My home casino is Foxwoods, but every once in a while I take the trip to AC for a change of scenery, change of players, etc... I am primarily an MTT player but I play 2/5 NL or 1/2NL if its an especially good table, I will also play 10/20-20/40 LHE and Stud if the mood hits me or if I think I have an edge over the table.. I can give my observations from an outsiders point of view as I have played in a few of the rooms in AC....

Borgata - I only played cash at Borgata one time, I thought it was a very nice room, dealers were great, room was well lit and very vibrant... My only complaints were The chips, very hard to handle and very distracting, and there seemed to be a lot of regs and (no proof whatsover, just hunch/observation) seemed like possible collusion at the limit games, so I just stuck to 2-5, no big deal. I have played several tournaments at the Borgata and those are all super top notch, different chips and really a pretty close to perfect tournament environment.

Taj - fun room to play in for nostalgia, and the poster who mentioned the comps was on to something, I went there for a tournament series a couple of years ago, i needed to get a card to register to play and when i got my card they gave me a free hotel room and slot dollars, way above the norm that I have ever seen, maybe a promotion, IDK. My complaints were that the entire building was just unkempt (carpets torn, garbage laying around) and just generally dirty.... The cash game poker chips were insanely dirty (white chips were brown with dirt) and i just couldn't get comfortable because i was kind of grossed out a bit, also seemed to be a high level of sad degens in the room.

Tropicana - A very fun room (big wheel for royals i think) fun staff and decent daily tournaments, no real complaints, but nothing stood out really either, games seemed to be pretty soft, but like the other poster said, almost every room has soft games.

I have also been to 2 other casinos to play, I am having a hard remembering them by name (maybe a reg can help me). One of the poker rooms was super inconvienient to get to... I want to say it was a wsop room, I had to go up elevators and got lost a few times to finally walk into a super small, super week room that was only running 2 tables, I want to say 2/4 LHE and maybe 1-5 Stud so I just left. On another trip I went to a room that was on the boardwalk very close to the Taj, the room was right when you walk in, there was a good restaurant to the left and the room directly to the right, it was a nice room and the tournament i played seemed fine, but again, nothing memorable.

All in all if I had to make a recomendation I would say if your going during one of Borgata's poker series events than you 100% need to go there, it rivals any casino I have been to including my home casino, but if you just want to go up and have a fun night in AC I would say the Tropicana...

On a side note I tried getting a room at Borgata on my first cash game trip up there... I think it was a Thursday, I'm not a reg, and I'm not a pit player so I expected to get a high rate quoted, but they gave me an insane figure for a room, so I just opted to play through the night and nap in my car before heading home.

I can just list what it is that I like in a poker room.
Good looking wait staff - Borgata
River pay off value - Borgata, Taj, showboat,
comp Rooms - Harrahs having so many properties and combining points, I pretty much get free rooms whenever I plug my rewards number into their web site.
However I will say that not only did Stan procure me a good rate on a Borgata room during the opening event of the Borgata Poker Open, but he did it with only one message to him and no interaction at all with me and the reservations center. My room was booked simply by me asking him in a PM. I am not sure this is normal, but I think he sensed that I was not sure of how to connect the dots between him and the reservation and he just went around the process and did it for me. really unheard of in the hotel business, let alone the casino business.
So
Service - Borgata.
Nicest rooms - Borgata

I am going there this weekend, and I will be staying at Showboat and playing between Showboat and Borgata.

Re: Borgata bashing. I had the pleasure of meeting Stan a couple of months ago. Due to distance constraints I can only make it down there a couple of Saturdays a month, and frankly I'm just an anonymous 2/5 NL player in the scheme of things. Nevertheless, I was treated like royalty, like I was their most important customer.

As far as amenities, ambience and game selection go, Borgata is far and away the best casino/poker room east of Las Vegas. It says something that I will continue to patronize them even though I live closer to several card rooms. Unless there is a concert I want to see, I'm not interested in visiting any other AC casino.

I like the Borg's poker room, my issue was something that happened on the Casino floor out side of there about a year ago, basically about the slots.

so like I and many others have said before:

Stan's Room.

/thread.

Now Hallandale, Florida is home for nineinch. How I miss the weekend shuffle between NY and AC. I do not miss the snow however, it was 80 and sunny today for swimming in the ocean.

Stan is the man as far as running a poker room. There is no equivalent to the Borgata anywhere down here as far as I can tell. Not much of a game selection. You can either play 1/2nl, 2/5 nl, or low limit holdem like 1/2, or 2/2 (that's right 2/2; I don't even get the point of this any longer ever since they were legally allowed to play higher limits), I can't even find a 2/4. I did play in a 4/8 omaha game at Pompano Isle of Capri (walk out the door to Pompano Park and watch the trotters instead IMO), but that is it. Hardrock was all nl action.

I have my apartment in AC on the market, but secretly I hope it doesn't sell, I want to come back to AC for the summer. Please don't tell my wife...

My preferences are Borgata and Taj. I lean to the Taj based on variety of games at $10-20 limit and below. A minor complaint is Borg comps evaporating whereas it seems my Taj comps hang around long enough for me to fund a very nice steak dinner.

Borg is still the best in AC when you combine games, comps, service, and amenities. No other poker room (except Parx) has the HEAD of poker operations online and accessible to players at all times. Have a question or need something special - you can go right to the top and get a quick answer or issue resolved. Suffering through casino bureaucracy is not something I relish, and I have never had that problem at Borgata.

Comps at Borgata can be used at the best restaurants in AC casinos, hands down. Sea Blue, Izakaya, Bobby Flay and Old Homestead have no comparison in other casinos, and are all 1:1. I never understood why people would go down to the cafeteria using comps when you can go to one of these (even sitting at the bar) and have a quick and proper meal. Even Bread and Butter works at 1:1. And the burger at Puck's tavern is one of the best deals around for comps.

Borgata now has the MOST comps per hour for low stakes players (1.5 per hour for 1/2). They are also the only casino in AC running promos to attract various non holdem players to keep these games running. No other room even cares about this.

I am a diamond at Harrahs - and I get about 4 free weekday nights every several months at their properties. I like the design of the poker room at Harrah's, and when the action is good it's fun to play at - but you're not going to get weekend nights playing low-mid limit poker there either. The one great benefit to Harrah's is that comps transfer to Vegas. Borgata used to have that option - but stopped when MGM was forced to sell it's stake. Hopefully the Borg will get some kind of transfer with Boyd, because that was a big deal for a lot of players I knew (myself included).

When I play at Borg, I feel comfortable and secure. The same cannot be said for most AC poker rooms anymore.

Borg is still the place to play IMO.

I'm planning a trip in late August (Fri-Sat-Sun). I am a smaller-stakes player who would be interested in playing tournaments up to $200 give-or-take. I like a deep stack and reasonable blinds. I'm a fan of a slower structure. What would be the best tournaments? What rooms have slower tournament structures?

Borgata by far has the best structure. Showboat has a decent structure for daily's too but their room's attendance has gone downhill and they don't get that great of a turnout.

My list currently would be as follows:

#1 Borgata
#2 Taj Mahal
#3 Harrahs
#4 Ballys
#5 Showboat
#6 Caesars
#7 Tropicana

Borgata is the nicest room in Atlantic City. But 1/2 is soft wherever you go. A lot of people put the Taj down but it is the 2nd biggest room in AC, and it is the only other option if you want to play the middle limits aside from Borgata. Showboat used to be the 3rd best room in AC but since the noise and the drop in attendance there it's gone down on my list. Harrah's has a nice room and plenty of games to choose from. But I am not sure if they spread higher limit games or not. I like Ballys and prefer to play 1/3 over 1/2 (and it's the only 1/3 game in AC) because the extra dollar makes a difference and the pots are somewhat bigger and you can win a little more than the average 1/2 game in AC. Caesars is nice but doesn't spread much more than 1/2 and 2/4 with an occasional 2/5 game. Tropicana wins my award for biggest fall from grace. They used to have bi-weekly 10K guaranteed tournaments with one optional add-on that easily drew over 100+ runners. Now they got rid of the high limit room (for slots which I never see anyone playing anyways). Nowadays Tropicana could appreciate the business which is a really sad fact.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is this what you're suppossed to do at every poker room? If you played for 6 hours, and just get up and leave without "checking out", how long are you comped for generally??

It depends on the room. You should ask a floor manager how it's handled in the rooms where you play.

Many properties have it so you get credit for the hours until
a) They have a Bravo system that logs you out.
b) They log somebody else in to your seat.
c) At the Trop they just come around and scan your card every hour.

any updates going to ac for first time sat. which of the harrahs are the most touristy? how is borgata for tourists?

Don't use the Taj parking garage and you should be ok.

Or the bathrooms anywhere near the exits right? Or did they catch all the guys who were robbing people?

I just went to Borgata and never looked back. The more Taj horror stories I hear, the better I feel about it.

IME all rooms except Harrah's Resort, you should ask a floor guy to be "carded" out. Or else you risk losing all your comps. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Borgata no longer requires a sign-out because they recently transitioned to the Bravo system.

Thanks for the correction Rapini.

Not sure about the robberies in bathrooms but there have been two carjackings/murders out of the parking garage in about a year. One being a few weeks ago.

ok played at harrahs last night. Level of play was a mix.
Not to argue but do u guys not think the boardwalk casinos might be more fishy? I dont care about how nice it is. Just really largest numbers of absolute idiot fish im downswinging and need a boost on a side note if u guys could just rank the harrahs rooms showboat etc on the side it wud b great cause i need all the points i can get before end of year and closet harrahs to me is 5hrs away.
If borgotta is softest loosest i will go there tonight .
Thank you for your help

What is the Bravo system?

Leoslayer, IME Taj is the fishiest room. Some homeless guy will certainly call off his entire stack with Top Pair no kicker at 2 am. Said homeless guy may also jack you for yo chedda in the parking lot afterwards. Caveat Emptor.

Say hi to the black dwarf in the Dallas Cowboys jacket while you're there.

I've had an overwhelming amount of success at Caesar's AC. Pick the right 1/2 NL table, it's your personal goldmine.

I have been playing at the Borgata for the last couple of months. I go down roughly once a week. There seem to be mostly regulars who play there. On friday and saturday night you get more variety. I have only played 2-4 LHE and 3-6 LHE

I agree, Caesars has been good for me in the past, but the game selection has been lacking. I was playing at the trop, but since the bad beat hit, I imagine its a ghost town.

I would go to either Borgata or Harrah's for the best game selection as well as the nicest accommodations.