I was there in October for the first time and wanted to say +1 to the games being unreal soft.

Guy called all in on a monotone club flop with just a 2c. He also said "IWTSTH" every chance he got which was uber annoying but he was good action.

Room wasn't packed tonight, but the action was as advertised. Keep your stack topped up and you'll be just fine.

I do believe that the game is still beatable with a 6bb an hour rake, but for how much?

I'm guessing double digits hourly are near impossible.

I'd have a hard time believing somebody could make more then $6 - $8/hour with a $12/hour rake.


So, while I suppose the game is still technically beatable, I'm assuming the vast majority of $1/$2 games in the rest of the country give higher hourly's.

Thoughts on this idea?

FYI Total Rewards has a $39 a night promo running for hotel rates. I blew significant rungood when I checked in late and they (being sold out of the standard rooms) slotted me into a suite.

Played a few short sessions this weekend to pay for the parking. Made a bit, the games are def beatable, BUT, one thing not mentioned earlier... It's $6 per half hour AND a $1 BBJ drop per hand. Makes a pretty significant difference...

Thanks for all the advice guys. Had a blast, and will def be checking my TR page for room rates prior to next trip.

You're failing to take into account the max buy-in rule, which dramatically changes the game's earning potential. I have 1447 hours recorded from 1/2010 to 5/2011 (after which I moved into the 2/5). My hourly rate was well in excess of what is commonly regarded as sustainable at these stakes. I don't think I'm a significant outlier either. I know a handful of other players who achieved similar winrates. If you table select for deep games (and assuming you're actually any good) you can sustain an hourly rate comparable to that expected at 2/5 in most venues.

As far as I can tell the buy in for the $1/$2 is $60 - $200.

That means the max is only 100 bb's, that's standard.

What's all of this deep stack play you are referring to?

U can buy in for whatever the big stack has

So basically it is an uncapped game

Correct - new games cap at $300 and once the game is running, big stack is the cap.

Does the room get uncharacteristically fishy during the coming Mardi Gras season with all the drunks?

Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?

its bourbon st. There are drunks all year. It's always fishy

played there last night.. awesome games running. If you can survive the suck outs. you can make boat loads.

Making my way to NOLA for the first time for a friends bachelor party and will definitely be playing some poker at Harrah's. A few noob nola questions:

1) What's the best way to get from the airport to the casino? Public Transportation or Cab? Rates?

2) Luckily I have a room around the corner at the W on Friday and Saturday, but I am coming in on a Thursday night without a place booked yet. Is there a recommended place to crash (this will be by myself and I don't care about quality much, just something cheap and close to the casino).

Basically, I'm coming in on Thursday by myself and arrive around midnight. My plan was to go straight to the casino and play for awhile and kill the hours before everyone else gets there the next day. Any suggestions for stuff close to do?

Anything I should know about the poker room?

PS -- I would love to find a limit game....does anything over 4/8 run anywhere in NOLA?

As I recall, there are shuttles from the airport - but I don't recall the price. Whatever it is, it is much cheaper than taking a taxi.

All sorts of fun stuff to do. At midnight, Bourbon Street is still going strong. Especially this close to Mardi Gras. Just walk on over and enjoy!! :-) I'm not too sure what else is going on at that hour, but the bars are all open, etc. Lots of places to eat will be open as well. And of course the poker room will be in full swing.

Lee

The only big knock against the Harrah's NO room is that they don't give any TR rewards credits for play, which sucks. If I'm not mistaken, it's the only CET property in the country that doesn't give you anything. They get away with it because they are the only game in town (only other casino poker room in the area is a long drive to BFE across the river).

Great news though, they are running a "promotion" through the end of March and are giving rewards credits for play (gee, thanks guys). Shouldn't have to have a "promotion" to give the same credits the company gives everywhere else, but hey, I'm not complaining.

From the official Harrah's NO poker room website:

EARN BASE AND BONUS REWARDS CREDITS!
Now through March 31st, earn base and bonus reward credits when playing in our poker room. Play must be tracked through the Bravo System.

I haven't played there since this started, so cannot confirm the rate of credits, whether it's the standard rate for CET properties or something different. Anyone played recently that has info?

I'll be in New Orleans next Thursday/Friday for a conference and will check it out and report back.

Had no idea that was the case there. Yet another reason to despise Harrah's

The rate is 7 base points (equivalent to tier credits) and 18 bonus points. So no, it's not close to most other properties. It's likely, though, that they will continue this "promotion" after 3/31. The top floor guy says it hasn't been confirmed, but that's the impression he got from management.

I haven't been playing poker so far on this trip (too busy chasing Mardi Gras beads and exploring the city) but my wife has. According to her, they are paying some 17 or 18 tier credits per hour, and an entire 25 cents in comps per hour!

I've spotted the sign announcing the promo, and was surprised since not too many months ago, these boards announced the new CET policy of standardising poker rates company wide.

This hasn't happened though, as Harrah's in St. Louis pays far less than what is considered standard.

Lee

*obligatory* eat @ cafe du monde for their beignets obv

Great beignets!!

Also, all of the food we've been eating is really good. Remember the song that goes "Jambaly, crawfish pie, file gumbo"? Roloumade (sp?) on Bourbon Street has a sampler of just that - and it is all really, really, good.

The Bonoffs playing at the Old Opera House - can't applaud them enough, they are that good! Zydeco music at its finest.

Another bonus that I found out about by accident (a friendly Total Rewards person clued me in) is that one gets bonus money as a birthday present - and mine was on the 17th. Turned out that I got $50 in slot play, which cashed out at $52.50 when run through a video poker game.

What a shame that all CET properties don't do this! Might be for 7-Star players only though, so not all need apply. Still, considering that the only other birthday offer I got from CET is about $3 in comps.....

Mardi Gras is great - even though today is mostly a washout. We need the rest though. All of this play is exhausting!

Lee

Sounds like my kinda party! I always like eating at Coop's Place at the other end of Decatur.

.... Do you recommend any other places for good eats? Already sold on Mother's too, but where else??

Petunia's is closed! How disgusting is that!?! The Pain Perdue was ridiculous!!

I land at midnight tomorrow and will be at Harrah's by 12:30. Is anything open for food that is really good and within walking distance? I will not have eaten since noon and after hearing so many good things about NOLA food, I'm hoping there's a gem still available that late.

you won't get the best of nola eats that late (save fine dining for daylight hours or dinnertime), but at that point you'll prob be ready to eat your arm and there are plenty of late-night options.

if you just want to scarf something down before you grab a seat at a 1-2 table, there is a Lucky Dog stand literally next to the poker room, and you can get a giant dog loaded and a bag of chips for about 8 bucks. the Fudrucker's in Harrah's also usually stays open late, so could get a burger. i usually say stay away from chains in nola, but if you just need a quick bite so you can start degen-ing, it's an option.

other than that, you'll have to venture outside of the casino. the camellia grill is a new orleans legend, corner of Chartres and Toulouse, it's a diner. not 100% sure they're open 24/7, but i think they are. it's about a 10 minute walk from casino.

clover grill is DEFINITELY open 24/7, same diner vibe as camellia, though maybe a little sketchier, in a good way. it's about a 12-15 walk from casino, corner of bourbon and dumaine.

neither camellia nor clover are 4-star cuisine by a long shot, but it's good greasy diner food and both are new orleans institutions that you'll probably get a story or two out of.

if all else fails, go to bourbon street, ~5 minute walk from casino, where there's a place selling pizza by the slice on about every other corner. for 5-10 bucks you can fill up on greasy pizza goodness and then you'll be ready to get back to the casino...or pop into some other establishment in the area

Wow. thank you for the awesome post!!!