Played a few hours there yesterday.

Cons:
excessively dark
very little leg room underneath table
floor did not seem to know what games were going at what limits or why and how there are wait lists.

pros:
can buy in deeper than borgata
9handed at all limits

Exactly. It is impossible to sit properly in seats 2,3,7,8. In order to sit properly, you are supposed to have your stomach pressed slightly against the edge of the table, your back straight, and your legs in front of you. The table support does not allow for your legs to rest properly. It is an Utterly awful table design. This is a MAJOR issue.

the guy who gave it a d rating is acting like 2/5 is a high limit game or something demanding a floor person to stand over the table at all times. It's a low limit game. The room isnt very big the floor can hear a call from anywhere around the tables. the leg room isn't disastrous, i'm 6'4" and play at sands 3 days a week with a similar situation and i usually just turn the chair backwards and sit. it wasn't the grand opening and most the things people have listed won't be problems by the time it opens. The location and no cell phone service are the biggest issues.

Bravo showing a 5-10NL game going now. Some big player group is taking Revel for a test run. What is the max buy for this game?

Went there today to look around. It was early afternoon and I didn't feel like playing 1/2, so I didn't play.

Pros:

Insanely nice environment: I love Borgata, but Revel just blows Borgata away for niceness. Not even close. Nothing in AC comes even close to comparing.

Whole hotel is nonsmoking: Of course if you're a smoker you probably disagree

Buyin structure: Apparently 1/2 is $100-$500 and 2/5 is $200-$1000. The deeper we (or our fishy opponents) can buyin, the more we can make. IMO this is a really big plus for Revel.

Cons:
No comped rooms, no inexpensive dining: Can't stay there, and apparently there is no buffet/food court and I couldn't find any casual dining restaurants anywhere. $2.5/hour at 2/5 is useless if I can't actually use it to eat while I play. Most of the restaurants were either closed for training in the afternoon or weren't open to the public yet, but again I didn't see anything that looked even vaguely inexpensive.

Location: The poker room is in a really weird, hard to find spot on an upper level. Probably won't get much walkup traffic.

Rake/BBJ structure: Apparently it's $20 to drop for the BBJ at 2/5 as opposed to $50 for Borgata. Hurts the regs because more smallish pots have the $1 taken.

2/5 is also raked as opposed to timed. I think people can argue both ways, but I think on average I would lose more with a $4 max rake than $10/hour timed at Borgata.

Conclusion:

The room looks nice and there are some definite positives, but unless the games are super juicy I can't see myself playing there more than a small fraction of the time just because there's nowhere to eat and I have to stay somewhere else and jitney over.

For that reason alone I hope this place survives and thrives. Any idea when they're going to be having tournaments?

As a "resort that has a casino", I have my doubts on how successful this type of place will be. Given the current economic situation and ever increasing competition, a place that will cater to the vacationers without giving discounted rooms seems out of place. If people wanted to take a vacation to a resort that has a casino for full price, there are already established places for that. I guess for those who live nearby and don't want to fly to these places, then the Revel can fill that need, but I doubt that's hardly a big enough demand to be successful.

I hope the place does well, for the overall health of AC competition. It's always better for the consumer if there are more companies fighting for your business. It just seems Revel has decided to go in an extreme direction.

They wil change once they realize that Borgata is going to crush their business model as is unless they dont have the desire to compete.

Someone asked about table stakes for 5/10 NLHE at Revel.

It's $500min-$2000max with $6 timed rake.

Some quick observations:

A. Yes, the poker room is too dark, but that is being addressed.

B. We were told by someone who works there that the tables were ordered before any poker people were. In other words, they were ordered by a person who doesn't know poker. And who clearly could have done better. Maybe they'll be replaced, maybe not. We'll see what the overall response is, and how many people actually complain vs. the number who play without complaining.

C. As for free comp nights - that isn't what Revel is about, as their marketing makes clear. They are a resort with a casino attached, as has already been stated. According to statements made by the marketing people there even the top suits are for rent and are not being held in reserve to comp gamblers with. Having said that, they may well comp top gamblers. Or not. It isn't clear to me. I don't see them having any real incentive to comp poker players with free rooms though. It simply isn't their business model.

Lee

I doubt poker players will ever get comped rooms, but I'm sure they'll comp rooms for high-roller table or pit game players. A whale is a whale regardless of whether you're a resort with a casino or are just a casino with a hotel.

As mentioned, The rooms can be comped through your Revel dollars which is earned from playing poker, slots, table games, food, and shopping. This is the same rule apply to all casino players.

Revel has one card for all level of playing. So, no more taking out the black card and trying to look like a big whale.

I will be there Thursday night till Saturday. The only thing that I know will bother me is the no-smoking. Wonder if anyone will just take a few tokes in the bathroom. How can they enforce this?

The place is great, but almost everyone (on the floor, walking around etc.) agrees that it's much too dark in there. Feels like its 4am if you come in for 30 minutes.

With any amount of effort they can enforce it. Just have someone occasionally walk through, the bum smokers who use the bathroom to smoke aren't hard to spot.

you could call and ask the security guards to search all would be bathroom users for cigarettes, you could argue that this would not be an unjustified prior restraint so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate resort concerns.
I tried to call last night to see if they would comp me a room, but no one answered the phone, and when I drove by this morning, the walk from the street to the resort entrance I judged to be too long so I took the path less traveled by, one where at the end of the yellow brick road, they do comp rooms, And that has made all the difference...

Most casinos and places of business have designated smoking areas, whether inside or out. The fact that they do not allow smoking is keeping trend with most other poker rooms that have forced players to go to the main casino or outdoors. From what I have heard, this is very attractive to many patrons who are offended by the smoke and can now enjoy smoke-free playing. I for one am happy about this decision, as this is a long time coming.

As far as the lighting issue, the poker room management is aware of the issue and player concerns, and is working to address it. Rumor has it that it should be worked out within the next week.

Comps on the other hand will keep tabs with play. The fact that they only have one level card really has no bearing as to who will be comped what. This should all depend on play and we have yet to find out what the comp level will be for poker. If anyone has information on this, it would be appreciated.

Hi Folks,

How is the beer selection ? Any craft brews being offered ?

Thanks !

i wanna chime in & say i love the smoke free policy.i quit 5 yrs ago after smoking for 25 yrs.you just dont realize how very bad they stink until your not around em for a while and the boardwalk looks like poop with every space in between the boards packed with butts.
but any how my girlfriend & i will be up on the 12th for the weekend & i am super psyched to play over there, although we r pullin the old stay @ showboat play @ revel cuz it so $$$.i hope the food is worth the $ @ least.i glad it not the same old noodle bar and pizza joint

I heard that the lights in the room are dimmed due to a reflection issue with the cameras but are already being worked on today. A manager turned the lights up for about 10 minutes today and drastically increased visibility and player satisfaction.

End of April-Same way.

Bottom line about the poker room at Revel: They have no chance of succeeding, and certainly not competing with the top poker in the city currently, unless they make some drastic changes. These include, but are certainly not limited to:

Significantly improved lighting, more accessible path to the poker room, shuffle machines at all tables, and free parking for (semi) regular players.

Without these they have absolutely no chance of succeeding. They'll become another 5 table poker room and eventually will be closed by management due to lack of profitability.

Where do you think the summer tourists with lots of money will be gambling this summer? Not at the Borgata. I don't see any reason why a casual summer weekend tourist would choose Borgata over Revel this summer. People will gravitate to the new thing. You can play with the regs at Borgata and Taj and get your free parking or you can go after the fish at Revel and make some real $$$.

To be fair, do any of the big poker rooms in Las Vegas comp rooms purely for poker play?

why do poker players think they make or break the casinos?

I'll turn you in myself.