Treasure Island, Red Wing, MN-Trip Report

[somapopper]

5-60 spread limit? I didn't know spread limit ever came with that wide of a spread. Sounds like it'd play like a pot limit game.

[Cooling Heels]

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5-60 spread limit? I didn't know spread limit ever came with that wide of a spread. Sounds like it'd play like a pot limit game.

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The game is popular at the two Grand Casino's, Hinckley and Milles Lacs. It often starts at 6PM Fridays and Saturday. The game plays somewhat like no-limit, with pre-flop raises of $15 to $25. Depends who is playing tho. Guys can lose 3 or 4K in the game.

The two rooms have other weird limits too, like 4/20 and 5/30. The 2/10 is quite a spread also, but that was a common limit in the midwest years ago when Stud was the only game.

[Jaimeson]

I checked out the room last Sunday (a week ago today.) I was very surprised to see that the room is shaped like an "L" making it impossible for the floor to see the 9 and 10 tables if they are standing at their poor concived board / "cage."

The dealers ranged from slow to very slow but it was only their 3rd day open and hopefully these things will change over time. As mentioned before the dealers not having their own trays was very annoying as it seemed it took too long for them to count them down at the end of each 30 minute down.

They had a very hard time keeping tables full, and would not combine the two games of 3/6 Hold Em that were each half full.

I left wanting to go play at Canterbury.

[CrazyEyez]

I'll add my trip report from last night:

My impressions of the room - Nicer than I expected. Cool decor, comfortable chairs, ample plasmas. Plasma with game lists behind the desk, as well as one outside of the room. My first reaction though was how closed off it is from the rest of the casino. There is one small doorway and a few windows with wood slatted blinds, half of which were closed. Very uninviting to a casual casino-goer. You really have to want to walk in there and check out the action and you can't really see much from outside.

Got there at about 6:30pm Thursday. Two tables of 2-10 and 2 of 2/4 going. 4-5 names on interest lists for 3/6 and 4/8. I took an open seat at 2/4 and got on the list for 4/8 and 3/6. The game was pretty typical. Played for about an hour at which point a floor came and asked me if I was still interested in 3/6. There were about 8 names on the 4/8 now so I asked if they were going to start that. He said that most of the players on that list were sitting at the 2/4 so they didn't want to break the game to start 4/8. (At this point there were only a couple names on the 2/4 list, if any.) So I took the 3/6. Played for an hour or two, then took a break to get some food. I come back to find a third 2/4 game going, even though there were 10-12 names on the 4/8. They couldn't start a 4/8 and fill the 2/4 seats from the list instead of starting a third table? I would have said something had I been there when it happened.

Meanwhile I was eyeing the 2-10. It looked fairly soft from what I could tell. Pretty much all the bets post-flop were $10, and there appeared to be at least a few chasers. My plan was to try it out before I left, but my 3/6 table was fun and there were a few idiots keeping it profitable and entertaining. So I never got around to moving. I left at about 2:30. There was one 2-10 and two 2/4s still going. My 3/6 had gone down to 4-handed for awhile around midnight, but bounced back and I left it 7- or 8-handed.

Pros: Nice looking and comfortable room, plenty of loose/passive players. A nice cozy contrast to C-bury. You could easily hear names over the PA throughout the casino when they called people for seats.

Cons: No rail / too secluded to draw in random people. Didn't like how they handled the 4/8 thing. Kind of slow filling seats as they opened.

Mehs: The floor made us shift our chairs around when we went back and forth from 9 and 10 handed. This was pointless and mildly annoying. Dealers were fine, could have been a little better. One exposed two cards on one deal and two hands later exposed another. Another dealer was going to make me post 3 rounds worth of blinds when I came back from eating even though I waited until I was in the BB. I said I don't think so, she called the floor, he quickly corrected her. The floor was quick and correct on the few in-hand questions I saw. The dealers let a few guys get away with chucking their cards into the muck too hard IMO as well as some gruff language from some regulars. They weren't warned at all and I thought they should have been, but it never escalated and wasn't too big of a deal.

All in all, I'd go back if for no other reason then to try that 2-10 game. I imagine on Fridays and Saturdays when it's much more crowded that the annoyances I had with the way the floor filled games would be magnified quite a bit.

FYI for omaha/stud players, I think they said that they have yet to ever get a game other than hold'em going.

Edit: It took almost no time at all for the dealers to count down the tray at each push. An extra 30-45 seconds max.

Was here last Friday and I really liked the place.
A very different vibe than Canterbury but nice. A lot of people drinking and looking to gamble can make it pretty profitable. They had up to 6/12 fixed and two tables of 2/10 spread when I was there.
Mild annoyances like dealers having to count their trays every shift change and lack of side tables for food/drink were noticable but bareable.
If you are in that area I would definitely check it out.

[tek]

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Disappointing. I had higher hopes considering how smoothly they ran the WSOP satellites in May/June.

Thanks for the report.

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Those events were run by guys from the Rio in Vegas...

[mblax10]

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Mehs: The floor made us shift our chairs around when we went back and forth from 9 and 10 handed. This was pointless and mildly annoying.

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OT, but that is annoying. Their is one floorperson at Potawatomi who is infamous for being very sour and a complete nit. One early morning, the games down to 4 handed (sitting in the 2, 3, 5 & 8 seats) and he came over and told the 8 seat to move over 6 inches to his left.

[icepick]

Went there last night with a 2+2 friend.

We started off in a great 3/6 game with a drunken Canterbury dealer that had been playing and drinking since 5 am. The floor was making him drink two bottles of water for every alcolholic drink.

For some stupid reason we leave this gold mine, and start up a 4/8 game. Apparently they play 4/8 with $2 inner-labia-pink chips in Red Wing. And wow, did it kill the action. Of course by the time we realize this, the 3/6 list is 10 names long.

Never the less, we enjoyed ourselves. A pleasently supprising room. Floor was good, dealers as mentioned were a little weak but acceptable. Also, non-players are basically banned from the room. Yeah, they can come in to say hello, but after that the floor boots them out. Something about the room being too small already and they're afraid of overcrowding.

Cons: $2 chips, salmon pink felt, the tables are 3" too high, and have no leg room for the 2-3 and 8-9 seats. No rail.

Pros: Electronic board with phone-ahead service. Players that suck.