This is for all you fellow Minnesota players who like NL cash games...

Instead of driving 1.5 hours to Turtle Lake, drive 2 hours to Diamond Jo's. It's straight down 35W South and about 1 mile past the MN/IA border.

It's a corporate casino, which means it's nice inside. They have slots, BJ, Craps, Roulette, Starbucks, Burger King, an attached Country Suites hotel, and of course a Poker Room. The casino is similar to a small Vegas casino versus the typical native casinos, and and nicer than CP too.

The room only has seven tables, but NL cash games are mostly played. The usual levels are 1/2 NL (40-100), 2/4 NL (100-300), and 2/5 NL (200-500) and 5/10 on request.

The staff and dealers are great. The players are friendly. The mood there is relaxed and fun.

I wish I had started going there last summer when the poker room opened (didn't know about it until I stopped in on my way home from the recent Tama HPT).

Turtle Lake is a dump compared to Diamond Jo's. I am posting this to get more MN players to go to DJ's.
(I've seen a few CP dealers and floor guys there the past few weeks-don't let this place be their secret...
***

Trip report from this weekend:

On Saturday nite played 2/4-did well.

Around 9PM the table next to me hit the $119,000 Bad Beat Jackpot with AAAKK beating AAA1010. All hel broke loose because Diamond Jo's has a ROOM SHARE insteads of a table share. Room share was $1064.71 each!

The BBJ hadn't been hit since about a month after the room opened last year.

thanks for the post...i had no idea about this casino, and I've been driving to chicago and st. louis which are actually farther away!!

question: how often is 2/4 and 2/5 NL running? if i were to show up there on a random weekday afternoon would i be able to play 2/5?

The room gets going around noon Mon - Thur, earlier on Fri and Sat. Sun is slow because everyone is tired from Fri and Sat, and they don't have a un tourny (anymore).

Fri and Sat has 2/4 is at least 1 table, possibly two. If you see two tables and some names on the 2/4 list, the chance of a 2/5 is good. You can scout around or ask the desk to make an announcement.

2/5 Mon - Thur is probably iffy. But the difference between 2/4 and 2/5 is the buy-in. There's enough
action at 2/4 so that it's a great game. Some good players and some not-so-good. The not so good buy-in for the min when they "want to take a break from 3/6 limit" lol

Caveats for 'random weekdays':
Mon - Thur: Poker action doesn't generally get going until noon. The poker room closes at 2:30 AM and the casino rolls up the carpet at 3AM

Fri - Sun: Poker room and casino doesn't close.

Almost forgot:
During the week DJ has small buy-in tournies (some with and some without rebuys) and also the HPT League series.

They will also have an upcoming HPT tourny (not sure about the date). This is good because driving to Tama sucks.

I remembered two more things

1) The poker room has free hot dogs, corn dogs, chips and chili. A petition was passed around this weekend asking for 50 cents an hour food comp instead. We'll see how that goes...

2) At the main cashier window (by the BJ pit) you can get a free debit card good at many casinos around the country including Vegas and AC. It is linked to your checking account enabling you to withdraw cash just like your current debit card but with no fees. Just bring a voided paper check and ID to the window.

I'm really surprised to hear that this place has a poker room, let alone a nice one. I always joke with my wife about playing there on trips between Omaha and Minneapolis - the joke being that the place looks kind of like a dive from the interstate and couldn't possibly have a poker room. Shows what assuming gets you =\

Thanks Buffet,
I have heard of this place and was considering an Iowa trip to play NL because I'm starting to tire of Callerbury. If one was to do an Iowa trip what are the main and closest places to hit?
I assume Diamond Jo's would be the closest but if you wanted to drive a little further into Iowa what are the next 2 or 3 places to hit and what are these places like?
Thanks again

Everyone stay away, games are no good, no profits to be made here! Move along now...

Agreed! But luckily I stopped in anyway. Actually I got a heads up about DJ from a guy at my HPT table who said they had good poker action.

DJ is the closest place to us. Just a quick jaunt down the big highway. I could run there from the MN/IA border.

Don't know. DJ is good enough as a NL alternative to the turtle.

"driving further into Iowa" reminds me of the joke I told at the table last weekend. I said there's a sign in Albert Lea that says "Caution: you are about to enter Iowa--last chance to turn around"

The guys from Iowa didn't laugh...

35W ends in Burnsville.

Is seven tables enough to meet demand? If I show up at 9 pm on a Saturday, am I likely to have a long wait?

Second weekend in May might work for a trip.

I remember reading about Dan Savage's trip to the Diamond Jo in Skipping Towards Gomorrah. He described it as being incredibly depressing, related only in part to the fact that he lost $3,000 playing blackjack there.

This is from the book review from your link:

"And he doesn't fully recognize the seriousness of gambling addictions: the intense rush he felt after losing $3,000 at blackjack was 'worth it'. "

Doesn't sound like a slam on whatever casino it was to me.

I'm not a big DJ's fan. I find the room management rude. Kid with the crazy hair is OK, but the other 2 seem not to like it when you ask questions about games.. not sure if if they are protecting their regulars or just assume they know more about the game then you do.

The head guy is an idiot. Was a manager at some "major" room previously, can't remember which... hmmm, wonder why he is stuck in middle of nowhere Iowa now?

Here is their web address: http://www.diamondjo.com/worth/index.html

I also invited the poker room to add anything to the thread if they want.

Agreed.. I mean.. I like the casino, but that one guy was such an jerk it just ruined me opinion of the place.

I played from Fri afternoon thru Sun noon. The floors and dealers were all cool with me (and I'm a stickler for good customer service...). By the end of the weekend I felt like a regular.

I heard Hair Boy (I think that's what they call him) is interviewing with RA.

Sounds like you had a bad nite and didn't like his decision?

Anyway, if you mean the guy with grey hair, about 60 y/o, and looks like he played football, he was very friendly and professional the two times I've been there.

And on Saturday nite he was MC Poker. Very thrilled to hand out $119K. He made it seem like New Year's Eve.

Give them another try...

If they are treating you good, roll with it man. I got bad service my 1st and second time there. At my regular card room I get great service.. so make it yours and ride it out. I think I'd rather make the trip to another room if I have to play in Iowa. (I work out there in case you wonder why a guy from WV has played in IA.)

My comment is a description of the book, not the review. It's true he found losing the money to be a rush, but in the book, that is a comment on blackjack, not the Diamond Jo.

Chops,

Prairie Meadows in Altoona (just east of Des Moines) , some mixed games, larger demographic to draw from, well run, motel rooms nearby 3.5 -4 hour drive (35 south to 80 east or 35 south to 30 east to 60 south) Terrific golf course, The Harvester about 10 miles south of 30 on 60.

Mesquawiki (sp?) in Tama - straight east on Hwy 30 from Ames. I can't think of a good thing to say about it. Some like it but it used to be full of old nits and looked/felt depressing. If you smoke you could save a fortune and just take a deep breath every now and then. Meh, maybe it's NS now.
Rooms available. Big plus - Rube's Steakhouse in Montour IA on Fridays and Saturdays. Ribeyes the size of a small roast. Cook your own but it's worth the effort.

Thanks Kyzer,
I think I'll have to do an Iowa trip sometime this summer to play some NL and check out these Iowa places.
How would people that play often in Iowa rate the top 3 in Iowa to play for selection of games, niceness of casino and softness of games?
Which Iowa cardroom has the most tables?

I play regularly at the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, IA (East side - practically in Omaha, NE). I still haven't made it to Prairie Meadows in Des Moines, but I think we have a few more tables than they do. There are 17 tables in the room, and on a busy night 15 or more will have a game going. When the tournament circuit comes thru we have had as many as 30 cash games going (spread into another room).

The room is very nice. 10 or so flat panels on the wall, comfy chairs, auto-shufflers at almost every tables, competent and friendly dealers.

Game selection is good and action is almost always good.
Regular games are:
$3/6 limit - Always running. I've played this a few times while waiting on another game, and it plays just like you'd expect a $3/6 anywhere to play.
$1/3 NL - Always running. This used to be my regular game. The play is v, v, v, v bad. It did not take long at all to build my live BR to enough to move to $2/5 permanently.
$2/5 NL - Almost always running. I've only been once in the last couple of years and found it not running, and that was a Tuesday morning at 10AM. Play is better than $1/3 but still pretty bad. There are a few solid regulars but they become apparent rather quickly. Lots of people willing to stack off 100BB+ lightly.
$5/10 NL - We've gotten this going several times lately, mostly on Friday/Saturday nights. I've only played once so far - what seems to happens is the better players desert the $2/5 for $5/10, leaving unknown and bad players at the $2/5. If a certain rich person is at the $5/10 though I definitely try to get in.
$4/8 O8 w/ half Kill - Almost always going. Its a good game and fun to play in, but it runs excruciatingly slowly.
$10/20 & $20/40 HO(8) w/ half kill - Runs on designated nights. There are a few solid spots in these games but also plenty of free money. Unfortunately I can't seem to claim any of it as I am a lifetime loser at this game.

Any other Council Bluffs players out there?

No, that's not the guy I don't think. Anyways, I love the room and play there whenever I get a chance. Trust me, most of the guys that are there ALL THE TIME don't like the guy either. Has nothing to do with his floor decisions as they are usually correct, has more to do with his attitude, and way he runs games and keeps them going. He is the poker room manager and thus normally works days, so maybe you havent had any experience with him. Anyways, this room is still great so check it out-just don't ruin all the good action with a bunch of 2+2ers as I would be disappointed to drive down there for some juicy 2/4NL and sit with a bunch of nits

New here, been reading for some time. I typically play CP and Turtle, as I didn't know DJ even had a room.

Question, do they really allow FH over FH to qualify for the BBJ? Seems strange it had been so long without requiring Quads or better to be involved.

TW