It was kinda cramped, but it did make it intimate, and easier to get to know the other players and the dealers. It is kinda close to a couple craps pits, but it was only a bother if you let it be one. No smoking in the room, but several ashtrays just on the other side of the rails. My only complaint was that some spectators would disrupt play on a couple tables, but you can't fault the staff for bad manners.
The locals are pretty good, and they were very friendly to tourists like me who were there to play poker and not just gamble. Look for a loud black woman named Erica. She is very good, very loud, and very easy to talk to/learn from. The drunks/kids/clueless come out at night, and you will either win big/lose big with them at the table. One night a guy drunk as a skunk called every single hand he had and lost in 1/2 an hour. Another night, there was a drunk Englishman who got mad when he went allin with k/5 off and lost. He tried to say "Just kidding" and not pay, but he paid off...and was escorted out of the casino. The dealers sometimes play and they make themselves known...that's when the tables get interesting...LOL. Do NOT play the NL game at night...that is kamikaze poker at its worst. It's a 50 dollar buyin, and you can rebuy for another 50 if you dip below 50. Everyone thinks they are Gus Hansen and will raise with any two cards.
If you want entertaining, funny, and good poker dealers, this is the room for you. They know you by name if you spend any time there at all, and are especially welcoming to tourists who love the game and love to play for hours, like I do. Curtis is an older, big guy who gives players a good-natured hard time, makes everyone laugh, and teaches the lessons there. Michael is a loud, funny guy who keeps the table energetic. Both of them are good dealers and fun to play poker with too. There are others, but those are the two I remember. No misdeals, the pots were right, and
I don't drink, but I never had a problem getting soft drinks or coffee quickly. I wish the glasses/mugs were bigger, but that wasn't a problem.
Very up-and-down. Richie was the one I dealt with the most. He is a New Yorker, so he can be overly direct at times, but I liked his no-nonsense approach. The staff runs the cash games well and run chips fast. My only complaint are the way the tourneys are run. They are crapshoots, and a level of chaos takes over when they are in progress. Stick with ring games, and ask for 'a good table', and they will hook you up.
I pulled 3 allniters there so I did get discounts on my room 3 nights, and I also got 3 or 4 vouchers for 5 bucks in any of the restaurants. There is a freeroll you can enter based on the number of hours played. They rarely play the actual tourney, just split the pot among those who qualified (I got $85 bucks from it).
