Paul and I are in Las Vegas this month playing a number of events at the WSOP, along with other Vegas tourneys. We recently shared our experiences at the WSOP Reunion tournament and some tips we have learned about dealing with WSOP technicalities.
However, we are not playing just WSOP events all the time. We are visiting a number of different poker rooms and playing games in other poker series, such as the Grand at the Golden Nugget and the Orleans Fall series. While many of these series are now wrapping up, we wanted to share some of our favorite regular tournaments in Las Vegas.
Resorts World Las Vegas
The Resorts World Las Vegas poker room is brand new, having opened over the summer. Everything about the resort and the poker room is clean and comfortable. The poker room hosts daily tournaments at 12:05 and 7:05pm, which have proven to be our new favorites. The buy-in for these tournaments is $160 for 20,000 chips. The structure starts at 20-minute blind levels, increasing to 30-minute levels at level 7, and the levels increase very gradually (e.g., at level 10 you’re still at only 1K/2K blinds). You can rebuy freely until level 7, but there are no add ons. There are generally 40-80 players (including rebuys) with weekend tournaments larger than those on weekdays. We have found this to be a fun tournament, with generally pleasant players and adequate play deep into the game. At the moment it is our favorite of all the Vegas tourneys.
The Orleans
We always enjoy The Orleans poker room. They have excellent staff and a generally comfortable atmosphere. Their Fall Poker Series is ongoing until November 5th, but many days they still run their regular 11am tournament. This tournament is $200 for 20,000 chips. Blind levels are 30 minutes long and rebuys are unlimited until level 8. While the blind structure is not as shallow as the Resorts World tournament, it is still quite reasonable. This event can draw a few hundred people during the WSOP, so the prize pool grows quite large.
The Aria
The Aria also sports quite a nice poker room, although during Autumn at Aria, tournaments spill out into the general casino. Also, buyer beware, the Aria has begun charging $18 for parking, with no validation option. The Aria has a regular tournament that is usually daily, but is running on Sundays and Mondays through the end of their series (November 14th). The tournament has a $140 buy-in for 20,000 chips with unlimited rebuys through level 6. Blind levels are only 20 minutes, and jumps a little steeper than the Resorts World tournament. Nonetheless, this tournament offers a good third option for those looking for a faster game.
There are of course a myriad of poker rooms in Vegas, with a wide array of tournaments and cash tables available. These are simply the three tournaments that we find ourselves returning to when looking for a good game to play in Las Vegas outside the World Series.