So it seems that Riverboat Poker on the Iowa/Illinois poker in the Quad Cities is nearing its end. I have been corresponding with several friends who are still employed in the poker rooms on both the Isle of Capri (formerly Lady Luck) in Bettendorf, and The President in Davenport.  For quite a while the rumors that IOC was closing the room have been unsubstantiated.( read : HOPE beyond hope they dont…) I just got back from my former stomping grounds and heard first hand from several VERY reliable sources, the “facts”.
Expect the closing shortly (30-90 days).  The slot machines are coming.  Sad. Any hope that the action would continue at the Prez if IOC closed its room have also been dashed.  The Old president is due for mandatory dry-dock soon, when the smaller replacement boat is brought in, there will be no poker room. Additionally, it is rumored that IOC has made a bid to purchase the Prez, some say it is a done deal. So what are the odds that IOC reopens a room on the Prez?

I started playing casino poker about a year ago and visited the Lady Luck and President 2-3 times a week.  There was a game every night, and tournaments were decent.  However, over the last 4 months the rooms have really slowed down.  I started playing at Meskawki about 3 months ago and love it.  No bad beat rake, very well run tournaments, solid dealers.  Plus they spread 4-8 every night instead of the 3-6 and 2-4 crap in Davenport. You should give Meskawki an honest try…they have a great pot limit holdem game on Friday nights and a 4-10 half kill Omaha game that goes most nights. On a side note, I did return to the President on Sunday for one last night before I venture out to Seattle next week and walked down to find one table of 1-4 Stud at 6 p.m.  I think that’s a definite sign that Poker is about history in Davenport.

Answer 2:

I wasn’t knocking Mesquaki at all.  I’ve played there numerous times.  I started dealing Poker on the President, about 8 years ago or so.  You should have seen the action then…13 games going almost 24/7, with lists as long as your arm, for a year, then it started to slowly dwindle to what remains.  It hasn’t been “good” for a long time. Limited player base, excessive drop/jackpot, and Chicago action are the culprits in the demise of the action in the QC’s.  I moved on and went to Harveys in Council Bluffs to help open the room there. It lasted about 18 months before things started to go downhill, and I moved here to Arizona.  The keys to the success of poker here in Phoenix/Scottsdale is the HUGE player base, and the fact that POKER is i major part of the Casino Operation (2nd behind slots, which are limited, of course).  BUT, there is no internal competition between other, more profitable, table games here…No house banked games…hence no Blackjack, Craps, or Roulette.  The fact that poker was so
much less profitable than those house banked games is why poker took a distant
5th out 5 in terms of importance to the house in the Midwest. Poker was doomed
from the start. Best of luck to you and Mesquaki.  I think that room is going to be better than it is, with the increase in players that it will surely soon see.

Answer 3:

Nope, grew up in Des Moines….and I agree about the player base…you would think that with the growing popularity of poker that those two rooms would be able to survive but oh well.  I didn’t mean to imply that you were knocking Mesquaki.. Was just suggesting to others an alternative when the Riverboats shut down their rooms…