Winstar, OK - new poker room - NO hand details

[WillYumTX]

Went to Winstar this past weekend. It is about 260 miles from north Austin, so the trip took just under four hours.

The poker room is now on the right side of the casino. It
is very nice and shiny. The bingo players have to walk past the room.

You enter a hall and then it opens into the room. There is no smoking in the room.

The room is very large. There are 40 tables in the main room. Each table seats nine players. The chairs are standard.

There is a small off set room with six tables for higher limit games.

There is a computer screen showing the games and lists. The tables have automatic shufflers. The tables are spaced well and it is not crowded. Each table seats nine players.

The AC was sometimes a bit hot or a bit cold, but never too extreme.

The overall sound level was subdued, I guess with good baffling.

The speaker/announcement system was very loud and plays in the bathrooms and lounge area. So it is odd being in the bathroom and hearing the announcements as if they were right next to you.

There is a waiting lounge nearby. There is a smoking lounge nearby. There is a bathroom off the main room and one in the hallway.

There is a small grill/deli that sells burgers, salads, and other snacks in the room. There is a cage in the room.

The games are 4/8 limit HE and 1/2 and 2/5 NL HE. They had a 2/5 PL Omaha High only game going. And an interest list for a split game.

The rake is high at $5 max with $1 jackpot drop. It must be Aces full of Kings beaten by Quads or better. The jackpot was 19K and it was hit on Sunday. Not by my table, wah. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

On Saturday night, all the tables were full. It was busy, but not swamped. They kept opening tables as the list got full.

Most dealers were pretty good. A few slow ones and a few really fast ones. Lisa was great. Fast and friendly and in control.

The 2/5 PL Omaha was amazing. I really should have tried it at the start. Minimum buy-in was $300. One guy (seat 3) started with $300 and had around $6000 a few hours later.

They were playing cards like K,T,7,4 with only one flush draw.

I watched two pair take down a $400 pot. I saw some incredible limping at the Omaha game. Late that night, it was the only game with a list.

The poker room gives out $6 coupons for food. Nothing else. No poker room rate. No other comps at all.

They plan to build a connecting hotel next year.

They also plan to have a bar (no alcohol now) later this year. They will still allow 18+, but have the drinks only available at the bar and not at the tables. There will be a bar next to the poker room in the cushy waiting area.