The Top 10 Poker Rooms in Vegas: A Guide to Which Ones to Visit
With more locations to play than any other city in the country, Las Vegas continues to be the hub of the live poker industry. There are about 20 live poker rooms available, so there are always plenty of opportunities for both visitors and residents to compete on the live felt.
Poker professionals generally agree that certain poker rooms las vegas—like those at Wynn, Aria, and Bellagio—are the greatest in the city. If you’re willing to explore outside of the main area of the city, you’ll find more hidden gems. While those venues thrive as the center of poker activity on the Las Vegas Strip.
Benton Blakeman and Andrew Neeme, two professional poker players in Las Vegas, created the Hand History Lounge research group, which contributed their perspectives to this ranking of the “10 best poker rooms in vegas.” Although there may be some disagreement on the ranking order, you can’t go wrong by spending time playing at the top 10 live poker rooms in Las Vegas.
- Nugget of gold
In terms of poker rooms, the Golden Nugget is the only one that can truly evoke the classic Las Vegas vibe. There are now only 13 tables in this historic establishment, which has a cozy design and offers live poker in downtown Las Vegas.
Compared to its contemporaries on the Strip, the poker room at the Golden Nugget has a very distinct vibe because of its Freemont Street location. With an unrestricted maximum buy-in, the $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em cash game is the main draw of the Golden Nugget poker room.
Despite the modest stakes, the excitement created by the uncapped buy-in is unmatched in the town. At the $1/$2 Golden Nugget tables, players sometimes deposit four-figure or even greater buy-ins.
Players frequently sit behind stacks of chips and money at Golden Nugget, the only poker facility in Las Vegas that accepts $100 bills. There are periodic special tournament series at the Golden Nugget as well as sporadic $2/$5 game sessions.
Reasons to visit Golden Nugget: Although there are other places where you may find No-Limit Texas Hold’em cash games with larger and possibly more profitable stakes, the $1/$2 games at Golden Nugget are among the best low-stakes live games in the city.
“I think Golden Nugget is always underappreciated and I love it,” says Preston Currie, a regular in Las Vegas. Golden Nugget gives walking distance access to the thriving downtown Las Vegas arts and entertainment scene in addition to its unique $1/$2 scene.
- The Palace of Caesars
There are few experiences that compare to touring the storied Caesars Palace on the Strip. There is a 15-table poker room inside Caesars, where playing poker is a long-standing tradition.
The poker room is situated in the center of the resort’s nightlife, which is advantageous for shrewd cash game players trying to establish a business versus visitors on a late-night gambling binge.
Five daily events are held at Caesars Palace, with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $150. Caesars offers a variety of cash games, such as a regular $1/$3 NLHE game with a $300 maximum buy-in and sporadic $2/$5 games with a $500 maximum buy-in.
Why should you visit Caesars Palace? There may not be a greater ratio of visitors to locals anyplace else on the Strip.
“With above-average games for the low-limit NL crowd, Caesars is a hidden gem outside of the sportsbook,” claims Blakeman. “They get a very steady influx of tourists and fewer regulations than the other big strip casinos, but everything is decent but nothing great.”
- Italian
When Sheldon Adelson owned the Venetian poker room, many professional players in Las Vegas boycotted the establishment due to Adelson’s campaign against the legalization of internet poker. The Venetian poker room, which is currently owned by a new company, offers a lot of options for both cash game and tournament players.
The Venetian offers up to three times as many $1/$3 NLHE cash games with a $300 maximum buy-in on weekday evenings as any other Strip poker facility. By Las Vegas standards, the other No-Limit Hold’em cash games ($2/$4, $600 max buy-in and $3/$5, $1,200 max buy-in) have unique stakes.
One of the largest poker rooms on the Strip is the Venetian, with its 32-table configuration. Regular special tournament series like the Venetian Deepstack and the sporadic MSPT series are often added to that amount of tables.
Why go to the Venetian? Even though Adelson no longer owns the Venetian, his legacy continues to have an impact on a lot of poker players.
Professionals ignore it for a variety of reasons, so there are a lot of losers, according to Mark Adams, a frequent visitor to Las Vegas who plays poker.
When visiting Las Vegas, gamblers looking to expand their bankroll or simply locate a lucrative game can take advantage of the Venetian’s $1/$3 lineup, which offers some fantastic options. Most of the time, Venetian hosts special series for tournament players, and those gatherings typically attract some of the largest fields in the city.
- The Orleans
Like Red Rock and South Point, the Orleans is a locals’ paradise when it comes to poker in Las Vegas. The Orleans has one of the largest capacities of any live poker room in Las Vegas, with 34 tables.
Even though the Orleans always has a $1/$3 No-Limit Hold’em cash game with a $500 maximum buy-in, the non-NLHE options at the off-Strip location set the room apart. Most of the day, $8/$16 Omaha Eight or Better is available, along with $3/$6 and $4/$8 Limit Hold’em.
There are two daily events on the Orleans tournament schedule in addition to regular special tournament series. An $800 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed No-Limit Hold’em Main Event was part of a recent special series.
Reasons to go to Orleans: Even while the Orleans population is primarily made up of locals, there are still plenty of profitable options in the cash games. Because of its off-Strip position, Orleans is an easy stop.
According to veteran poker player and author Lee Jones, “everything in the place costs 40 percent less than it does on the Strip.” “It feels like home.” Everyone is acquainted with everyone else. It’s similar like playing cards at Cheers.
Although there are more visitors at Strip poker establishments, Jones notes that the cash games in the Orleans, which are populated mostly by locals, are still quite competitive.
- Red Rock
The only poker room on our list that is located a good distance from the Strip is Red Rock. To visit the Red Rock poker room, you will need to travel approximately 20 minutes to the west of the Strip.
But the drive can be well worth the effort because of the experience. The 20-table establishment, where most of the action comes from residents in Las Vegas, has a very different vibe than its competitors on the Strip.
You won’t encounter the typical mix of visitors that frequent poker rooms on or near the Strip because of the substantial local presence. You will regularly be playing against opponents you are familiar with if you visit Red Rock often.
There is usually at least one $2/$5 ($1,000 max buy-in) game running in cash games, in addition to $1/$2 NLHE ($300 max buy-in). Most of the time, $4/$8 stakes are used in limit hold’em.
As of this writing, Red Rock is not holding any tournaments.
Why go to Red Rock: Red Rock is a logical choice for a local poker room if you live in the Summerlin neighborhood of Las Vegas. Regular play will earn you a ton of Station Casinos Rewards, and you’ll get to know the other players you’ll be facing most of the time.
The actual location is among the better rooms in the Las Vegas region. Red Rock Poker Room is definitely worth a visit, even though you’ll miss out on profitable opportunities playing against the endless stream of tourists from Las Vegas.
- The Point South
With thirty tables, the South Point is one of the largest poker clubs in the city and is arguably the premier residents’ poker facility in Las Vegas. All thirty of those tables will probably be full on any given evening.
Three to four tournaments a day, including $60 and $150 NLHE events, are available at South Point. Every Thursday night, there’s a $60 buy-in Omaha Eight or Better event that takes place once a week.
Seasonal freerolls at the poker site guarantee six figures to players who log 100 hours of play within a predetermined three-month period. Locals from Las Vegas fill a large number of seats at South Point in an attempt to earn their spot in what is occasionally a $300,000 guaranteed freeroll event.
NLHE cash games are available at $1/$2 ($300 maximum buy-in) and $2/$3 ($600 maximum buy-in) round the clock. The maximum cap for a regularly scheduled $2/$3 game in the city is $600.
Reasons to go to South Point: The seasonal freerolls are a great deal if you live in Las Vegas or have the time to play for 100 hours in three months.
During NFL games, there are numerous high-hand bonuses, bad beat jackpots, and splash pots available as cash gaming promos. Although you will primarily be playing against locals at South Point, the south Strip location has one of the best and largest poker rooms in the city.
NLHE cash games are available at $1/$2 ($300 maximum buy-in) and $2/$3 ($600 maximum buy-in) round the clock. The maximum cap for a regularly scheduled $2/$3 game in the city is $600.
Reasons to go to South Point: The seasonal freerolls are a great deal if you live in Las Vegas or have the time to play for 100 hours in three months.
During NFL games, there are numerous high-hand bonuses, bad beat jackpots, and splash pots available as cash gaming promos. Although you will primarily be playing against locals at South Point, the south Strip location has one of the best and largest poker rooms in the city.
“They simply don’t have the consistent games, but this should be No. 2 in terms of comfort, staff, etc.,” Blakeman remarked. “I would shoot this one to No. 1 or No. 2, interchangeable with Wynn, if it gets there.”
- Resorts World
Resorts World occasionally offers $2/$5 NLHE cash games with a maximum buy-in of $1,200. There’s also the occasional $80/$160 mixed game available.
Why go to Resorts World? Only three rooms in Las Vegas use PokerAtlas; the majority of rooms in the city use Bravo. One of those places is Resorts World. By using the mobile app, PokerAtlas users can directly join waitlists, eliminating the need to call the poker room.
There is a self-service kiosk in the poker area where you can order food from any restaurant in the casino. Once your order is placed, you have the option of having a chip runner deliver your food to the table or picking it up when it’s ready.
- The Bellagio
The Bellagio poker room is a must-visit location for poker players visiting to play the Strip because it has long been the hub of the high stakes poker scene in Las Vegas. With 37 tables, it is the largest conventional layout of any poker facility in the city.
Right now, cash games are played constantly at all 37 of those tables. Players hoping for multi-table tournament activity may be discouraged by this fact.
However, the Bellagio arrangement is a cash game player’s paradise. Bellagio often hosts the highest stakes cash games in the city, and you can frequently see some of the most well-known poker players in the world entering and exiting the high-roller haven known as the “Legends Room” (previously known as “Bobby’s Room”).
Mixed games are frequently held in the Legends Room at some of the highest stakes in the world. Omaha Eight or Better, Stud, and Limit Hold’em are additional games available at Bellagio for a range of stakes.
There are games for $1/$3 ($300 maximum buy-in), $2/$5 ($500 maximum buy-in), $5/$10 ($1,500 maximum buy-in), and uncapped $10/$20 and $10/$20/$40 available to NLHE players.
The Bellagio poker room is always hopping with cash game action, much like the Aria poker room, which is sister property.
Why go to Bellagio: Ever since the days before the “poker boom” in the mid-2000s, the Bellagio has been at the center of the live poker scene in Las Vegas. If you haven’t been, you absolutely must see the legendary location.
Bellagio has arguably of the longest waitlists in the city, so be prepared to wait a bit to enter a game. For action-packed tournament gaming, head elsewhere, but for cash game enthusiasts, the Bellagio offers an excellent selection of games.
- Aria
Aria’s poker room consistently attracts some of the most steady player traffic on the Strip, making it a favorite among pros who play cash games in Las Vegas. In the 24-table poker area, there’s nearly always a full house with cash game action at various stakes.
The $1/$3 ($300 maximum buy-in) and $2/$5 ($1,000 maximum buy-in) NLHE cash games are played continuously across many tables. Games with higher stakes are frequently available at $5/$10 ($3,000 maximum buy-in) and $10/$20 (uncapped maximum buy-in).
Aria is without a doubt the greatest spot in Las Vegas for Pot-Limit Omaha players to find action in the cash games. Aria has a far higher volume of PLO games than any other poker room in the city at any given moment.
As an extra benefit, some of the biggest high roller tournaments in the world are held at the adjacent PokerGO Studio, and you can frequently see some of the best high rollers in the game in and around the Aria in general.
Why go to Aria? Aria is considered by many frequent cash game players in Las Vegas to be among the best venues for live poker in the area. Aria offers cash game players at all stakes 24/7 action, including the city’s liveliest PLO scene.
“The personnel is the main reason Aria is my top choice,” says Dan Spargur, a regular player in the cash game in Las Vegas. “I understand why Wynn is popular, but Wynn has more excellent regulations. Weekends may also bring in bigger fish at Wynn, but the seasoned guides are aware of this as well.
- Wynn
The poker room at the Wynn/Encore hotel is on par with the best poker rooms in the world. Located on the Encore side of the resort, this 28-table room can accommodate a larger number of tables during Wynn’s main event series.
Wynn frequently hosts tournament series with some of the highest possible prize money in the area. In July 2021, the $10,000 buy-in Wynn Millions was held, and Andrew Moreno emerged victorious among 1,328 participants, taking home a $1.46 million prize.
Players in NLHE cash games can also find almost anything at Wynn. $2/$5 ($1,500 max buy-in) and $1/$3 ($500 max buy-in) are regular games. Both of those games have some of the highest maximum buy-ins in all of Las Vegas.
Wynn offers uncapped $5/$10 and $10/$25 NLHE cash game possibilities. Wynn offers $1/$2 ($2,500 maximum buy-in) and $5/$5 ($2,500 maximum buy-in) Pot-Limit Omaha cash games for players.
Why should you visit Wynn? The Wynn poker room is among the greatest locations in the world for live poker gaming. It is difficult to top the Wynn poker room experience for players in both cash games and tournaments.
Blakeman’s rankings for Las Vegas place Wynn’s poker room at the top.
Blakeman responded, “No comparison, in my opinion.” “The prettiest room, coziest chairs, best tournaments, staff, food—everything.”
