Pokerless in Italy

It turns out that poker is as hard to find in Italy as an eBay bidder for spots on the November Nine\’s clothing.

My much-needed vacation in Italy was relatively pokerless, though I tried to find some casinos to check out the scene in the country that has been progressive in legalizing online poker. But casinos are rare, with none to be found in Rome or the Tuscany region whatsoever. A hot Italian man guy we met at the Trevi Fountain noted that there were some backroom poker games if I was interested, but I thought it might not be the brightest idea to venture off to locate them.

There were some casinos in Venice, though the only one that was accessible without a very long boat ride had no poker, only roulette, slots, blackjack, and a few other table games. Casino Di Venezia was located directly on the canal and could be accessed by private water taxi or through the back streets of the Venice streets. I found it and snapped some photos from the street as well as in the courtyard…until the security guard made me put my camera away. When I entered the lobby, which was shared by a museum, it was obvious that it was a classy joint. And as I tried to peek into the casino itself where I heard the sound of slot machines, four – yes, four – security guards stopped me. Without being a member, I wasn\’t allowed to even look at the casino rooms. With only a day and a half in Venice to see as many sights as possible, I chose not to take the time to lose the rest of my Euros at the Italian blackjack tables become a member.

With two weeks of incredible memories under my belt, not to mention a break from work, I\’m back in California with a bit of renewed energy and tons of pics. Some of the casino entrance are after the break: