I needed to be in Joplin, MO, so I decided to spend a Sunday night at the Downstream Casino, which is just over the border in Oklahoma, just off I-44. It was a Sunday night, so I didn't expect them to have a lot of tables going: they had three 1/2 no limit games going on at night, and 1 in the morning. It seems like they don't typically get $3/6 or $4/8 limit games going, which surprised me a bit.
The room itself is very nice, the tables and chairs up to date. the dealers were very competent and friendly. I found the players to be pretty typical-- some local rocks, some unstable people who seem to want to spew chips-- a typical mix but not what I would consider to be action-packed. This might differ some on the weekend nights. The floor staff seemed really friendly and helpful.... they'd order and pick up food for you at any of the restaurants in the casino.
The casino itself was nice, but not too special. It felt like other casinos I've been to that are operated by Native American tribes-- in particular it felt like Turning Stone in NY, and a little like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in CT, though it was smaller than all of those, and not quite as nice (the casino floor in particular was kind of dark). The hotel room I got at rack rate was $110 and was very nice-- cost comparable to other nice local hotels (e.g., Hilton Garden inn). I didn't look into poker room rates, though now that I have a players card (free $10 slot play and $10 food voucher for signing up) I would check that out in the future. Not sure about the comps, but I'm guessing $.75/hr
They had some high hand jackpots for quads or better, but once something is hit, they're gone until the first of the next month. All quads were gone when I was there. They also have a Aces-full of jacks beaten bad beat (around 25k, I think)
If you happen to be passing through this area, I'd say its worth checking out, especially if you can make it on a weekend, but I probably wouldn't make a special trip.
