Twin River Casino Poker Room Review
Review of Twin River Casino Hotel Reviewed December 24, 2015 poker room is new about 3 weeks old dealers are the slowest ever.floor doesn't know whats going on.sighing in is also behind the times.only good thing are the players poor will chase anything.avoid for now. Rhode Island’s Twin River casino: It looks and smells the same, but the familiarity ends there By Dan McGowan Globe Staff, Updated June 9, 2020, 11:20 a.m. Email to a Friend. Twin River Casino Hotel, Lincoln: See 520 reviews, articles, and 60 photos of Twin River Casino Hotel, ranked No.15 on Tripadvisor among 18 attractions in Lincoln. Hey guys, if you enjoyed please leave a LIKE on the video! Appreciate all the support so far! This video we play a swingy session at Twin River in RI - tune in to see how it all plays out! Twin River Casino Poker Room. 136 likes 453 were here. We invite you to enjoy our 16 table poker room. Games include 1-2 no limit, 2-5 no limit, 5-10 no limit, and 3-6 fixed limit poker.
The build-up was tremendous. Way back in 1947, Lincoln Downs, a dog-racing track, opened in Lincoln, Rhode Island, then 30 years later was renamed Lincoln Greyhound Park. Eventually it became a slots-only casino, and poker players driving through Rhode Island to play our favorite game in Connecticut's Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun wanted to know when this more convenient spot might start spreading poker.
In 2007, Lincoln Park became the Twin River Casino, with a Class I gaming license that allowed table games and poker. We were disappointed once again, however, as Twin River would spread blackjack and offer roulette, craps, and other table games, but opted not to have poker.
But then, at the end of 2015, they finally opened a 16-table poker room. The excitement and buzz among New England poker players was intense.
Introducing the Twin River Casino
The Twin River Casino is a more convenient place for poker players located in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and most of Rhode Island than are the two excellent, well established rooms in Connecticut. Twin River is just 10 minutes from Providence, 10 minutes from the nearest major airport, under an hour from all parts of Boston, and just a bit more than a half-hour drive from Worcester and Framingham.
But there’s a price to pay for this convenience, to be sure. I'd characterize the casino in general as a grade C establishment — surely not failing, but not competitive with the full-service casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Connecticut, California, and elsewhere with which many of us have become familiar.
Starting with entertainment, you don't tend to get the kinds of major acts that you get at major casinos like the two in Connecticut. Foxwoods, for example, regularly hosts popular acts like Jerry Seinfeld, Howie Mandel, Bob Dylan, and Lady Gaga, but you'll find no such lineup at the Twin River Event Center. There's also no hotel at Twin River, although one is apparently in the works.
Whereas the Connecticut casinos offer dozens of excellent dining options, including Italian, Chinese, BBQ, seafood, steak, and excellent buffets, Twin River has one just one fine dining establishment (a pretty good steakhouse), a couple of pubs, two fairly lame food courts, and a buffet that is regarded by many I spoke to as 'pretty awful.' The food court nearest the poker room on the second floor, has Sbarro (pizza, calzone, and other 'Italianesque' fast food), Johnny Rockets (a '50s-retro hamburger joint), and Dunkin' Donuts. That's it. The other food court has a fairly good Asian takeout place, but little else worth visiting.
Perhaps the greatest gastronomic deficiency is the lack of a breakfast place. Though there is Dunkin' Donuts with its limited breakfast options, it doesn't open until 9 a.m. So if you've been playing all night and want a full breakfast, or even some tiny breakfast nosh before then, you must go outside Twin River (where, in fact, there are a couple of really nice breakfast places about a 10-minute drive away). But in my book, that's not what I expect in a 24/7 casino operation.
And with no hotel there are no major conventions, and that means there are no major conventioneers gambling it up all night in the poker room.
Poker at the Twin River Casino
But let's not bury the lede here — the big news at Twin River is that now there is at least a poker room.
They constantly spread $1/$2 no-limit hold'em with a $300 maximum buy-in. They also have $2/$5 NL with a $500 maximum, and $5/$10 NL with a $1,000 max. These games all run nearly all the time, although you may not find the $5/$10 game going in the wee hours or early on a weekday.
I've played in each of them, about 50 percent of the time at $1/$2, 40 percent of the time at $2/$5, and even one session at $5/$10. For now, the $1/$2 games are pretty soft, as players new to a casino tend to populate these games. There seem to be a relatively lower percentage of winning regular casino poker players in this room, at least in the $1/$2 and $2/$5 games. There is a crowd of casino regulars in the $2/$5 game, but since there are often at least three tables of it during the busy periods, there is usually a soft version of this game to be found. It will be quite beatable for the serious player.
The room also regularly spreads a $3/$6 limit hold'em game, and even fairly often a $5/$10 or $10/$20 stud game made up of players who have migrated over from the Connecticut rooms. The limit hold'em is very soft, while the stud is a rock-fest most of the time. Note that the room never spreads any split-pot game. There is also no Omaha, and no stud hi-low, HOE, or OE.
Though the games have pretty good, soft action most of the time, the room has a few persistent and annoying deficiencies. First, with just 16 tables, and with its convenient location and popularity, it is often nearly impossible to get on a table right away. Do not expect to get a seat without a 2-3 hour wait if you come after 10 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday, or if you arrive Friday night. You might even find a long wait on a weekday night, or during the wee hours when they have failed to schedule a sufficient number of dealers.
Though the management team is welcoming and making a big effort to run the room, the dealers at Twin River are often inexperienced and sometimes completely inept. I have noticed numerous dealer mistakes, with regard to making change, setting the blinds, even dealing the correct player first. As recently as a couple of weeks ago I observed a couple of dealers defer to loud players on how to divide a pot into side pots, which should not happen. If the dealer can't figure out what's going on, he or she should call over the floor, not rely on the most confident-sounding player (who may well be wrong). But from what I've witnessed this room routinely allows players to bully the dealer into compliance — not a good thing.
This situation does seem to be improving, as the worst dealers have been let go. But they still have a long way to go before their dealers are consistently doing a good job.
Additionally, the dealers and floor are often not up to the major task of controlling a crowd that frequently overwhelms the room. I've noticed players often jumping the line, sitting in open seats when dozens of players ahead of them on the electronic sign-in list are waiting to play. The floor doesn't do a good job of policing this, and protests of waiting players usually go unheeded.
The room is adequate for now, though. There are new decks, perfectly fine chips, nicely felted tables, moderately comfortable chairs, good lighting, a convenient bathroom, and adequate table-side beverage service (with awfully long waits thrown in now and then just like every other room I've ever been to).
The rake (i.e., the amount the house takes out of the pot every hand) is 10 percent up to a maximum of $5 instead of the $4 maximum charged at Foxwoods and Mohegan. It should also be noted that unlike at the Connecticut casinos, there is no bad beat jackpot and therefore no additional $1 bad beat jackpot drop at Twin River.
Conclusion
The tag line for the Twin River Casino appearing on signage and imprinted on all of their poker chips reads 'So Much. So Close!' I think that's only half-right. If it were currently accurate, it would read 'At Least It's Close!'
The room is definitely conveniently located for the myriad of players who come from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and northern New England. Unfortunately, the room is one notch or two below the options that are further away. You'll have to judge for yourself how much that shorter drive is worth to you.
The Twin River Resort is located at 100 Twin River Road, Lincoln, RI, 02865. Phone: (401) 723-3200; email: [email protected]
Photo: Twin River Casino.
Ashley Adams has been playing poker for 50 years and writing about it since 2000. He is the author of hundreds of articles and two books, Winning 7-Card Stud (Kensington 2003) and Winning No-Limit Hold’em (Lighthouse 2012). He is also the host of poker radio show House of Cards. See www.houseofcardsradio.com for broadcast times, stations, and podcasts.
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Contents
- 2 First stop, Twin River
- 3 Next up, Mohegan Sun
- 4 Finish your trip off at Foxwoods
. But you may want to set your eyes on some poker inNew England for an epic poker road trip.The cool thing about playing poker in New England is you have three different casinos within an hour of one another. In 2018 a fourth option will open, MGM in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 2019 there will be a fifth New England poker room when the Wynn Boston Harbor opens its doors.
But for now, all the poker action is spread across the southern New England states of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Getting there
If you’re flying in, TF Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island will get you much closer to the casinos than Logan Airport in Boston or Hartford Airport in Connecticut.
Whether you fly or drive, for the first leg of the trip I recommend staying in Providence, Rhode Island for a night. Providence is a short drive from TF Green, and there’s no shortage of high-quality restaurants to choose from, particularly in the Federal Hill area.
In the morning you can wake up, have a good breakfast, and maybe lounge around by the pool for a while before you head to the first stop on your New England poker road trip, Twin River Casino, about 15 minutes away in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
First stop, Twin River
Playing poker at Twin River
Not too long ago there wouldn’t have been a reason to stop at Twin River, but in 2016 the casino opened a 22-table poker room.
Considering Twin River’s slot parlor history, the poker room is decently busy and because it’s new, and since most of the low-limit grinders play at the much larger Foxwoods, the players tend to be a bit below average.
Like most poker rooms in 2017, Twin River boasts mainly low-stakes ($1/$2 and $2/$5) no limit hold’em tables. During peak hours you’ll find $5/$10 NLHE, and even the occasional $25/$50 NLHE game.
Low limit, limit hold’em and seven-card-stud are also available.
You’ll also want to get a seat early, as the wait-lists can grow quite long in the evening.
Eating at Twin River
Twin River has one upscale eatery, Fred & Steve’s Steakhouse.
The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday – Sunday and is owned by former NFL players and local sports TV personalities Fred Smerlas and Steve DeOssie – who are often wandering around.
Twin River Casino Poker Room Review
Pricing-wise, Fred & Steve’s is on the low-end of steakhouses of this caliber. The food is good, a step below David Burke Prime at Foxwoods and on par with Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse at Mohegan. The menu is almost entirely steaks and seafood dishes, but be warned, the portion sizes are gigantic, with appetizers that could be mistaken for entrees.
Value-wise, this is a really good dining option.
You won’t always need them, but I still highly recommend reserving a table.
Staying at Twin River
Twin River is in the process of adding a hotel, so a trip to Twin River in the near future will require making hotel arrangements off-site, which explains my Providence recommendation above.
Fortunately, you’re only about an hour from Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, so after a day of cards and dinner at Fred & Steve’s, and maybe some more cards, you can drive to the next stop on your poker tour, Mohegan Sun.
Even with a late arrival, you can check-in to your hotel room, and get a good night’s sleep for another day of cards.
Next up, Mohegan Sun
Playing poker at Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun has a very nice 42-table poker room. Unfortunately, most of the local action takes place at Foxwoods, and Mohegan gets the low-limit leftovers.
The room has a lot of potential, but Mohegan has been unable to come up with a strategy to end Foxwoods stranglehold on poker in the region. It’s location towards the back-end of the casino isn’t much of a help.
What you’ll find at Mohegan is a lot of loose low-limit action, particularly in the $2/$4 limit hold’em and $1/$5 stud games.
Mohegan does one cool thing that most poker rooms do not: The card room rules are published online. So you don’t have to worry about obscure local rules.
Poker tournaments at Mohegan Sun
On the tournament front you’ll typically find three daily events during the week, and one or two on the weekends. The format and buy-in vary, but for the most part, they’re NLHE tournaments with buy-ins in the $75-$120 range.
Mohegan Sun also offers single-table Sit & Go tournaments, with buy-ins ranging from $60 to $5,000.
Staying at Mohegan
Mohegan has two hotel towers, the original Sky Tower, and the Earth Tower, which opened in November 2016. Both are perfectly fine for a couple of days of habitation.
The Sky Tower rooms are considerably larger, averaging 450 square feet compared to the Earth Tower’s 365 sq. ft. average. However, the Earth Tower rooms are newer and more tech-friendly.
Discounted poker rates
Mohegan offers discounted poker room rates to eligible players, but be warned, the number of available rooms is limited and the cost of an on-site hotel room during the weekend can be pricey.
Eating at Mohegan
Like its poker room, Mohegan Sun is a very upscale, clean casino. The property boasts a mind-boggling 47 dining options, including four high-end choices:
- Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain
- Todd English’s Tuscany – an upscale Italian-American restaurant
- Ballo – a trendier Italian restaurant
- Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse
You won’t go wrong with any of the above choices, but if you’re only going to choose one steakhouse I would wait for the Foxwoods leg of the trip, or eat at Fred & Steve’s at Twin River over MJ’s.
And unless you’re a true gambler, definitely make reservations, particularly on show nights.
Finish your trip off at Foxwoods
The Foxwoods Poker Room
With over 100 tables, Foxwoods is the largest poker room on the east coast.
The poker room is tucked away underneath the Rainmaker Casino, with the stairs located in a bit of a no-man’s-land between the Asian table games and the race book. The upstairs areas are used for tournament play.
In the poker room, you’ll find round the clock limit and no limit hold’em games, as well as round the clock stud games. During peak hours you can expect to hear anything and everything called over the PA system, including mixed games, high-stakes stud games, PLO, and high/low games.
Play can be very tight during the day but tends to be looser and a bit wilder during peak hours and in the wee hours of the weekend.
Poker tournaments at Foxwoods
If tournaments are your thing, it’s pretty easy to plan a Foxwoods trip around a few tournaments you’d like to play.
Foxwoods routinely offer anywhere from three to five daily tournaments, as well as playing host to multiple major tournament series (WSOP Circuit and World Poker Finals) throughout the year.
The buy-in for most of the daily tournaments are in the $60-$160 range.
Single table Sit & Go tournaments at Foxwoods range from $65 to $340, and while the rake is steeper than at Mohegan, these tournaments run more frequently.
Foxwoods Hotel
Foxwoods is actually multiple hotels and casinos. The newest hotel is the Fox Tower, but there’s also the Two Trees, Great Cedar, and the Grand Pequot Tower.
- The Grand Pequot is the main hotel at the property.
- The Great Cedar Hotel is the closest to the poker room, and one of the more budget-friendly options.
- The Fox Tower is the newest and nicest, but walking from the poker room is quite a hike, even if you know a couple of the shortcuts.
- The Two Trees Inn is located across the street from the casino proper, which makes it cheaper, but also less convenient.
Discounted poker rates
If you play in a major tournament at Foxwoods, or if you qualify through cash game play, you might be able to score a discounted hotel rate at either the Two Trees or Great Cedar Hotel.
The rates are as follows, and are subject to availability.
Two Trees Inn:
- Sunday-Thursday $79
- Friday $159
- Saturday $189
Great Cedar Hotel:
Twin River Casino Poker Room Reviews
- Sunday-Thursday $109
- Friday $189
- Saturday $219
Eating at Foxwoods
Like Mohegan, there are plenty of dining options at Foxwoods.
High-end restaurants include:
- Vue 24 – upscale dining on the 24th floor of the Pequot Tower
- David Burke Prime – premiere steakhouse in the region
- Cedars Steak House – a solid alternative to David Burke
- Red Lantern – a very busy Asian restaurant
David Burke is my go-to restaurant at Foxwoods, but I’d happily to go to any of the four listed.
As with Mohegan, you really need to make reservations if you plan to go eat during any normal hours. In some cases, depending on what’s going on at Foxwoods, you’ll need to make reservations weeks in advance.
Are you ready to take the ultimate road trip to play poker in New England? Let us know how it goes and follow us on Twitter.