I've always liked the Mirage poker room. It doesn't hurt that I've run well while playing there. Unfortunately, the room has scaled back the number of tables and now is geared primarily to the weekend tourist types. It is no longer on par with the Venetian or Bellagio as a top room, but it's far more laid back. The room is still very pristine looking and the tables remain in great condition.
Playing on a Saturday the weekend before Turkey Day - the level of play was all over the board. At my 1/2NL table there were obvious "new" (limp happy) players to the game sitting next to LAG types that made it $15 to go pre-flop from early position with regularity. Forced me to pick my spots more than I normally would, but I cashed out up for the day so I am definitely not complaining.
The dealers were quite competent and we never had any issues with how the game was run. I tend to talk a lot at the table to keep it a fun atmosphere, and some of the dealers seemed irritated, but most of them were more than happy to join in the conversation and share war stories.
As I tend to focus more on playing cards and not on my drinking it's hard for me to comment much on this. The one drink I did get was timely provided for at least.
As much as I like the Mirage, they have a new manager. And he has installed some new policies on how the room is run. The dealers are none too happy with this. For example - the dealers have been instructed NOT to spread out the pot for players to count how much is in the middle. I've never been in a place where dealers are prohibited from doing this - so I asked the manager for the reasons behind this. In his attempt to answer my question (without ever making an attempt to look me in the eye) he basically talked down to me and blew me off without any rational explanation provided. Though I must say I do like the new high hand jackpot. If it's the tourists they are after, this is good for the game. Plus I got $50 for my quad 3s...
I forgot to clock out but everyone I talked to seemed happy with the $1/hr lunch comps. And the aforementioned high hand jackpot kept people in good spirits the whole time.
