Posted on: August 5, 2024, 11:59h.
Last updated on: August 5, 2024, 12:08h.
On Thursday, the Venetian opened its brand new poker room. The new space — announced back in February — is the largest for poker in Las Vegas. It has 49 tables spread across 14,000 square feet, dedicated bathrooms, USB charging ports at every seat, a streaming room, and a self-serve Coke and coffee stations.
The new room has earned raves from poker pros including Scott Blumstein, Matt Berkey, and Maria Konnikova, who all attended Thursday’s grand opening.
“The room is absolutely beautiful,” Konnikova told Poker News. “My first impression was the bathroom. I think I was the first poker player to use it, and it was pretty awesome, if I may say so.”
However, it’s not the amenities that many players and experts have been discussing on social media.
Lowering the Ante
The Venetian’s poker room had long been situated across from the Venetian’s sportsbook, just around the corner from the exit door to the Strip. Now, it is hidden near the Palazzo parking elevators on the second floor of the Grand Canal Shoppes, an area that gets zero foot traffic.
“This is such a terrible, terrible, terrible area for poker,” said Forest Kull on his YouTube channel Vegas Poker Nomad. “Up here in the shops, there is a fine watch store, a steakhouse, a rare book store. People walking through these shops don’t have gaming on their mind.”
In between championship tournaments, most poker rooms attract a mix of skill levels — from pros who knew they will be playing at that specific table at that specific time and strategized about it for weeks, to the poker-curious who just happened to be walking through a casino with money to play something.
“This is not good news for poker,” poker author Mason Malmuth commented on X/Twitter. “The room, being out of the way and not visible from the main casino floor, will probably get less drop ins, meaning that on average the games will be tougher.”
“Moving a poker room to an isolated area almost always has a bad ending,” added Vegas Advantage editor John Mehaffey.
Beggars Can’t Be Choosey
However, as our celebrated co-worker, Vital Vegas, explained, the Venetian’s previous poker room was “taking up valuable space on the casino’s main floor,” space that could better be utilized by games that earn more for the casino.
This is the reason most poker rooms in Las Vegas have folded since 2011, and players should be glad the Venetian’s didn’t follow suit.
In poker, the house doesn’t complete against its guests, as in table games like blackjack and roulette. It only earns money via the rake, a percentage of the pot (usually 3-5%) taken from the pot before it’s awarded to the winner.
Las Vegas has always been one of the top tournament poker spots in the US. And, at the peak of the mid-2000s poker boom, live poker was available to everyone almost everywhere in Sin City.
But where there were once nearly 60 card rooms, only 19 remain. The other 41 closed since 2011. The following list was compiled from this excellent research by Vegas Advantage.
Forever Folded Vegas Poker Rooms
2021
- The Flamingo
- Planet Hollywood
- Silver Sevens
2020
- The Mirage
- Rio
- Harrah’s
- Excalibur
- Palace Station
- Sam’s Town
- Binion’s downtown
- Cannery in North Las Vegas
- Green Valley Ranch in Henderson
- Club Fortune in Henderson
2019
- The Strat
2018
- Treasure Island
- Suncoast
- Arizona Charlie’s Decatur
2017
- The Luxor
- Monte Carlo/Park MGM
- Hard Rock/Virgin Hotels
2016
- The LINQ 2016
- Eastside Cannery
- the Plaza downtown
- Aliante in North Las Vegas
2015
- Hooters/Oyo
2014
- Palms
- Texas Station
- Sunset Station
2013
- Circus Circus
- Riviera
- Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall/ Cromwell
- M Resort in Henderson
- El Cortez downtown
2012
- Tropicana
- O’Sheas
- Jokers Wild
- Ellis Island
- Fitzgeralds downtown
- Silverton
2011
- Gold Coast
- Tuscany
