UMP went out to visit the Hazel Park Charity Casino on Monday, February 15th, 2010 to play in the $5 Cheap Seats tournament. This is a wild tournament until the first break. For your HUGE investment of $5, you get 1000 chips. You can add-on at registration, $5 per 2000 chips, as many times as you want. I bought in for $10, like most of the other players were doing.

Rebuys get crazy. You can rebuy, $5 for 2000 chips – unlimited – until the first break. This is a fast and frenzied rebuy period, with few players dropping out, but lots & lots of rebuys! At the break, players are allowed to add-on to their current stacks at $1 per 1000 chips. At this point in the tournament, the small stacks get big, and the big stacks get bigger!

After the break, the blinds are high enough where players drop out pretty quickly. One hour after the break, five tables had consolidated into two. Blinds cranked up enough to weed out the speculative hands for all but the big stacks.

For the small buy-in and rebuy/add-on amounts, the prize pool climbed pretty quickly. First place paid $450, five places paid, 5th place paid $90. Not bad if you can make your initial $5 buy-in last!

Hazel Park has “good tournaments, great cash action. I sat here the other night with $60 in front of me, and in three hands, ended up leaving with $700!” reports Jack, one of the tournament & cash players.

Games: 5 of 5 chips

If you are looking for cash game action – this is the place. There are always at least one $1/$2 table going, usually more. Hazel Park regularly offers a low limit & a higher limit $1/$2 cash game.

$20min/$100max table runs with either $0.50/$1 blinds, or $1/$2 blinds. They also run a $50min/$200max table with $1/$2 blinds – later on in the night, this table usually plays like a $2/$5 table with lots of action. Upon request, the room manager will open a $20min/$50max $0.50/$1 table, $2/$5, round by round or omaha.

Hazel park is also testing out the interest in a $10/$20 limit stud game. If you want to play, call them up and find out when it will run.

Blackjack is hoppin at this poker room – on Monday night, the two regular blackjack tables were full, and the room manager was considering opening a third table!

At Hazel Park, Blackjacks always pay 1 to 1 – no matter what. $2 min, $20 max bets. A push is a push, the house doesn’t win on a tie. You can only double down on a 10 or 11.

This poker room gets a full 5 of 5 chips for games offered and action in the poker room.

Tournaments: 5 of 5 Chips

From $5 Cheap Seats on Mondays & Wednesdays to $40 Deep Stack Tournaments on Fridays, Hazel Park offers a wide variety of tournaments for all types of players. The Tuesday & Thursday Deep Stacks and are very heavily attended.

With 12 or 15 minute blinds, with levels that increase at a reasonable pace. Tournament director software runs on a laptop in the poker room. The tournament director announces time left in the level as well as the blinds at the next level.

Rules are reviewed before the cards fly. The rules are clear, concise and consistantly enforced. The dealers are fast and accurate, keeping the action moving, and working hard to get split pots divided up correctly.

Hazel Park’s Tuesday, Thursday & Friday tournaments average around 40 players each night building some pretty nice prize pools!

Atmosphere: 4 of 5 Chips (5 of 5 after May 1!!)

Hazel Park has lots of amenities, including simulcast horse races *in the poker room*. During racing season, the poker room overlooks the racetrack! If you love mixing poker and horse racing, this is your spot.

Big screen TV’s broadcast sporting events throughout the poker room. You can catch the latest score from your seat. Flourescent lights and security cameras are overhead.

The tables and playing area is non-smoking, though smoke does waft over from the horse betting area.

Equipment: 4 of 5 Chips

Equipment at Hazel Park is very nice! All the tables are custom felted with Aces Gaming felt. The tournament and cash chips are custom stamped. Cushy banquet-style chairs for all the cash & tournament players. Cup holders are all over the place if you want your beverage on the table. Drink scooters if you prefer your table clear, or if you have a meal table-side.

Cup holders are provided to keep your drink from sitting on the felt and/or tipping over, they are not built into the tables.

Staff: 5 of 5 Chips

There’s a ton of casino experience at Hazel Park. Many of the dealers have 15+ years experience dealing at the Detroit casinos, and at charity poker rooms. Melissa, Pat, Gerry & Jessica all dealt at my tournament table. These ladies & gents are great! Fast, friendly, accurate, very rules-knowledgeable, they know their regulars, and make the new players feel welcome. The dealers are all in “got Poker?” t-shirts – check out the photos above.

Dennis keeps the waitlist for cash table seats is kept on a laptop at the front desk – available for anyone to see ( **not available for anyone to modify – no line jumping here! **). He also greets all the players coming into the room, clarifies rules quickly and consistantly when there’s a question, and keeps the floor running smoothly. Dave, the tournament director, keeps track of blinds, levels, balancing tables, reseating players and helping charity volunteers spot rebuys (there were *a lot* on Monday when I was there!!)

Extra points for the waitstaff who brings beverages and a full menu tableside! Players receive free non-alocholic beverages while playing, and the poker room regularly runs food & beverage special for their players. Be sure to ask!