Stratosphere Las Vegas Poker Room
Top of The World restaurant, 800 feet high and rotating 360 degrees, is located at the top of the Stratosphere Tower. A classic Las Vegas buffet, offering a Sunday champagne brunch, and Strat Cafe. All Las Vegas poker rooms are now spreading at least five-handed games. Most offer eight-handed games. Bally’s poker room opened with nine seats, the highest in Las Vegas. On June 17, Nevada gaming regulators added a requirement for masks at table games that later included all casino patrons. Las Vegas poker.
There were 31 Las Vegas poker rooms before the closure. So far, 19 have reopened.
The four casinos that opened poker rooms the first weekend were Golden Nugget, Orleans, South Point and Venetian. Five more followed later in June and in July. August brought six more rooms online.
Gaming regulations originally only permitted four players per table. South Point led the way in getting that increased to five. All Las Vegas poker rooms are now spreading at least seven-handed games. Most offer eight-handed games. Bally’s poker room opened with nine seats, the highest in Las Vegas, but later dropped to eight seats.
On June 17, Nevada gaming regulators added a requirement for masks at table games that later included all casino patrons. Las Vegas poker players must wear a mask. Most Las Vegas poker tables have partitions to separate player seats.
Aria
The Aria poker room opened with the casino on July 1. It will use 15 of its tables. These are partitioned so eight players may be seated per game. The standard Aria cash games are spread. There is one daily tournament.
Bally’s
The Bally’s poker room reopened on September 25. It deals 1/3 no limit Hold’em and 3/6 fixed limit Hold’em. There are regular tournament series dealt at Bally’s. There are nine seats per table.
Bellagio
Bellagio opened its poker room at 10am on June 18. Tables have eight seats and partitions. Cash games include Texas Hold’em, Omaha, stud and mixed games. The Bellagio poker room is open 24 hours a day.
Boulder Station
Boulder Station reopened its poker room on August 3. It is home to Omaha Hi in Las Vegas. It also spreads no limit and fixed limit Texas Hold’em.
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace’s poker room is open 24 hours a day. Cash games are 1/2 and 2/5 no limit Texas Hold’em. It also deals four daily tournaments. It seats eight players per table.
Flamingo
The Flamingo poker room reopened on July 2. It deals no limit and fixed limit Texas Hold’em. It is open 10am to 4am Thursday through Monday. Promotions include high hands and an hourly freeroll. It has four tournaments Thursday through Sunday. There are eight seats per table.
Golden Nugget
Golden Nugget was the fourth poker room to open in Las Vegas after the COVID-19 closure. Cash games of no limit and fixed limit Texas Hold’em are spread. The max rake is $4. There is a $1 jackpot drop. The room is open 24 hours. There are eight seats at tables.
MGM Grand
MGM Grand’s poker room reopened on July 3. It is open from 4pm to 4am Thursday through Sunday. It is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The tables are eight-handed with plexiglass dividers.
Orleans
The poker room at Orleans opened with the casino on June 4. It is open 24 hours daily. The rake is capped at $4. The Orleans poker room has the widest variety of cash games. These include no limit Texas Hold’em, fixed limit Texas Hold’em, pot limit Omaha, fixed limit Omaha hi/lo and fixed limit Omaha Hi. There are two daily tournaments.
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood reopened its poker room on October 16. It hosts ten tables. There are eight seats at each. The main games are 1/2 and 2/5 no limit Texas Hold’em. It is open noon to 4am Thursday through Sunday.
Poker Palace
Poker Palace is a small North Las Vegas poker room. It is open on Friday and Saturday nights for a 6:30pm no limit Texas Hold’em tournament. A cash game sometimes appears when the tournament concludes.
Red Rock Resort
Red Rock Resort is the only poker room in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas. It reopened on August 3. It spreads mostly fixed limit and no limit Texas Hold’em. Tournaments have not returned to its poker room. There are eight seats per table.
Sahara
The Sahara poker room reopened on June 18. It is home to mostly no limit Texas Hold’em and mixed games. The rake is capped at $4. There is a $1 jackpot drop. The hours are 4pm to 2am during the week and noon to 4am on Saturday and Sunday. The Sahara poker room will remain open if there is a game running. There are seven seats per table.
Santa Fe Station
Santa Fe Station is one of three Station Casinos poker rooms that reopened on August 3. It deals no limit and fixed limit Texas Hold’em, as well as Omaha Hi/Lo. It is in the far northwest part of the Las Vegas Valley. There are eight seats per table.
Silver Sevens
Silver Sevens offers one live poker table in its table game pit. It is usually a 2/4 fixed limit Hold’em game.
South Point
South Point’s poker room, the last to close before the shutdown, opened with the casino on June 4. It operates 24 hours a day. Games are eight-handed. The cash games offered are no limit Hold’em, fixed limit Hold’em and pot limit Omaha. There is a large variety of promotions available. It deals four daily tournaments.
Venetian
Venetian was the first poker room to announce its return. However, it opened the day after the rest of the casino did. Tables are eight-handed.
Venetian offers cash games and single table tournaments. The hours are 9am to 3am daily.
Venetian offers a wide variety of tournaments. This includes some daily ones and tournament series. According to Bravo Poker, the main cash games are no limit Texas Hold’em and pot limit Omaha.
Westgate
The Westgate poker room reopened on September 10. It opens at 4pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and 10am on weekend days. It is dark Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Westgate poker room is located in the sportsbook area. Tables are eight-handed.
Wynn
The Wynn poker room reopened on September 30. It was moved from Encore to Wynn. It is home to no limit Hold’em, pot limit Omaha and mixed games. There is a daily no limit Hold’em tournament. Plexiglass partitions are at all 24 tables, allowing for eight seats at each.
Las Vegas reopening poker room FAQ
How many poker rooms are open in Las Vegas?
There are 19 open poker rooms as of March 6, 2021.
Are Station Casinos poker rooms reopening?
Station Casinos reopened poker rooms at Boulder Station, Red Rock Resort and Santa Fe Station on August 3, 2020.
Are there poker tournaments in Las Vegas right now?
Yes. About half of Las Vegas poker rooms have brought back tournaments.
Is smoking permitted in Las Vegas poker rooms?
No Las Vegas poker rooms permit smoking.
Are masks required at Las Vegas poker tables?
Yes. Masks inside casinos are mandated by a governor’s order.
Stratosphere Las Vegas Poker Room After Coronavirus
Are there partitions at Las Vegas poker tables?
In most cases, yes. Any poker room with more than six seats at the table has partitions.
Which Las Vegas poker rooms are still closed?
Binion’s, Cannery, Club Fortune, Excalibur, Green Valley Ranch, Harrah’s, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Palace Station, Rio, Sam’s Town and Skyline have not reopened poker rooms that closed due to the pandemic.
Last updated: March 7, 2021
The poker room at The Strat, formerly known as the Stratosphere, closed Friday, October 18. The four-table poker room recently moved from its downstairs location near the tower escalators where it had been for more than a decade. Its new location was on the second level at the top of the escalator near the table games pit.
The Strat downsized the poker room in 2018. It went from twelve tables to four during the property’s renovation.
The news was first reported by Rob Solomon:
Haven't seen anyone report this. The Strat closed its poker room a few days ago.
— Robvegaspoker (@Robvegaspoker) October 20, 2019
A note on the poker room podium at The Strat tells players that the casino is no longer offering poker. The phone number to the poker room no longer rings. The poker room was quickly scrubbed from The Strat’s website.
Golden Entertainment removing tables from its Las Vegas casinos
This is the second Las Vegas poker room Golden Entertainment closed after its acquisition of American Casino and Entertainment Properties (ACEP). The other was Arizona Charlie’s Decatur. The poker room there closed in August 2018.
The company also removed table games from the Arizona Charlie’s on Boulder Highway in the past year. Stratosphere and two Arizona Charlie’s casinos were a part of the ACEP transaction.
Strat poker room struggled
The poker room at The Strat struggled in recent years. The only game it typically offered was 1/2 no limit Texas Hold’em. The game was often shorthanded, if it ran at all.
Stratosphere once spread three daily tournaments with times of 11am, 7pm and 11pm. These tournaments, particularly the 7pm one, would draw 60 to 80 players some nights in the year or two after Sahara closed. The tournament and its structure moved from Sahara, as well as many of its players and dealers.
Towards the end, the 11am tournament was removed from the schedule. The 11pm one was dropped, except on weekends, if it managed to get off the ground. The 7pm tournament only drew a table or two most nights.
The 7pm tournament featured free pizza during the first break. All tournaments offered a good structure with a reasonable rake and a $20 add-on.
Stratosphere Las Vegas Poker Rooms Reopening
SLS Las Vegas recently rebranded back to Sahara. The property is expected to open a poker room in the next year.
Las Vegas poker rooms closed since 2012
Stratosphere Las Vegas Poker Room Promotions
The Strat’s poker room became the 27th to close in Las Vegas since 2012. The others are listed below:
Stratosphere Las Vegas Poker Room
- Arizona Charlie’s Decatur: August 2018
- Treasure Island: August 2018
- Suncoast: April 2018
- Luxor: June 2017
- Monte Carlo: April 2017
- Hard Rock: March 2017
- The Linq: August 2016
- Eastside Cannery: April 2016
- Plaza: March 2016
- Aliante Casino: March 2016
- Westgate: June 2015 (Reopened August 2017)
- Hooters: March 2015
- Texas Station: August 2014
- Palms: June 2014
- Sunset Station: May 2014
- El Cortez: December 2013
- Circus Circus: September 2013
- M Resort: August 2013
- Riviera: June 2013
- Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall: February 2013
- Jokers Wild: October 2012
- Ellis Island: September 2012
- Tropicana: September 2012
- O’Sheas: April 2012
- Fitzgeralds: January 2012
- Silverton: January 2012