Seminole Hard Rock Tampa review

Well, I definitely dropped the ball on not getting to a review of the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa in as timely as a fashion as I did the other rooms. No real excuse, outside of a brutal travel sked over the past couple of months. But I finally got out last Wednesday to check the room out. Not a bad room at all, and open 24/7 (for now - more on that later), which is a huge competitive advantage.

THE ROOM: Not bad, not great. That sums it up. It's tucked into its own area of the casino. The 50 or so tables fit snugly in the room, though it's less than claustrophobic. The tables are new or held up well, but not as flashy as one might expect from a Hard Rock. But the chairs are the best in town. Very comfy. The room does have Hard Rock touches, like large photos of rock stars on the walls. (I was seated in direct line of sight of the oh-so-lovely Ms. Jewel, which doesn't bode well for one's concentration on the cards). A couple of plasma TVs hang from each wall, half with TV sports and half with the wait list (or tournament clock), which is a nice touch since the room is so large. But the biggest problem with the room was the chaotic registration area. They have two employees manning the front lines - one to sign up for live games and tournaments, and one to claim your seat - and even though they were marked clearly, it was confusing. I waited for at least five minutes at the front of the sign-up line before I got a seat, as people kept popping up to check on their status or to ask questions. Also, while they had wait list screens inside the actual room, there oddly wasn't one at the sign-up desk. You had to peer at the worker's computer to see the games that were offered.

THE GAMES:

Stud: $1-$5, $1 bring-in, no ante

Omaha 8: $2/$4 with a kill to straight $5

Limit Hold’em: $2/$4 with $1/$2 blinds and straight $5 with $2/$5 blinds

No Limit Hold’em: $1/$2 blinds, max $100 buy-in, pot rake

Tournaments: MTTs run every day (click here for the schedule) and SNGs from $120 up to $1,040 were offered the night I was there.

Rake: 10 percent up to $5 max, but with a $1 minimum (ouch! be careful about raising too much in stud, or you'll just get your money back and the house will get the bring-in - happened to me).

Progressive jackpot: $1 from every pot of $10 or more is dragged. You need a royal flush in spades to win it.

Okay, you may have heard that the tribe is negotiating with Gov. Charlie Crist for a compact to offer other games. The federal government has mandated a drop-dead deadline of Nov. 15 for a deal to be reached. It's fairly safe to say a deal will be made (if not, the tribe gets the games anyway, and the state gets nothing), but what's unknown is what kind of deal will be reached. A draft proposal dated Oct. 2, consistent with media reports, would allow Class III (Vegas-style) slot machines and house-banked card games, such as blackjack and baccarat. However, that same draft would make the poker consistent with pari-mutuel laws. In other words, same limits, etc., and same hours (only 12 a day). Again, until a deal is reached, we don't know anything for sure, but this proposal would kill the only 24/7 poker we have here, but it might save the pari-mutuel rooms. An interesting dilemma, for sure.

THE PERSONNEL: Dealers were good. No mistakes while I was there, though you could see that one of them let his mind wander a bit much during stud. Plenty of floor personnel roamed the floor, but I never had a situation at my table or a neighboring table to see them in action. The cashiers were friendly, and the cocktail waitresses were quick.

MY PLAY: I sat at $1-$5 stud table for about 3 hours. I could see from the beginning that it was a pretty good table. Only one or two skillful players, the rest a bunch of calling stations just there for entertainment. Very little pre-4th Street raising, so it was easy to speculate for a buck, and then bet big if you hit. In fact, I had one deftly played hand when I was the bring-in with rolled up 4s. I came in for only a buck, and let a player with an Ace showing lead the action until 6th Street. The set held up. But in the end, I was drawn out on too many times to mention (well, not too many times for Chris to mention). I left down $20 after deciding I need to fold Broadway on 6th street to a player with four diamonds showing.

As always, post your experiences from Hard Rock here.

- SCOTT

Comments

[John Grillo]

I play pretty regularly at Seminole and rarely had a bad experience in the poker room. The dealers are great and the crowd ranges from the beginners to "regulars" who grind out winnings daily. The sign up area could definately inprove and I agree that unless you have been there and know the system, it is confusing. (Also the lack of a waiting list monitor near the sign up station is noted... perhaps to prevent people from crowding the area)

As far as the Seminole keeping with the para-mutual hours (12 hours) and not 24/7...this would be a travesty and I would frown upon that decision greatly. Keep the hours 24/7... I get insomnia and always like to know I can go some place at 2am and play poker!

[Erik]

Scott, you said cocktails were quick? Every time I've been to Seminole all I've heard was how slow they are, and I agree with them.

[Scott Long]

Well, it was a Wednesday night at 11 p.m. But there was waitress at my table like every 5 minutes. Almost ridiculous. But better than waiting hours.

[Erik]

Oh Scott, you sent me an e-mail regarding the home game. I don't check my home e-mail much. I can't attend today, but I'd love to attend in future dates.

[Michelle from Tampa]

I concur with Erik--my husband and I went this past Sunday to play limit hold'em, and the cocktail servers were friendly, but there were too few of them to cover such a large area. So we'd be waiting 1/2 hour to an hour to get anything from a cup of coffee (perk: it's free) to a bottled water or glass of wine.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, although (slightly OT) he and I are more used to no-limit, and limit is a totally different ball of wax. We'll go back, I'm sure.

getting into a NL game seems impossible unless you get lucky to catch a new table. i saw one 1-2 NL table with the big stack well over 3K and several with a good mix of greens and oranges. every time i looked at the table people were betting 50-60 and more. i cant possibly see sitting down there with 100 and playing any appreciable amount of time unless i get lucky. seems like you have to shove a LOT to get a playable stack.