Poker Perambulation

It was a recent topic. This one I find a lot more interesting though. It is a poker room review and it isn’t mine. The bold type is my addition

_______’s has a perfectly serviceable room. The chairs are not uncomfortable, though very basic. The tables are in moderately good shape but not very attractive. There are big TV screens on the wall but they’re not the latest models. Everything is certainly good enough for a place designed for poker. But it’s nothing remarkable.

They spread $1/2 no-limit and $3/6 limit. They say that they also spread $2/5 no-limit but I did not find a game the three times I was by. Their rake is 10%, $4 maximum. They take out another $1 for the bad-beat and high-hand jackpots. High-hand jackpots ranged from $50 to $599 for different categories of quads, straight flushes, and royal flushes. If your four sevens are beaten and you and your opponent are using both of your hole cards the bad-beat jackpot kicks in. It was at $123,000 when I was there. [They also rake 10% from the bad beat jackpot.]

There are four no-limit tourneys a day: a $50 with a $40 add-on at 11:00 AM and 11:30 PM, and a $100 freezeout (no rebuy or add-on offered) at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM. They seem to give relatively good play, with 20-minute and 15-minute blinds, $3,000 in tournament chips to start, and blinds starting at $25/50. Tourneys change regularly, however, so make sure to call the room before going over.

The room offers free drinks and “room service” for those wishing to eat at the table. The waitress service was slow; the waitress friendly and inattentive.

I was there Sunday at noon. There were three games going plus a “Jackpot” freeroll tournament taking up five tables. The tournament was for players who had completed forty hours of live-action poker play in one month or who had two daily tourney wins during the month of June.

There were a total of ten tables in the room. The players were all relatively sedate. The floor person and the brush were unfriendly, not eager to help me get a seat in a game or answer my questions about the structure of the game or the room itself. They seemed to think that they were doing me a favor by talking with me. Perhaps they were too busy to spend a few minutes talking.

The dealers were similarly unfriendly. What is it about _______s’ rooms? I’ve found this lack of enthusiasm and friendliness in many of their properties. It’s not that they are hostile, but they seemed unduly somber and unsmiling – as if they were worried about making a mistake. They were competent dealers to be sure; I did not witness a mistake in the few hours I played. But they sure weren’t friendly.

They were also keen rule enforcers. “No reading at the table, sir,” one said – though I wasn’t slowing the game and was reading one of the free poker magazines they dispense. “Do you mind if I read the tournament listing on the wall?” I asked with a smile, and trying to make light of the rules. “Floor!” the dealer called, turning me in, no doubt, as a troublemaker. “OK. OK. I give up!” I said with a smile – and stopped my kidding.

I spoke with a couple of the regulars at the table, who witnessed the exchange. They agreed that the staff wasn’t very friendly or fun. “They run a tight ship here,” one player noted, sharing my disappointment in the rigid rule enforcement. “I like that they don’t allow any funny business,” another player added – clearly not appreciating my failed attempts at levity.

The players agreed that nearly everyone in the room was a regular. It seemed so to me, though of course I couldn’t be sure, not knowing the locals from the tourists. It’s not the sort of room that I’d go back to – absent some incredible promotion. Currently, there are no comps of any kind for players.

When I play poker I prefer a room of relaxed, happy players and smiling, courteous staff. _______’s isn’t the place for that. But if you like your poker serious, quiet, and well behaved, this might be the room for you.

Well you probably filled in the blanks on your own. It is the poker room at Harrahs.

You have just read a rather stunning review by PokerNews’ Ashley Adams. I have read a lot of their reviews and this is far and away the worst. Like all good media outlets, they attempt to not drive away potential advertisers. After giving Harrahs some big bucks to cover the WSOP, one would think they’d want to stay on their good side when they go to negotiate for next year. This makes the review even more stunning.

Harrahs is one of the octopus operations in the gambling scene. There are others. They have consolidated the industry and in the process seriously reduced competition. There are some smaller operations surviving but they are feeling the pressure. Money talks and the world is full of Murdock’s and Harrahs. Telco, cable, and wireless are doing similar ‘consolidation’ and investment groups are seeing the $$$ and trying to take them private.

So, Harrahs cavalier attitude about poker players in their house really shouldn’t come as a shock. That is especially true after witnessing the recently completed WSOP.

ADDENDUM:

Frank at LifesABluff.com had some health problems and expenses and now his dog has cancer. How crappy does it get? I went through $1700 worth of surgery on a dog a couple of years ago. Always thought people who did that were silly and then it happened to my pooch. There are a couple of kids there that love the dog too. So, I sent a bit along to try to help out. In the scheme of things it doesn’t solve world hunger but it does give you the warm fuzzies to send a couple of bucks his way.  If you feel the urge, stop by and click on the chipin box.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 4:54 am and is filed under Journal, Poker Other. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.