Hard Rock isn't the only game in town.
Derby Lane offers $2 games ($2 on all streets) and $45 tournaments, mostly NLHE. I don't know about the juice, since it doesn't say on their Web site, and I've never played there - I live 15 min. from Hard Rock.
Tampa's horse track,
Tampa Bay Downs , also spreads a similar range of games, but only when the track is running. They close for the season tomorrow, May 8.
Track poker rooms, for the time being, can only deal while their original game runs, be it dogs, horses, or jai-alai. Hard Rock is 24/7.
I've never understood why everyone throws such a fit about Hard Rock not being "real" poker. I mean, if a guy sitting next to me wants to raise with any ace, and call with any card of a spade royal to try and hit the jackpot, I will gladly take his money. Sure, every now and again you get your aces cracked by 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], like I did last night, but if in the long run, I will win those sort of hands and profit, right? I thought the alternative, a table full of rocks who know how to play properly and profitably, was a "bad" game - am I wrong? Give me a table full of chip-spewing maniacs any day.
Also, one note about Hard Rock I didn't see - smoking is encouraged. The room is a hazy cloud - next time I go I'm taking a mask. At the tracks, smoking is not allowed at the table.
Oh, and Hard Rock now has $30+$10 (yes, that's right, $10 to the house, or 33%) sit-n-go NLHE tournaments. The problem? The prize is a ticket to their $200+$40 weekend tournies. Second gets a refund. They also offer an assortment of tournaments, all of which have ridiculously high house fees.