 42 players
12 NL Mystery Bounty 28 players
4 pm NL Mystery Bounty 23 plus
4 pm NL Deepstack 36 players
At one point, Commerce Casino didn’t care that tournament series were held in the main poker room. That was the worst series ever by far. Noisy, security guards with their beeping boxes rolling by the tables, and sitting at weird cash tables for tournaments. It was a mess. DJ brought the series back into the beautiful ballroom.
DJ created the beloved mixed game Horse to Heros Event, which was a great success. DJ brought back food vouchers to the players because he cares about the players.
As of Thursday 8/15/2024, Commerce Casino has posted the position for tournament manager. It’s a good entry level salary. But for the good experienced tournament directors it is too low. To put that salary into perspective, the tournament floor men make more than that. The new tournament director is going to work so much harder than the seasoned floormen and get paid less as well as not being able to accept tips. It’s a salary/management position. Commerce Casino takes a loyal employee who has worked there 20+ years, and once his salary gets too big, they throw him away and get a new cheaper guy. This is how Commerce Casino rewards their loyal employees. On a side note, Commerce Casino screwed all their dealers by making them all part-time, which benefits Commerce Casino by denying them benefits as well as much needed hours. Many of the high quality dealers left Commerce because of this.
Commerce Casino has violated many GEGA codes and can be fined by the Department of Justice. DJ has vast knowledge of these codes where I believe the new Tournament Manager may not. One simple violation Commerce overlooks is that they never label the name of the game on the table. So simple, yet they can be fined for not doing this simple task.
DJ created the events, stayed 12-18 hours and on top of that got no part of the tip pool. Whether the tournament had 100 players or 1,000, he got paid the same and there was no incentive to do better. When they kept lowering his salary, he wanted to go back down to floorman but that position wasn’t available.
Despite his outstanding record and the significant impact he had on the playing community, DJ had to resign due to being underpaid for his hard work. This underpayment stands to mar the legacy of what DJ has created at Commerce. This petition calls upon the Commerce Casino management to reconsider their salary amount to DJ, with the understanding of the integral role DJ has played in shaping the respected position Commerce Casino holds today. Sign this petition to voice your support for DJ's reinstatement as Tournament Director at Commerce Casino. Let's stand together for justice, fairness, and the shared love of the game.
CALL TO ACTION:
If you also feel strongly about this you can:
- e-mail the managers
Jonathan Ing: j.ing@commercecasino.net
Jeff Harris: j.harris@commercecasino.com
Kym Sleezer: k.sleezer@commercecasino.net
2. Yelp Commerce Casino
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-commerce-casino-and-hotel-commerce-3
3. Message the casino directly
https://www.commercehotella.com/contact
4. Share this petition on social media: instagram, tik tok, snap chat, facebook
https://www.change.org/p/let-s-bring-dj-back
4
The Issue
To all those who love the spirit of fair games at Commerce Casino, we have a story to share. Over 20 years ago, an outstanding, good-spirited person named DJ began his journey in the world of poker, here, at Commerce. His journey saw him move from being an excellent dealer, to become a knowledgeable tournament dealer trainer, eventually ascending to the position of Tournament Director – a position that he earned through his hard work, dedication, and sheer honesty.
DJ's unique blend of organization and care for the players is unparalleled. It's been highlighted in the way he coordinates games, by how effectively he responds to feedback, and most importantly, in the ways in which he ensures that player's needs are prioritized. These qualities are a testament to his passion for the sport, and the dedication towards those who share this passion.
In 2022 DJ was paid an hourly rate, he was getting overtime and double time for his hard work. That year he ended up making a decent salary. He was very pleased with this salary and it was worth the long days staying up to date with planning everything. In 2023, they lowered his salary significantly, for the same amount of work. He took the pay cut to see if there were any bonuses, there weren’t. Now in 2024, there was a big management change. If you like the WSOP Circuit in Commerce, you can thank DJ for that, because he’s the sole person who made that happen. Commerce Casino rewarded him by cutting his pay even lower.. DJ was not going to kill himself, being away from his family on these big series for that salary. DJ deserves what he was paid for in 2023 because he’s worth it.
The new staff does not know the tournament players and what they want. Commerce paid a massive amount of money for the WSOP CIRCUIT and could have easily paid DJ his desired salary, but instead they hired 3 more people to do his job.
The new administration is not organized and have no ideas about rules and procedures. They had an advertisement on Bravo Poker Live for the longest time and there wasn’t even the name of the casino on the advertisement. The Commerce Holdem Series is a disaster this year. First they weren’t going to have it, so naturally Hawaiian Gardens jumped at the opportunity and decided to hold their series. On a side note, if DJ is not hired at Commerce Casino, he will most likely go to Hawaiian Gardens or another competitor casino. That would be a disaster for Commerce Casino Tournaments. Anyways, after the Gardens announced their tournament schedule, Commerce decided after all to have their series! Now there’s going to be two tournament series at the same time. The current administration does not have the ability to create a schedule or their structures.
September 5, 2024 Commerce Holdem Series results:
11 am Mix game HEROS 42 players
12 NL Mystery Bounty 28 players
4 pm NL Mystery Bounty 23 plus
4 pm NL Deepstack 36 players
At one point, Commerce Casino didn’t care that tournament series were held in the main poker room. That was the worst series ever by far. Noisy, security guards with their beeping boxes rolling by the tables, and sitting at weird cash tables for tournaments. It was a mess. DJ brought the series back into the beautiful ballroom.
DJ created the beloved mixed game Horse to Heros Event, which was a great success. DJ brought back food vouchers to the players because he cares about the players.
As of Thursday 8/15/2024, Commerce Casino has posted the position for tournament manager. It’s a good entry level salary. But for the good experienced tournament directors it is too low. To put that salary into perspective, the tournament floor men make more than that. The new tournament director is going to work so much harder than the seasoned floormen and get paid less as well as not being able to accept tips. It’s a salary/management position. Commerce Casino takes a loyal employee who has worked there 20+ years, and once his salary gets too big, they throw him away and get a new cheaper guy. This is how Commerce Casino rewards their loyal employees. On a side note, Commerce Casino screwed all their dealers by making them all part-time, which benefits Commerce Casino by denying them benefits as well as much needed hours. Many of the high quality dealers left Commerce because of this.
Commerce Casino has violated many GEGA codes and can be fined by the Department of Justice. DJ has vast knowledge of these codes where I believe the new Tournament Manager may not. One simple violation Commerce overlooks is that they never label the name of the game on the table. So simple, yet they can be fined for not doing this simple task.
DJ created the events, stayed 12-18 hours and on top of that got no part of the tip pool. Whether the tournament had 100 players or 1,000, he got paid the same and there was no incentive to do better. When they kept lowering his salary, he wanted to go back down to floorman but that position wasn’t available.
Despite his outstanding record and the significant impact he had on the playing community, DJ had to resign due to being underpaid for his hard work. This underpayment stands to mar the legacy of what DJ has created at Commerce. This petition calls upon the Commerce Casino management to reconsider their salary amount to DJ, with the understanding of the integral role DJ has played in shaping the respected position Commerce Casino holds today. Sign this petition to voice your support for DJ's reinstatement as Tournament Director at Commerce Casino. Let's stand together for justice, fairness, and the shared love of the game.
CALL TO ACTION:
If you also feel strongly about this you can:
- e-mail the managers
Jonathan Ing: j.ing@commercecasino.net
Jeff Harris: j.harris@commercecasino.com
Kym Sleezer: k.sleezer@commercecasino.net
2. Yelp Commerce Casino
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-commerce-casino-and-hotel-commerce-3
3. Message the casino directly
https://www.commercehotella.com/contact
4. Share this petition on social media: instagram, tik tok, snap chat, facebook
https://www.change.org/p/let-s-bring-dj-back
4
Petition Updates
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Petition created on August 10, 2024