Parx Casino (Bensalem, PA) -- FAQ in OP
11-04-2010
, 07:17 PM
11-04-2010
, 07:24 PM
11-04-2010
, 07:57 PM
11-04-2010
, 08:05 PM
Peoples first impressions are very important. They can often cause people to make certain decisions, in this case not going to the room. Because Ari has been so transparent and communicative, I think it is good that people are saying what their first impressions are. Doesn't matter whether they are from reports posted on here or if they have actually been to the room. Impressions are impressions.
We all know that Parx is going to be a fantastic room. Now is the time to work out the small kinks. I'm sure Ari appreciates everyone sharing their thoughts.
As for me, I was disappointed to hear some of the common complaints, but I will hold my final judgment until I play there. My very early first impressions have been made though.
Hopefully I'll get down there this weekend
11-04-2010
, 09:25 PM
11-04-2010
, 10:22 PM
11-04-2010
, 10:23 PM
I know some 1 posted that the room was soft. Anyone else feel the same? What is the overall feel?
11-04-2010
, 10:42 PM
I can only speak for the one 2/5 NL table I was at on Wednesday, but there was definitely a whole lotta donk-calling and river-chasing going on. Of course, if you're a 4:1 favorite after the turn, you want those even money calls. That is, unless you were the couple of poor souls that got disgustingly rivered for all their chips. Is that what you guys mean by "soft," or does "soft" mean a bunch of nits you can just bully around? You won't be running over anyone at this place, that's for sure. If you raise, expect three callers every time, and you have virtually no shot of pushing people off their hands post-flop. If you're a LAG player, you'll fit right in. If you're more TAG, then you really have to pick your spots and not get frustrated. My downfall was that I got frustrated with not hitting flops and watching other people win with garbage, so I tried to get in on the donk-calling action. Didn't work 
11-05-2010
, 12:02 AM
11-05-2010
, 12:05 AM
Soft is an adjective used to describe a poker game that is filled with weak competition and bad players--the opposite of a 'tough lineup.'
ty for the update
11-05-2010
, 09:45 AM
I saw that I was there from about 4:30 - 7:30 (mini-TR to follow).
I wanted to play in the 15 game, but after scouting the game a few times and noticing all the 2P2's, I decided to play elsewhere Man, there just aren't enough fish to go around!
Hopefully, this weekend, they will get a 2nd game going. Y'all can trade each others money back & forth - I'll play at the tourist table
I was there from about 4:30 - 7:30 (mini-TR to follow).I wanted to play in the 15 game, but after scouting the game a few times and noticing all the 2P2's, I decided to play elsewhere
Man, there just aren't enough fish to go around! Hopefully, this weekend, they will get a 2nd game going. Y'all can trade each others money back & forth - I'll play at the tourist table
11-05-2010
, 10:49 AM
11-05-2010
, 11:14 AM
Since I missed opening day, because of travel issues - I decided to blow off the afternoon and head over & check out the room. Summary: Wow!
First, it was pissing down raining when I arrived. This made the walk from the parking area to the door more painful than it might have been on a dry day. That just sucked. And you have to walk through about 500 (empty) Handicap parking spaces, which is just cruel. If there is a sooper-sekret parking location - please let me know. I would expect that on weekends, the lot will fill up much more and walk will be even longer. When the expansion and other gaming opens - yikes! You'll need a shuttle bus.
That said - this was my only bitch about my initial experience and I can live with it (except in the rain). It's all uphill from here
My first impression when I got off the escalator and walked into the room was... WOW! Ari and company did a nice job designing the room. The layout is great, colors are not at all offensive (in typical casino gaud), the lighting could be a tad brighter for my taste, but it was OK. First impression - they hit a home run!
As I was standing there by the sign up podium, looking over the room - I was approached by Dan. He asked if he could help with anything. I introduced myself to him and told him it was my first visit. he asked what I wanted to play and when I listed the games that I would sit - he showed me where they were going.
As I mentioned before - I didn't want to sit in the 15/30, since it appeared to be a good mix of 2p2's and other solid players - paying time and pushing chips back & forth amongst each other. There may have been a fish, or two - but certainly not enough to feed everyone.
While I was deciding what/where to sit, Dan asked me for my ID and said he would go get me a Parx card. Pretty effin cool. Then, I bumped into Rod - an old friend who used to deal/floor at the Trop, back in the day, when a bunch of us were weekly regulars in the infamous Pink Chip Game (the best game - ever) that we ran over every weekend. it was good to see a familiar face. We chatted for a bit and he got me a seat in the O8 game.
Arriving at the table, I immediately noticed that 8 of these players were completely clueless about the game. As I was settling in, one guy at the other end of the table turned over: A, 5, 8, K rainbow. I forget the board, but his A5 was god for the low and I think his 58 made a str8 - LOL. The other 4 (yes.... FOUR) callers all mucked. Oh, BTW - this triggered the half-kill (at $40). Yum!!! There was a pretty solid player to my right (I think he said he was a 2p2 lurker) and the rest of the lineup was just.... amazing
I had to go the cage to buy chips and on the way, I bumped into Ari. Of course,I thanked him for spending time here on the forum and for LISTENING to what the players wanted - and doing the best he can to deliver. We chatted about many things: the expansion coming, smoking at the bar, games and general BS.
One of the things we discussed was the structure of the limit games. I told him that really hope that he does not open 2-4 (or 3-6) limit games, even after the expansion. Ari said that he will not add them to the lineup. He likes the "Vegas-like" structure of the B and the V - where they progress from 4-8 to 8-16 to 15-30 to 30-60. We laughed about the fact that the 15-30 at the B, may be the best mid-limit hold'em game on the planet. I'm hoping that we can get similar results here.
Ari also told me that he really hopes (expects?) that the limit mixed games, along with PLO will take off. This guy just gets it, IMO. The world does not revolve around NL. Finally, a cardroom manager that can see that people want to play more than NL. Personally, I've been waiting many years for this No disrespect to NL or the players that love the game, but we limit players have taken a back seat to NL since the day Moneymaker stumbled his way into fame & fortune! It's nice to see real game selection on the not-so-distant horizon.
I thanked Ari for his time. With all that he must be doing, it was great that he took time out to shoot the breeze with me. He's definitely a class act. Make it a point to look him up, when you visit the room. He's a lot like my good friend Stan, at the Borg... where, sadly, based on what I see here at Parx - I probably won't be going to visit all that much anymore
I'll skip the banter about playing in the O8 game - I did make a nice little profit (how much can you really make at 4-8?) of about $90, after an hour +/- of play. I moved over to a 4-8 hold'em game, after again walking past the 15 game and taking a pass. I really hope that line up gets softer As bad as the players were in the O8 game, they looked like world-beaters, compared to the line up here. OMFG - we don't need 2-4 here.... these folks were playing 2-4 at this table. I saw 9,3o (UTG+2) drag a huge pot. Countless, runner-runner flush/2pair, river gutshots and 4-flushes were the norm. TPTK... LOL. Hold your breath, you're gonna get run down
A couple of my flopped sets got paid in 3 spots, one was run down by a RR gutter. KK held up 2 of 4 times. A flopped nut flush paid me by 4 players (I CR the flop and turn), as they all held out hope. But, too many draws didn't get there and too many turn folds with TPTK after a bet & raise (yes, darling your gutshot hit... again) made variance less than on my side. And, I cashed for $43 in that game.
Moral of the story: these people suck. Games are g00t!
I did find, as was mentioned here before that, the tables are on the small side and pretty tight when 10 handed. I don't think they will sit 9/table - since there are 10 upholders at each table. But, it's pretty tight - especially if you have some large people at the table. The distance between tables is nice, however. I didn't notice too many people banging into folks at the table behind/beside them. There's reasonable room to walk behind and around the tables. I hope that can remain the norm! And, the chairs are comfortable and adjustable, as nice as the Borg chairs. The table felt seems a little taught. It's a little tough to pick up your cards. I'd like a little more "spring" in the felt, but that's just a minor nit. Overall, tables get a 9 out of 10... the last point lost because of cramped conditions. It's not a problem, however.
I liked the fact that you cannot buy chips at the table. Keep the games moving, especially in time games. They had 2 chip runners in the room, who did an excellent job of responding to calls for, "Chips on table X!!!" Very nice and very Bellagio-like. Ari and co. get an A+ for this feature!!! Let's hope that on crowded nights, after the expansion - this will maintain the same level of expediency. Nice touch!!!
As for dealers... the experienced ones (a few from the Borg that I know) did very well, the newer ones struggled a bit. Not surprising. In the split-pot games, the newer dealers were slow. We helped them out and over time, it should get better. They are are trying very hard and those that dealt my games were very pleasant and did their absolute best to run a competent game. The Bravo system is a PITA and caused more than a few slow-downs. But, again.. with experience, that should improve, too. Give them a break and be nice.
The floor ran a great room. Seats seemed to be filled in a very timely manner and the overall customer service experience was superb. Fills were handled well, table balancing was accommodated and the only ruling that happened at my table was made swiftly and correctly. We had a hand where the cards of the person next to me were pulled into the muck by the dealer, accidently. He quickly removed them and said he could identify them, as we all could. The floor was called and ruled that since the cards "touched the muck" the hand was dead. Many people might not like this ruling, since the cards were identifiable... but, PROTECT YOUR HAND is the overarching rule. Good call here! Floor gets an A+ from me (not because of the ruling) for overall friendliness, competence and customer service.
I wandered to the side of the room near the bar and couldn't really notice the smoke. The room was reasonable crowded and there were several smokers at the bar. If you walk over to the bar itself, you can (obviously) smell the smoke. But even at the tables nearest the bar.. I didn't notice the smell. I'm an arrogant reformed smoker, who is very sensitive to the oder - not a problem here, IMHO. It's worse in the lobby, where you enter the building and head to the escalators. The smell is with you most of the way up the escalator. All of this is probably very subjective, relative to the amount of smokers at any given time. But, it doesn't appear to be a serious issue - at least not last night. We'll see how it goes this weekend, when there should be many more people.
A few other thoughts:
The bathrooms were clean and bright and very accessible from anywhere in the room.
The cage had all windows open & staffed. As expected, transactions were a little slow, as the cashiers made very sure that they were correct in processing exchanges.
The public address system needs improvement. If you're seated at a table that is NOT right near the podium, it is VERY HARD to hear them call names. I hate blaring PA's, but this one needs a volume boost!
I don't drink, so I can't comment on that service or the lack of free liquor. However, the waitstaff seemed to be abundant and moved reasonably well. I ordered a bottle of water and it came pretty fast. I hear that (eventually) liquor and bottled water will be free, though.
In summary, based on my observations, Parx is going to be wildly successful. This is a very well-run room (especially for being open only 2 days!!!!!) that should get even better. The overall experience is quite Bellagio/Venetian like - only better! Customer service seems to be a priority. If game selection continues to be varied and the limit games, PLO and mixed games "stick" - it will be absolutely off the charts (for me). I look forward to returning to play there, going forward. Parx appears to offer all the things that a player expects from a world-class poker room.
The best part.... it is only 15 minutes from home. No more trekking over an hour and a half to the sewer that is AC, sitting in endless lines of summer traffic, paying $10 in tolls and $5 to park. I'll miss the Borg. I am certain that I will visit there occasionally. I love the place and Stan is an Ace, however, like last night - I can run down to Parx and play a few hours in the evening and still be home in short order. It will be my main room.
Congratulations Ari!!! You have a huge potential to create a poker mecca here in PA. Keep up the great work and always... keep listening to the players.
First, it was pissing down raining when I arrived. This made the walk from the parking area to the door more painful than it might have been on a dry day. That just sucked. And you have to walk through about 500 (empty) Handicap parking spaces, which is just cruel. If there is a sooper-sekret parking location - please let me know. I would expect that on weekends, the lot will fill up much more and walk will be even longer. When the expansion and other gaming opens - yikes! You'll need a shuttle bus.
That said - this was my only bitch about my initial experience and I can live with it (except in the rain). It's all uphill from here
My first impression when I got off the escalator and walked into the room was... WOW! Ari and company did a nice job designing the room. The layout is great, colors are not at all offensive (in typical casino gaud), the lighting could be a tad brighter for my taste, but it was OK. First impression - they hit a home run!
As I was standing there by the sign up podium, looking over the room - I was approached by Dan. He asked if he could help with anything. I introduced myself to him and told him it was my first visit. he asked what I wanted to play and when I listed the games that I would sit - he showed me where they were going.
As I mentioned before - I didn't want to sit in the 15/30, since it appeared to be a good mix of 2p2's and other solid players - paying time and pushing chips back & forth amongst each other. There may have been a fish, or two - but certainly not enough to feed everyone.
While I was deciding what/where to sit, Dan asked me for my ID and said he would go get me a Parx card. Pretty effin cool. Then, I bumped into Rod - an old friend who used to deal/floor at the Trop, back in the day, when a bunch of us were weekly regulars in the infamous Pink Chip Game (the best game - ever) that we ran over every weekend. it was good to see a familiar face. We chatted for a bit and he got me a seat in the O8 game.
Arriving at the table, I immediately noticed that 8 of these players were completely clueless about the game. As I was settling in, one guy at the other end of the table turned over: A, 5, 8, K rainbow. I forget the board, but his A5 was god for the low and I think his 58 made a str8 - LOL. The other 4 (yes.... FOUR) callers all mucked. Oh, BTW - this triggered the half-kill (at $40). Yum!!! There was a pretty solid player to my right (I think he said he was a 2p2 lurker) and the rest of the lineup was just.... amazing
I had to go the cage to buy chips and on the way, I bumped into Ari. Of course,I thanked him for spending time here on the forum and for LISTENING to what the players wanted - and doing the best he can to deliver. We chatted about many things: the expansion coming, smoking at the bar, games and general BS.
One of the things we discussed was the structure of the limit games. I told him that really hope that he does not open 2-4 (or 3-6) limit games, even after the expansion. Ari said that he will not add them to the lineup. He likes the "Vegas-like" structure of the B and the V - where they progress from 4-8 to 8-16 to 15-30 to 30-60. We laughed about the fact that the 15-30 at the B, may be the best mid-limit hold'em game on the planet. I'm hoping that we can get similar results here.
Ari also told me that he really hopes (expects?) that the limit mixed games, along with PLO will take off. This guy just gets it, IMO. The world does not revolve around NL. Finally, a cardroom manager that can see that people want to play more than NL. Personally, I've been waiting many years for this
No disrespect to NL or the players that love the game, but we limit players have taken a back seat to NL since the day Moneymaker stumbled his way into fame & fortune! It's nice to see real game selection on the not-so-distant horizon. I thanked Ari for his time. With all that he must be doing, it was great that he took time out to shoot the breeze with me. He's definitely a class act. Make it a point to look him up, when you visit the room. He's a lot like my good friend Stan, at the Borg... where, sadly, based on what I see here at Parx - I probably won't be going to visit all that much anymore
I'll skip the banter about playing in the O8 game - I did make a nice little profit (how much can you really make at 4-8?) of about $90, after an hour +/- of play. I moved over to a 4-8 hold'em game, after again walking past the 15 game and taking a pass. I really hope that line up gets softer
As bad as the players were in the O8 game, they looked like world-beaters, compared to the line up here. OMFG - we don't need 2-4 here.... these folks were playing 2-4 at this table. I saw 9,3o (UTG+2) drag a huge pot. Countless, runner-runner flush/2pair, river gutshots and 4-flushes were the norm. TPTK... LOL. Hold your breath, you're gonna get run down A couple of my flopped sets got paid in 3 spots, one was run down by a RR gutter. KK held up 2 of 4 times. A flopped nut flush paid me by 4 players (I CR the flop and turn), as they all held out hope. But, too many draws didn't get there and too many turn folds with TPTK after a bet & raise (yes, darling your gutshot hit... again) made variance less than on my side. And, I cashed for $43 in that game.
Moral of the story: these people suck. Games are g00t!
I did find, as was mentioned here before that, the tables are on the small side and pretty tight when 10 handed. I don't think they will sit 9/table - since there are 10 upholders at each table. But, it's pretty tight - especially if you have some large people at the table. The distance between tables is nice, however. I didn't notice too many people banging into folks at the table behind/beside them. There's reasonable room to walk behind and around the tables. I hope that can remain the norm! And, the chairs are comfortable and adjustable, as nice as the Borg chairs. The table felt seems a little taught. It's a little tough to pick up your cards. I'd like a little more "spring" in the felt, but that's just a minor nit. Overall, tables get a 9 out of 10... the last point lost because of cramped conditions. It's not a problem, however.
I liked the fact that you cannot buy chips at the table. Keep the games moving, especially in time games. They had 2 chip runners in the room, who did an excellent job of responding to calls for, "Chips on table X!!!" Very nice and very Bellagio-like. Ari and co. get an A+ for this feature!!! Let's hope that on crowded nights, after the expansion - this will maintain the same level of expediency. Nice touch!!!
As for dealers... the experienced ones (a few from the Borg that I know) did very well, the newer ones struggled a bit. Not surprising. In the split-pot games, the newer dealers were slow. We helped them out and over time, it should get better. They are are trying very hard and those that dealt my games were very pleasant and did their absolute best to run a competent game. The Bravo system is a PITA and caused more than a few slow-downs. But, again.. with experience, that should improve, too. Give them a break and be nice.
The floor ran a great room. Seats seemed to be filled in a very timely manner and the overall customer service experience was superb. Fills were handled well, table balancing was accommodated and the only ruling that happened at my table was made swiftly and correctly. We had a hand where the cards of the person next to me were pulled into the muck by the dealer, accidently. He quickly removed them and said he could identify them, as we all could. The floor was called and ruled that since the cards "touched the muck" the hand was dead. Many people might not like this ruling, since the cards were identifiable... but, PROTECT YOUR HAND is the overarching rule. Good call here! Floor gets an A+ from me (not because of the ruling) for overall friendliness, competence and customer service.
I wandered to the side of the room near the bar and couldn't really notice the smoke. The room was reasonable crowded and there were several smokers at the bar. If you walk over to the bar itself, you can (obviously) smell the smoke. But even at the tables nearest the bar.. I didn't notice the smell. I'm an arrogant reformed smoker, who is very sensitive to the oder - not a problem here, IMHO. It's worse in the lobby, where you enter the building and head to the escalators. The smell is with you most of the way up the escalator. All of this is probably very subjective, relative to the amount of smokers at any given time. But, it doesn't appear to be a serious issue - at least not last night. We'll see how it goes this weekend, when there should be many more people.
A few other thoughts:
The bathrooms were clean and bright and very accessible from anywhere in the room.
The cage had all windows open & staffed. As expected, transactions were a little slow, as the cashiers made very sure that they were correct in processing exchanges.
The public address system needs improvement. If you're seated at a table that is NOT right near the podium, it is VERY HARD to hear them call names. I hate blaring PA's, but this one needs a volume boost!
I don't drink, so I can't comment on that service or the lack of free liquor. However, the waitstaff seemed to be abundant and moved reasonably well. I ordered a bottle of water and it came pretty fast. I hear that (eventually) liquor and bottled water will be free, though.
In summary, based on my observations, Parx is going to be wildly successful. This is a very well-run room (especially for being open only 2 days!!!!!) that should get even better. The overall experience is quite Bellagio/Venetian like - only better! Customer service seems to be a priority. If game selection continues to be varied and the limit games, PLO and mixed games "stick" - it will be absolutely off the charts (for me). I look forward to returning to play there, going forward. Parx appears to offer all the things that a player expects from a world-class poker room.
The best part.... it is only 15 minutes from home. No more trekking over an hour and a half to the sewer that is AC, sitting in endless lines of summer traffic, paying $10 in tolls and $5 to park. I'll miss the Borg. I am certain that I will visit there occasionally. I love the place and Stan is an Ace, however, like last night - I can run down to Parx and play a few hours in the evening and still be home in short order. It will be my main room.
Congratulations Ari!!! You have a huge potential to create a poker mecca here in PA. Keep up the great work and always... keep listening to the players.