Las Vegas Poker Room Update
Almost every casino in Las Vegas has put in a poker room or has made their rooms more inviting. The month of September has brought out the competition for players to the point of all-out war! I play the cash games in Las Vegas almost every day, and I have to say that I am weighing my options more this month than ever.
Starting with Caesars Palace, which incidentally is one of my favorite haunts, it's offering up free $10,000 seats into their upcoming Caesars Palace Classic. In addition to the 27-table room they have another 50-table tournament room located in the back. You must have the best high hand of the day at a cash table on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in the month of September. The Caesars Classic event runs from October 12th thru the 24th. Tuesday night is Ladies Night at Caesars with a buy-in of $75. Daily tournaments are also a big draw offering a variety of buy-ins from $65 to $330. The Caesars poker room also offers freerolls and generous comps for tableside meals.
The very beautiful 39-table Venetian poker room is running their $50,000 freeroll for 50 live-play hours in the month of September. With 21 plasma televisions and butler-style tableside service for a delicious meal, this room really caters to the player. The Venetian poker room has the friendliest and most service-oriented floor staff I've experienced in a long time. All variations of poker games are offered on a list interest basis.
Another poker room that probably attracts the largest number of local players is located at The Orleans. The month of September will be their heaviest advertising month, drawing attention to two huge promotions. Between October 1st and November 30th you must log 80 hours of live play to qualify for a $100,000 freeroll. First place is guaranteed a minimum of $30,000. The second promotion (and I believe the first of its kind) is a "Player of the Month" and "Player of the Year" point system for daily tournaments. Beginning January 2008, players will earn points for final-table finishes and top point earners will receive a monthly cash prize as well as qualifying for the end of the year grand prize. Two fantastic promotions!
Treasure Island has recently added a poker room. Jumping in with both feet, they are gearing up their small eight-table room to offer a Monday evening ladies night with a $65 buy-in and an added gift certificate to the spa for the winner. The high-hand and splash-pot jackpots pay out over $10,000 a month. Daily tournaments are offered with reasonable buy-ins from $65 -$125. Not bad for a small room.
With 14 tables The Luxor is finally doing something to attract players: Weekly drawings for cash players, Thursday $2,000 freerolls and bonus tournaments on Wednesday and Sunday have been added to their schedule of events. They also offer small buy-in tournaments on a daily basis. Though this is on a smaller scale as poker rooms go, it is a good offer for any hungry players looking for a smaller venue and lots of fishy tourists dying to try out their poker skills. Luxor offers food and drinks table side.
The Stratosphere poker room has slowly been building their recognition among poker players. Their small room of eight tables offers $60 tournaments five times each day with the option of buying back in before the first hour ends. Their Bad Beat Jackpot pays on A-A-A-10-10 in addition to the High Hand Jackpot and a Cracked Aces Bonus. Freeroll entries and show tickets are often given to loyal cash-game players. The freeroll is offered every first Monday of the month. This room appears to be an easy mark for experienced players looking to troll the pond.
One of the most comfortable and elegant poker rooms in Las Vegas is located at the Wynn. With generous comp offers, drinks and food table side, the month of September qualifier of 50 hours of live play enters you into a $100,000 freeroll tournament with a shootout format. The freeroll is scheduled for October 2-3. This room boasts 27 tables and caters to the serious player. Games vary according to interest. You can often find a famous poker player or two sitting at the NL games.
The Hilton poker room holds 11 tables and is undoubtedly the easiest qualifier for a freeroll on the strip. For only 40 hours live play you qualify for a $20,000 tournament that pays 20 places on the first Wednesday of every month. If you play more hours it raises your starting chips for the tournament accordingly. Maximum starting chips 1200.
With so many great choices this month and some running into November and December, everyone who plays poker will be delighted to play at any one of these poker rooms. For me the offer of a $10,000 free seat into the Caesars Palace Classic wins my vote. Wish me luck as I do the same for you! Let's take one down for the ladies!
