the poker room here is nice, but I agree with other reviewers - tables are a little old, chairs aren't that great, etc...however, the resort it's located in is about the best for non-smokers (you know what I'm talking about)...at some casino's I feel like I'm losing months off my life from all the 2nd hand smoke, but the ventilation and high ceilings at the Mandalay Bay make for a very pleasant playing environment. One warning about temperature - casino seems fine walking around...but if you're going to sit and play poker for a while - best to wear some warmer clothing.
I rated this "Average" but would have given it a 3.3-3.5 rating if able. There is a good mix of players, some crazy high volatility players, some solid locals, and some very casual players. If you pay attention you can within 15-30 minutes figure out who is who and then play accordingly. I consider myself an average to perhaps intermediate player (and that's a stretch)...I've read a couple books, watch poker on TV and play in a home game a week...nothing crazy or anything. Over 4 days in this poker room I didn't have one losing session; not one. I definitely recommend playing at night - during the day, games seem tougher...at night much more casual players are present.
Most dealers good, very fast and efficient making for high amount of hands per hour; however there were some dealers who very fairly slow which made the game drag a little.
Service was good when you could locate a cocktail waitress. A couple times I had to have the card room staff call for a waitress because they were unseen for over 30 minutes.
I think that the management of the room was average to good. Some front "reception" staff were good, others were not to be found for several minutes...overall, this was not a negative for me...but not a positive either.
Hated having to sign in/out on index cards for comps...one time I played for about 3 hours and forgot to sign out...bye bye comps on that one.
