Monte Carlo (Las Vegas) Poker Room Review

[Lumpy]

Monte Carlo poker room http://www.montecarlo.com/
Location: 3770 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas NV MAP
Games offered:Limit Hold'em, NL Hold'em, Stud
Number of tables: 9
Member Review by: 99%Evil & Lumpy

99%Evil - In the past year I've stayed at the Monte Carlo on two occasions. The first time, I played at the limit tables for a only a few hours because my wife liked the blackjack tables and it was a vacation trip for the two of us. The second trip this past September was a business trip for my wife that I tagged along on for free room and board. On this second trip my wife had all day conferences to attend and I was free to play poker for nine hours straight everyday. Since we were staying at the Monte Carlo I spent a considerable amount of my poker time in the poker room there. On this trip I spent almost all my time at the no limit tables and only at limit tables when there were no NL games available. This was a mid-week trip and the tables were nowhere near as full as on the weekend.

Lumpy - During my last visit to Vegas I had the opportunity to play poker at the Monte Carlo. This is a small room that has a warm, cozy feel to it. It is located in a back corner next to the Sports & Race Book so it is relatively quiet.

Games/stakes available

7-Card Stud 1-5: Hold-em $2-$4 one $2 blind(with 1/2 kill occasionally), $4-$8, $2-$4 no limit with min/max $100/$200 buy-in. The Monte Carlo does not offer tournaments.

Decor and atmosphere

99%Evil - Small room with 9 tables, a bit tight in spots. This room is situated in the rear of the casino by the sports book tucked away from all the slot machines. There are restrooms just outside the poker room so you can get back in a second. The room is very intimate with dark wood paneling, there are TV's in each corner, two TV's display the bonus hands and the other two are tuned to whatever the players agree on. The tables seat ten people and have a small wood rail 3-1/2" with drink holders in the rail, seats are somewhat comfortable. Many of the tables have auto-shufflers and the hands progress quickly.

Lumpy - The Poker Room is very tastefully decorated with dark woods and paintings and several HD flat panels thrown in for good measure. It feels classy. This is the kind of poker room I would want to have in my house! The tables are wooden racetrack designs with Shufflemasters in the tables so play moves along.

Pictures from Allvegaspoker.com

Quality of opponents

99%Evil - In my 20-30 hours of playtime, I played with several local regulars at the $2/$4 limit and no limit games, there was the smattering of first time players and "I've seen this on TV" people. There always seemed to be about four regulars at a table that knew each other, the dealers and the room managers.

Lumpy - There a lot of locals that play here. At one point, my friend and I were the youngest at the table by about 35 years, and I am a couple years shy of 40. Calling station sums up the majority of the players I have faced here. Don't expect to push anyone out of a hand at the limit tables. You will most likely get called down. Be warned the check-raise severely upsets the senior crowd. There are some good players, but as a whole I would rank the skill level below average.

Chips

Paulson TH&C's, white with 2 burgundy edge spots on the $1. Simple, elegant inlay. What sets it apart from the majority of current Vegas chips is that they still have a linen inlay. Check out the rest of the Monte Carlo chips here.

Lumpy - I love these chips. I am a big fan of the linen inlay. At the time I was there there were many nearly brand new chips in play.

99%Evil - I found the chips a bit dirty, especially the $5 chips. The $5 were well worn with rounded edges and plenty of gray gunk on them, these chips tended to stick together and when trying to grab a chip often several would stick to it. The white $1 were not nearly as worn as the $5 chips, undoubtedly the reason for the $5 wear was that they were from the casino floor where the $5 chip is probably the most used chip in the house for table games.

Additional perks

Games are well run by the dealers.
Good drink service.
They have jackpots available for various high hands (All 4 of a kinds and all straight flushes of all suits), no payout details available.
Monte Carlo Pub and Brewery - A must for beer lovers.

99%Evil - I'm a fool and never take advantage of perks, but you do get free drinks while playing, apparently for 4 hours playtime you get $6 in food comps and 5 hours gets you a discount room rate.

Reviewers Comments

99%Evil - I usually stay at the Monte Carlo for it's location near the middle of the strip. I really like the poker room here because of the coziness of it, there can be a bit of a wait on a weekend to get a seat (20-45 min), but during the week there are some empty tables. I got along great with the regulars, played with them for several hours on different trips months apart. The same regulars seemed to be there both times I visited. There's no food at the tables, which is a good thing in my opinion because of how dirty the poker chips are. The tables are squeezed in here, but the wood paneled walls and the separation from the casino makes it feel like you're in a private club.

Lumpy - I enjoyed playing here. I was here on a Sunday and watched football as we played. I would recommend this room for first time live casino players. The dealers are friendly and know all the locals by name. The 2/4 game with one BB and no SB was a first for me, but it works well. If you are looking for a big action 20/40 game this isn't your place, but if you want a relaxed game in a nice room then give it a try. The fish are always biting so bring your pole!