hoo boy! have i got a cardroom for you!
it's called station casino, and it's part of the "station" chain. it's located on the banks of the missouri river, about 20 miles west of st. louis. this boat (actually, i think that there are two boats) doesn't cruise, so they have what is called "open boarding", where you can enter and exit at any time. you must get a plastic id "boarding pass" which you present to get on the boat, and when you buy chips. you can only buy chips at the cage, and they track how much you buy - missouri state law limits your losses to $500 every two hours.
the poker room is located on the second level. they've got about 11 tables, most of which are set up for flop games. when i arrived in the room about 1:00 pm, they had a couple 1-5 stud games, a 3/6 omaha/8 with a kill, a 5/10 omaha/8 with a kill, and a 4/8 hold 'em game in progress. pretty soon, they cranked up a 20/40 omaha (high only). i sat down at the 3/6 omaha table. they don't spread any stud higher than 1-5. when you start to play, you give your id card to a floorman, who swipes it through a reader. players are paid comp of $.75 per hour, for all levels of play.
this cardroom uses "speed chips." :( but the rake is 10% to a maximum of $3.50. the room has very low ceilings, and although cigars and pipes are not permitted, i can see that smoke could be a problem on a busy night. the two seats next to the dealers are not no-smoking seats. new players do not have to post when they enter a game. they use the "forward moving button" rule in the event one of the blinds busts out. to comply with the state law, cash does not play.
overall, i thought that the dealers were pretty good. they wear long-sleeve white shirts with red pinstripes, wide string ties, suspenders, and arm garters. i just *love* the look! a couple mistakes happened, and the dealers were quick to call the floormen. i had no quarrel at all with any of the rulings i saw. i was advised that, although the room does not have a rulebook available for players, they have a copy of the las vegas hilton rulebook in the room, which they use as their rulebook. :)
i take a break from my game, and chat with the day manager of the room. it takes about fifteen minutes, but we finally realize that we're both rgp'ers! "tapptout", whose real name is vito, is originally from the new york area! he tells me that i just missed "gambler103", whose real name is paul. i tell vito to check out my trip reports! :)
i pick up and wander downstairs to the anchor bar to enjoy a beer as i watch the baseball game. after i watch the mets lose, i have dinner at the buffet, and head back upstairs for more poker. there are one or two more hold 'em games going, but the 3/6 omaha/8 game has turned absolutely *wild*!! multi-way caps on multiple streets....all led by a maniac named "fidel." i sit down and start accumulating chips. when my name is called for the 5/10 omaha/8 game, i pass. the game i'm in is *bigger* than the 5/10. when i finally cash out around midnight, after watching the yankees win, i have another nice chat with the night manager, daniel. i tell him that i don't like bad beat jackpots. :/
in general, this has been the best-run cardroom i've played in so far in my trip. the atmosphere was very friendly, and the players were, as has been the norm, atrocious. i can't really expect to make over $300 playing six or seven hours of 3/6 poker all the time, but it's sure nice when it happens! :)
tiger