Other Information
Cash Wheel for Aces Cracked and High Hands. Bad Beat Jackpot is progressive. The cash games listed above are the regularly spread games in this room. Others games and stakes are sometimes played based on player interest.

The Excalibur poker room is one of the few continuously operating card rooms in the city, having grand opened in 1990, and running in various places throughout the casino ever since. Peaking at 21 tables, the room now sits comfortably at 12 live, dealer dealt tables, of which 6 have automatic shufflers. The room tried an experiment in the summer of 2008 that involved replacing all the live tables with electronic dealerless tables. The experiment failed, and the traditional tables with live dealers were brought back less than a year later. Known for a truly entry level poker experience, the Excalibur poker room is a comfortable, low frills room that caters to hotel guests and locals that appreciate the liberal promotions, casual staff, and overall family friendly and novice welcoming venue.

The poker room itself is aesthetically plain and unassuming. The tables were all re-felted with tight new cloth, and the armrest leather was reupholstered for the room’s grand reopening. The chairs are well padded leather, but do not offer adjustable backs, wheels, or adjustable height. The tables all have wooden racetracks, some of which have a gap between the felt and the rail that creates a collection of dirt, cocktail straws, and other trash that manages to accumulate in the opening, but this is a minor complaint. Situated in the southwest part of the property, the room is walled off on all 4 sides with half walls and glass partitions that seal in the room nicely, with 3 entrances. The room is obviously not a sealed room necessarily, as there are no permanent walls, but the atmosphere still tends to be a little intimate due to the higher than average glass that sits on top of all 4 half walls. There is a cashier cage located in the center of the room that is approachable and easily navigable. The location of the poker room within the resort is quite conveniently placed, allowing short walk access to the Race and Sports book, self parking, the Café, and even billiard tables. Also, a Starbucks is located only a few feet away (though the Starbucks seems to close quite early in the evening).

Though the room is 12 tables, it is rare to see more than 6 cash games running at any given time. The tables are spaced out nicely, allowing all players to maneuver comfortably between the tables. Though the most focal tables tend to be the least used, the concentration of all cash games to one side of the room does make sense and allows for a much busier overall feel to the room when 5 or more cash games are running.

Television placement in the room is not ideal, but adequate, allowing players to view various sporting events from 4 focal televisions positioned outside and above the thoroughfares that line both sides of the room. There are two large screens located above the cashier cage (left over from the electronic table experiment) that the room uses for its tournament clock. We would like to see the room utilize these screens for electronic list management at some point in the future, as the current paper and pen list tracking is antiquated, to say the least.

The technology of the room is below average. The list is tracked on paper and pen, and the room does not use the Genesis Bravo system for tableside comp tracking. They have recently started computer tracking comps by asking customers to present their cards upon arrival and presenting them again upon departure, but it is obviously a home engineered system, as the actual comp issued is the same $4 comp that the room has given out for years, just given out in tracked 4 hour increments on the computer. The room does employ the use of 6 automatic shufflers in its most commonly used tables, which elevates the technology quotient slightly, however. The tournament clock is all electronic, which is a welcome recent addition to the venue.

The frills of the room are rather light. The most prominent feature that stands out in the room is the jackpot wheel which is large and sits against the back wall. The room also offers a water cooler, but does not offer any side tables (which is peculiar, since the room used to offer side tables when it was 20 tables and located where the current sports book sits).

Overall, the Excalibur poker room is fitting considering the property. Being a 20 year old venue that has historically catered to families and value minded tourists, the Excalibur poker room is very welcoming to new players and offers daily lessons for those learning the game. The room is unassuming and not at all intimidating, as it is out in the open and viewable from all sides. Though the room is put together casually, it is well designed and spaced out to allow for adequate comfort and maneuverability throughout the room to all patrons. The lack of technology; though a little disappointing, is fairly well managed by the staff and does not necessarily take away a lot from the overall experience.