It's being reported in places I can't link to that Donna Harris, Mirage Poker Room Director since 1998, and former Pokercast guest, has been let go from her position.

The separation is rumored to be "involuntary".

uhh, that's for the news.

wow that sucks, I remeber Donna from my first trip to vegas 5 years ago right after I turned 21....back then believe it or not, the games at the mirage were ridiculously juicy during the day(2/5 NL) that is......tons of upper middle class, and no joke, dudes wearning badges from conventions.....ahhh how that room has changed in the last 4-5 years....

Out with the old! Besides she's very opinionated with very little knowledge to back it up.

sign of the times unfortunately....

Donna was very hard to work for she would hold a grudge, if you had a disagreement with her that was it she did not like you. Her people skills were not so great, but she was a hard worker and tried hard to make the mirage room a success. I am sure she will land on her feet in Las Vegas, her and bobby Baldwin go way back, lets face it juice in Vegas is how you get the big jobs. But I do wonder if bobby’s job is on the line with city center being in so much trouble.

The Mirage poker room definitely failed to build no-limit games when they started becoming popular five years ago.

Back in 2004, the Mirage was the undisputed #2 poker room after the Bellagio. The room was always packed at the beginning of the boom (in part due to a shortage of tables on the Strip).

However, the Mirage stuck to its old model while the Wynn, Venetian, Caesars Palace, and MGM Grand opened new rooms and spread the no-limit games which should have naturally been at the Mirage.

As more and more poker tables opened on the Strip, the Mirage's model became exposed as flawed when limit players (and stud players) moved to the no-limit games. The limit games at the Mirage dried up and they were late in developing a no-limit base.

It probably didn't help Donna that the Venetian is right across the street with a bigger room that is routinely full with their Deep Stack Tournaments and numerous no-limit games.

After listening to her interview a few months back on the pokercast I must say this does not come as a surprise. She seemed to want to push her thoughts on what is best for the game rather than listen to what the players want.

Ya but I agreed with what she said. Sucks that limit has just totally dried up everywhere. Two years ago I had a great time playing 5/10 limit at the Mirage, last year all they had was 1/2 NL and 3/6 limit, no higher action. The room was no fun I walked across the street to the V.

So ya, no surprise here either.

Whatever the case, what are we dealing with here, THIRTY YEARS? If not, damn close to it. Time marches on......

2009 - 1998 = 11, not 30.

I really don't know anything about her, except for the one 2+2 podcast. I remember thinking, "Wow, what an attitude - she's right, and dammit, the rest of the world is wrong." Although I could simply be a naive fool straying down the wrong path, I do believe that I'm currently enjoying NL more than limit. Or theory 'B' - I'm just not smart enough to understand that my preferences are wrong.

But no matter. After 30 years of poker experience, if I should happen to change my mind, it's not going to be because some poker room lady is badgering me about whether I'm really sure that I know what I want.

After listening to that podcast, the Mirage dropped down considerably on my list of rooms to visit when in Vegas. But I'll be in Vegas in only 3 weeks, and now it's moving up the list!

In fact, I'm putting the Mirage on my must-visit list. I want to support businesses that respect their customers.

If she had said that her mission was to be a great limit room, that would have been fine with me. And I'd have put the Mirage right on top of my list - for limit.

But her attitude was different: she had a mission from God. There's a right way, and a wrong way; and those misguided NL players straying down the wrong path need to be converted.

Her view on no-limit poker is very old school, which the good players will get all the money and there will be no games. This is not good for the house. My view is Poker is in the main stream of the world now . Which brings in new money and players .

If she clears waivers can they pick her back up and send her to AAA

Dynasty's poast...true.


STTs with 23% juice.....not so popular.

Slightly off topic:

What I dont understand is why a room that ISNT running at capacity CANT OFFER STTs with VERY REASONABLE VIGs. And YES, I understand SOME of the players sitting in the normal games MIGHT get sucked out.

But if DONE PROPERLY then I think 10 man-STTs(or satts for that matter) 100 buy ins with ~12 dollar vig could be a great addition to a poker room, especially if it builds up a following. Im assuming a structure allowing for say 2.25 hours of play with a 5 minute break after the first hour or so for bathroom breaks.


Is it as profitable for the room as a ring game?...absolutely not....will it bring more people into the room and provide dealers with opportunities to make extra hours at ~20 dollars an hour or a little less IF THEY OPT to deal STTs?.. absolutely.

Ah, those were the days when the 40-80 game was bangin' ...

Mirage has ossified pretty badly. And their haphazard stabs at trying to "fix" it haven't accomplished very much, though I appreciate the efforts that have been made. Gotta wonder what anybody thinks a new poker pooh bah will be able to achieve.

One also really has to wonder if the 2+2 interview she did might have had something to do with adding another straw to the camel's back. Any Mirage exec who heard it should have been embarrassed. While everything she said might be accurate to some extent, you really shouldn't openly tell the poker world that the players are wrong about what games they want, and Venetian is evil and wrong to cater to the players, and the purpose of the poker room is to feed the pits. That's the kinda thing you tell each other in senior management meetings. But you should try to find ways to hide these things from the customers and make us think we're the most important people in the casino and you're tickled to have us.

Donna Harris should have been let go 20 years ago. She was a misogynist thru and thru in my opinion.

She would make ppl line up on the appointed hour in the poker room for a ten dollar buffet comp. I watched her interrogate an old man and his wife for ten minutes...i.e. "Didn't I give you a comp last week? You can't get a comp every day, yanno." This in front of the larger limits tables. It was so sad. From that day forward I not only never asked her for a thing but I wouldn't even stay at the Mirage because I would have to go thru her office for the poker rate. I can't recall one thing she did for a poker player that she didn't have a frown on her face while doing it.

She loved rich people..hated the average joe blows and hated having to deal with us. Good riddance. Stay gone. Hope she isn't ensconced somewhere else in the poker realm.

Sounds mean but so was she.

I would be such a lousy poker room manager. lol
She spoke what I was thinking most of the time, but I agree that it was off-putting to many. diplomacy, tactfulness... sigh

She hasn't been there 20 years. Read the OP before you say something like this.

Or read the reply a few above this one that shows the correct amount of years, based on college level math and maybe some calculus thrown in there, that accurately depicts the amount of years Ms. Harris had worked at the Mirage.

Actually, I believe there was a typo or misinformation in the OP and she opened the poker room in 1989 at the Mirage. I was talking with a dealer last night that opened it with her, this dealer said this was long overdo.

If that is the case then I do apologize to the poster I quoted. OP...you're an...n/m

misogynist: One who hates or dislikes women