I'm leaving it at average unless I see improvement. Now, I know the flat screen TVs aren't in yet and the room is technically 'unfinished.' The tables are good, not great. I don't particularly like a wood racetrack, though it is better than the marble-ish one at the MGM. The black felt is a very cool choice and the modern-esque gray, tan, black feel of the room is as well. The bathrooms are very accessible and you're right inside the casino coming in from the Strip. The one major downside is that the poker room is adjacent to a VERY loud bar/stage called the Extra Lounge. This makes the poker room LOUDER than the MGM Grand, and they have karaoke and live music and singalongs, unlike the MGM's studio hits. I don't see this changing any time soon though, so this might keep me away from the room, despite the plethora of fish and money to be made and an otherwise classy room. Then again, the loudness fits the general ambiance of the hotel. The whole place is loud and rock 'n roll/Hollywood in feel. Sort of a slightly classier/older Hard Rock vibe. And that can attract really bad players with lots of money who get @#$% drunk and are easy pickins.
As of right now they are only spreading 1-2 NL and it's as fishy as any of the other mid-level Strip rooms. The higher level rooms like Bellagio, Caesar's, Wynn will sometimes have a few decent players at that level, but this is more like MGM, Bally's, Flamingo and Harrah's where it's dominated by tourists drinking and just looking to have a good time, not really play solid poker. Weekdays I'm guessing it's slightly tighter, weekend nights quite wild.
The same crew from the Aladdin is held over. They are affable people and almost universally likeable and competent. They sit in a lot when they're not on shift but I've never suspected collusion, some of them are good players, some of them not so hot.
They give you drinks in a nice tall glass, much larger than most rooms of this level. Speed could be a bit better, no drop dead gorgeous lookers but no older women or patently unattractive women either.
So far so good. Also same as Aladdin. They say promotions are coming.
Right now they're not offering a buck an hour in food comps, which is lame. If you have a PH card you should be able to check in at the desk and at least get that comp. They have the same high hand jackpots as the old Aladdin, two in the hand quads or better for a max of $599.
