The Showboat in AC The good, the bad and the UGLY!

[Jan]

The Good: Small tournament in a small poker room, start with T10000,20 minute rounds, no antes, so plenty of play time. Went with my son and brother-in-law who were both 1st time B&M tournament players, so the $65 fee was perfect for them. Only drawback was only $53 went to the prize pool and $12 to the house.

The Bad:The staff completely ignored us when we entered the poker room. They saw us standing by the desk looking like we needed help for over 5 minutes and still ignored us. Finally, we had to ask for help, we applied for a poker card and despite us telling them we wanted to register for the tournament (and we were OBVIOUSLY new to the Showboat),they never once directed us to where to register, which was right at the cage. AGAIN,we had to ask them, they NEVER offered help.

The UGLY: At the 2nd break, I counted my chips 3 TIMES and got a count of T33000. I specifically asked the dealer what the next blind level was so I would know what type of shape I was in.

Left the table for 5 minutes, came back and knew immediately I was shorted. Did a count and I only had T24500!!!!

I immediately called the tournament director over who said we'll figure it out at the end!!! What??? Then the guy next to me said he was shorted T5000, the tournament director started laughing and said now everyone was going to jump on the bandwagon.

The tournament director actually laughed again, and then told the dealer to go ahead and start dealing!!!

I complained some more, so he finally said he would count the chips,came back 10 minutes later and said he came back with the same amount they brought out for the chip up.

He told me he would have surveillance check the tape,and then 20 minutes later I AGAIN had to call him over and he said the tape didn't show anything. The fact that I had to call him over makes me wonder if anyone really checked the tape.

How should this have been handled? If I hadn't counted my chips 3 times, I probably would have assumed I miscounted,but I didn't miscount 3 times. I also didn't like that they just went ahead with the tournament and did not take me seriously,it seemed.

Anyway, despite the nice tournament structure I will NEVER play at the Showboat again. their staff is horrible and they don't care if you get ripped off!

Jan

[Carlson411]

[ QUOTE ]
The Good: Small tournament in a small poker room, start with T10000,20 minute rounds, no antes, so plenty of play time. Went with my son and brother-in-law who were both 1st time B&M tournament players, so the $65 fee was perfect for them. Only drawback was only $53 went to the prize pool and $12 to the house.

The Bad:The staff completely ignored us when we entered the poker room. They saw us standing by the desk looking like we needed help for over 5 minutes and still ignored us. Finally, we had to ask for help, we applied for a poker card and despite us telling them we wanted to register for the tournament (and we were OBVIOUSLY new to the Showboat),they never once directed us to where to register, which was right at the cage. AGAIN,we had to ask them, they NEVER offered help.

The UGLY: At the 2nd break, I counted my chips 3 TIMES and got a count of T33000. I specifically asked the dealer what the next blind level was so I would know what type of shape I was in.

Left the table for 5 minutes, came back and knew immediately I was shorted. Did a count and I only had T24500!!!!

I immediately called the tournament director over who said we'll figure it out at the end!!! What??? Then the guy next to me said he was shorted T5000, the tournament director started laughing and said now everyone was going to jump on the bandwagon.

The tournament director actually laughed again, and then told the dealer to go ahead and start dealing!!!

I complained some more, so he finally said he would count the chips,came back 10 minutes later and said he came back with the same amount they brought out for the chip up.

He told me he would have surveillance check the tape,and then 20 minutes later I AGAIN had to call him over and he said the tape didn't show anything. The fact that I had to call him over makes me wonder if anyone really checked the tape.

How should this have been handled? If I hadn't counted my chips 3 times, I probably would have assumed I miscounted,but I didn't miscount 3 times. I also didn't like that they just went ahead with the tournament and did not take me seriously,it seemed.

Anyway, despite the nice tournament structure I will NEVER play at the Showboat again. their staff is horrible and they don't care if you get ripped off!

Jan

[/ QUOTE ] I went once before and I never had this problem with the staff. Than again I sat and played limit and 1/2 NL cash game. The staff except for one snotty chick(dealer) where all good. I think if I tried I could have gotten with one of the dealers. She was pretty hot. Sucks that you went through that. I'd try there again. Games are pretty juicy. How'd you end up doing in the tourny? I was going to play the tourny the time I went there, but I was so tired from playing at Showboat.

[zerocarb]

I like the Showboataments. Sorry you had a bad experience, but I would give 'em another shot before writing the place off.

Plus, there are pictures of nekkid ladies on the wall, lots of flat-screen TVs, bottled beer and a hawt dealer named Fanny. What's not to love?

[KDuff]

Showboat is zany. I've been there pretty often since the summer of 2005 and have enjoyed it most of the time.

[myxter7]

Ya I like the tournaments a lot as well. The people are horrible and the staff is decent. There is an occasional slip up but the poor competition makes it worth it. I have ft'ed in 3 of the 5 tourneys I have played there in the last 6 months.

[TheJunkyardGod]

Thats strange, Showboat is one of the few rooms in AC that i've never had a problem in. The Floor is always friendly and accommodating to me. The only problem is pretty slow drink service, but thats almost a standard Atlantic City complaint.

Maybe I should go back there, it's possible things have changed in the last 5 months since i've been there.

[mxp2004]

[ QUOTE ]
Plus, there are pictures of nekkid ladies on the wall, lots of flat-screen TVs, bottled beer and a hawt dealer named Fanny . What's not to love?

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT... except for the excitement over the Rubenesque women painted on the walls. Maryna (sp?) is easy on the eyes, too, when she sits down at your table to deal, and Kellie the Floor Manager hits the trifecta: good-looking, friendly, and competent.

The room is not the best managed in AC by any means, but the competition is soft and the tournament structure allows for a fair amount of play. Although I've had some problems with how the tournaments are run, it's never been bad enough to stop me from coming back. Then again, maybe I've just decided to look the other way because I've been able to make 4 final tables out of 8 entries this year.

I think my biggest peeve about the room is that the comps suck. I've played well over 100 hours of cash games at Showboat this year, and last I checked, I've only earned $7 in comps. A few visits ago, I asked the floor for a comp for the buffet, and he looked at me like I had 3 heads.

My understanding is that the comp problem originates with Harrahs, Showboat's owner, and extends to all of Harrahs' properties. I find it ironic that the company that owns the WSOP does so little to encourage poker players to return to its casinos.

[Carlson411]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Plus, there are pictures of nekkid ladies on the wall, lots of flat-screen TVs, bottled beer and a hawt dealer named Fanny . What's not to love?

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT... except for the excitement over the Rubenesque women painted on the walls. Maryna (sp?) is easy on the eyes, too, when she sits down at your table to deal, and Kellie the Floor Manager hits the trifecta: good-looking, friendly, and competent.

The room is not the best managed in AC by any means, but the competition is soft and the tournament structure allows for a fair amount of play. Although I've had some problems with how the tournaments are run, it's never been bad enough to stop me from coming back. Then again, maybe I've just decided to look the other way because I've been able to make 4 final tables out of 8 entries this year.

I think my biggest peeve about the room is that the comps suck. I've played well over 100 hours of cash games at Showboat this year, and last I checked, I've only earned $7 in comps. A few visits ago, I asked the floor for a comp for the buffet, and he looked at me like I had 3 heads.

My understanding is that the comp problem originates with Harrahs, Showboat's owner, and extends to all of Harrahs' properties. I find it ironic that the company that owns the WSOP does so little to encourage poker players to return to its casinos.

[/ QUOTE ] Maryna is the Russian brunette right? I'd hit it.

[mxp2004]

[ QUOTE ]
Maryna is the Russian brunette right?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's right... with the beautiful blue eyes.