We all know that Las Vegas is the one place that you should visit if you want to find the best casinos. But do you know the casinos that can provide you with the best poker gaming experience? Or perhaps the best tournaments in the area that are worth entering?
Aria is the best casino for poker in Las Vegas. It’s so good that many enthusiasts feel that it’s too much for them. Encore/Wynn, Bellagio, and Venetian are three heavyweights when it comes to playing poker. All of them have invested so much in creating world-class poker rooms and experiences.
These are some of the best, but there are others that we’ll also cover in great detail. Stick around because we’re going to share the fanciest and most popular casinos with you, including the most competitive and most profitable casinos that you can visit in Vegas. Some focus more on tournaments, while others more on cash games.
Las Vegas has some of the best casinos in the world. But which are great for playing poker? Read below to find out.
There are many reasons why Aria Resort & Casino is a popular destination for poker enthusiasts, but for many locals, it’s the hourly comps. If it’s your first time visiting Las Vegas, Aria is the casino where you’ll find celebrity players that you’ll only see on TV! It’s not uncommon to find yourself playing on the same table with Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, or Daniel Negreanu.
In 2010, just before the start of the 2010 World Series of Poker Tournament, Aria built the “Ivey Room”—a high-stakes section within the casino that aims to compete with “Bobby’s Room.” They changed it to Table 1 after almost 10 years, but it remains a popular destination for high rollers.
If you visit Table 1 (formerly Ivey Room), you’ll see high rollers playing $300/$600 mixed games at any time! That’s not to say that Aria is only suitable for high rollers. It’s only so good that when someone wants to play high-stakes games, Table 1 is where they should be.
Aria has the perfect mix of poker tables for players, starting at $1/$3 No-Limit Hold’em and PLO. If Table 1 looks too fancy for you, there’s a good chance that you’ll be a regular in their mix of tables. They only have 24 tables in the casino, but it shows you how Aria treats poker players. This section of the casino is exclusively for poker games. They’ll even give you special rates if you’re visiting Aria to play poker! This is just one of the few reasoning why Aria makes it even on our list of best poker rooms in the U.S.
A closer look at the Aria poker room.
Featured Games at Aria’s Poker Room
If you like specifics, here are the poker games available for you at Aria Resort & Casino:
No-Limit Hold’em with blinds starting at $1/3 up to $10/20.Limit Hold’em starting at $2/4 up to $40/80.Omaha 8 or Better starting at $4/8 with ½ kill up to $20/40 with ½ kill.Pot Limit Omaha starting at $1/2 up to $10/20.7 Card Stud starting at $6/12 up to $30/60.Draw Games starting at $4/8 up to $40/80.
Tournaments at Aria’s Poker Room
Besides being a place that almost exclusively serves poker players, Aria is also one of the best casinos to visit for tournaments in Las Vegas.
They have $140 tournaments that start at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm every Monday to Thursday. If you’re visiting on the weekend, you can participate in their $240 No-Limit Hold’em at 11:00 am and $140 No-Limit Hold’em “20/20” at 7:00 pm Friday to Sunday.
The Aria Poker Room is in tournament mode every day of the week. Since they’re focusing on serving poker players, you can expect that it’s the best place to visit if you want to play poker in Las Vegas. The experience in other casinos are great, but Aria is committed to being the best place for poker players, and you can expect to get no less than that!
Encore and Wynn were two separate poker rooms that we considered two of the best places for playing poker. That was even before the two merged their poker rooms! Encore/Wynn has an opulent setting that represents the deep-pocketed clientele they have. Wynn is a luxury hotel, so you can expect that there are many players at Encore who have so much disposable cash.
Besides the luxurious vibe that you’ll get, the poker room at Encore/Wynn is also top-of-the-line. It has 37 TVs around the area and plenty of restaurants offering some of the best food that you can get in Vegas. They even have the best sound system and an electronic queuing system that makes it more comfortable for players to wait.
There’s a total of 26 poker tables, each with a dedicated shuffler to minimize interaction with cards. A 26-table setup isn’t impressive, considering that there are casinos with hundreds of tables. However, if you walk around the Strip, you’ll notice that casinos in the area don’t focus on accommodating as many players as possible.
Instead, they focus on providing each player with the best experience that they could have.
Check how luxurious do Encore/Wynn hotels look.
Featured Games at Encore/Wynn’s Poker Room
Here are the poker games that are available for you at EncoreWynn:
No-Limit Hold’em with blinds starting at $1/3 up to $25/50.Limit Hold’em starting at $2/4 up to $80/160.Pot Limit Omaha starting at $1/2 up to $20/40.Open Face Chinese Poker at $6/12 up to $30/60.Mixed game tables at any time of the day.
Tournaments at Encore/Wynn’s Poker Room
You don’t have to time your visits at Encore/Wynn if you’re looking for the best tournaments that you can join. They have $550 daily runs, making it an even better destination for many poker enthusiasts. Since they’re getting a lot of attention from poker players, you can expect that there’ll be stiff competition.
However, the prize pool usually reaches $40,000, so you definitely should bring your A-Game when you visit Encore/Wynn.
Elegance, world-class setup and entertainment for card players, big bad competitors, inexperienced deep-pocketed players, and a $40,000 daily tournament prize. If those are not enough to get an enthusiast to pack his stuff and be on his way to Vegas, we’re unsure if there’s anything on this list that will be interesting.
Besides being the casino of choice for many gambling movies, Bellagio is also at the center of the poker boom. They remodeled their poker section in 2005 to include “Bobby’s Room”—a high-stakes private room that everyone wants to see. It was like the “cool kids” playroom when it first started, and almost every casino wants to have the same private poker room.
No other casino came close to replicating Bobby’s Room. The luxurious vibe that you’ll get from this high-stakes private room extends to their mixed game tables. Bellagio has built so much reputation to attract new and seasoned poker players to their poker room.
In fact, if you visit this casino, some of the regulars and best poker players that you’ll get to play with are Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Sammy Farha, Jen Harman, Gus Hansen, and Lyle Berman.
The Bellagio sits on a 7000 square feet of space with 40 luxurious poker tables and two high-limit areas. They have 17 massive screens across the area, and pieces of artwork representing how Bellagio shaped poker tournaments and WPT events.
Daniel Negranu goes to the Bobby’s room.
Featured Games at Bellagio’s Poker Room
There are many mixed game formats that you can join at Bellagio, but here are the most common ones:
No-Limit Hold’em with blinds starting at $1/3 up to $10/20.Limit Hold’em starting at $4/8 up to $80/160.Pot Limit Omaha starting at $1/3 up to $10/20.7 Card Stud starting at $20/40 up to $40/80.Mixed game tables at any time of the day.
Tournaments at Bellagio’s Poker Room
They have a tournament that starts at 5:00 pm every day with a $100+$25 buy-ins. If that’s not enough to get you packing, then it’s also where the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic happens. Hosting one of the most prestigious poker tournaments, daily No-Limit Hold’em, and special interest tournaments make Bellagio one of the best casinos that you can visit in Las Vegas.
Bellagio has some of the best regular players that you’ll find in Vegas. In fact, if you were to visit it and got lucky, you’ll see one table with most players that you only get to see on TV! However, they’re also getting new, deep-pocketed players that play recklessly. So, if you have the right skill, it’s also one of the most rewarding casinos that you can visit.
The Venetian Resort has one of the biggest and most luxurious poker rooms in the world. Despite the focus of casinos at the Strip to provide the best service possible by limiting the number of their tables, The Venetian is able to do both. They have a total of 59 poker tables, all getting world-class service, and they have one of the most diverse regulars who fill their low-stakes and high-stakes tables.
Every seat in every poker table in the Venetian has dedicated power outlets to recharge your devices. That seems like something that you might not need, but with the elegance, traffic, and competition that you’re getting from this casino, you’ll be surprised by the amount of time that you’ll spend on it.
The Venetian Resort even has a 24/7 tableside food service to keep you comfortable and wanting to stay in one of the most laid back poker rooms on the Strip.
They’re getting a mix of locals and tourists, and many of them are high rollers that have disposable cash. The Venetian has established itself as one of the top destinations for high-stakes poker, and it’s one of the best places where you can extract value!
Featured Games at Venetian’s Poker Room
If you like specifics, here are the poker games that are available for you at the Venetian:
NLHE with blinds starting at $1/3 up to $25/50.LHE starts at $2/4 up to $80/160.Omaha 8 or Better starting at $4/8 with ½ kill up to $40/80 with ½ kill.Omaha starts at $1/2 up to $20/40.Mixed game tables at any time of the day.
Famous YouTube blogger goes to play $2/$5 at the Venetian.
Tournaments at Venetian’s Poker Room
Aside from several cash games that you can play, the Venetian is also where you can find some of the best tournaments in Vegas. It hosts daily tournaments every 12:10 pm and 6:10 pm with prize pools that could reach $60,000! Aside from that, the Venetian is also the host of DeepStack Poker Series, one of the most sought-after tournaments.
Since the Venetian is a popular destination for many enthusiasts, you can expect to meet some stiff competition. However, if you’re looking for one of the best places where you can play live poker games, it’s the best place to visit, especially with the setup, services, and amenities that they have for you!
When you’re in Vegas, it’s impossible to miss Caesar’s Palace. It’s at the heart of Las Vegas Blvd., and literally at the center of the entire city. They have an entire space dedicated to poker players, away from the casino’s noise and lights. It has several sections that separate different high-limit areas and a spacious multi-purpose room for tournaments and events.
It’s not the biggest or the most luxurious, but it gets enough traction from tourists and locals. They only have 25 poker tables, which are all well-serviced. Their tables are always full of a mix of good players that can give you stiff competition, and bad players that have deep pockets and boatloads of disposable cash.
Another reason many enthusiasts prefer to play at Caesar’s Palace is that their $2/5 NLHE games don’t have a maximum buy-in! This casino gets so many inexperienced players with no regard for their cash, so it’s one of the best places where you can easily win thousands overnight.
Featured Games at Caesar’s Palace
Here are the poker games that are available for you at Caesar’s Palace:
No-Limit Hold’em with blinds starting at $1/2 and $2/5 with no buy-in limitLimit Hold’em starting at $2/4 up to $40/80.Pot Limit Omaha starting at $1/2 up to $20/40.Mixed game tables at any time of the day.
Many poker players love to visit Caesar’s.
Tournaments at Caesar’s Palace
If you’re visiting Caesar’s Palace, it’s most likely for their tournaments. They host 6 matches throughout the day with buy-ins that range from $70 to $235. The whole poker area is smoke-free, and they’re offering free drinks to every player. So, regardless of the time you visit, you’re sure to get the best service and tournaments that will keep you up for hours!
One of the things that make Caesar’s Palace an excellent poker destination is its perfect balance between competition and traffic. High-stakes areas don’t get a lot of players, but the competition is high, whereas low-stakes receive many inexperienced players. Caesar’s Palace sits in the middle of these, providing anyone with enough competition and traffic to spend hours at the table.
The third MGM Resorts International property on our list, the MGM Grand, is the quintessential high-class poker room. This illustrious hotel, banks on its services, and amenities to attract deep-pocketed clientele from around the world. MGM Resorts probably has the biggest pool of poker players in Vegas, with most of their properties topping the charts as the best.
The poker room is smoke-free, and it’s only a minute away from the Centrifuge Bar, the bar that is always free for poker players! Every time you walk past the bar, you’ll see dozens of players getting their drinks, and it’s easy for tourists to think that it’s a private party. The ones that you’ll see here are MGM Grand players, and it represents the traffic that they’re getting for the day.
Since it’s also an MGM property, you can expect to get the same level of service as the ones that you’ll get from Aria and Bellagio. However, it’s more focused on attracting different players, rather than focusing their offers for poker players. Nonetheless, MGM Grand remains one of the best destinations for you, when you’re off to Vegas to play poker.
That’s how MGM Grand’s poker room looks from the inside.
Featured Games at MGM Grand’s Poker Room
There are many mixed game formats that you can join at MGM Grand, but here are the most common ones:
NLHE with blinds starting at $1/3 up to $10/20.LHE starts at $2/4 up to $40/80.Omaha 8 or Better starting at $4/8 with ½ kill up to $20/40 with ½ kill.PLO starts at $1/2 up to $10/20.7 Card Stud starting at $6/12 up to $30/60.Draw Games starting at $4/8 up to $40/80.
Tournaments at MGM Grand’s Poker Room
Being one of the most popular destinations for tourists, MGM Grand makes it a point to host one of the best daily tournaments.
You can choose between their 7:05 pm and 10:05 pm daily run. The buy-in for these tournaments are $100 and $65 + rake, respectively, and it always comes with a guaranteed prize pool. That’s on top of all the action that you’re getting from other tables at any time!
If you’re a serious poker player who wants to get in a table with some of the most deep-pocketed poker players in Vegas, MGM Grand is where you should be. Locals call it the $1/2 capital of Las Vegas, and you’re sure to find a variety of players from inexperienced to seasoned at every table.
Excalibur Hotel & Casino isn’t something that usually pops on a list of the best casinos because they don’t have the biggest and fanciest cardroom. However, Excalibur holds a very little known secret, which can get you to Vegas right now.
Excalibur Hotel & Casino is the place where many tourists, inexperienced players, and weekend warriors come to play.
That’s what you’d typically get from any casino in Vegas, but what makes Excalibur unique is that it’s not enough to attract poker hustlers. If you’re visiting other casinos, you’ll get mixed new and seasoned players who could give you a run for your money. Excalibur is different, and as long as you know what you’re doing, and won’t play like a loose cannon, you’ll always end up profitable.
The best time to play at Excalibur is from midnight to early morning on weekends because that’s when inexperienced players get at the table. Be there to turn quick profits, but if you’re trying to stay away from stiff competition, don’t play at Excalibur after lunch and at primetime. As mentioned, the room isn’t as spacious as other casinos, and there are a lot of seasoned pros that are crushing the tables at this time.
Complete resort tour of the Excalibur.
Featured Games at Excalibur’s Poker Room
Since they have a smaller poker room than other casinos, you can expect fewer options for you. Here are the most popular poker games at Excalibur:
NLHE with blinds starting at $1/2.LHE starts at $2/6.Mixed card games on occasion.
Tournaments at Excalibur’s Poker Room
The tournaments at Excalibur are anywhere from $40 to $65, but they host 4 matches every day! If you want to play tight and still turn up profitable, it’s an excellent place to start. Just be careful in timing your participation in the tournaments because the two mid-sessions that they’re hosting has the most competition.
If you’re only starting to learn the fundamentals of professional poker, it would be best to stay away from these slots.
Excalibur is an excellent place for many poker players because it’s soft and easier to win than other casinos. The pots aren’t as big, but if you know how to extract value from your opponents, Excalibur can be one of your favorite weekend destinations. The small pot is also one of the reasons it’s not as attractive for seasoned pros, making it easy for you to cash into these games.
Binion’s Gambling Hall doesn’t get as many players as other casinos on this list, mainly because of its location. Binion’s is in downtown Las Vegas—far from the flair of the Strip. Unlike other casinos that allow you to exploit inexperienced, deep-pocketed players, Binion’s Gambling Hall focuses on creating the most competitive environment for players.
So, if you’re looking for profitable casinos, Binion’s isn’t the place for you.
Compared to other casinos on this list, Binion’s is more of a journey to where everything started. WSOP started at this casino, and it’s where “The Grand Old Man of Poker” and “Nick the Greek” played their legendary heads-up match. That was the first-ever WSOP Main Event championship!
Binion’s will always remain one of the best casinos to play poker in Las Vegas because it represented a massive role in shaping the game that we all play today.
Binion’s Gambling Hall is not getting a lot of inexperienced players, but if you’re up for some competition, Binion’s is where you’ll find some of the best poker players in the world.
Binion’s Gambling Hall.
Featured Games at Binion’s Gambling Hall
You’ll know that Binion’s is one of the pioneers of poker in Las Vegas with their focus on providing their clientele with world-class service. They only have a small poker room that allows them to focus on their players’ gaming experience. Here are the most common games that you’ll find at Binion’s:
NLHE with blinds starting at $1/3.LHE starts at $4/8.Mixed card games on occasion.
Something unique at Binion’s is that they only take a flat rake per pot. It’s fixed at $4, and with deep-pocketed clientele and professionals, it’s not that hard to reach massive pots.
Tournaments at Binion’s Gambling Hall
Binion’s Gambling Hall prides itself on hosting one of the most competitive daily tournaments in Las Vegas. It holds two daily tournaments from Monday to Sunday (10:00 am and 11:00 pm). Besides the dailies, it also has Binion’s Poker Classic with a variety of matches that starts from $160 up to $1000, which attracts many seasoned players.
So, if you’re looking for tournaments with serious competition, Binion’s is one of the best places you can visit.
The best casinos for poker don’t necessarily mean having the best amenities, and Binion’s is proof of that. Although their service and setup match the casinos on this list, they pride themselves as being the pioneer of poker in the world. It will always be the best place for enthusiasts to visit if they are looking for a group of players that can give them good competition.
Conclusion
It’s easy to get lost with the flair of Vegas, and many tourists think that all casinos are the same. However, when it comes to playing poker, there will always be casinos that you should stay away from, and the ones that are definitely worth playing in. Here are 8 of the best casinos in Las Vegas where you can play poker:
Aria Resort & CasinoEncore at Wynn Las VegasBellagio Luxury Resort & CasinoThe Venetian ResortCaesar’s PalaceMGM Grand Hotel & CasinoExcalibur Hotel & CasinoBinion’s Gambling Hall
All of these casinos have their pros and cons; some can help you get quick profits, while others will give you the best competition that you can use to improve. It all depends on what you’re looking for, but our list provides everything you need to know about these casinos.
