The Encore poker room is getting better by the day. It's one of the cleanest and safest rooms in which you'll ever play, and features some of the best equipment (tables, chips and chairs) that you'll ever use. Moreover, the majority of the dealers are fast, personable and professional. The rake remains a bit too high -- but EBH is head and shoulders nicer than any nearby poker rooms and features the best action in the area. You get what you pay for, and the rake can be beaten.
I am also greatly encouraged by the upcoming $1,000 tournament. It's a very nice structure and is raked at 15%. This is actually lower than Foxwoods' 16.7% rake on their $1200 summer championship, and only marginally higher than a WSOP 1k event (12%) or Venetian 1100 deepstack event (12.3%) from Vegas, which boasts 4 competing summer series.
To the staff: Keep pushing for the player base -- we see the improvements.