The Limelight was once known as a good 'ol Downtown bar, with a 'drunk tank' in the back which doubled as a card room spreading a couple of $3/6 Limit games. The players were plentiful, and the drinks were always flowing. Prior to that, going way back in the day, the Limelight was known for the old timers place to plan Pan and Lowball. The club has been there for some time (25+ years), and over the past few years, has really come a long way. Moving from the Lowball / Pan days, to the ever wildly entertaining $3/6 game, to now what is evolved to a pretty solid room, which has recently added a NL game to the mix and has added themselves to the "should visit" list. (technically, their NL is a spread limit game with a max bet of $1,000). They currently offer $3/6 Limit, $1/3 NL, and will be opening a $2/5 NL game. Buy in for the NL games are $100 to $200, and $200 to $500 respectively. They also had $5/10 on the board, however I don't know how often it is spread. The game is pretty solid in their first week or two of opening the tables to the NL action. There are the typical sharks, swooping in to prey on the fish, but the NL game isn't as nearly as wild as the old $3/6 days a few years ago. They had added tables from the "old days" of a table or two of $3/6, to now having 6 tables running. When I was playing last night, every table was full, including a single table sit and go in action. They have also expanded their hours to 24 hours over the weekend. Just outside the poker room is a Blackjack table, with a lounge. Their blackjack, interesting enough pays 6:5, which is very odd to find in Ca. They also hold daily and weekly tourneys, along with WSOP satellites. Worth a visit if you haven't been to the room, or haven't visited recently-

Decent tables, standard "conference room" chairs, drink / food carts, etc. Not all new, but in decent shape and pretty well taken care of. Room is spacious, comfortable, and well rounded. I didn't come across anything that set me off, other than it can get (at times) a little noisy, but typical with a lot of card rooms. They do not have card shufflers in the tables, but Dealers are quick in keeping the game going and moving along. Generally speaking, the players were cordial and respectful with one another. No brawling from a 7/2o runner runner suck out. My only minor "annoyance" (and I use that term loosely) is the color / design of their chips. Prior to the NL game running, there was never really a need for any other chip than a $1. When they bought new chips, they introduced their new $1 chip, which is a really sharp 'red' (color) chip. The color isn't an issue when there is only one chip in play. Although the color red is typically used as a $5 chip, it wasn't ever an issue. Along with the fact that California has traditionally bucked the trend of "standard chip / denom colors". When the NL game came along, the need for additional chip(s) became clear. So, they added a $5 and a $20 to the mix. Their $5 chip is green. So in the NL game, you have a table with stacks of chips, green and red. At first glance, without looking at the chip, it looks like there is a ton of money on the table with all the greens, and reds. You naturally associate green / red with $25 and $5. After a few hands, you got used to it, but it was a little odd at first. A couple of time, the Dealer would call out the action "$30 to go" and I would look over at the chips and catch myself saying in my head "looks like $150 to me.... errr... yeah, 6 greens, @ $5 / each is 30..." Again, not an annoyance, just different.

Dealers are professional, relatively fast, and pretty well trouble free. We had a couple of minor issues in the 4 or so hours I was there, but nothing that wasn't quickly addressed and handled. (early burn / turn, etc.... it happens once in a while)

Drinks are avail. in the poker room, as the Limelight is also a bar / grill. Not hard to get drinks, or food. I ordered a beer and a sandwich, both came quickly, and with a smile. They offer a pretty decent menu, granted it's "bar food" but it's decent food as far as "bar chow" fare goes, and well priced. If you don't care to eat at the card room, there are several other options within walking distance. The card room is situated downtown, so within a few blocks, there are many options.

The wait list for the NL game can get long, and they will spread as many games as needed to get as many players playing as possible, limiting to the 6 tables they have. When you walk in, getting your name on the board of games is easy and trouble free. I called ahead and put my name on the NL list, and took a seat within 5 minutes in the $3/6 game while waiting for the NL game. It took me about 45 minutes or so to get to the NL game. Others have reported that the wait for the NL game can go in excess of an hour. So calling in is recommended. My visit was on a Thurs. night. I'd imagine weekends are well into an hour to get seated in a NL game. Management and staff was very knowledgeable, and helpful in getting on the list, getting chips for the game, rebuys, etc. Floor decisions were solid and spot on when needed. I've known the Floor man for several years from the poker community, and have always been impressed with his running of a room. Very friendly, professional, and welcoming to the room.

N/A as far as comps.