It has been two months since we have set foot in a poker room. Not for any particular reason, other than general life stuff was happening. So, when the opportunity arose for a quick session, the decision had to be made again as to where we were going to perch. This is always a dilemma for us: the closest card room is too small for our tastes. Little Creek Casino is a closer drive but the games can be iffy. Therefore, Palace (aka Chips) was the best choice for a drive that was manageable.
Palace Casino is a-well run card room with around a dozen tables. Dealers and floor are proficient and pleasant. It is non-Indian owned, so there are no slot machines, and it is a non-smoking facility. The 4/8 LHE game is the most popular, and they usually have an 8/16 and 3/6 going as well. They run a daily tournament in the morning to get the party started. Several days a week they get an O/8 game off the ground, and (last we heard) a 1/2 NL game once a week.
This card rooms runs a LOT of promotions, including high hand and Monte Carlos along with some other specialty ones depending on the day of the week. As we all know, promotions make people play differently, and this is no exception, especially at the lower stakes games. Expect to be called to the river by opponents with remote draws. Good for long term value, not good if said opponent is running like a luck box.
Palace has table-side food service, with a bonus of good food. The price is a great value if you are playing. There is a self-serve coffee station available. F&B servers are efficient and helpful. There is massage available in the evenings. Sounds pretty glamorous, right?
This is not the Aria. The chairs are hard and the tables are close together. Heating & air vary radically depending on where you sit. There can be no games going, or waits can be very long when they are busy. The location is easy to access, but the parking lot is a sketchy late at night. They do not allow call-ins, and are not on Bravo or Poker Atlas. Walk-in and take your chances. They did a remodel (refresh) a few years ago, yet the ambiance lacks ambiance.
The late afternoon’s choice of game was 3/6 LHE, with a switch to 4/8 when seats came available. The usual cast of characters was there, including Book & Glasses, Lucky Then Broke, Loud Mouth, Chases Every, and Solid & Smart. Reckless & Obnoxious did not show up, making the battle for chips a pleasant experience.
We stayed for a few hours, did not overstay our welcome, a small profit by one cancelled out a small loss by another, and we called it a night. Despite a break-even session, the foray to Lakewood renewed the addiction to the game and we are looking forward to the next one.
That’s all we got. Rebuttals welcome.
Ed. Review
The Omaha game starts every weekday (not sure about weekends) at 11am sharp. This game allows call ins to lock up a seat including your seat of choice if not already taken. The O8 is 4/8 with a full kill and played with $2 chips. Be warned, first thing in the morning it’s full of rocks. Also this game has its own Monte Carlo board for some nice bonuses. Of course they take a drop to feed it but hit one and it’s worth it. Also now high hands starting at 3 and MC board still live! Thank you! See ya soon
Awesome info, thanks! Bigfokkedog loves O8 🙂