Northstar Casino



NorthStar Casino in Seatac is located within a mile of Seatac Airport (Seattle/Tacoma airport) in Washington in a strip shopping center.

Games
Limit hold 'em: 3/6; 4/8 and maybe 6/12 if there is demand. As of November, 2006, a 2/8 spread limit game was in effect.

Rake: The rake is 10% to max $3 + jackpot rake of $1 or $2 depending on pot size.

Blinds on 3/6 the blinds are 1/3. May play without the small blind if the table is shorthanded, at the dealer's discretion. 2/8 spread has $1 and 2 blinds, or a single $2 when short.

Posting: New players need not post.

Shuffling: Hand shuffled.

Game Character: Generally loose and passive players at the lower limits.

Wait Time: NorthStar seems to have gone downhill a bit as a poker destination. Even with only three tables, they were struggling to fill even one early on a Saturday evening. Apparently it gets busier on Friday and Saturday nights.

Tournaments

 * Every day 2:30, NLHE $30+$5, 1x$30rb. (As of November, 2006, floor reports that tourneys are only scheduled for Sundays at 2:30, and that other days are discretionary.)

Jackpots and Promotions

 * Standard Washington Monte Carlo jackpots, about 100-300 for each. Royal flush was at $5810 in early June.
 * High Hand jackpot pays $300 for the high hand (JJJ22 or better) between 2pm-6pm, 6pm-10pm, and 2am-6am. (No high hand between 10pm and 2am).  Must be present at end of period to win.  (As of November, 2006, HH did not appear to be in effect.)
 * "Aces Cracked" progressive pays for aces cracked by full house or better.



Atmosphere
The place is a combination dance hall, sports bar, and card casino. It's laid out like it's an adult Chuck E Cheese, with oversized colorful signs leading you to the area you want, but the poker area is a strange sort of collection of three tables just sitting off to one side of the rest of the card game tables. I imagine that on Friday and Saturday nights, the joint might be hopping, but on a Saturday afternoon it was mostly deserted.

The staff will often join in to fill out a game. In fact, three of seven players when one correspondent arrived were dealers or floor personnel (on and off duty).

Neighborhood: At a major intersection, in a strip shopping center, with a big lighted sign on the main street.

Parking: Quite a bit of parking in the shopping center lot, which doesn't seem particularly full.

Tables and Chairs: 9-seat tables with nice felt and nice vinyl padding on edge. Clean commit line. The player chairs are super-comfortable fully-adjustable office-style chairs.

Service and Comps
Fast and frequent, service includes free sodas (small, though) and orders from the bar. Comps available for bar food after 3-4 hours of play. The floorman will often spring for a few pizzas which get delivered from the bar and thrown under a hot lamp next to the poker tables for everyone to share. The food, though modest, is certainly above average for Washington state mini-casinos.

Links and Notes

 * Nearest competitor is either the Golden Nugget in Tukwila or the Silver Dollar Casino down International Blvd in Seatac.
 * Visited by MarkT in Jun 2006.