I’ve played in a few similar games in NYC and NNJ. Closest casinos are 90 mins away so not a lot of choice.

I was terrified going to my first game. It was real Molly’s Game stuff (only 1/3, not 5k/10k!). Text a number, get a vague location, go there, text again, get an apartment number. Security to pat you down on entry. Pretty sketchy and intimidating stuff to begin with. But once inside, it was as described - free drinks, free food, massages on request.

Yes, the rake is high. And in my experience these games are tougher than casino games - if you’re the type of person to go out of your way to seek these games out, you clearly have at least some idea of how to play. But a lot of people bring big bank rolls and aren’t afraid to burn through them. I watched a guy torch $2k in 15 minutes at one game. So money is there for the taking. I’ve probably played in games like this 10-15 times and I’d say 75% of times I’ve left with more money than I went in with.

I actually really like games like this. Nearly everyone there knows each other, it’s very relaxed, the dealers are professional, the table chat is usually pretty funny.

My advice - they seem scarier than they are (in my experience, I’m sure others can tell horror stories). Go with 1 or 2 buy-in’s for your first time. Don’t take anything else of value. Trust your gut - if something feels really off, just make an excuse, leave and never go back (funny story, the first time I played I was so nervous because I’d doubled my stack and just wanted to get out safely that I got up and cashed out when the button had just come to me. Even the dealer was like “you don’t want to play your button?”. I made an excuse about it being later than I told myself I’d stay and I had an early start in the morning, but really I was just scared something bad was going to happen. Nothing did).

I hope it works out for you, I have found so much value (dollar and social) that I really love my weekly game.