Introduction
Poker is a card game enjoyed by people from all walks of life and is one of the most popular games in the world. It is a game filled with risk, reward and patience with a touch of aggression in a social environment. Poker has a history and a certain allure, and it's a game that accommodates all budgets.
There are the rich and famous like Ben Affleck, Bill Gates, Rafael Nadal and many more who have enjoyed their turn on the felt. There is, however, a secret world to Poker, and this goes back hundreds of years when gambling was illegal. In today's gambling world, some of the biggest games still do not take place at casinos or poker clubs. Instead, many of the wealthiest poker games in the world happen in homes and hotel rooms, and the stakes are ultra-high.
In this article, we will explore some of the most well-known poker rooms in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo Monaco. We are talking about the kind of places that the likes of the legendary Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Bryn Kenney and Daniel Negreanu frequent.
Las Vegas:
The Binion's Poker Room
Binion's is one of the most renowned poker rooms in Las Vegas, and it is where the world-famous World Series of Poker ( WSOP ) all began in 1970.
It was opened in 1951 by Lester Ben Binion who was an American gambler and criminal who had various illegal gambling operations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. When he moved to Nevada, Las Vegas he bought the Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache which he re-opened to form Binion's Horseshoe, which was also known as the Horseshoe Casino.
In March 2004 the casino was sold to the MTR Gaming Group, and the name changed to Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel. It was subsequently sold in March 2008 to TLC Casino Enterprises for $32 million.
In July 2005 Binion's held the WSOP event for the last time, as the Poker Club was no longer large enough to accommodate all the players. In 2005, all events, except for the final three tables of the main event, were then played at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.
Binion's, however, still has a poker area which they remodelled to feature pictures of previous WSOP Champions and the Poker Hall of Fame. Currently, ten tables are offering low-limit Hold 'em and low-stakes NL. They also offer midnight tournaments which have become a hit with poker players wanting some late-night Downtown Vegas action.
The Aria Poker Room
The Aria Poker Room is situated inside the Aria Resort and Casino, which is the most significant and tallest luxury resort and casino located at the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip. The Poker room only has 24 tables, but it is trendy among locals and tourists as it is modern and well run with daily tournaments and poker bonus comps.
It is also a popular hang out of the famous poker player Phil Ivey and other celebrities which increases the allure of this poker room.
The Bellagio
A very well-known poker room which used to be the central hub during the poker boom in the days when people avidly watched Poker on tv. It has a private poker room called "Bobby's Room" where the famous Bobby Baldwin hosted the Big Game, which is a big stakes poker game. Many of the regulars at Bobby's room included Doyle Brunson, Jen Harman, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Gus Hansen, Sammy Farha, and Lyle Berman.
Nowadays the Bellagio doesn't have as many high-stakes games as those were all moved to The Aria, but they do offer a good selection of middle stake limit games and low-limit tables.
They also offer between 35 – 40 poker tables making them one of the bigger poker rooms on the Las Vegas Strip.
Monaco:
Casino De Monte Carlo (Also known as Monte Carlo Casino)
Monte Carlo is one of the most glamourous suburbs in Monaco and is home to 3 of the Top Poker rooms, including Casino De Monte Carlo.
It was founded in 1863, and the casino itself has 108 000 square feet of gambling space which includes a poker room which hosts some prestigious tournaments.
There are only eight tables in the Poker Room, but they offer a variety of cash games such as Spread Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, Omaha and NL Hold 'em. They also provide 4 NL tournaments per day and a Bounty Tournament on a Wednesday.
The Intrigue of Online Poker Rooms
Just because you can't make it to Vegas or Monte Carlo, doesn't mean you can't still be part of the poker action as there is always online Poker.
Due to technology, players can enjoy poker rooms at a select few online casinos and can sit at a virtual poker table and enjoy going heads up with other players from around the world.