This summer, the 56th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is offering 100 gold bracelets and millions of dollars to tournament players who want to try their luck in Sin City.
But what about the hundreds of thousands of cash game enthusiasts, for whom a poker tournament is just a distraction from the real business of playing juicy cash games for big pots?
During the WSOP, cash games are notoriously good and from the Orleans to the Horseshoe, the Wynn to ARIA, everyone to take home a stack of greenbacks from Las Vegas.
We spoke to some regular visitors to the cash games of Las Vegas during the WSOP to find out where is best for players with a variety of bankrolls.
The High Rollers
The really big games in Las Vegas are often the private ones. There is a $25/$50/$100 game at Encore attached to the Wynn which has a minimum $5,000 buy-in but gets a lot bigger.
The “reserve” PLO game and same limit No Limit Texas Hold’em game regularly get very big, and players often straddle for $200.
A short distance away, poker professional and coach Alec Torelli, who is a live high stakes cash game player who was once sponsored by Doyles Room said that on the Strip his choices are to frequent the Wynn, the Venetian, Resorts World, ARIA and the Bellagio.
For Torelli, however, there’s something more important than just the amounts of money you can win when playing really high stakes.
It depends on stakes and buy in preferences,” he says. “I also think there’s more to “best to go” than EV, such as food, playing where you enjoy, and the atmosphere. I know others feel this way too, so I suppose it depends on several factors. Those other things compound and potentially contribute to EV too.
Is the Horseshoe a Happy Hunting Ground?
Everyone wants to find the juiciest games and during the WSOP, some of the biggest games to take place all year will be running around the clock.
The biggest players in the world travel to Las Vegas to play cash games during the summer. So we spoke to some who know the cash game schedule well at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Geoff Fisk is an analyst and writer in the legal gambling industry and has made many trips to Las Vegas over the years.
For cash games during WSOP, the Horseshoe poker room generally has some great games. They’re better than the games inside Paris. ARIA is great as well but the cash games don’t really get going until around 6pm.
Mark Praschan – a cash game regular who travels to Las Vegas from Michigan most years – agrees about Paris.
Playing at Paris is a weird experience. It can take a long time to get a seat, especially when there are card tiers that can cut the line. You can wait an hour and move down the list. The people that are there are almost always between other tournaments which means it can be tough to feel a table out before dynamics change again.
Mike Gallo hosts a podcast called Race to the $5 Big Blind on Crush Live Poker.
I played at the Horseshoe, [there’s a] long waiting list but a good room except for some nuances like they don’t allow chops and straddle from anywhere. The actual WSOP poker area near the King’s room has good action and is run well.
Anthony Turek also travels to Las Vegas regularly at World Series time.
“I personally love to head to the Horseshoe poker room – it’s just the game for the casual player.”
Other Places to Go
Many players tip the Bellagio as a cool place to play.
The Bellagio is the same as always, says Mark Praschan. Although there are perhaps slightly more regs or pros during the series, there are still plenty of touristy fish in the sea. For cash, I always love Bellagio. There’s an allure to that brand and there seem to be more folks there who aren’t as studied.
I played Bellagio, but it was too busy,” Mike Gallo adds. “If you’re not in a game by 1pm, it will be a long day.
The Wynn is another hugely popular venue and Gallo also loves playing in their cardroom.
I play $1/$3 at the Wynn – it’s solid and my favorite room, except they also have a long list.
The Wynn is where there seems to be a higher concentration of European pros, even at my stakes, says Praschan. I played a $1/$3 there in 2023 with three people who had busted the WSOP Main Event! It was the most difficult table I’ve ever played by a mile.
Anthony Turek is less keen on the reputable spots on the Strip.
If you head to Aria, the Wynn or the Bellagio it’s super nice, but all grinders and pros are there; the games are tough. The games at the Horseshoe, Resorts World, and inside the WSOP are actually quite soft and more casual player friendly.
Mark Praschan agrees.
The new Venetian room and Resorts World are two of my other favorite spots, and they’re a reasonable walk across the street from Paris or Horseshoe. A brisk 10-minute walk puts you in the poker room and you get some much-needed fresh air.
Two Hidden Gems
Two of the players we spoke to recommended two casinos that others maybe hadn’t visited or simply didn’t know of.
I played The Orleans and that’s my hidden gem room, Mike Gallo told us. “Playing $2/$3 or $2/$5 at The Orleans, it’s off the strip so not really a place poker players in town for the WSOP will visit.
Alec Torelli tips another place that is a little off the beaten track but is packed with value.
Red Rock is the obvious answer for a popular off-Strip location. It is more of a locals place, because less professionals are willing to commute there. [There are] less high stakes games, so no bigger pros bleeding over into smaller games when they break – it’s a different ecosystem.
As Alex explains, Red Rock offers a rare situation for mid-stakes players, with it being a limited risk venue for talented players.
At other casinos, if there’s no $10/$20 game, the high stakes pros will play $5/$10; they don’t even go to Red Rock, because those games don’t run regularly, so it’s a capped ecosystem. I may not be exactly correct on stakes as it changes based on the time of year, but the principle applies.
With great value on offer at a range of different casinos in Las Vegas this summer, the World Series of Poker isn’t just for tournament poker players. For profitable cash game players, it can be the best two months of the year.
