Let me preface this review by stating that I am by nature not a complaining person. I most often try to make the best of whatever situation I'm in, and to overlook the bad in favor of the good -- to do otherwise is to invite misery wherever one goes. Read my other reviews and you'll see what I mean.

My wife and I live about 25 miles from Maryland Live, so for the time being, it's the most geographically friendly casino to us. That's about the only way this place is friendly. We spent some of our tax refunds by visiting Maryland Live twice this past weekend.

The first night, Friday, was the better of the two. The casino floor was surprisingly uncrowded for a weekend night, but the same things I didn't like about the place (when we first visited this past fall, after it first opened) are still there: 1. Long lines for ATM's, because there aren't enough of them, and the ones that are there are often out of service. There are LOTS of ticket-redemption machines, which look like ATM's but aren't. 2. Slot machines with minimum bets, for example, a nickel machine requires that you bet no less than a dollar on every play. We found a two-cent machine that requires a minimum 80-cent bet. What is the point of having two-cent machines or nickel machines, if they're going to require twenty or forty times those amounts for every play? ALL the machines are like this, regardless of denomination. 3. Not much winning going on. We've visited four times now, and each time we set a limit as to how much money we're willing to lose. We've lost that amount every time. 4. Paying for drinks on the gaming floor. I've been to several casinos in my life, and never, until visiting Maryland Live, have I paid for a drink on the gaming floor. To make it worse, the drinks are watery and served in small (maybe 8 oz) plastic cups. This really doesn't make a customer feel welcomed at a casino.

This past Friday night, since I didn't feel like gambling, I headed over to the Ram's Head bar for a drink (thus to avoid the small, watery $5 cups on the gaming floor). There was a very good local cover band playing hits from the 90's. They were entertaining, but they don't live up to the billing on the Maryland Live web page: "Catch your favorite artists and bands, front row and center." A look at the entertainment calendar on the Maryland Live website doesn't show a single artist or band that I would consider one of my favorites. There's a great abundance of "tribute" bands, and bands covering music from certain decades. There are a lot of karaoke nights (relying on the guests to provide entertainment?) and at least one night a week, there's a DJ. Coming up in March, there is only one nationally-known band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Most of the shows are free, but some are not, and Maryland Live needs to do better at pointing out the shows for which customers must pay for tickets.

There are only two bars in this huge place, other than those in the restaurants attached to the perimeter of the casino. Even though the casino floor was relatively uncrowded, it was tough to get a seat at either bar, but I managed to find one at Ram's Head. I wanted a drink. I was sitting AT THE BAR, not standing behind a few other people, but seated at the bar, and it seemed I was invisible to the entire bar staff. I made eye contact with a bartender -- surely this person would ask for my order, but no, she just walked on by. This happened many more times before someone finally asked me what I wanted. I was not the only one being ignored.

Restrooms are few and far between, as are signs directing one to them. At one point I found myself on a very long walk to find relief.

So that was Friday night, which was tolerable. Then came Saturday night -- we came back because my wife really enjoys the slot machines. Saturday night presented all the problems mentioned above, but the place was so jammed full, every problem seemed worse. It was almost frighteningly crowded. People look everywhere but where they're walking, so there are frequent pedestrian collisions. There didn't appear to be one available slot machine. The staff at the doors were still letting hundreds more people in -- we began to wonder just how many people they were planning to cram into the place. It was hot, smelly, and just unpleasant. Imagine Chuck E. Cheese for adults (although I did see some people pushing kids in strollers -- how does that happen?). Getting a seat at one of the two bars was impossible. I managed to lean against the corner of the Ram's Head bar, but again, I was invisible to the bar staff. In the two hours we spent there, I was not able to get a drink at all.

My wife reported she lost $100 in less than an hour, and we were both just done with the place. It's a shame -- there is great potential there, but in their greed to pull in the big bucks, Maryland Live is really sacrificing customer service, comfort and enjoyment. It's not hard to imagine that when other casinos open in Maryland (in nearby Baltimore and Prince George's County), Maryland Live will begin losing customers in droves.