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| - I used to love the MGM Grand's poker room when I first started visiting Sin City.
There was something both cool and sacrosanct about playing poker in the largest resort hotel in Vegas. It made you feel like a contender, no matter your level of skill.
It's two daily tournaments were also quite affordable, and there was always a nice ambience there, given its friendly dealers, chatty (but not annoying) players, and (on occasion) a couple of pseudo-celebrity (reality show star) servers.
But during the MGM Grand's (constant) renovations, the poker room was moved from its central location to a side area that lacks the same grandiosity and distinction, and feels like an afterthought.
Back in January, the poker room was back where it should be, and in all its glory, but only three months later, it was moved back to that dingy side space because the casino needed its home for some Academy of Country Music awards function. Huh?
It's that kind of thinking from casino management that sends a clear signal to poker players: we don't care about your comfort and the atmosphere you play in; we don't care about the poker's long history and the game itself; and we're more interested in the latest trends than tradition. I imagine the same kind of thinking inspired the closure of the MGM Grand's famous and much beloved lion habitat.
That kind of thinking leaves a sour taste in my mouth. If they don't care, why should I?
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