Even though I live in the heart of Southern California surrounded by some of the biggest poker card rooms in the world, including the Commerce Casino and Bicycle Casino, I still prefer the type of poker experiences I get in Las Vegas. Maybe it’s the atmosphere or the rich history, but I’ve never been able to replicate the feeling I get sitting in a well-known poker room both on the Vegas Strip and in Downtown Vegas where the older casinos sit. It’s a great way to cross some items off your gambling bucket list, as long as you know where to start.
Here are three great poker “musts” to do in Vegas:
1. Play at Binions Horseshoe Casino
As the founding home of the World Series of Poker, Binions contains one of the most iconic card rooms in Vegas history, having hosted the biggest cash games and tournaments for years. They’ve since renovated the main hall, but it still carries the legendary aura. I was lucky enough to have played my first ever legal hand of live poker there, and I remember everything about that experience to this day.
2. Attend the World Series of Poker
Speaking of the WSOP, if you haven’t made the trek to the Rio during the summer to catch at least one weekend’s worth of the largest poker tournament on the planet, you’re definitely missing out. Nowhere else will you see a bigger collection of the world’s most famous pros live and in person playing for millions of dollars. Plus, if you want to get in on the action yourself you can enter in one of the dozens of satellite tournaments available or even pony up for a big buy-in event.
3. Poker on the Main Strip
Ever since the poker boom occurred in the earlier part of the new millennium, the massive casinos on the main Vegas Strip have gone all out and opened up gigantic card rooms to accommodate the new-found interest. Of these I would highly recommend sitting down for a session at the Bellagio, where you might find a handful of top-tier pros playing in “Bobby’s Room,” or the hall at the MGM Grand, which is one of the biggest of its kind in the city. If you want more of a classic vibe, you can’t go wrong with the poker action you’ll find at Caesars or the Mirage.
Chris
- Chris Laquinta is a magazine editor, content specialist and poker fanatic with 10+ years writing experience and over 1,500 published articles. Chris is a naitive of Southern California, where he spent his entire life learning gaming concepts and theories from relatives that had been former professional gamblers. He currently resides in Torrance, CA where he works as a professional content writer and part-time SNG professional.
