Short version: The Borgata has the best poker room in Atlantic City. It is the Bellagio of Atlantic City (and is actually half owned by the same folks that own Bellagio).
Long version: I’ll start with the negatives. First of all, it’s not the biggest room in AC. It only has about 36 tables. The Taj Mahal has something like 81 tables, making it the biggest. This has several consequences which might not at first be obvious. First, while Borgata has some high stakes games, they don’t have the number of high stakes games as the Taj, and the stakes don’t go as high. So while you can usually find an $80-$160 game at Borgata, you have to go to the Taj for $300-$600 or higher (the highest I’ve seen there was a head’s-up $1000-$2000 game).
Also, the Borgata doesn’t spread as many of the mid-upper stakes games. There will typically only be one $20-40 game, one $30-$60, and one $40-80 game going, along with 2 or 3 $10-$20 games.
Another problem Borgata suffers from it shares in common with the Taj–the tables are rather close together, and so walking around can at times be difficult. It’s especially bad if you wind up in a seat against a wall.
Smokers aren’t going to enjoy themselves either. The poker room is downstairs from the main casino floor (along with the racing book), and the entire area is non-smoking. If you want to smoke, you have to not only leave your game, but head up-stairs.
Finally, the waits to get a seat at Borgata are often awful. I mean really terrible. I’ve heard of people having to wait 2 1/2 hours for a seat in a game, and have myself waited for over an hour. I’ve also seen the board for low stakes games grow to over 100 people. Unless you get there before noon or after midnight, don’t even bother going to Borgata on a weekend if you’re not a high(er) stakes player.
Now onto the good things. This could take a while. First of all, if you find yourself stuck in one of those horrible waits, at least you can relax in the well furnished, comfortable waiting room. There’s also a small snack bar right there by the waiting room, so you can quickly and conveniently snag some munchies.
While it may seem minor, but people who have played a lot of live poker know how much nicer this can make your experience–the Borgata has great poker chips. They’re smooth plastic, with a nice heft to them, and they’re always clean. Also–and I haven’t seen this at any other casino, Vegas or AC–Borgata has $10 and $20 chips in addition to the standard $1, $5, $25, and $100 denominations. These are intended for use in the $10-$20, $20-$40, etc, games. It’s a small difference, but it speeds up play and makes chip management a lot easier.
Perhaps most importantly, Borgata has the best employees in Atlantic City. At all levels. Even their cocktail waitresses are the best in town (and are most certainly the best looking). When you walk in, you’ll first walk up to the sign-up desk. It’s always well staffed, and you don’t have to wait for service. The games being laid and the boards posting the waiting lists are displayed on two huge flat screens above the desk, scrolling along efficiently (they use the popular Queue-Enlister program to keep their waiting list board). The people working there know what they’re doing, accomplish it quickly, and have ready answers to any and all questions. People who are new to poker will find themselves well taken care of, and their questions patiently and accurately answered.
Once your seat opens, the floor person will get you to your table, check you in for the Borgata’s comps program, and point you to the cage where you go to buy chips. The people working at the cage are very fast and know exactly what they’re doing. I’ve yet to see one make a mistake, which I certainly can’t say for many other casinos I’ve been to (and spent far less time at).
Once you’re seated (and have ordered a drink), you’ll discover one of the true great pleasures of playing poker at Borgata. They have the best dealers in Atlantic City. They stole all of the Taj Mahal and other casinos’ best dealers when they opened. Their dealers are all experienced veterans, deal quickly, and know the rules backwards and forwards. And should a dispute still somehow arise, the floor people also know the rulebook cold, and resolve issues quickly and professionally.
The Borgata also spreads no-limit tournaments twice a day (buy-ins tend to range from $100 to $500) throughout the week, excluding weekends (the place is too full on weekends to afford the extra tables). Unless you want to play sit-and-goes (got to Harrah’s or the Taj for that), the Borgata is where you want to go if you’re a tournament player.
Alas, I must end this review on a sad note. I now no longer play at the Borgata. After this glowing review, you must be confused. Here’s why: the Borgata’s reputation precedes itself, at least in poker circles. Because of that, you’ll find the best poker players on the East Coast at the Borgata. The Borgata’s $6-$12 game typically has tougher opponents than the players in the Taj Mahal’s $30-$60 game. Their no-limit games are a bit looser I’m told (I haven’t played NL at Borgata), but that’s still not enough inducement to get me to play there considering how loose the NL games are at Bally’s, Caesars, and elsewhere.
In a sense, failing to realize how tough the games are at Borgata helped me. That’s where I first played poker. I served out my apprenticeship in the $3 - $6 game there, and later the $6 - $12 game. Had I learned elsewhere, I wouldn’t be as good a player today as I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be heading back any time soon.
Still, if you’re just visiting Atlantic City, you should definitely swing by their poker room, if only to see what live poker done right looks like.
Posted by Beck in Poker
