Shreveport, LA area poker rooms

[TexasTater]

I'm going to be in the Shreveport, Louisiana area over July 4th weekend. I understand Hollywood and Horseshoe casinos have poker rooms there. Anyone played at either? What are the pros and cons of each? Are there other pokre rooms in the area yoiu'd recommend over these? Thanks for the info

[sean c]

Played at the Hollywood before the shoe had a room. It was to be nice a dump. Smoking at the tables waiting hours to get into a game terrible floor staff. The dealers are good and they spread a good variety of limits 4/8 10/20 20/40 (don't know if this has changed). I have not been to the shoe but it couldn't possibly be worse than the Hollywood. The Hollywood does have a great steakhouse but I have heard the shoe has a good one also.

[feelixthegreek]

The atmosphere at Hollywood makes you feel as if you should be doing something better with your life. The Horseshoe HAS to be better.

[arod4276]

hollywood truly does blow,,,,, horseshoe has to be alot better,,, even though i havent been yet..arod4276

[cap11]

I'm about 45 minutes away from Shreveport, so it is my home base.

I agree that the Hollywood old poker room was flat out terrible. It was cramped, smoky, and the staff wasn't very good at all.

Enter the nice (but somewhat cramped) Horseshoe poker room. They were a large upgrade in every way to the Hollywood. Most of the good dealers from Hollywood moved to the shoe. The Horseshoe room is very much equal to most of the midrange rooms in Vegas.

Due to the competition the Hollywood was forced to upgrade their room. I was somewhat sceptical of them since they were so "rinky dink" before. But I must admit that they now have a very nice room. They have dedicated lots of space to their room, there are probably 20 tables total with lots of room in between the tables.

I would check them both out, as they are both now acceptable. And if you haven't been to Hollywood recently you might want to give them another look. BTW the lowest limit you will find is 4/8, they also have NL starting with a 2/5 game with a 300 max buy in.

[free=good]

Since it sounds like you have been to both recently, what has adding another room and many more tables in the area done to wait lists? I haven't been since just before the Shoe opened their room, and the wait was such a killer that I really have to debate going just to wait for 6 hours.

[cap11]

In my job I am off regularly during the week, so this is when I normally go. I usually do not go on the week-ends, however I did go to the Horseshoe a couple of Sundays ago and I was able to get into a 4/8 game immediately. But Friday and Saturday may be a complete different story.

[wonderwes]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to be in the Shreveport, Louisiana area over July 4th weekend.

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to the end of the universe. I am not a fan of Shreveport, but since I live in Texas my choices are limited. Hollywood's dealers are usually pretty bad, and I never liked the huge waitlist, or the limited selection of games.

I figure other people on this thread would know the stakes of the Horseshoe and Hollywood.

I have a question for everyone else. With all the new rooms that have opened up in Oklahoma (esp WinStar), do you find it better to go travel to OK or Shreveport?

[TexasTater]

Thanks to everyone for all the good information. After posting this query, I heard about the Winstar in Oklahoma. As I'm flying into DFW before heading to east Texas, that casino is a possibility for me. So here's the new, revised query:

Which Casino to play? Winstar, Hollywood, or Horseshoe?

I only have a limited time frame to play so I want to maximize my playing time and effectiveness. I'd love some input from local folks on their thoughts as to which casino is best based on the following factors:

Wait times: I'd prefer a short wait time. (Crazy, huh?) What are the wait times for the 3 casinos at the times I'll be there? (Friday night if I go to Winstar or Saturday if I go to Hollywood or Horseshoe)

Atmosphere: I prefer a laid back place with decent dealers, abundant fish, and gracious losers with large bankrolls. Which place best fits this profile?

Rake: The rake isn't a deal breaker, but I heard that the Winstar is high. How does it compare to the others?

Hats and Coffee Mugs: I will be buying a souvenier hat and coffee mug from whichever place I play, hopefully from my winnings. Which casino has the coolest looking hats and coffee mugs? Specifically ones that match a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses.

Thanks again for all the great information.

PS: I was just kidding about the gray hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses.

[sean c]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks to everyone for all the good information. After posting this query, I heard about the Winstar in Oklahoma. As I'm flying into DFW before heading to east Texas, that casino is a possibility for me. So here's the new, revised query:

Which Casino to play? Winstar, Hollywood, or Horseshoe?

I only have a limited time frame to play so I want to maximize my playing time and effectiveness. I'd love some input from local folks on their thoughts as to which casino is best based on the following factors:

Wait times: I'd prefer a short wait time. (Crazy, huh?) What are the wait times for the 3 casinos at the times I'll be there? (Friday night if I go to Winstar or Saturday if I go to Hollywood or Horseshoe)

Atmosphere: I prefer a laid back place with decent dealers, abundant fish, and gracious losers with large bankrolls. Which place best fits this profile?

Rake: The rake isn't a deal breaker, but I heard that the Winstar is high. How does it compare to the others?

Hats and Coffee Mugs: I will be buying a souvenier hat and coffee mug from whichever place I play, hopefully from my winnings. Which casino has the coolest looking hats and coffee mugs? Specifically ones that match a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses.

Thanks again for all the great information.

PS: I was just kidding about the gray hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am guessing wait will be long at any of the three. If distances were the same I vote for Shreveport.

[wonderwes]

Winstar is at mile 1 of the TX/OU border. Avg drive time from Dallas to Winstar, under 90 min. Drive time to shreveport: 3 hrs.

[TexasBassDude]

Well the Winstar is definitely closer to DFW than Shreveport is. Shreveport is 180 miles from Dallas (even farther from the airport), and I'm pretty sure that Winstar is only like 80 miles from DFW. But I also haven't been to the Winstar, so I can't comment on the wait times.

[iceman5]

Winstar doesnt open until 4PM. If you get there around 4 or 5PM you'll be fine. If you go on the weekend, you wont be playing. The waitlist is neverending, trust me.

[Raven70]

As of Monday of last week, the poker room was opening at 12 noon during the week and weekends. On the days when I've been there between 12 and 5 pm, they've usually had a couple of 5/10 no limit tables going; they also have a number of 4/8, 5/10 and 10/20 limit games going on. During the afternoon hours, the wait is not bad. On average - (nb. between 12/5pm) - the wait for the 5/10 NL has been about 30 minutes; however, there are usually limit seats available and the floor staff is excellent with respect to quickly getting you to a game you like.

They post 20/40 limit but I've not seen it played there yet. Perhaps on the weekend?

Good luck.