I've always found Priceline to be a good source of inexpensive hotel rooms. The name your own price option can sometimes yield real bargains.

Since neither Horseshoe or Maryland Live! have a hotel, and the hotel at the MGM property is small (in terms of # of rooms) and pricey, I wouldn't expect any poker room rates.

Lee

VERY VERY Common for MGM NH you can get whatever you want at MDLive or HSB.

Planning on driving from Boston & going to an Oriole game in September and looking to play poker (1/2 NL). Would appreciate any suggestions as to best place to play & hotels. Plan on staying in a hotel near Camden Yards. Also would like any info available on shuttles from hotel to a casino. Thanks!

Right near Camden Yards is Horseshoe Baltimore where you can play 1/3. Maryland Live is roughly 15-20 minutes away and spreads 1/2. I don't know of any shuttles - it's a very car oriented kind of place.

Horseshoe is your best bet...Walking distance from Camden Yards or quick 5 min Uber ride. they have 1/3 NLH.

Thanks John. Now if the Birds and the Sox are in it, it will be worthwhile.

Thanks John. Now if the Birds and the Sox are in it, it will be a worthwhile trip.

Thanks Tony. The Horseshoe it is

Ill be in the area for 3-4 days at the end of the month. My wife will be joining me after the 3-4 day period as we start a 2 week road trip heading north. The 3-4 days before she gets there will be nothing but poker so I dont care about sight seeing or anything.

I want to hit MGM and Maryland Live each a couple times. Im looking for the best area to stay. Hotwire shows an area listed as Largo/Upper Marlboro/Landover Hills. Would you recommend me staying there for easiest access to both places?

I could also just stay closer to one of them and drive farther to the other one since they arent all that far away anyway. Thoughts anyone?

Stay in College Park or Greenbelt for easy acccess to I 95 and 295 to head N to MDL and S to MGM. 295 though D.C. isn't a bad drive and it rejoins 95 very near MGM with easy access. Rush hour will suck from anywhere heading anywhere so plan accordingly.

Google maps shows College Park is 28 mins from MGM and 31 mins from Maryland Live. It shows MGM is only 37 mins from Maryland Live so it seems like staying as close to MGM as possible and only having a drive to one place would be better since the drive from the middle is almost as far either way. No?

There is a Holiday Inn Washington DC - Greenbelt, MD that would put you smack dab in the middle of the two casinos. Despite the unusual name, it is located in Greenbelt, MD, not DC. You would be 15.7 mi from Maryland LIVE and 18.7 mi from MGM National Harbor. It is located at the junction of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the I495 DC beltway. The Parkway north takes you to LIVE, and Parkway south or the beltway to MGM. However, please be aware that the area traffic is HORRENDOUS during the morning and afternoon/evening rush hours.

Thanks. Ill definitely be sure to be nowhere near the highways in rush hour.

Stay near mgm, do one day trip to mdl/shoe. You'll very likely prefer mgm and you'll be much better situated for site seeing, even if just want to do a quick trip.

+1 on this. Alexandria VA is a nice area, good dining options etc, very close to MGMNH that would be my first seed. Don't bother with horseshoe.

Just wondering about the pros and cons of DC/Baltimore casinos (especially Horseshoe/MD Live/ MGM Nat'l Harbor).

How does the rake, level of play, etc. compare among them? And how long is the wait on weekends? Anything else to consider?

+2 I have a small condo in Old Town Alexandria, and it's a wonderful area that is super close to MGM - There are many reasonably priced hotels and nicer ones too depending on your budget - I'd suggest staying in "Old Town" which is right along the river and has many good hotel options.

Good luck!

Depending on whether or not its your thing, check out airbnb too. Lots of options in the Old Town area and IMO you will probably get more for your $$$ than you will on hotels in the immediate area which I find tend to be overpriced for what you are getting. I have a friend who was in from out of town and got a basement studio in a townhouse, near King Street, for $75 or so a night.

After multiple recommendations, I decided to stay in Alexandria. Ill probably play at MGM 3 days and hit up Maryland Live one day. If anyone wants to meet up for a drink or whatever, PM me. Ill be in the area Aug29-Sept2. I can give you the ins and outs of S. FLorida poker.

MD LIVE players are pretty soft at 1/2 NL. 4/8 limit is soft as well. Those are the only games I've played at LIVE.

I've only been to MGM National Harbor once but didn't play due to lack of games. I was there on a Sunday morning and they only had 1 table of 1/3 NL, 2/5 NL, 1/2 PLO and 5 card Omaha which all had about 3 or 4 people on each list.

That's likely the first time MGM NH and "lack of games" have ever been used in the same sentence. MGM is by far the busiest room in the area and one of the busiest in the country.

In my experience 1/3 at MGM is a way better game than 1/2 at MDL. I don't have enough experience at HSB to compare their 1/3 but I'd guess it's in the middle.

MDL 1/2 is full of OMC regs and lots of short stacks. It's fairly common that the biggest stacks are in the $300 range. The games are soft in the tight/passive sense.

At MGM the game is way bigger - in part because of the $500 max but also the higher level of action. It's very common to see 3 or 4 seats over $600. The games are soft in the loose/passive sense. It's also fairly common to see the guys that are clearly in a casino poker room for the first time.

How does the action @ the 1/3 NL game @ the Horseshoe compare to the other two Baltimore casinos?
Thanks!

I can speak only regarding before the time of MGMNH (i.e., before December of 2016), but at that time the 1/3 at Horseshoe Baltimore was looser and more aggressive than the 1/2 at Maryland Live by a wide margin in my experience. I haven't played at Horseshoe Baltimore since MGM National Harbor opened.

I can confirm that the 1/3 action at Horseshoe is much looser than the 1/2 action at MDL.

Thanks for the info Rapini.