There's a Red Card slot in the parking kiosks outside the elevators so that looks like a real possibility. I do not seem to have anything resembling a "comp dollar" showing up for me yet on my card as of Sunday, so I'm a little wary nonetheless.

This.

Once I hear somebody say 'any monkey can deal'(and I've heard that A LOT) I instantly know they are a moran with no clue what dealing at a high level entails. They think all dealing is is pitching cards and pushing pots, but there are literally a dozen skills above those two on the list that make a great dealer:

-be fast
-shut up and deal
-keep action moving
-CONTROL YOUR TABLE/INTEGRITY OF THE GAME
-keep players engaged
-muck hands correctly
-no tv watching/storytelling
-be able to chop pots quickly
-be able to handle 3 and 4 pot hands efficiently
-say thank you for every tip
-count down all bets/raises
-don't be a miserable POS
-knock the table before you turn and before you river

I am not a dealer by trade, but I can say with great confidence that I am better than 90% of dealers(conservatively) at Encore and the fact is, while dealing at a high level isn't rocket science, it does in fact require a lot of concentration and a lot of multi-tasking. Fact.

Latt please change psychlady's undertitle to parking attendant

That’s HEAD parking attendant tyvm

Since the topic of this thread is encore parking, anyone if they assigned a price for the community lot across the street yet? The website still says TBD.

Does that make Lattimer the Assistant to the Head Parking Attendant?

$1 compdollar parking for 1 hour of play is huge if true

You doubt me. That hurts man

I figured I'd share my first impressions on here. Great thread - thanks for all of the info!

Below is my Yelp review:

I went here a week after opening day on a Saturday to play Poker. I drove in from Kingston, AM and it took 45 min - no traffic! It was around 11 AM and there was plenty of parking. (which was free until July 1st)

I didn't park in the ideal spot. You want to be near the elevator shaft labeled "north" to take a ride directly into the poker room on the 2nd floor. But that's OK, I got to wander around the casino for a bit.

First impressions are good - even that bathrooms are beautiful (though somehow one of the soap dispensers was already empty). I like the red chandeliers.

I made my way to the Poker room after getting lost for a bit, and signed up to play 1/3 No-limit hold-em. The list was 22 people deep already so I decided to get a red card (to earn comps while playing) and visit the ATM. The red card associate had trouble with his ID scanner. But eventually after a minute or two it worked OK. Then I asked where the nearest ATM was and he looked genuinely lost. He admitted he didn't know so I asked a floor manager. There is one in the poker room.

Side note - definitely consider downloading PokerAtlas from the app store to reserve a spot in line. It will save lots of time.

I went back to the hostess to see if there were any open tables and there was seat on 3/6 limit poker. I never play limit, but it was better than sitting on my hands. I ended up making $20. Unfortunately, the dealer was very green and she had trouble reading the board. So we all helped her...every single hand. She was nice though and most people were patient. One time she threw change in the wrong direction and the wrong person picked it up. He was furious and left despite getting his money after she realized what had happened.

This was common theme in the poker room. It was easy to tell the poker room transplants from the newbies. That said, the newbies did fine, albeit a little more slowly and less confident. They need time. It must be daunting to hire and then train 5,000 people at once for a new operation.

While playing poker, I got hungry and asked to see the Poker Grill menu. The dealer hit a button on his tablet and I waited...and waited. It took 20 min just to see a menu. (not five star service). But once she showed up everything went smoothly. I ordered an italian sandwich for $17 which really hit the spot. With tip and tax my bill was around $22. Kind of pricey, but what do you expect? At least I didn't have to leave the poker room. For better or worse, I ate while I played. (Some people hate this because food can get on the chips and cards).

Even in the Poker room, drinks, including alcohol, are free. This is not common on the east coast (I've played in RI, CT and FL). When I first arrived there was a solitary waitress who looked so frazzled I felt bad for her. I ordered a diet coke twice and never saw it. At one point, I made
a side bet with the guy next to me about the Over/Under on his Red Bull.
It was 15 min and I took the over. I won! But by mid-afternoon there were more waitresses and they came around regularly.

After a long session, I wanted dinner. So I walked around for a half-hour trying to find a spot. THIS PLACE IS A ZOO RIGHT NOW! Make reservations. I was lucky to find a seat at the Waterfront bar (see separate review). The long and the short of it: Great food!

On a side note, Sinatra and Rare have a dress code. Check the website before coming if that's where you want to go. (Rare has a 4 oz Kobe beef steak for $220!)

So is Encore a five star resort? It looks like one, even if you don't like the Popeye statue. But the service has a long way to go. For example, pastryorders@encorebostonharbor doesn't work. Will I get a birthday cake for my 40th? We shall see. It will take time for people to learn their new roles.

I will definitely be back!

I think it's fair to say that a meaningful percentage of the dealers at Encore are incompetent. I don't think people are saying it would be "easy" to do better, but what they are delivering right now is far from a premium product.

I don't doubt that a floor told you that. That doesn't mean it will actually happen if someone above him changes their mind!

Free parking today. No need to burn a comp dollar.

Is there a way to see how many “comp dollars” you have on the website? If so, I can’t seem to find it...

You’re right of course. But IME with new dealers @ NH, Twin River, Foxwoods & Mohegan Sun, It takes a fairly considerable time for these dealers to “get up to speed”. I recollect playing @ TR when they introduced poker. It was painful to play there for quite awhile. My hunch is that “eventually” Encore will have very competent dealers. Most of them seem intent on learning their craft.

I played Fri/Sat/Sun for probably around 20 hours combined. Here are my first impressions:

1. 1-3 NL games are generally good.

2. Cage is very slow and first buy-in needs to come from them. I left with a few black chips to avoid having to wait in the future when I arrive.

3. 1-3 list moves really fast. I was 103 on the list Friday, and had a seat in 45 minutes.

4. Dealers are hit or miss; some good some slow. This will improve.

I played in the high limit room and it was averaging around 20 minutes to get my drink. First time to get attention of a server took around 10 minutes.

try games with 3+ cards then

On Friday, I started at $4/8 limit o8 and there were people who didn't even know the rules. They had to be explained what a qualifying low was. Then at the $2/2 PLO the alcohol was flowing and tons of action. People just shoveling in infinite bb with bottom set on a wet board and stuff like that. And then at $20/40 stud there was so much action. Saw a few $1000 pots.

Sunday morning I spoke with a food and bev manager and she was aware of the problems. She said they did assign the girls 4 table sections but they forget which tables were theirs. She said starting that day there would be a full time manager on the floor and one at the beverage station, supervising and helping when needed.

We'll miss you.

Why be sarcastically dismissive when someone points out a shortcoming with the place? Maybe you think Encore Poker is the greatest thing ever, but a lot of people think there is room for improvement. It’s better for poker players to point these things out, so other players know, and hopefully any issues can get fixed.

I personally found the games to be great action. I was there Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and a Saturday and while there were a few periods of tighter play, overall I found the players to be weak and loose. The amount of players who seemed to be new to poker was quite surprising.

I think included with valid and needed feedback there is also entitlement and unrealistic expectations by some people especially the out of towners. I’ll echo the “‘you’ll be missed” sentiment.

Carlito 17, how was the competence of play at the 3/6 limit games?
Not that it matters
I'll have to find out for myself Friday either way.

I'm not using my comp dollars for parking. I need me that Buffet baby!
I'll walk the 6 miles if I have to.

Everyone 1 buck an hour for Jpsychlady. Our head parking attendant.

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I only played 3/6 for 45 min at most. First time ever playing. Seemed tight to me. They allow a bet and four re-raises and no one got past 1 raise

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I played for an hour or two combined while waiting for other games. It’s your typical loose passive low-limit game. They got mad because I raised 3 hands in a row.