thanks guys for advices! appreciate it.

i guess i will stay my first few nights at ole london. i called a few hotels and their phone answering reps are very impolite and impatient. i guess i need to go there physically to see and improvise from there.

thanks!

You intending to grind the live poker scene yo?

What is your timeframe? Spring of 2011?

Overall, the customer service is not on par with that in Hong Kong when dealing with <= 3-star hotels.

Since you are probe betting around some hotels. Why not try to contact the Metropark? Last time I checked, I was quoted 16K all-inclusive. Decent place.

Ole. London use to be run down, but they renovated. Should be OK for a 2-star.

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It will run you about 533 a night. 550 for Ole. London and weekends are more expensive.

Metropark > Ole. London.

If you get a Monthly Package at a hotel, you will not have to worry about weekend price fluctuations. < variance since it is priced in the monthly pot.

I called the Loft Ito place. They told me they had no more places to rent. Then she mentioned a two-bedroom place for 4000 something. I asked if I could rent for 3 months, she said No. Their office is closed down too. It is too bad, I was going to pay them a visit.

Call the Metropark, ask for the Monthly Package. They will need to know which month.

Let us know your timeframe, so if a suggestion comes to mind... we will know if it will still be relevant...

You are referring to the 2+2 market place? It maybe worthwhile to contact places for rent if they are willing to rent for a month or two.

Try:

http://deltabridges.com/macau-properties

Very low traffic, but as least it gives you an idea of the market. There are maybe old postings that owners were not successful in renting out their place, so maybe they are willing to lease for < 3 months. Who knows. Does not hurt to try to contact them.

Remember, you can always try to rent a room in HK a hour away near the Sheung Wan Ferry Terminal. I doubt you can rent a place for just one season though. Maybe just go to Macau a few times a week. If you are up, stay longer.

Keyword: Sheung Wan

http://hongkong.gumtree.com.hk/f-she...dZsheungQ20wan

Yes, it is a fair price for living in a Hotel. But is not long-term sustainable for most. Rent for 6 months around 35-50K versus 3 months at a Hotel for 50k. Unless you can make a long-term commitment, not many viable options.

Well I promised a TR, and since I'm not in Macau anymore, here comes:
- Royal Hotel was excellent, above expectations for sure and is close to the casino's but if you don't feel like walking a cab will get you there for $3. For what it's worth I had one of the premier rooms, apparently they are the best so I can not comment on the normal guest rooms and deluxe rooms.
- Wynn is amazing and a lot like the wynn hotel in las vegas. Poker room was doing well, lots of action at the higher stakes as well 10/20
- starworld is also great, but the pokerpit only had 2 tables running 1/2.5 and 2.5/5
- Grand lisboa looks great from the outside, not overly impressed by the inside though
- ATM's not that great, maxed out on all my cards and could only get 3000hkd each time.
- poker was bad for me, dropped 2+ buyins on the 10/25 and 25/50, but played terrible as well. Players weren't good but can't say for sure that it's really different from las vegas. They do buy in higher than usual, lots of 200bb+ stacks.
- Macau itself is strange if you can't speak chinese since most people there can't speak english. Definitely not a place I would stay for longer than a couple of days.
- oh and alcoholic drinks aren't complimentary
cliffnotes: lost money, played bad, liked seeing it once but don't really need to go back

hmm i thought all casinos do complimentary drinks. at least in wynn and venetian me and my friends would just stand next to low stakes roulette tables (or sit at the automatic ones), pretend that we're playing and we kept ordering more drinks every 10 mintues. all for free

Free pixie cup size beer at the Grand Lisboa and then if your looking to really booze it up, Hard Rock gives free drinks, even shots!

The waitresses at Hard Rock are mostly Russian and dress in some slutty outfit too. There are also some Filipinas and this one particular Brazilian born Japanese waitress who were super hot too.

This too, you are right about this but unless your betting a decent amount, it is impossible to get good service.

Anyone live in Chongqing or have any advice on places to go there? Will be going out there for vacation at the end of the month.

in macau for the weekend, (durrrr is grinding rb at star vs 5chinese guys and tricket) wondering if any1 know where 2 get any good cigarets. pls pm me.

I've never been to chongqing but if you speak chinese, I HIGHLY recommend you go to Chengdu and eat the ridiculously good food they have, especially their hot pot. There's just nothing in the world like it.

Do you mean weed?

Yeah I went to Chengdu last year for Chinese New Year. Was the #1 place I wanted to visit since coming to China, definitely worth a visit.

I went to Chongqing a few months ago, I stayed very close to the Liberation Monument area, most of the high-rise buildings are in this area and also the discos area 5min walking from here. I went to see the Great Hall, Ciqikou (ancient town) and a small temple walking around.

I didn't see hardly any foreigners and I guess that thanks to this it's even easier than in other chinese cities (BJ,SH,GZ) to pickup girls at the discos... I almost got into 2 fights thanks to this also, I was invited into 2 groups of girls tables for drinks, one was a gf of a bullet-proof vest wearing security guard which wasn't happy and another had 3-4 jealous chinese guys which ended pushing me out They are also really cute here

I enjoyed it alot, the Yuzhong skyline is amazing and probably by 2015-2018 when even more skyscrappers are finished it will be top1 in China

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAwqgyilMDo

Nice revealed. Thanks for the feedback. Glad your travel plans went well and got an upgraded room.

Many similarties in the Wynns, but one very important difference. No Orange Julius. It tilts me that they do not have Orange Julius as a comp. One can only drink so much tea in the Poker Room.

It is unfortunate the games did not work out. It does take some time and adjustment. Quite a few players do not respect raises, so games here can throw you off and have many WTH moments.

More likelyhood to run into English speakers on weekends or tourneys. Mainly local grinders during the week. It can be a grind if you cannot speak a non-English local language.

Overall, it is an experience. Never say never, you can easily win a tourney seat online and be back before you know it. Only worthwhile if you win the 2 nights Grand Lisboa, Spending Cash and Tourney seat package. The Grand Lisboa Hotel Room is very nice.

Thanks again for your honest assessment.

Hey guys, heading up to Hong Kong next week. Is there any particular food place that you guys would describe as a must-eat in Hong Kong?

HK food is pretty bad in general. Though there are decent restaurants that dont serve hk food.

Any particular favorite restaurant of yours in HK that you would like to recommend?

You can try this website:

http://www.openrice.com/english/rest...ex.htm?tc=top2

I prefer the Guangdong section for BBQ HK Style food.

http://www.openrice.com/english/rest...tm?shopid=1491

http://www.openrice.com/english/rest...m?shopid=11586

I like roast goose/duck / roast pork rice, ice lemon tea HK style and soup to complement. Try ordering soup along with your meal. Not sure of the English name of this soup, but here is a photo.

http://www.openrice.com/english/rest...tion=14&page=1

Not sure if it is on the menu, will have to ask what soups they have in person.

There are too many places for good must-eats to list, check the website and read the reviews for what suits your taste.

Sometimes, when I get tired of Chinese eats, I like to go caveman style and go to Lawrys:

http://www.openrice.com/english/rest...m?shopid=16556

If you are brave, you can try to track down the places in the No Reservations television show with Anthony Bourdain. Maybe better to call ahead since that show aired around 2007.

Copy and pasted from:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/437824

Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant: On his first day in Hong Kong, Tony and friend Josh enjoyed a meal together at this restaurant, located in the New Territories. Tony ate razor clams, cellophane noodles with soy and bamboo shoots, stir-fried cuttlefish, conch dipped in chicken stock and horseshoe-crab soup.
Address: G/F, 87-89 Man Min Street, Sai Kung
Phone: 852-2792-9294

Four Seasons Clay Pot Restaurant: Tony and Josh enjoyed traditional Hong Kong clay pot rice and assorted sausages.
Address: Temple Street, Yaumatei

Long Kee Noodle Shop: At this restaurant run by brothers, Tony enjoyed some spicy beef brisket noodles.
Address: G/F, 10 Hak Po Street, Mongkok
Phone: 852-2390-3990

Tung Po Seafood Restaurant: At this dai pai dong restaurant, Tony dined on various types of delicious seafood consisting of deep-fried mantis shrimp, fish fins, black-ink squid balls with noodles, stir-fried prawns and clam soup.
Address: 99 Java Road, North Point, Cookedfood Center

Yat Lok Barbecue Restaurant: Tony and Josh ate a delicious meal of various roasted meats, including goose with rice, suckling pig and pork belly.
Address: Po Wah House A, Tai Ming Lane, Tai Po, New Territories

Bo Innovation: Tony had an innovative, creative, delicious meal at this Hong Kong gem. It included sausage ice cream with rice crisp, toro sushi with air-dried foie gras, lobster with Szechuan sauce and har gao pasta, and wagyu beef with shrimp and scallop broth.
Address: Upper Ground Floor, Ice House, 32-38 Ice House Street, Central Hong Kong
Phone:852-2850-8371

The Grand Stage: Tony met with some Hong Kong natives to enjoy a tradition ... shark head soup.
Address: Western Market

Typhoon Shelter Crab: Tony sampled this traditional Hong Kong dish (crab with soy, scallions, salt, fried garlic) for the first time at this waterside restaurant. Tony also enjoyed fried mantis shrimp and clams in spicy black bean sauce.
Address: Under the Bridge Spicy Crab
Phone: 852-2573-7698

Lin Heung Teahouse: Tony and friends experienced traditional Hong Kong dim sum at this popular teahouse. Tony ate pork liver shu mai, barbecue pork bun, Chinese-style steamed sponge cake, steamed crab meat with fish maw and har gao (shrimp dumplings).
Address: 160-164 Wellington Street, Central
Phone: 852-2544-4556

Yo Yuan - Thanks for the very comprehensive list dude. There's enough there to keep me occupied for weeks. Will let you know after I tried some. thanks!!

What's a good cheap hotel for poker playing in Macau? Real cheap, I don't even plan to be inside. I want to play 10/25 HKD for a month and see how it goes so I gotta lower the hotel costs. Any long term deals? A serviced apartment perhaps?

I did a search a while back and didn't find any listing for serviced apartment (at least not in english sites, maybe the locals can help). I am also interested in doing the same thing but not necessarily playing a lot of live poker (i prefer internet poker). You might want to rent a furnished apartment instead. I did find some listings by googling apartment macau

Define real cheap....
There are a few hostels in Macau, that might can be an option.
http://www.augusters.de/index.html

Rates look alright on that. Do anywhere does short term apartment rental for 1 month? Perhaps something like $1k USD or under would be okay.

Stan - If you want to grind it out live, stay in a sauna. It'll cost you about HKD 300 per night and you get free meals with it. Non-alcoholic drinks are also free. No worries about buying amenities (eg toothpaste, shampoo) and crap. Whole bunch of these saunas near Starworld and Grand Lisboa where you'll be playing a lot.

Then if you think you'll want to stay in Macau longer term, you can move on to finding an apartment of your own.