The Venetian Las Vegas opened its new high-tech poker room in September on the second floor of the Palazzo Grand Canal Shoppes. (Image: courtesy of The Venetian)

Poker rooms used to be a fixture in most Las Vegas casinos but that’s not the case anymore. Twenty years ago, there were more than 50 poker rooms in Las Vegas. Now, there are fewer than 20.

Las Vegas casinos have been closing poker rooms quicker than opening them. The poker rooms at Flamingo and Planet Hollywood on the Vegas Strip both closed in recent years. Off-strip casinos like Green Valley Ranch and Silver Sevens have shuttered their poker rooms. Even the historically important poker room at Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas closed in 2019.

Most of the newest casinos to open have done so without including a poker room—Fontainebleau, Durango, Circa, Virgin—none have a poker room. Resorts World is the only new casino that made poker part of its gameplan.

Resorts World Las Vegas made poker part of its gameplan. (Image: courtesy of Resorts World)

The future of the Caesars Palace . The poker room adjacent to the sportsbook has been repurposed as a high-limit slots room while the old room is renovated. 

Coincidentally, or not, Caesars recently sold the WSOP brand. The company will no longer operate the WSOP.com website. However, the live World Series of Poker will still take place at a Caesars property (presumably Horseshoe Las Vegas) for the next 20 summers. The Hall of Fame Poker Room at the Horseshoe is Caesars’ only currently operational poker room in Las Vegas. 

The Business of Poker in Las Vegas Casinos

There’s a reason for the closing of so many poker rooms in Las Vegas. They’re not very profitable.

Casino bean counters are generally looking to maximize the value of every square foot of gaming floorspace. And that has meant in most cases replacing poker tables with slot machines. 

Most loss leaders in casinos are a thing of the past. Loss leaders in Las Vegas casinos are sections in the casino that may not make much money but still bring visitors into the casino to spend elsewhere. Think about poker rooms, sportsbooks, and buffets.

Sportsbooks aren’t always profitable but they bring in players who will spend money on food and drinks for a few hours while watching the games. That’s less often the case with poker players.

Wynn Las Vegas continues to attract poker enthusiasts with its refined poker room. (Image: courtesy of Wynn)

Serious poker players may or may not spend time or money elsewhere in the casino. They eat, but seldom in the way a bachelor party from Atlanta would, and drink-wise players prefer to be sober while trying to take money from others at the table.

According to the 2023 Nevada Gaming Abstract, about 2% of gaming revenue in Clark County was from card games like poker.

Last year, Clark County sportsbooks generated 4% of gaming revenue while also helping to boost food and beverage revenue at bars and restaurants inside casinos. While neither is a huge part of gaming revenue, it’s easy to see why poker rooms fell out of favor for some casino operators.

Complete List of Las Vegas Poker Rooms

The biggest surprise about Las Vegas poker rooms is that there are as many on the Vegas Strip as elsewhere. The Vegas Strip is home to nine poker rooms. There’s only one poker room in downtown Las Vegas. The remaining eight are in casinos away from the primary resort corridor in Las Vegas.

This overview of where to play poker in Las Vegas might be the first time you've heard about a couple of these small off-strip casinos.

Vegas Strip

• Aria
• Bellagio
• Horseshoe
• Mandalay Bay (temporary space is near House of Blues)
• MGM Grand
• Resorts World
• Sahara
• The Venetian (recently relocated)
• Wynn

Downtown Las Vegas 

• Golden Nugget

Off-Strip 

• Boulder Station
• The Orleans
• Poker Palace
• Red Rock
• Santa Fe Station
• South Point
• Skyline
• Westgate

The PokerGo Studio

One poker room in Las Vegas that is the site of some of the biggest pots and highest stakes drama on the felt isn’t technically in a casino. The PokerGo Studio is next door to the Aria and is the state-of-the-art playing venue and broadcast site for televised and livestreamed games.

Shows like High Stakes Poker and Poker after Dark have been shot there in the 9-table room, as have big-money tournaments as part of the PokerGo Tour, including the Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, and US Poker Open.

The PokerGo Studio is only open for these big-buyin tournaments and invite-only cash games. It also can be rented out for corporate events.