The poker room at IP is rather crowded with tables, but the worst aspect is the NOISE! It is adjacent to the loudest slot machines on the strip, and at time I couldn't hear the dealers, or carry on a conversation with other players without nearly shouting. The other major flaw was the table rail. It is cushioned, but at the same level as the table. As a result it was common for the dealers to toss a card towards a player and have it slide off the table. The tables are huge, and although there are ten players per table, it is not crowded at all. Some of the shorter-armed dealers could not reach the furtherest chips that were in play.
A good mixture of beginners, good tourists, and locals. Some to the locals are pretty good, as are some of the tourists, but you will seldom find a professional here. A good game, with very friendly people, with a few exceptions. Mostly tourists out to have fun and play some cards.
I would have given a higher overall rating, except for one dealer. A real friendly guy, very helpful to beginners, but made one mistake after another. Flipped over cards, allowed players to pick cards up off the table and hold them in their lap, etc. He would allow players to toss chips into the pot from the far seats, and you couldn't tell if they put all of them in they were supposed to. Other dealers ranged from good, to excellent, and all were very friendly and helpful.
All the waitresses I saw were attractive, and on the ball. Seldom had to wait for a drink. Most of the time they would make two or three rounds through the poker room before I was ready for another. The only downer was that the beer was not always ice cold, frequently it was barely cold.
At first, I was somewhat disappointed in the room management, since I and my brother had to go talk to the manager to get registered for a game. They were pretty busy, so it was not all negligence. My estimation of them went up during the four days I played there, as they would greet me by name after the second day, and handled a couple of potentially nasty incidents professionally, firmly and courteously.
Excellent comps, two dollars per hour of poker play. These could be applied to food, rooms, etc. They have jackpots for numerous high hands, four of a kind through royal staight flush, though there is no bad-beat jackpot.
