Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

My wife and I had tickets to see Bill Engval at Ameristar last night. We get there early and I get on the list for 3/6 and later 5/10. I'm 15 people down the line for 3/6, there are tables open and dealers available, but no new table. I go get my wife set up at a slot machine and come back. 45 minutes later they finally decide to open a new table. After another 15 minutes screwing around, mostly with the dealer shooting the breeze (Note: To all St. Louis players...Apparently Last Card Larry, whoever he is, is NOT dead as was the rumor). In short, these dealers and management could have done a lot more for me to get some poker played in their cardroom, and I would advise people to avoid this mess.

Doc

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

harrah's >> ameristar

btw, the $500 loss limit in missouri really really sucks, there is no way you can play anything higher than 5/10... ive pretty much decided to stop playing poker in missouri b/c of it..

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I'm planning on playing eithe rat Ameristar or Harrah's tomorrow night...I take it you'd recommend Harrah's? 45 min wait....that does not sound like a happy time.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

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...45 min wait....that does not sound like a happy time...

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Some card rooms will take your name over the phone. Call and ask about putting you on the list(s). No guarantee of cutting the time you wait, but I've found it sometimes helps.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

A way around the $500 loss limit. Since you can buy in every two hours on the hour. 8 10 12 2 etc. I would show up at 7:54 buy in for $500, then at 8:04 buy for your next $500.

Just repeat the process until have you your desired amount.

Mark in Kansas City

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I've only played Ameristar and haven't played any other rooms. What makes Harrah's > Ameristar? Or for that matter, what makes any room greater than another?

I was there last night too and I didn't hear anything about Last Card Larry??

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I went to the Ameristar last saturday and yea, the wait sort of sucks. I think I waited about 20 minutes to get into a 5/10 table although my friends got into 3/6 pretty quick. This was around 1pm. We decided to hit up the buffet around 3pm (which is surprising very good) and when we came back it was more of the same. However they did have immediate seating in the 20/40 game so I took that route.

Remember, the rule is you can buy $500 in chips every 2 hours whether you lose them or not. I bought in for $500 at the 5/10 game, managed to win a little, then bought another $500 after lunch so I had $1000 to sit down at the 20/40 table with. The regulars in that game seem to bring chips home with them which I might do if I play in that game more (I live in Bloomington so it is sort of a hike).

Also, talking to a regular at the table who has played at both Harrah's and Ameristar, he likes Ameristar a lot better. He said Harrah's runs a lot of NL and just a few low limit tables. He was just killing time to pick up his girlfriend who works at Harrah's even. He claimed to be a prop in the $75/150 on absolute though so he most likely doesn't have to wait long since the bigger games seemed to have an open seat usually (we were 4 and 5 handed for a while).

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

How To Have A Crappy Time At Ameristar

1) Wait until the busiest part of the week, like Friday or Saturday night. If you are going some other time, make sure it is after dinner when the casino is having some special event.

2) Sign up for the lowest limit game they spread. You should expect the casino to drop what ever else it is doing, and cater to you and your other $100 bankroll buddies.

3) Since you know nothing about casino procedures, expect a dealer to plop right down to a new table and start slinging cards. Don't worry about set-up, counting down the rack, or any of that other mumble-jumble. It is just a waste of time designed to annoy you.

4) If the dealer makes small talk with some of the players while waiting for floor approval to start, feel put out. I mean, you don't know who or what he is talking about, and he is not paying any attention to you personally.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

its not getting the chips that sucks, its that there is no way to play higher stakes games, i'm at the bellagio in vegas right now and have been playing 30/60, it's going to be hard to go back to playing 3/6 or 6/12...

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

well the #1 thing that i look for when i play poker is bad players, and there are more of them at harrah's than at ameristar for whatever reason in my opinion. they have more tables at harrah's too. i have called harrah's beforehand and got on the waiting list during the peak hour times, they should be able to help if you give them a call...

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

To the gentleman critical of my post:

1. I understand they were busy. However, if I were running a room, I would be attempting to get more tables going as long as I didn't think it would lead to the possible breakup of any current table.

2. As far as it being the lowest limit game, I was on the list for both the 3/6 and 5/10.

3. Your Third point is half right, I do not understand many things that go on in a casino. However, I know that the floor had given the go ahead to start and it took this guy 10 minutes to get things squared away. Most of the time spent was dealing with the shuffer, which the dealer seemed to have very little knowledge on how to do anyghtin other than push the green button. Even after starting dealing, the dealer was holding up the game with his conversation. I believe either Mason or David has discussed this problem regarding dealers before.

If any of you regulars were there, I was on table 10.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

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harrah's >> ameristar

btw, the $500 loss limit in missouri really really sucks, there is no way you can play anything higher than 5/10... ive pretty much decided to stop playing poker in missouri b/c of it..

[/ QUOTE ]

At Harrah's does this guy come up to you and make you stop?

http://www.harrahs.com/images/about_us/gary.jpg

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
harrah's >> ameristar

btw, the $500 loss limit in missouri really really sucks, there is no way you can play anything higher than 5/10... ive pretty much decided to stop playing poker in missouri b/c of it..

[/ QUOTE ]

At Harrah's does this guy come up to you and make you stop?

http://www.harrahs.com/images/about_us/gary.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

NH sir.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I used to play at the Ameristar quite a bit, back before Harrah's even had a poker room, and I never liked the way they ran that room. A 45 minute wait actually isn't that bad compared to what it used to be on the weekends - about 2 hours or more.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

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How To Have A Crappy Time At Ameristar

2) Sign up for the lowest limit game they spread. You should expect the casino to drop what ever else it is doing, and cater to you and your other $100 bankroll buddies.



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Given that most cardrooms rake the max at both the 2/4 and 75/100, then why in the unholy blue [censored] does it matter that he signed up at one of the lower limits.

This is the 2nd post in a row I've read by you where you come off as a huge [censored].

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

you are a dick.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

[ QUOTE ]
Given that most cardrooms rake the max at both the 2/4 and 75/100, then why in the unholy blue [censored] does it matter that he signed up at one of the lower limits.


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Again, I will make one attempt to spell it out to you. Move your lips if you need to while you read it.

If someone sits down at the table with $100 in their pocket, no matter what the casino does with rake, max rake, time charge, tip the dealer when you feel like it, whatever method or rate they want to use -- THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM THEY CAN MAKE OFF THAT PLAYER IS **insert drum roll here** one hundred dollars .

A large bankrolled player typically sitting at a higher stakes game will probably pay many times that $100 in rake before he gets up and leaves.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

1) The name is Last Card Lloyd. And I thought for sure he was dead. Good to hear he is not. Although he is barred from Ameristar, and it's a hilarious story if you hear it from anyone who saw it first hand. Ask about white chip Terry too.

2) Ameristar's waits are always incredibly long. Even the President has shorter wait times. Ameristar is basically the worst place to play.

3) Why in god's name would anyone play 3/6? Ever? 6/12, 1/2NL, 5/10 o/8, anything. 3/6 is showdown for west county kids and their allowance money, pure and simple.

4) Ameristar poker proves that the loss limit is a complete joke and farce. They have a PLO game with guys that have 10k sitting down. Regular 20/40 has the same thing going on. People just keep their entire roll in chips, sell them in the bathroom, etc. And the even hour thing makes it easy to get $1000. No, they can't sustain bigger games than 20/40 and 2/5NL, but if you're playing games bigger than those, you should be living in a bigger poker city anyway [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Given that most cardrooms rake the max at both the 2/4 and 75/100, then why in the unholy blue [censored] does it matter that he signed up at one of the lower limits.


[/ QUOTE ]

Again, I will make one attempt to spell it out to you. Move your lips if you need to while you read it.

If someone sits down at the table with $100 in their pocket, no matter what the casino does with rake, max rake, time charge, tip the dealer when you feel like it, whatever method or rate they want to use -- THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM THEY CAN MAKE OFF THAT PLAYER IS **insert drum roll here** one hundred dollars .

A large bankrolled player typically sitting at a higher stakes game will probably pay many times that $100 in rake before he gets up and leaves.

[/ QUOTE ]

like i said.....

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I've played at Ameristar at least a dozen times when I was still in school and they are very very very slow.

The best thing to do, as we did, was call when we left Champaign, IL on a Friday evening, by the time we got there (2.5 hrs later) we were first on the NL list.

Seriously though, this is a place that takes names over the phone (at least they did when I used to frequent) so use that to your advantage.

p.s. Harrah's is a much nicer room

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

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1) 3) Why in god's name would anyone play 3/6? Ever? 6/12, 1/2NL, 5/10 o/8, anything.

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Bankroll issues?

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

I've visited Ameristar 3 times and found them to be accomodating each time. Not the busiest room in town, but not the worst. Better than Caesars Indiana (the old room). Of course, I was playing 3-6 for entertainment and didn't have an image to maintain. It's an OK room and roomier than Harrahs (I understand they're going to expand). It's about time.

Re: Crappy Experience at Ameristar St. Louis Last Night
 

Glad to hear the Last Card news. I think I'm one of the few who likes Last Card. Yeah, he can be annoying, but never mean. I did hear Omaha Sam died. Good riddance.