Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 68
I have played the last 3 nights at Hollywood Casino (Monday-Wednesday), and like Daryn says, there is some kinks that need to be worked out for sure.
Pros:
- Players are generally not to tough, there is some exceptions for sure but overall, relatively weak field. (yet I am still down $$ .. damn).
- Dealers and pit staff are wicked friendly/nice (minus 1 crazy pit boss).
- Cocktail waitresses come around at a good clip (Maine state law forbids giving away from alcoholic drinks by the way, not the Casino's fault .. blame the state). But free coffee, soft drinks and water is solid enough for me; especially since I don't drink when I play.
- Can pretty much leave your stack on the table for an hour without losing your seat (if you time it out correctly with the dealer changes, etc). Some may not like this, but for me it gives me ample time to get home, let out my dog, eat something, etc.
Cons:
- No card shufflers in the tables. They ARE coming in "soon" apparently; however, once again this is the state's fault. Apparently the are issued/regulated through the state and they are just waiting for the state to OK them for the Casino.
- To piggyback off that one, the pace of the game is SLOW.
- Dealers (while nice) are SLOW, for the most part. Like Daryn said, some seem are relatively new to game of poker and it shows (struggling to read the board, slow making change, side pots, etc.). A lot of the players have been helping them out, cutting them slack, which has been good. But talking with all a lot of the guys I have played with, they want to it get sped up because we are simply not getting enough hands per/hr. Furthermore, the dealers change tables every 30 minutes which is also slowing down the game (and if the count is off when the dealer gets to the table, good lord. The dealer may not get his first hand out until 7-10 mins until after he sits down).
- They need more tables. All the dealers/pit bosses have said they are adding more tables, but the timetable seems murky. It sounds as though the plan is to move the Racebook back up to Bass Park and put 6 more tables into the poker room.
Just to further expand on the dealer issue, there was a hand at my table where the dealer actually mucked the winning hand. Luckily, everyone on the table saw/knew it and she was able to pull the cards out of the muck (as they were right on top) and the pot was shipped to the rightful owner (who was actually a friend, at that point I told him to hold onto his cards until after he flips them over and the pot gets moved to him).
Although the CON list looks bigger and the pro list looks not as good, all the CON points are seemingly fixable and already in the process of being fixed. At the end of the day, it is a solid, fun poker room. I have enjoyed playing there (minus a few bad beats and being down currently), and will certainly be there often. I'd say, just watch the dealer closely these first few weeks to make sure they don't make any mistakes or errors.
