Hi guys. First of all, I might be posting this in the wrong area, or this question might already be covered in depth somewhere else. If so, I apologize and please provide links to discussions.

I play 2/5 NL for a living in Detroit, MI at Motor City Casino mostly. The area here is terrible, poor, and cold. I'm picking a place to move to play for a living. I am looking for some input from people that actually live in these areas, and what kind of lifestyle you live there.

Questions:
Cost of living? -- Do you have any special setups, or special circumstances that keeps you there?

Game selection? -- What is the competition like? Can you get games as high as 5/10 Daily in your area?

Quality of the area? -- Do you like where you live? Why? What keeps you there besides poker?


Areas in Consideration:
Tampa, FL
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Hanover, MD
Atlantic City, NJ
Philadelphia area (Not familiar with)

I know I can find a lot of information if I dig, and I have rightly done so before posting. But I wanted to hear some testimonials first hand from those of you that live in these areas.

Thanks in advance!

although AC is shrinking/conslidating . you still have the Borgata which runs plenty of 2/5 games and 5/10 games run frequently. The added bonus you have for AC is that PokerStars should be coming to NJ very soon and we might have ROW player pool in 2016...... all just wishful thinking though.

What does that mean ?

Also curious..

Sen Ray Lesniak of NJ hopes to have NJ join with Stars ROW player pool in the future. The earliest that happens is probably 2016… first we need stars to comeback to NJ. Now that is suppose to happen this month……. like i said wishful thinking on my part.. but if any State does get Stars ROW player pool back it will be NJ who does it before anyone else… If Online Poker factors in to your relocating then i recommend NJ

To further clarify what njpp didn't spell out: ROW = rest of (the) world.
A difficult concept for 'murricans, I know. But as shocking as it may seem, there are some places and people outside the land of the "free."

If you look at Philadelphia area you will have access to several PA casinos and AC is a short drive/bus/train ride away. Sugarhouse ( in Phi proper) is looking to open up a poker room quite soon, Parx in Bensalem (35 mins drive from center city) has a wide variety of games and stakes, Sands Bethlehem (1.5 hours drive) also spreads 2/5 and 5/5 on the regular.

Philadelphia is also a great city to live in there are many cultural attractions, museums, historical landmarks, sports teams, and young people. It is mostly built on flat terrain and uses a grid system so getting around on bicycle is fun and easy. They also have excellent public transportation (SEPTA) and Amtrak service via 30th St station.

Cost of living can be high if depending on neighborhood but if your down for slumming it a one bedroom/studio could be had for 500-600/mo.

Parx and Sands will get games 5-10 and higher, Sands has a 10-25 game once a week (tues?) and 5-10 on the weekends, pretty sure parx will have those limits much more often.

Yeah thanks kazana I didn't know what ROW means Now I know.
it would be awesome to have americans back at the tables at stars

5-600 for rent is not going to be slumming it in philly. If that's your budget with utilities ... different story

If you pick MD, don't live in hanover. Live in Baltimore and commute.

I must appreciate you for this question because i personally had this in my mind and kinda of got the answer through what you just asked and how every replied on it.

What's wrong with Hanover?

There's nothing to do. It's basically just a mall and a casino.

Moved from Michigan to Vegas a long time ago. Good airport, zero individual city and state income taxes and you get used to the heat. If you like a bit of the seasonal changes - Reno area has some fine spots.

My brother pays around 600 for rent and utilities for a place in between the Penn campus and the ghetto (it's close to Market Street). The place is REALLY nice.

It's a great place to chill being close to the college life (the bars + women + general atmosphere) if you're a little younger. As I said though, there's also urban poverty near if you turn the wrong corner. Philadelphia is an interesting place like that in a lot of the college-oriented areas; it can be thriving or just really sketchy. (Philly has the sketchiest locals I've been around). Again though, his room is pretty baller so . . . if you can just get used to some inner-city elements, it's a cool place to live. It's not in your face culturally like NYC; a lot of the really cool stuff you have to look for. Thinking about all the delicious food (I think their Chinatown is way more legit) is what makes me visit, let alone the casinos and nightlife. Never actually been to Sugarhouse (haven't heard great things), but Parx is pretty solid and honestly, I really like Harrah's in Chester.

If you're a fan of "the pit", sugar house isn't all that bad. Whenever I go to any casino, I make a beeline for the poker room, avoiding all other games. So, yeah, sugarhouse sucks. The bars and on-foot-attractions that are in the area (on Columbus blvd) make that an area worthwhile checking out. And, like you said, parx is a dope poker room...#themwaitresses with #supercleave.

You're right about west philly, and that applies to most neighborhoods in philly. One street will be gentrified with a really cool coffee shop while right around the corner you have slums. Very noticeable in west philly ( where penn/Drexel are) and also in north philly (temple university)

South philly is my favorite area of the city. Cheap to live, weird & young counter-culture people living there. And there's cool bars and food all over the place.

Philadelphia was rated one of the best bike-commuter cities in the country. I think pretty accurate (save NorthEast -- but unless you have family up there or are going to Parx it's a waste of your time to go up there). One can ride from west philly to CC in 15-20 minutes. Everywhere worthwhile is extremely accessible.

Another nice thing about Philly is the Sports complexes are very accessible by SEPTA, the Philly fans are notorious for bad behavior. Lincoln Financial Field has it's own jail!

Does anyone have any comments on Fort Lauderdale, FL?

The Hollywood Seminole has a lot of action, and not far away is the very interesting Dania Jai-Lai fronton so within 10 miles of Ft. Lauderdale you have two good options. Not sure about livability because I only passed through years ago but. Lots of jewish deli's and bagel shops which for me would definitely factor. Dania has lot's of low buyin tournies and the layout of the poker room itself is very cavernous as it adjoins the jai lai playing area. Think it was undergoing some type of renovations recently so things probably changed a bit since I was there in 2007.

Seriously -- the whole "philly fans are notorious" thing is overblown. It was decades ago that we applauded for Michael Irvin getting hurt, and even further back in time that we threw snowballs at Santa. In defense, he was drunk and stumbling around. Throwing batteries at JD drew is indefensible, but even still, it happened in a different century.

August 2014 -- LA Angels fan was beaten into critical condition in parking lot.

November 2012 - SF Giants fan beaten to death while celebrating World Series win.

April 2011 - fan beaten on opening day in LA. Suffers brain damage, just got released from the hospital this year.



3 examples are enough. Ultimately, drunk people do dumb things. Not just in philly. Let's stop talking about philly's decades-old history.

And, fwiw, the jail / judge was in The Vet, not the Linc.

Fair enough, I am not a Philadelphian but grew up in Lehigh valley so am not trying to be too hard on them just celebrating their colorful past. And sorry for spreading misinformation about the jail, you sir are correct it seems.

Ok to atone for this I will point out that Philly is home to the mutter museum a very unique experience that will make you ponder mortality.

http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/

Another great philly attraction is the "blue" Dolphin a go go bar that has been open for 50+ years and until recently was owned by a little old lady who held court at the bar . The walls were adorned with portraits of dancers past, beehive hairdo's and all. A very fun dive bar that attracts quite a range of patrons.