Anyone else hate the palms?

[me454555]

I just got back from a weekend in Vegas. I played some low limit poker(mostly 2-4 and 1-3spread) and in my 3 days there I realized 1 thing. The palms is TERRIBLE. The WORST place I've ever played poker at. Dealers were just rude and incompetant. They were just rushing everyone thorugh the hand, and getting upset when I would take a couple of seconds to think and try to calculate pot odds or something. Then they would make a scene if your blind wasn't in right away.

On top of all that, there seemed to be an extrodinarily high amounts of misdeals and mistakes. In just under 2 hours of playing, they were 4 misdeals and at least 1 time where one of my hole cards was flipped over and lost. That card was a K, which was replaced by a 3 giving me a K3o instead of KK. I also happened to loose an AA from a misdeal as well. Bad luck I guess

I'm just curious to know if anyone else had this kind of negative experience at the Palms or if this was just a bad experience.

P.S. Went to Excaliber and Monte Carlo and I enjoyed both a lot. I highly recommend them.

[videopro]

The worst thing about the Palms has to be the rude smokers. I stick to the non-smoking rooms now.

[me454555]

I definatly hear that. I try to avoid smoking rooms if I can too

[Howard Burroughs]

In general, the Palms is one of my least favorite rooms to play in.

1) It's so friggin claustrophobic in there. It's dimensions slightly resemble a sardine can.

2) I'm usually ignored by the brushes there. Nothing sucks more then trying to get on the list to play poker and they simply ignore you. Or my favorite, they put the guy standing in line behind you on the list first because he's a regular.

3) Because the room is SO small and closed in, the smoke really lingers. And they get a lot of smokers in there (who don't want to play at the smoke free Orleans, which is within walking distance).


4) I don't know if there is a nightclub upstairs or if it's maybe the ghost of Tupac, but deep into the night the walls do more shaking then Queen Latifah on a water bed (or maybe I'm just getting old).

5) Very inconsistent floor rulings. Often on the same shift.

6) While there are at least a couple of very good dealers in the room & one great one (IMHO), overall, you will see much better in other rooms.



*******************************


Having said all that, the last time I was in there, I noticed Cathi Wood is dealing there now. Cathi Wood is one of the top floor people in the entire world of poker and if she sticks around there for a while, I would hope she'd be promoted before long (if not already) and be allowed to make the necessary productive changes that would benefit the room and their players.


Best of Luck

Howard

[Tyler Durden]

When I read these posts I'm always dumbfounded as to why people play anywhere besides Bellagio and the Mirage. I'm probably being dumb but I can't understand it.

[CrackerZack]

Monte Carlo is quite nice small room.

[Howard Burroughs]

Hi Tyler,

If you play higher then 10-20 then M&B are the only games in town. if you play lower, you have over two dozen choices of rooms to play in (in the Vegas Valley).


M&B are nice rooms but they have their faults too. In my own experience (YMMV), 2 & 5 (from my above post) are equally a problem at M&B. In fact, in all my sessions at Binion's (which is hammered pretty good in most circles), I've never had a rude brush.


At the "M"?

Occasionally rude brushes (though the good brushes there are very good).


At the "B"?


Consistently rude & arrogant at the lower limit podium. At least that's been my experience.



Before you start thinking I'm a "brush freak", let me just say ..........

I virtually never have a problem anywhere I go (relating to brushes being rude and/or arrogant) except in these three rooms. There are very good people working in these rooms mind you, but a few bad apples are in the mix IMHO.


Best of Luck

Howard

[onegymrat]

Good post. The last time I was in Vegas, I attempted to play some 4-8 at the Palms, but the waiting list was two hours+. I took a peek inside and it looked like a shoebox, and you can probably smell everyone since you're packed it there. I headed over to the Bellagio for some 8-16 and had a nice time. I am spoiled because I play in L.A. Although, we still have plenty of incompetent dealers and floormen. I will avoid the Palms next time and just head for M or B. Thanks.

[Cooling Heels]

The Palms has an overweight blonde woman about 40 that is the grumpiest
dealer I have ever encountered. She mumbles an endless series of under
the breath rude comments about players. Some of the local players
have advanced degrees in whining, and get quite upset when they lose to
a tourist. Saw one guy lose his buy-in, then get up and give the finger
to a tourist from Florida who had collected his chips.

You have to admit though, the place is always full of characters. And
outside the poker room by the bar, and by the main entrance, one can
sometimes spot NBA players, actors, musicians, etc. The Palms is a unique place.
I've always had a good time there.

And don't forget, where else can you find a 2/10 spread limit stud/8 game
with double qualifiers? Also, the 3/6 stud game beats the 1/5 spread
limit games found in most rooms. Another plus for the room
is they are one of the few cardrooms with 2/4 Hold EM, a
good limit for the young guys following poker on the
Travel Channel to try as their first entry into public
poker.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
When I read these posts I'm always dumbfounded as to why people play anywhere besides Bellagio and the Mirage. I'm probably being dumb but I can't understand it.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're playing 4-8 (or 3-6), there are two excellent reasons to play at the smaller rooms.

1. The rake is less at smaller rooms by $1. The Mirage and Bellagio rake a max of $4 per pot. The smaller rooms rake only a max of $3 per pot.

2. The structure of the 4-8 games in the smaller rooms ($1 and $2 blinds) benefits the stronger players who know how to take advantage of it.

A lesser reason for playing at the smaller rooms is that they have much better comp policies. If you play regularly at the Monte Carlo, it's easy to get 3x as many comp $ than either the Bellagio or Mirage.

[Losing all]

I played the Orleans pretty much daily in 01'. Good 4-8, 6-12 games for the most part (although a little tight on weekdays, cough, cough.) Good comps, and I didn't really mind the bad beat rake as I got in on several table and room payoffs (100-500$)

Do you know if a lot has changed there in the last couple years?

[me454555]

This is too funny, I think we are talking about the same dealer at the palms. Blonde, 40ish, and a lil overweight.

Palms is a great place to chill at and drink. Their night club Rain and the ghost bar are both favorites of mine. However, I will never go back there to play poker again. I found plenty of 2-4 and some 1-3 spread at other casinos on the strip.

For anyone interested in low limit play, Excalibur has a 1-3 spread w/only a single $1 blind and Monte Carlo has a $2-4 with a single $2 blind. IMHO, they are much better games for a LL player than the standard 2-4, double blind at palms.

[stantheman]

I played my first live Vegas poker at Palms a few months ago, and found that most of the regulars were angry bitter people (and not particularly strong players either). The room was cramped but I was in the 3 seat (back to the wall) so it was tolerable, and since I was with my back to the casino the smoke wasn't too bad.

As a whole the hotel is very overrated (thank you MTV), Rain and Ghostbar are OK but the casino is small and crowded and the rooms are average. Just my opionion though...

[TobDog]

Not to give anyone any more fuel for Binions, but I stayed downtown a few years ago and the brush there remembered my name each day I returned, I thought that was good. I returned to play a month later and she remembered it still, I thought that was incredible.

[Dynasty]

I never play at the Orleans so I can't tell you much about it. It has gone non-smoking.

[Anadrol 50]

It is smoking after 3AM....