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#3
07-07-2003, 01:39 PM
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Re: Homer get with the program here
I posted a report in one of the threads in the NVG forum.
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#4
07-07-2003, 01:46 PM
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My take on the Borgata
OK, for what its worth, here it is:
I was at the Borgata on Saturday during the day. As whole, the hotel/casino is far and away the nicest place in Atlantic City, but that's not saying much. As promised, the casino has a Vegas feel to it. It's a lot like Mandalay Bay or Bellagio (particularly the color scheme) but not quite as nice. It would definitely be a step up from the Monte Carlo/Harrahs/Flamingo. Although I haven't spent too much time at the Aladdin or Ballys, I think it belongs in the same class as these properties. When I walked in at 10:00 a.m., there were a number of $5 craps and blackjack tables. When I left a 6:00 p.m., there were still a couple of (very crowded) $5 blackjack tables, but it appeared that all the craps tables had been raised to at least $15. As expected, the place was packed. The poker room is in a bad location. It's at the back of the back of the casino, down an escalator from the main floor. No one will end up in the poker room without being there for that purpose. The great thing about the Taj is that every person walking in or out of the hotel can't help but see the huge poker room and (hopefully) decide to give it a try. So here's a review of the poker room from the eyes of a relatively inexperienced low limit player: It's an excellent facility from a physical standpoint. Nothing in AC even comes close. I'd guess there were thirty or forty tables in the main room, with a separate high-limit area with about five or six tables. Nice new tables, green felt with a tan rail. Great chairs. Just like you would expect in an office: wheels, adjustable height, adjustable seat angle, flexible back. I don't know if this kind of seating is standard stuff in Vegas or California, but I was amazed. The waiting list is computerized - which is a first for AC. Two good size flat panel monitors display the games available and wait list for each table. I got the feeling that the staff had not yet learned the program 100% - I heard a couple of people complain about being dropped from a list. There are lots of flat panel TV monitors throughout the room - there must have been at least 40. There is a cage with four windows (although the cage ran out of chips on Saturday - it's tough to run a casino without chips). There's a snack bar, but I didn't eat there. The room is non-smoking. Hold'em from $2-$4 through $20-40 was spread while I was there. There was one Omaha Hi/Lo game going (unsure of limits), and plenty of stud from $1-$5 on up. By 6:00 p.m. there were about thirty games going by my guess. From a staffing standpoint, the room has a long way to go. I hope the situation improves with time. The dealers were absolutely terrible. I hope the people playing at higher limits had better dealers than I did. If I were playing for larger stakes I would have been very ticked off. At least half of the dealers had clearly never dealt poker before. They couldn't determine the winning hand, they couldn't make change from the pot, there were numerous misdeals. As I player, you had to be hyper-vigilant to make sure the game was being run properly, and numerous arguments broke out between the players about the dealing. Of course, the dealers were too busy trying to learn the game to alert the floor of available seats, so seats sat empty while people were on the waiting list. From my standpoint, it could easily be the best room in town if the dealers improve and if its location (both within the casino and in town) does not keep the weaker players out of the games. P.S. The best feature is BEER IN A BOTTLE. No more of that crap in a tiny plastic cup they serve at the Taj. Heineken in a bottle. I'm sure players in rest of the world laugh, but this a major leap forward in AC.
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#5
07-07-2003, 04:22 PM
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Re: My take on the Borgata
Nice write up...
I was there on July 4th and also on Sunday for a couple of hours! The poker room is in a bad location. It's at the back of the back of the casino, down an escalator from the main floor. No one will end up in the poker room without being there for that purpose. The great thing about the Taj is that every person walking in or out of the hotel can't help but see the huge poker room and (hopefully) decide to give it a try. Agree here... It isn't a net for fish. The Taj being wide and open is exposure at its best! So here's a review of the poker room from the eyes of a relatively inexperienced low limit player: It's an excellent facility from a physical standpoint. Nothing in AC even comes close. I'd guess there were thirty or forty tables in the main room, with a separate high-limit area with about five or six tables. Nice new tables, green felt with a tan rail. Great chairs. Just like you would expect in an office: wheels, adjustable height, adjustable seat angle, flexible back. I don't know if this kind of seating is standard stuff in Vegas or California, but I was amazed. The waiting list is computerized - which is a first for AC. Two good size flat panel monitors display the games available and wait list for each table. I got the feeling that the staff had not yet learned the program 100% - I heard a couple of people complain about being dropped from a list. 34 tables to be exact... The computerized wait list was interesting. Ultimately, it really depends on how the management team runs this room and how the dealers deal which will be the breaking point! From a staffing standpoint, the room has a long way to go. I hope the situation improves with time. The dealers were absolutely terrible. I kinda of figured that this would really be raw on the opening weekend. Yes, there were some dealers there that wont be there soon... Of course, the dealers were too busy trying to learn the game to alert the floor of available seats, so seats sat empty while people were on the waiting list. This better improv in a hurry coz if word gets around this will backfire! From my standpoint, it could easily be the best room in town if the dealers improve and if its location (both within the casino and in town) does not keep the weaker players out of the games. Time will tell... I will be snooping - BUTT its summer time - which means swimming in da ocean! P.S. The best feature is BEER IN A BOTTLE. No more of that crap in a tiny plastic cup they serve at the Taj. Heineken in a bottle. I'm sure players in rest of the world laugh, but this a major leap forward in AC. I actually though the young lady who brought me the beer was the major leap forward!!!! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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#6
07-07-2003, 05:02 PM
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Re: How was the Borgata on the 4th
I checked out the Borgata on the 4th of July.
The poker room is downstairs from the main casino and has a cool sportsbook and lots of techno-cool thin screens. The chairs are pretty sweet - they are like office chairs without armrests. Everything is brand new of course - the tables, the chips the lighting... the air conditioning was on full blast. Everyone was freezing. Most of the dealers really were new to the game - I was instructing many of them to have people post in order to enter the game, when to split a pot - who won... etc. - That kind of gave me a headache. Overall, the place is really cool - the main problem being that probably no "fish" will enter the room since it's downstairs - out of the way of the main casino.. so it will probably be filled with pros and various rats from AC. Oh, also... our game almost always had an empty seat - while lots of people were on the list waiting to play in the same limit game we were in... they need work.. You can't eat at the tables which sucks, because there are only like 5 tables ... snack bar food was decent. All in all, the place will be really cool once the people working there work out the kinks... Check it out.
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#7
07-13-2003, 08:04 PM
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Re: My take on the Borgata
P.S. The best feature is BEER IN A BOTTLE. No more of that crap in a tiny plastic cup they serve at the Taj. Heineken in a bottle. I'm sure players in rest of the world laugh, but this a major leap forward in AC.
This is SOOOO true. I will play all games there just for that.
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#8
07-14-2003, 08:20 AM
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Re: How was the Borgata on the 4th
I was there the 4th as well. Here are some random thoughts:
Random Thoughts Waitresses are HOT, with very pushy push up bras Chips are plasticy/slippery 10-20 was the toughest game I ever sat in (bar none) Computerized wait list didnt work when I got there Cant smoke anywhere downstairs Couldnt get a players card as the machine was broken Seats were OK, but I along with many others didnt really like them Parking was fast and easy Dealers had no clue Floor people were overworked and disorganized My favorite Starbucks drink was $1 more than in Midtown Manhattan The cage had no chips at 11am Lobby was nice Hundreds of slot machines didnt work Ill check it out again in a year and give an update
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#9
07-14-2003, 09:08 AM
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Re: How was the Borgata on the 4th
I was just there Friday/Saturday and things seem to be going much better now.
I really liked it, worlds better than taj/trop on many levels. I think this is the only place I'll be playing in AC for a while. The 6-12 I was in had all but one other playing donating their money away all the way to the river, happily paying off raises on the expensive streets. As far as the staff and food, both are far superior to any other casino in AC. Everyone was super courteous and friendly and the food was amazing everywhere, especially the Borgata Buffet. Homer: If I were you I'd give them another shot, although they clearly were not operating at their potential this weekend and their comp system was broke (which was to the player's advantage as they were handing out food comps indiscriminately at the player's request) I still think they're the best place for poker in AC right now if you're not looking to play mid-high limits. My biggest complaint is that it’s a small room, they should have made it at least ¾ the size of the Taj’s poker room.
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#10
07-14-2003, 10:41 AM
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Re: How was the Borgata on the 4th
I visited Borgata this Sunday. This room is by far the nicest and best looking room I have ever been in. It is so much nicer than Trop and Taj. I think it is even nicer than Bellagio.
Like others have said, the chips are way too slippery. It was funny watching people drop chips all over the place. Maybe it's me, but I think the cards are slightly smaller than normal. There were only a few games going when I was there Sunday morning. I played in a very beatable 6-12. The one irritating thing was after I left the table the cage downstairs was closed so I had to bring my chips upstairs to cash out....
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