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[proximity]

ok poker fans, we're back with more live poker excitement!!

this time we're up early on a sunday morning; a golden opportunity to make a run to the new mgm national harbor!!!

i take the scenic (western) route to mgm and what an amazing sight this casino is as it comes into view on the beltway!! absolutely beautiful property!

inside everything's shiny and new but i'm a little underwhelmed. i guess i thought it would be a little bigger and the ceilings a little higher? some decorations (like penn national's trees and horse statue for example) would've been nice between sections of table games and slots also.

the 39 table poker room is an l-shaped design towards the back on the left side of the casino (coming from the garage, not the resort). the tables are well spaced and feature possibly the best chairs on the circuit and thickly padded rails. cup-holders aren't built into the rails but portable holders that sit on the table are available (they tuck into the rail). i found the felt to be maybe a little too velvety (?) and with my short nails i actually had some minor trouble checking my cards.

a self serve coffee bar is a nice touch here and the room has beautiful and well positioned tvs.

i didn't get to meet poker director johnny grooms but overall i'd say he's assembled an impressive staff. the floor was prominent and fast enough in response to any inquiries and there's a lot of reason for optimism about the dealers. our own charm city whiz has jumped ship from maryland live! to harbor and i noticed other top dealers like anne and terry from charles town as well as kenny, vicky, and taylor from horseshoe. i've definitely missed some names here too. i did raise my eyebrows at one hire but that particular dealer had an above average down at my table so overall it looks like there's a lot of hope for this team.

some negatives were that the room was a little cold (even for a poker room) and the dealer uniforms were horrible. the poker room could use some artwork on the back wall too as it seemed a little bare.

the biggest negative though was the other players.

i played 4/8 limit and only about half of my table displayed what i'd consider acceptable poker etiquette.

slow play, rebuying for the minimum every fifth hand (it's a limit game!!), arguing with other players and dealers, taking long walks with short stacks, majoring in minor things, more slow play, more $40 rebuys when you have $1000 in your pocket....... rinse and repeat.

on the felt, another straight flush (third sunday in a row!!) pushed me out to nearly a $100 lead before the cards went cold. our old friend KK fell to AA and eventually i fell behind. i rally late though when i flop a set with my own AA and retire with a $24 win.

mgm pays $2 an hour in comps but these don't go directly on your mlife card.
you have to get the floor to put the comps on your card AND you have to tell them the specific place you're going to use them.

i got $13 comps for shake shack and $12.87 got me a shake and possibly the best hamburger i've ever had!! overall the food options were very impressive and not as expensive as i expected.

i took the quicker (eastern) route home and made it in a little over two hours. still though the distance and game conditions (at least 4/8) will prevent me from becoming any kind of regular here but it's certainly a solid candidate for the occasional day trip.

thank you for reading!

game +24 (4/8 lim)
year -884 (19-16)
promo 0 (160)