As a travel grind spot it's annoying cus the adjacent hotels can be pricy

I don't mind walking up to a mile to get there. Did it for vacation and it wasn't bad at all!

There has been a 5/10 half nlh half plo pretty consistently on fridays. One week it was 10/25 half and half.

Walk a mile in Nola heat to go play poker is borderline retarted

FYI:
Next time you go to New Orleans just go to one of the many hotels right off I-10 in Metarie. You can usually get to Harrah's in about 10-15 minutes from there at 1/3 of the price.

And FWIW the same principle applies in almost any city.

I lol'd.


Anyway, it didn't bother me. I don't mind the heat. Maybe you're out of shape or something? Oh well.


About the I-10, I'd probably just fly down vs drive, although what you're saying might make me reconsider.

Going to be in new orleans for the first time and over halloween weekend heard the voodoo music festival was cool to watch. And I am going to be playing some cards. Sounds like the 1/2 games are soft. How many games do they spread during the weekdays? I will be staying at somewhere close to the Ernest N Morial convention center. Is there any other places to play other than the Harrahs new orleans jazz casino? Is the the NO that everyone is talking about? Anything you would recomend to see or do for a tourist and his wife. Thank you for your time.

There are always plenty of games on weekdays. And while there are other places to play there's absolutely no reason why you should go anywhere else. If you told me what you and the wife were into I might be able to give you some ideas but practically everything you would want to do in New Orleans will be within walking distance of Harrah's.

I'm not a native of NOLA so someone may disagree with me but if you go at night it might be a good idea to take a cab from your hotel to the Harrah's/Canal St/French Quarter area. It's not that that area isn't safe but it won't be as well lit and won't have nearly as much foot traffic as the other areas. It will help you follow the "don't walk around in dark, deserted places in big cities" rule.

Cab? Isn't this like a 3 or 4 block walk? Right down Convention Center Blvd, it looks like. I just wish that I could remember the name of a really good restaurant that we went to near there last time I was done that way!

One good place, for seafood, is right where Poydras hits the river. Crab or Lobster something or other. Jeez, I'm forgetting names right now. Sorry.

A great place for music - and drink - is Bourbone Street. Check out the "Old Opera House" and the Bonoffs for really excellent Zydeco music. Other places have Blues, Jazz, Zydeco, etc. Can't go wrong!

Lots to see and do in the "Big Easy". I'm sure that you'll have a great time.

My biggest problem when going there is that there is so much fun to be had, I miss out on some of it. :-/ Oh, well - if that's the biggest problem......

Almost forgot the best food of all - "Commander's Palace"! Just ask at the hotel and they can tell you how to get there. Probably cab is best - it's a bit of a hike.

Walking around is safe in these parts. No worries there. Just watch out for wandering drunks spilling drinks.....

Lee

Lol cool thanks for the response. Me and my wife are from alaska. And don't have much experience w/ the big city. We are going to go to the voodoo music festival. Havn't figured out which hotel we are staying at but first choice is the Hilton across the street from harrah's? My wife is into a lot of art and I like playing cards. I will note down the cool places to eat thx Lovesantiques. Will take the don't walk around late at night advice as well GEAUX UL. I am coming to town for a convention so I would think that there will be a crud load of tourists that will hopefully make the games extra soft.

Royal St. in the French Quarter is where a lot of the art galleries and fancy antique stores are. It's only a couple blocks from Harrah's. As far as restaurants I highly recommend Cochon. It's the best restaurant I've ever eaten at and it's only a couple blocks away form the convention center in the warehouse district. It's not super duper expensive either. And you should be able to take the Canal St. streetcar from the Harrah's area all the way to Voodoo if you don't have a car.

Yeah I hadn't planned on getting a car. Mainly just taxi's unless there was some kind of shuttle like the double duece in vegas or something. Are most of these resteraunts the kind of place locals would eat at or are they more touristy? Is there anything in new orleans that you would recommend a friend from out of town go and do or see? Obv New Orleans is probably got so much cool stuff unlike where I live where there is probably to much stuff to do in so little time. Thx Geaux UL

Bourbon Street is a must, as far as I'm concerned. Pick up some beads, go at night, find a balcony over a bar, grab a couple of Abita's (Nawlins for beer) and throw them (the beads, not the beers) off of the balcony.

Make sure that you are "paid" appropriately.

Terrific music day and night there as well. Mostly starts after noonish or so, runs into the wee hours.

Lee

I wouldn't worry about the local vs. tourist distinction w/ restaurants in and around the French Quarter. Many of the prominent restaurants are local favorites but are also world famous. Naturally they attract plenty of tourists as well. I'm not a foody, so I'm not going to parse between the dozens of excellent restaurants available, but I'll give you a handful just off the top of my head: Commander's (already mentioned, but often regarded as the top spot in NO; critics sometimes claim it's overrated, but that's usually just relative to its lofty reputation), Arnaud's, Antoine's, Galatoire's, G.W. Finn, Drago's (probably the seafood restaurant mentioned earlier, on the river, across the street from Harrah's), Cochon (already mentioned), Mothers... I really could go on for a long, long, time. And this is just in the immediate vicinity. I recommend you google the lagniappe dining guide for spring 2011. It's got brief descriptions of many of the top restaurants in NO, organized by categories (Delis & Cafes, French, Italian, Modern New Orleans, etc.) so you can select what you think sounds best to you from among an excellent selection.

Two things I recommend: First, Cafe du Monde for breakfast or a late night snack. It's so quintessentially New Orleans that it's probably a cliche, but I still always recommend it to visitors. Right across from Jackson Square on the edge of the French Quarter and adjacent to the River Walk it's the perfect location to start a day of exploring the Quarter (or to end one).

Second, Frenchman Street over Bourbon. Some locals knock Bourbon as a tourist trap; I'm not among them. Bourbon is great if you're young and all you want is to get drunk and party hard all night. There's certainly something to be said for that, and I recommend all first time visitors experience it at least once. However, once you've got that out of your system, I think Frenchman is far more enjoyable. A similar party atmosphere w/o the tourist feel. Slightly less shady w/o the strip clubs and pure degeneracy of Bourbon. More live music and fewer slightly too loud DJ's. I always recommend Frenchman to visitors.

Finally w/ respect to safety: Like any big city, NO can be dangerous if you don't know your way around. With that said, using general common sense will keep you safe barring some unavoidable tragedy. Explore the Quarter during the day. At night stick generally to Canal, Bourbon, Decatur and other tourist spots, or direct lines between them. I have lived in NO all my life and have never felt any fear or danger going out in the downtown/French Quarter area.

cool thanks for all your guys advice

August was the best meal I had in Nola, and i ate at commander's palace and cochon (which were also great). I also highly recommend Luke, especially for breakfast/brunch/lunch/happy hour.

I second the August post. This is John Besh's new flagship restaurant and it kills anything I've ever eaten in New Orleans.

Dragos has the best oysters but otherwise isn't very good IMO

does the room go dark or does it run 24/7?

i'll be in town next week with the wife. i get up early and she likes to sleep in, so i'd like to able to play from like 4 am to 10 am

The room usually goes dark for a few hours on weekdays and even sometimes on weekends. If you're looking to play between 4 & 10am, best advice I can give is to get in early. You should be able to get in at least a few hours as games don't usually wind up till 7-8ish. If you're coming for the weekend, it's hit or miss, but there's a better chance you'll be able to play through.

What stakes shift eye?

There's always atleeast 1NL (usually 1/2 ) and 1LHE game

i don't really care what stakes tbh. i'll play w/e is running. i just kinda assume that's 1/2nl nowadays and sometimes a 2/5. but i'll play 2/4 limit if its the only game.

thanks guys

A couple of quick questions:
1. Are 2-5 games common during the week?

2. What is the max buyin for 1-2? Is there a 100 percent of the biggest stack rule on the 1-2 games?

How often do they get PLO running here? What stakes? Thanks

2/5 game runs like 18 hours a day usually
1/2 24 hours

There will always be at least 1 limit game