The Poker Atlas | Road Trip

Rebirth of the Sun; Not as Amazing as Poker Astronomers Predict

Nathaniel — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:19:46 +0000

I arrive at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, with great anticipation. After chucking my keys at the hotel valet, I quickly check in, unload my bags into the arms of the bellhop and find my way downstairs to their new poker room. At first glance I was amazed. Though there have been complaints from some players that the lighting is too weak, the majority believes they have hit the décor spot on. Unfortunately for the Sun, a pretty room isn’t everything.
Any time a new room opens there are obviously going to be a few wrinkles in the carpet that will need some ironing out. The problem comes when the wrinkles are so big that players can’t help but trip over them on the way to their table. With a qualified poker room manager like Bruce Dixon, I was surprised to find that several of the dealers were weak and the floor managers were not much better. The floors working the podium were clearly not yet prepared to be operating the BRAVO system. BRAVO’s latest design, engineered to make a poker room run smother, was doing quite the opposite. Floors were erasing waiting lists causing players to be forgotten. Dealers were slowing down their games while trying to figure out as one dealer put it, “some crappy piece of robot.” I was flabbergasted by the number of mistakes I was able to witness in just a few hours of play. Granted, it must be acknowledged the opening date was less than a week ago on August 29th and it has been made clear by management that this is only a soft opening, a time to work out the kinks before the grand opening on October 2nd. While staff should be able to pick up the technical skills required by the beginning of October, there were some deeper problems that appear to be a bit more serious.
Poorly trained staff aside, there is never any excuse for rudeness from floor managers. When a player makes an undemanding request, or asks a simple question, a floor manager can never be forgiven for not answering with the utmost of respect and courtesy. Unfortunately, it seemed that for some of the managers at the Sun, a small amount of power is too much to handle, and they had forgotten who in the room were their customers and who were their employees. In fairness, there were many professionally deferential managers on shift, but rotten apples always stick out in a players mind and when one bites into a wriggling worm they are not going to feel like another granny smith anytime soon.
Beautiful, creative aesthetics, while pleasing to the eye, do not top the list of necessities for a successful poker room. With a major competitor like Foxwoods just a few minutes drive away, Mohegan Sun will have to become more well-rounded in order to thrive in the poker-rich area of Eastern Connecticut. It’s not to be forgotten that competent Bruce Dixon is behind the wheel. Hopefully, he will recognize their weakness in customer service, and he’ll be able to steer the room into a more competitive direction, one that will send ripples throughout the poker rooms of New England.

-nathaniel@thepokeratlas.com

Hitting Up the New Mohegan

Nathaniel — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:07:28 +0000

Here we are poker fans. Arriving at Mohegan Sun’s new poker room in about an hour. The excitement is killing me, which I guess officially makes me a poker geek. Hoping it will be everything they promised! I’ll let you know how it goes as soon as possible.
nathaniel@thepokeratlas.com

It’s Getting Time to Say Goodbye

Nathaniel — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:48:07 +0000

On no account had I thought it could have ever come to this, but after almost two months of straight poker, I’ve had enough. I never thought this to be possible but this game has become everything in my life. It seems that when I spend every waking moment eating, breathing, and cursing this game that I love, I become embedded on the face of a rock wall, small birds flying in circles around my flattened head as I lazily drift like a feather to the desert floor. People told me this would happen; I never believed any of it. How could I believe when this was a game that gave me so much excitement, so much mental stimulation, so much entertainment? I have nothing left but to bow my head to those who warned me, and admit I was wrong.
It should be known that this is not because of the sessions – the repeated sessions – in which we had to sit helpless and patient as we took one beating after another. Perhaps this is part of the annoyance but it was not the sole contributor. It is true that after three bad fourteen-hour days in a row the last thing you want to do when you wake up on day four is jump onto the felt. But these mind numbingly confusing bad beat days are not the thing has me looking forward to a break from the cards.
I’ve talked before about my distain for the interior design of the casinos across the US. A boringly dull echo of color schemes from one casino to the next. Lights flash in your face, trying their best to divert your attention in their direction. This is why some of my favorite times on this trip have been the days of rest while deep in the woods, far away from people staring at a screen, robotically pushing a button over and over again. It’s sad that poker has had to take such a close proximity to the world of casinos. The only common ground is the tools used for the game – the cards, the chips, the felt. You may use the same tools to build a bed as you would a boat, but I doubt Columbus would have gotten very far after throwing a mast atop a cot.
Even though our bankroll has lifted itself from its dangerously low points that it enjoyed living at for an uncomfortably long amount of time, we will soon be signing off. But have no fear. Though we will now be high tailing it to Vegas to set up some more serious jobs, we still have articles to come. Look forward to a comprehensive article about Tunica’s jewel, and our favorite poker room, the Horseshoe. I will also be flying back east for a quick once over of Mohegan Sun’s new place in CT. They have opened their doors and we have heard nothing but good things.
ThePokerAtlas is not done on the road. We have many more adventures to encounter, and many more tables to defeat.

nathaniel@thepokeratlas.com

Photos from the Road

Nathaniel and Patt — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:15:44 +0000

We have made it through Texas. Who knew this state was so big? That it would take so long? It was painful, treacherous. The sun burned, not a casino in sight, but we swore we would never wake up in this state so onward we went. Six energy drinks and two almost-heart-attacks later, we passed the state line, and passed the f*** out.

One of the many crappy little roadside casinos in LA. These things litter the state from North to South.

By the way, if you’re one of the slack-jaws who shared in taking a quick thirty-five from us, I hope you’re having fun with it… buy your sister something nice.

While we may not support drunk driving, we can admit to having stopped for a couple quick shots of whiskey in whiskey bay. Very “fun” people in the local bar at 1:30p.m.

As we fly through Texas, the devil stays close on our heels.

Shreveport, as far as I am concerned, is New Orleans to the North

Patt — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:34:57 +0000

Then again I haven’t been to New Orleans. We skipped right out. I can’t say I am too upset. I got to go to Shreveport and damn it, it is a hell of a place. I’m going to get some poker bits out of the way first. El Dorado Casino in Shreveport has an amazing poker scene. I got into a raising war with someone on the river in a $4-8 game when I had the nuts flush and he had a four card straight. Too bad for him poker requires five cards for a straight and it never beats a flush. That was the general level of play at ol’ El Dorado. It also makes for a lot of bad beats which I will forever refuse to talk about.

Outside of poker, Shreveport has a wild nightlife. Nathaniel and I scoped out a local bar on our way in and that sudden urge to binge drink and dance hit us both. We gave up our poker style for a minute and headed over to the Voodoo Cafe an Art Bar for a drink or ten. We did not fit the demographic of the Voodoo. We weren’t shunned but we stood out. With a little acting we were able to convince them we were Australian, or at least that I was Australian too. Then they opened right up with 5 shot rum and cokes at ridiculously low prices. This lead to heavy dancing, laughing and memory loss. It is a good way to say farewell to Louisiana and a horrible way to begin a drive through Texas (as hangovers are the travelers enemy). Onward.

patt@thepokeratlas.com