Trip Report: Riverside Casino (Iowa City)

[TheStation]

Riverside casino is located just south of Iowa City, IA

I went down there with a HS friend as I was back home for Thanksgiving and wanted to check out the new casino. The action I am talking about below took place from 2-9:30pm on Friday, Nov 24, being a holiday it was busier than it probably is otherwise but I do believe it to be a popular room

The poker room is 14 tables and is off to the side of the casino but is open to the slots/tables. The room is also smoke free although with how open everything is at times I could feel smoke moving through the air (I have allergies and am super sensative to it)

The dealers were very good as they kept the games moving fast and never a misdeal in the 7 hours I was there. I recognized that they hired some dealers/floors from Prairie Meadows in Des Moines, IA.

They had 11 of the 14 tables running today, the games being spread were:
3-6 limit he (mult tables)
4-8 limit he (one table)
6-12 omaha h/l (one table)
2-5 nl he (mult tables) w. $100-300 buyin
2-5 PL HOE with $300 min, no max (one table)

I played in the 2-5 NLHE and it was a pretty good game, it varied a lot form tight to loose like any low limit game, plus with this being the only NLHE game offered there were many different skill levels present

I really wanted to play in the 2-5 PL HOE game. Its holdem, omaha high, and omaha h/l. I used to play in the 10-20 and 15-30 limit versions held at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines until moving to Kansas City this year. Its a very good game with a good variety. The game plays pretty big as most everyone had $1000 or more with a couple players having $4,000+ today. Since I was traveling I didnt have enough cash to buyin to this game with room to rebuy so I chose not to play it, in the future I will check it out.

I loved the game selection offered here, it was very good, they were also trying to get a 1-2 PL HOE game going as well but didnt have enough interest, unfortunately I didnt love much more than the game selection at the poker room. Oh I guess I also liked the chips, they seemed to be very high quality and would not chip easily or wear bad over time.

Things I didnt like:
1. Sometimes very noisy as it as open to casino floor area w. slots and table games
2. No bar in poker room so drink girls took forever
3. No tableside dining in the poker room
4. No electronic list, it was done on paper (like it is done at bellagio)
5. Unable to fill in empty seats in games when a long list was present, it took 75 minutes to fill our new 2-5 NLHE table and our dealer yelled out at least 6 times that we had seats opened
6. Floor personannel had no idea what table numbers had which game running on it so dealers had to yell the table number and what game we were running each time we had a seat open

If you are passing through Iowa on I-80 its proabably worth a stop to see the new casino but if I was to live in Iowa again, I would be going to Prairie Meadows in Des Moines to play as it was run so much better IMO. Granted this room is only a few months old and hopefully they will iron out some of the wrinkles that exist today.

[neuroman]

Wow I had no idea there was a casino near Iowa City, I will be checking it out for sure in January when I will be travelling to Southeastern Iowa.

[EdmondDantes]

Nice report. Thanks for posting.

[TheStation]

Just as a note for those wanting to play the HOE games - that game (in limit or PL form) could be going at Riverside Casino in Iowa City or at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines - it really depends on where the regular players want to play (which depends on what the mgmt at each room is doing to make them want to play there)

The new redone room at Meskwaki Casino in Tama, IA will also be opening mid-January and that would be another option that I am sure the regulars will consider for the HOE game - it would be great if it got going at mult poker rooms but I am not sure if there are enough players to support it

[Avatar of Wine]

[ QUOTE ]
Just as a note for those wanting to play the HOE games - that game (in limit or PL form) could be going at Riverside Casino in Iowa City or at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines - it really depends on where the regular players want to play (which depends on what the mgmt at each room is doing to make them want to play there)

The new redone room at Meskwaki Casino in Tama, IA will also be opening mid-January and that would be another option that I am sure the regulars will consider for the HOE game - it would be great if it got going at mult poker rooms but I am not sure if there are enough players to support it

[/ QUOTE ]

The 10/20 HOE game hasn't been running as much at PM, but there's been a slight uptick in 15/30 as a result (beyond the usual Friday game), plus the 6/12 O8 half-kill has run a lot more lately.

They've introduced a 1/2 PL mixed game (HO, but can apparently change to HOE if table agrees - never happened AFAIK) which has taken a little from the 10/20 . . . it's 100-300 buyin, soft as all hell.

So yeah - Riverside isn't really driving off the HOE game, it's mostly the bigger variety of games that is making the whole thing crazy at PM. Other than that, I agree with your review of Riverside pretty much exactly, except that some of the dealers are brand new . . . this means the 6/12 O8 game ran SLOOOOOOW the last time I was there, like 15 hands/hr slow. I prefer PM, but Riverside is a solid option for the E. IA set.

[TheStation]

Here is a chip image, the chips were very nice. The only tho chips I like more than Riversides are the chips at Meskwaki Casino and Canterbury Park. Riverside is 3rd in my list just becuase I think the chips at Canterbury and Meskwaki wear better than these will.

[neuroman]

I went to Riverside (Iowa City) tonight. The casino was quite nice. When I showed up about 7:30pm on Tuesday there were only two tables going: 3/6 limit and 2/5 no-limit. There was a 3rd table of 2/5 NL that got going for a couple of hours, but never became a full game and broke before I left.

I played 3/6 limit since I wasn't rolled for 2/5 NL. I sat in the 9 seat. The table was mostly weak/passive with a lot of cold-calling, it was almost always 4-5 to the flop for one or two bets preflop. Sometimes we got 7 or 8 to the flop limped all around. There were two live ones who really made the game good, one to my left in the 10 seat, and one at the other end of the table in the 4 seat. Both played any two cards, K6o, J3s, whatever. A couple of younger kids from U of Iowa were at the table playing TAG poker but no one struck me as anything more than above average.

Memorable hand of the night: I limp JTo in the cutoff after several limps in front, young guy in the 1 seat wearing a navy hooded sweater (possible 2+2er) raises from one of the blinds, calls all around, five or six to the flop of Js Ts 6x. The flop was capped at 5 bets with 3 players, I got called on the turn and the river and won a $100+ pot with my two pair.

The dealers were fairly slow, and could have easily gotten 3 or 5 more hands per hour if they picked up the pace a little. There were more flipped/exposed cards during the deal than I would like to see, but I had no major complaints. Rake was $3+1 for BBJ. Drinks were slightly pricey for SE Iowa, $3.50 for a weakly mixed Jack 'n Coke, $3.75 for a bottle of Bass ale.

Overall experience was good, I would go back especially on a friday or saturday where there would probably be more players.