Venetian Poker Room

Some of the Vegas hotels are proud to have you think of poker when you think of them. For example, anything that Steve Wynn touches (Golden Nugget, the Mirage, Bellagio, and now Wynn) has poker attached to it. Steve’s commitment to poker comes from his own high stakes play to the hiring of former World Series of Poker champ, Bobby Baldwin, as a top exec. The Bellagio is now the home of the “Five-Star World Poker Classic,” a stop on the World Poker Tour with a buy-in to the main event of $25,000 and a top prize payout of almost $4 mil.

One hotel that has not been associated with poker – until now – is the Venetian. You may have had a gondolier ride, you may have been to Venice and said, “Hm, almost as good as the Venetian,” but you’ve never said, “Let’s run over to the Venetian and play some poker in the best poker room in town.” Well, until now, that is.

The 63-acre resort, opened in May, 1999, a replica of the beautiful northern Italy city of canals has hand-painted frescoed ceilings, statuary, and a hot new poker room as of April, 2006.

At 10,500 square feet, the room is lush in rich leather and wood. There are 39 tables staring with $4 and $8 limits. Like the Bellagio, with its high stakes room hidden up a couple steps in the back of their joint, the Venetian also has a place where a place where you can come and bet “cranberries” ($25,000 chips). Butler service and gourmet dining are available to the high, high rollers.

The poker room chief have scheduled No Limit Hold ‘em tournaments throughout the day, starting at 11 AM, with buy-ins for every wallet. Take your pick from the $60 level, the $90, the $180, the $230, the $330 or for the “I wanna turn pro players,” the $540 level.

“This is an exciting time for the gaming division at The Venetian as we have built an incredible Poker Room,” stated Kenneth Davenport, vice president of casino operations. “The technology is top-of-the-line, the décor and amenities are unmatched and the table games will cater to all. And, we are thrilled with the finished product, offering both the recreational player and the seasoned veteran an elegant, yet comfortable environment where they will want to play.”

Automatic card shufflers will be on hand at every table, allowing for a faster moving game. Additionally, sign-up lists will be displayed on plasma TVs located strategically throughout the poker room. For the ultimate convenience, if there is a waiting list, a player can check out a pager so that they can enjoy other areas of the hotel. Poker room staff will then alert them as their name approaches the top of the list.

A classy hotel has just put in a classy poker room. Check it out!

(c) 2006 Murphy James