I had only played ultra low limit online poker (0.5-1) and this was my first visit to a brick and mortar poker room so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I sat on the rails for quite a while checking out the games (pretty loose) and once I found the nerve to try my hand, the attendant quickly found me a seat, got my rack of chips, I found I had a lot of fun and was very impressed with the whole experience. As I visited various other casinos and checked in on their poker rooms, I always came back to the conclusion that the Mirage's poker room was a cut above.
Very fun and easy when I was with the other tourists. However, inevitably the locals would move in and stir the pot, usually driving away the table and the generous stacks. The locals love it when they win when the visitors call with *ANYTHING* but aren't so gracious when they lose; often times berating the visitor with analysis of their poor play. How is that supposed to help??? I saw them drive away a table full of potential donators with their bad attitude :(
Even with my limited experience, I managed to break even (I had budgeted to lose a couple hundred), so I had a great time while gaining valuable experience. I had originally planned to play mostly at the Excalibur mainly because of their lower limits, but could never get motivated enough to travel that far. After hearing about how tough the competition can be at the Mirage, I think I may head off to easier pastures though.
Again, I can't stress enough, how quickly a table can turn when an obnoxious local sits down.
Albeit with nothing to compare against, I thought the dealers were great. They mostly handled my fumblings with patience, thanked me for playing and made for an all round pleasant experience!
Took a LOONG time to get a drink, often times they'd even forget. Shouldn't have drank anyways, but that's a different story. :)
All my beginner questions were answered in a friendly manner. I saw them handle some unruly (local) customers as pleasantly as possible under the circumstances.
Since I was playing low limit 3-6, I didn't expect any comps, I didn't know they had comps, so I didn't ask. They obviously didn't volunteer any information which was disappointing since I've learned that there are supposed to be some if you play over 4 hours.
