Poker Room Review...Foxwoods on 2/20/06

I had not been to Foxwoods in about a year and based on my experience on President’s Day 2006, some major changes are going to need to occur before I step foot in there again. Foxwoods has become the Northeastern's epicenter for a game that has clearly grown too big for its’ britches.

Before I get into the issues with their poker room, let’s talk about what an adventure it is to get there. My wife and I were coming down from western Massachusetts and in fairness to Foxwoods; we only had about 3 hours to goof around. Don’t expect to see many billboards on the approach and you better look very hard for the signs that direct you to Foxwoods because they are not very prominent. For whatever the reasons, the state of Connecticut is not exactly making things too easy to find this casino. So, my advice is to Mapquest the destination, and keep your eyes peeled. Parking was free, so that was nice to see.

Another major problem besides the overdone poker explosion is the fact that neighboring casino Mohegan Sun does not offer a poker room experience. I had enjoyed the Mohegan poker room and the Foxwoods room long before the poker explosion. But, for whatever the reasons they have cited, Mohegan does not offer Poker, leaving only one choice for brick and mortar action in New England.

So, I walked in at 11:00am on Presidents day and could not believe my eyes. Every table was filled!!

The line to get on their electronic poker board stretched about 20 deep. I waited over two and a half hours for a 2-4 limit table and over one and a half hours for a stud table. So, I played a little 1-3 stud as I waited for my name to creep up on the 2-4 board.

I don’t think anyone should have to wait this long for a poker game. The problem with Foxwoods is that they attract people from all over the Northeast. There were at least two hundred people waiting everywhere in the room, scattered about. The staff looked completely overwhelmed and there were many agitated customers. The 1-2 NL table was 120 deep on the wait list and they announced that anyone caught jumping the line would get moved to the end.

I also want to say a few words about the honor system with names and getting seated. It has it's share of problems and the people I spoke to who were Foxwoods regulars complained about people jumping the list and saying that these are THEIR initials being called when they just arrived 20 minutes ago. This honor system needs a complete overhaul but I’m not sure what the solution was. I also felt that the PA announcer took too much time to call the name and give people a chance to claim their seat. I think a person should have 15 seconds tops to claim their seat. That’s what they do at the Taj Mahal and it seems to work. If your on the list, then stick around when your name is called.

I was also told by a player that the poker room is moving downstairs and that they are adding some extra tables. I can only hope so!! Foxwoods needs to rethink their whole approach to poker because of the scale they have to deal with.

Maybe the new poker area is the step in the right direction? Perhaps they can start at 3/6 Limit on the low end (rather than 2/4) and eliminate 1/3 stud. Also, there was only one Omaha Table and there was a lot of interested people on the sign-up board. I would have gladly accepted an Omaha 8/B game.

Me? Well, I won my first and ONLY hand at Holdem when my cell phone rang. Sadly, it was time for me to go. All that wait time and only one fricking hand of Holdem. As I said before, I was on a limited time schedule.

For what it’s worth, my wife’s spa experience was equally troublesome. She said the spa employees were pushy and the swimming pool was so crowed, it resembled something you would see in a public pool.

Regretfully, I have to give Foxwoods "two-pair" on the poker review scale, with a Royal Flush being the highest grade. If you live in the New York area, point the car towards Atlantic City. If you live in New England, well you have my deepest sympathies because playing poker at Foxwoods can be an exercise in futility.

In retrospect, I have not completely closed the book on Foxwoods. Perhaps another trip is in order when the new room opens. But, given the choice, I'm going to the City called Atlantic.

The Chief Disciple has spoken.