When In Rome
Part One: Casino Review — Caesars Indiana(This entry crossposted to Steal The Blinds.)
In my review about Trump Lake Michigan, I said that the poker room was "the nicest I've ever been to," and that when you're there, "you almost forget that you're actually on a boat."
Caesars Indiana supercedes both of those comments.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. decided to remodel the poker room at Caesars Indiana to accomodate the World Series Of Poker Circuit Event they hosted, and it's magnificent. The poker room now takes up nearly half of the bottom deck. The tables, chairs, and (most importantly after the nuisance at Trump) chips are all new, with the WSOP logo everywhere. Caesars Indiana set out to create the biggest poker room in between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and while I can't prove it, I certainly believe it. The room is huge, with more than 30 separate tables. They spread limit Hold'em as low as $4/$8 and as high as $200/$400, with a sprinkling of no-limit, plus Omaha and Stud games.
The decor is also fantastic. The section of the boat used to be called the "Movie Room," and they kept the motif. The room looks a lot like a movie or TV set, with track lighting and black ceiling lattices. The walls have large photographs of some of poker's brightest stars: Jen Harman, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Chris Moneymaker, and the man who won the 2005 WSOP Main Event (I won't say his name, for the six of you poker fans out there who haven't yet had the results spoiled). TVs show sports action and tournament timers, and a large plasma TV at the front now keeps track of wait lists after they got the system online over the weekend. The adjacent All-In Deli serves sandwiches, dinners, and drinks.
And since it's Caesars, there's plenty else. If you've ever been to Caesars Palace in Vegas, the Hoosier version looks much like it, only on a slightly smaller scale. Outside the boat is a miniature empire, featuring the hotel, four restaurants (an upscale bistro, a bar/nightclub, a buffet, and a café), two retail stores, a convention center, and a conference room. Unfortunately, they're going to be spending an awful lot on remodeling: Harrah's, Inc. has decided to scale back the Caesars brand to just the "Palaces" in Vegas and AC. Caesars Indiana will become a Horseshoe next year, which means all the marble and architecture will be replaced. So if you want to see Rome in the Midwest, better book your reservation soon.
One more thing: Caesars Indiana also has no-limit Hold'em tournaments on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. If the Saturday $200 + $20 tournament has the maximum 250 players, the top three finishers all receive a buy-in to the 2006 WSOP Main Event.
(Edited 11/12 1:32 AM to add the STB link.)
posted by Marsh @ 2:30 AM
<< Home