ES
Opening weekend did not disappoint at the MGM.
The Room: The room itself is fairly attractive and has 39 nice new tables, complete with USB charging ports for mobile devices. No built in cup holders and the chairs were fairly comfortable and on rollers. Unlike the Horseshoe and MD Live, which have rooms separated from the hustle and bustle of the main casino, MGM's poker room is nestled in with other table games, near the "mall" entrance to the casino. There are several large TVs at eye level on the back walls and quite a number of them at neck crane level near the dropdown ceiling due to the fact that the room has about 1.5 true walls. It feels a bit tight with all those tables but not too much. The lighting is great. All in all, I'd put the room somewhere between MD Live's dark, cramped feel and the Horseshoe's bright, open feel.
Comps and Service: You can't beat $2 hour comps. You won't find that at MD Live or the Horseshoe (unless they are running a special). There were plenty of servers on hand - much more so than the other poker rooms.
Staff: Regulars will recognize a lot of the former staff from MD Live and the Horseshoe. It was a very busy weekend and the Floor and the Dealers were all in good spirits and the games were running smoothly. I saw them handle any table issues quickly and professionally.
Games: There were an incredible number of games being spread. PLO and Big O at different levels and an "interest" list for PLO8 $1/2 that didn't get underway. No Limit Hold 'Em was spread from $1/3 to at least $5/10 active, and "interest" lists up to $20/40. There were high stakes Limit as well up to $60/120. They say that if people want it and it's legal, they'll spread it. The waiting lists were long but they were quick to call people and to open up new tables (although there weren't many empty tables to open!).
Competition: The competition was the usual mix of casual players and regs that the dealers clearly knew (and that fit the young low limit grinder profile).
All in all a nice room. It'll be interesting to see how it affects the traffic and player profile at the other MD poker rooms.
