FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO POKER ROOM

Foxwoods has a good poker room. Thats that. But they need the dealers to keep their own tips and then they can have great dealers. that is all.

Foxwoods is aptly named because it is deep in the Connecticut woods with, presumably, all the foxes. Its closest metro areas are New Haven, Hartford, and Providence although it does draw from Boston and Long Island. Getting there is easy, with good highways, ferries, and trains from everywhere. For me it was quite a trip, two and a half hours from Penn Station in NYC, but I used my time wisely by sleeping and watching the scenery. I took the Amtrack train, very comfortable, $108 RT from NY. A quick trip with a friendly cab driver took me from the New London station to the casino which is in Ledyard, CT in about 15 minutes. The place is huge. I mean really big. It’s touted as the biggest casino in the world based on square footage, I think. It’s actually two casinos, with the poker room in the Rainmaker Casino. It’s a bit of a hike from the lobby to the poker room that takes you through a labyrinth of shops, food courts, slot machines, high stakes bingo (there’s such a thing as HIGH STAKES bingo?), and room towers. The food court has a Pollo Loco, by the way.

(Side note: the food is really mediocre though reasonable but not cheap.)

The room is rather large with big screens showing all the waiting lists for all the games. You can sign up electronically if you have a Wampum Rewards card (I know this is an Indian casino, but isn’t that a bit offensive?). If you left your Wampum Rewards card back at the tepee, then you can sign up at a registration desk. Sign up using your initials or some clever variation. My favorite was LOL. Consequently there is a constant din of initials being called out: “Now seating $5-10 no limit hold em for ABC, DED, AKS, JHK, OMG, DMF, BOB, and KKK!” But after four or five hours this just melts into the background. Thankfully, there are no slot machines near the WPT poker room.

I went on a Saturday night, so there was a long waiting list for all the games. I picked $2-$4 limit, which is a grind I know, but I got to sit right away at a table with 9 players, 6 of them clueless. I won about $250 in an hour and then spent eight hours winning another $250. Still, it was entertaining. I find the New England accents on most of the players both quaint and charming.

The dealing was erratic. Some dealers were not fully up on rules regarding dead buttons and the like, but were generally friendly. The dealers pool their tips, which kind of takes any incentive away from them to be better as pooled tips do not reward them individually. I’m all for merit pay.

There was action everywhere at every level. It seemed like a lot of newbies were there just dumping their money. I spent about 10 hours in the poker room (which is smoke free) soaking in the atmosphere. I could have changed to a NL table after a few hours but I felt comfortable where I was and decided to just enjoy my time there.

Definitely worth a trip back.

If the hotel’s room rates are too high for you, I would suggest staying in New London about 20 minutes away. There are a number of B&Bs there and the town is kind of interesting.

I just played yesterday, and having come out way ahead, playing mediocre cards, and just being patient, I'm pretty high on the place.

I was playing in the 1-2 ($100) no limit table and found that no matter how good your hand is pre-flop, you're going to get called by at least one player, possibly two, if you raise anywhere up to $25. Lots of chasers, lots of people playing their medium pocket pairs as if they were a mortal lock.

Foxwoods, of course, is enormous - therefore their WPT poker room is also huge. All kinds of games, but a lot of players playing no limit hold 'em. Lots of busting out - that makes turnover high and quick if you are waiting on a list.

I noticed coming in that there were a lot of reasonably priced hotels and inns that have sprung up in the area (they advertise their prices on the road), and Foxwoods has a lot to offer (really beautiful surroundings and a lot to do at the casino) so if you have a chance stay over night and allow yourself a lot of time at the table, because patience is a real virtue when swimming amongst these antsy fishes who have been watching too much TV and are looking for the quick score.

Some of the best dead money comes from the donks at Foxwoods.